Broken to Pieces

by Avery Stark

  She raked her fingers teasingly through her pile of money with a grin on her face.

  "Do you want to go for another round?"

  Tex shook his head so dramatically that his jowls wagged back and forth like a cartoon character.

  "I would hate to break your heart like that, miss. Enjoy your victory. I won't be so easy on ya next time."

  Adam reached out and squeezed her shoulder.

  "I'm going to get a beer. You want one?"

  Emily shrugged her shoulders. After all that had happened, she sincerely doubted that anyone would begrudge her for having a drink or two, even if she was a couple of years away from being able to do so legally.

  "Sure."

  Those first few sips of the bitter liquid went down easy, cooling her down from the inside out. Though the sun had disappeared from the sky long since, the baking heat gave folks outside little reprieve.

  Gary and Adam arrived at the table together, Adam with an arm-full of beers and Gary with a platter filled with burgers and hot dogs.

  Emily rubbed her hands together, "Right on time. Thanks guys."

  She cracked open a beer, made herself a plate of food, and threw both of those things back like there was no tomorrow. Everything had been such a blur that she couldn't even remember the last time that she actually tasted food.

  Adam watched her and laughed, "Were you hungry or something?"

  "If I had to guess," Barbara said, "I'd say our girl here is starting to feel a little better. Isn't that right, Emily?"

  "Huh? What?"

  When she looked up from her plate, a faint moustache of mustard lined her upper lip and prompted everyone else to laugh loudly.

  "I guess that answers your question," Tex mused and raised his beer can. "To good times and better friends."

  "Hear, hear," Gary said and raised his glass of wine with the group.

  Amidst the clinking of glasses against cans, an unfamiliar voice cut through the festivities.

  "Emily? Is that you?"

  She looked up from her food and quickly wiped off her face. Using both hands, she shielded her eyes from the nearby bonfire.

  From behind the dancing flames, a tall, lean woman appeared. Her short-albeit large-hair was a steely shade of gray all the way through and had been neatly coiffed. A tan sweater had been tied around her shoulders.

  "Linda?" Emily called out and jumped out of her seat.

  The two women's brief charge toward one another ended in a warm embrace. The older one stroked Emily's dark, wild hair.

  "Are you okay? Oh we have been so worried about you since we heard about the accident. Mitch has been trying to call you but could never catch you at the right time."

  Mitch: Linda's son and Emily's very first boyfriend. The innocent, sometimes silly memories of their young relationship were a welcome sensation.

  "Oh yeah. Sorry, I've been so busy that I haven't been-"

  "No, no," she waved her hand, "don't even worry about that right now. Mitch is actually flying in for a few days next week, so we can just stop by. Would that be all right?"

  Emily nodded.

  "Great. I don't want to take you away from your guests for too long. I just wanted to come by and see you."

  Linda hugged her again.

  "We are very proud of what you are doing here," she whispered.

  Emily didn't know how to respond that that, though her tight embrace made it almost impossible to speak in the first place. When she finally let go, Emily had to take a deep breath to stop her head from spinning.

  "Thanks for coming by, Mrs. P. It really means a lot to me."

  The old woman kissed the inside of her finger tips, then turned her hand around and waved goodbye before disappearing back into the dark night.

  By the time that she made it back to the table, Emily's food was calling her name. With not so much as a smile at her guests, she dove back into her plate like an animal.

  Only a minute or two later, her plate was cleared.

  "Ugh," she patted her full stomach, "I need a walk or something."

  Adam shot up out of his spot on the bench and said with a mouthful of food, "I'll go with you."

  Her heart skipped a beat.

  "Okay then," she grabbed a beer to calm her nerves and popped it open. "Come on."

  Down a narrow path leading all of the way around the lake, Adam and Emily walked slowly. They were in no hurry to go back to the watchful eyes of the other guests.

  "So, what about your parents? I feel like mine have taken over everything lately."

  "Well," he paused to dart his tongue at the corners of his lips. "What do you want to know?"

  "Everything."

  He laughed.

  "That might be a tall order."

  "And why's that?"

  "Well my dad really liked to drink. I mean, from morning until night he would have a bottle in his hands, or so help anyone who got in his way." He continued after a brief pause, "There was this one time that he was drunk- and I don't mean just drunk, he was trashed -he stormed into me and my sister's room, dragged us out and locked us in the downstairs closet because apparently we were sleeping too loud. Then, once he decided that a dark, moldy closet wasn't enough, he pulled me out and beat the shit out of me."

  He looked over and noticed the shocked expression on Emily's face.

  "It wasn't an uncommon event. I can tell you that much."

  "Wow," she said. "That's awful."

  "It's okay, I guess. It was a long time ago."

  "That doesn't make it suck any less."

  "You might be surprised."

  She paused and glanced over at him.

  "Maybe so."

  In the silence that followed, only the crunching of leaves beneath their feet was audible. It went on like that for some time as they continued on the wide loop surrounding the lake. The deep darkness that had settled- the kind of darkness you only find in the wild -made the scattered camp fires look like beacons shining through the inky void.

  Finally breaking the silence, Emily asked, "And your mom?"

  Adam sighed.

  "She knew all about what he did, but I don't remember her ever trying to stop it. Most of the time she stayed curled up in her bed with a box of tissues and a bottle of pills. Sometimes she stayed there for days or even weeks at a time."

  The somber reply made Emily wonder whether or not she should have said anything at all. It was just too hard for her to resist. She wanted to know everything about him; to get inside of his head and see the world the way that he did.

  "Do you still talk to them at all?"

  "Well you know my mom is dead and my dad just got out of prison."

  She gasped, "I'm so sorry. I really didn't mean to dig this deep."

  "No, it's fine."

  "What happened?"

  "She, uh," it was difficult for him to actually say. "She-"

  The sudden, deafening pop of a large firework cut him short. Both he and Emily looked up to the open sky above the lake in time to see little, white sparks tumbling down from where the explosion had taken place. Its smoky tentacles looked like little ghosts being carried away on the hot wind.

  In seconds, another one went up and erupted right over their heads. It was a stunning, bright pink that spread out in every direction, followed by the bone-rattling percussion a second later.

  "Wow," Adam said. "I didn't know you guys went all out like this. I was just expecting a few sparklers or something."

  A third burst, blue this time, filled the skies over their heads and cast long, shifting shadows over everything around.

  "Fourth of July is kind of a big deal up here. It always has been."

  "Why?"

  A massive green web of embers spread out above, blotting out the multitudes of stars for a moment.

  "I don't know, really. People around here like to say that we can have an independent spirit because of our independent nation. They appreciate being free to start over with a clean slate."
/>   "So," he rubbed the stubble coming in on his chin, "it's like New Years in summer."

  She never thought about it that way before, but the comparison was apt.

  "I guess so, yeah."

  Adam glanced over to her, but her eyes were fixed on the sky. Each colorful explosion lit up her face with a different hue and forced a new smile onto her lips. The peaceful expression gracing her features, though it had taken forever to get out, was one that Adam had been dying to see.

  "Do you really think that people can start over? I mean, it sounds nice and everything but does it ever really work?"

  She ground the sole of her flip-flop into the hard dirt.

  "I suppose anything will work if you want it bad enough."

  By then, they had both slowed to a complete stop and stood, shoulder-to-shoulder, where the lake's feeble waves lapped up onto the muddy shore. To the left and right, large patches of dark forest surrounded, leaving them basically invisible to the lake's visitors. And as the overhead bursts continued, they both found themselves unable to think of anything else to say.

  From the moment that she laid eyes on him, Emily knew that all of their interactions and passing exchanges would lead up to something like this. The way that he looked at her-the tenderness of his touch-had predicted all of it. But now that she was there, with her arm gently rubbing against his, she realized that she wasn't prepared.

  What should I say to him? Should I say anything at all?

  Even if she found the words right at that second, the warm, electric sensation of Adam's fingers curling around hers would have rendered her unable to speak. They snaked through hers and tightened enough to bring their palms together.

  For a moment, her knees buckled.

  "Adam, I-"

  In one, smooth motion, he pulled her over to face him and grabbed the back of her head, forcing their wet lips together with a frenzied neediness that made Emily feel like she was going to melt into the ground. The beer can that she had been holding the entire time slipped from her right hand and clattered down onto the ground, though it's hollow rattle was overpowered by an amber explosion over their heads.

  Adam let go of her and cradled both side of her face in his palms. His flicked tongue slipped in and out of her mouth, massaging with every pass.

  "Adam," she pulled away and asked breathlessly, "are you sure this is what you want?"

  He pressed his hands together, letting the rising heat coming off of her body flow through him.

  "Yes," he answered and kissed her again.

  She pulled away again, "Because I just-"

  He extended his thumb over to gently pin her lips shut.

  "You don't owe me an explanation, Emily. You don't owe that to anyone. The only thing that I want from you is a chance."

  His thumb slipped away, allowing her to talk again.

  "A chance for what?"

  He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers.

  "A chance to make your world beautiful."

  "And how do you plan to do that?"

  Adam reached down, wrapped both arms around her waist and pulled her in close for a sensual kiss. Their hot, throbbing bodies pressed up against one another.

  For a while, they groped each other greedily. All of the tension that had been building up since he arrived was suddenly and dramatically released, leaving both of them to claw at each other like wild animals. Their needs, made obvious by the tangle of kisses and caresses, were primal at the core.

  Emily wrapped her arms around his neck. Her eager partner took the cue, reached around and lifted her up off of the ground. In a flash, she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling the growing bulge in his pants against the seam of her shorts.

  "Oh Adam," she gasped.

  Whether or not her mind was ready for an encounter with the chiseled young man, her body was screaming out for more. The tender flesh between her thighs began to quiver, which in turn forced the rest of her body to start shaking. Her breaths, though heavy, came through in spastic fits as Adam bit at her bottom lip.

  In the heat of the moment, the painter stumbled backwards when the heel of his sneaker caught against a raised vine. The entangled pair plummeted down onto the ground, leaving Adam on his rear and Emily on his lap.

  She looked down at him and wrapped both hands around the back of his head. After one more kiss, she pulled his head down against her full breasts, where he continued to peck downward at an agonizingly slow pace.

  Emily rocked her hips over his stiff erection and closed her eyes. The sensation of the denim ridge rubbing against her tender area made a moan escape from between her lips. It was soft, almost a whisper.

  Adam ran his hands up the back of her shirt and pulled her in close enough to bury his face in her cleavage. Soon after, he used one hand to jerk down her top. The side seams popped softly as he did so and let Emily's bare breasts caress each one of his cheeks. Her small, pointed nipples quickly found their way into Adam's mouth, where he tickled and teased them with his tongue.

  With a powerful thrust of her hips, Emily threw her head back and groaned, "Oh god!"

  Her lover's teeth sank down into her aching pebbles just enough to make her cry out for him again.

  "Please," she begged and forced his hand between her thighs. "I need to feel you."

  He let go of her nipple with a wet pop.

  "I will give you anything." His hand crept up between her thighs and pushed aside the fabric of her panties, "Anything you want."

  The steady tip of his finger ran through the outermost part of her folds, but it didn't last long. In a matter of seconds, Adam pushed his way inside of her and quickly began to slip in and out.

  Between his prodding digits and the hint of drunkenness that had taken hold of her, Emily felt the world around them start to go foggy. There was nothing else then; nothing but the two of them locked in their passionate embrace.

  Adam pushed deeper, using two fingers to open her up and massage back and forth. When he moved up far enough, he made contact with Emily's swollen, aching nub. He used his thumb to rock back and forth over it, prompting the moaning young woman to dig her nails into the back of his head and push her slit onto his hand even harder.

  Down between Emily's legs, she felt two of her partner's fingers come together and slip into her tense channel in one swift movement. Instinctively, her knees moved apart and she sank down, burying him down to his knuckles.

  When she finally looked down and opened her eyes, the sight that greeted her was almost too much to handle. Though it was dark, she could easily make out his lip, which was clenched between his teeth. Further down, her vision became glued to where his light fingers had begun to pound in and out with loud, wet slaps.

  "Emily," he whispered.

  She rocked her hips once more and answered through gritted teeth, "Yeah?"

  "I want to watch you come. Will you do that for me?"

  His thumb, which had been resting lazily for some time, moved back up over her aching spot and circled it firmly.

  "Anything," she echoed his words from earlier with a breathy sigh, "anything you want."

  Adam pressed his thumb down onto her nub and jerked it back and forth, his other two fingers never leaving the inside of her. It was obvious that she was getting close. The pulsing quivers spread out through her folds started to increase with the volume of her moans. The muscles in her lower back tightened and she sat up straight.

  "I'm, I'm…"

  With one last swipe of the thumb, Emily erupted in a deluge of wails and screams. Her delicate body, though pinned by Adam's hand, bucked wildly against it, forcing every last wave of pleasure to take her over completely. The rippling waves of release, though familiar, had an intensity that she never knew was possible. Her spine shook violently while the frantic beating of her heart pounded inside of her skull.

  In the moment, the sound of the last few fireworks was like a distant dream. The dirt below and the trees above seemed like ghosts of
a world not meant for them. There was so much more there; so much that couldn't be defined in earthly terms.

  As her whimpers of pleasure began to fade out, Adam gingerly slipped his hand away and let her sink down onto his lap in a winded heap. Her heavy breaths, punctuated by the outward swell of her breasts, made her rise and fall over him.

  He brushed a pile of her hair out of his face.

  "Can we stay here for a while?"

  Her faint voice caught him off guard.

  "Of course we can." He ran his fingers across her hot scalp and repeated himself in a whisper, "Of course we can."

  Chapter 7

  In the weeks that followed Emily and Adam's spontaneous rendezvous, the pair spent more and more time together, though their growing bond still wasn't enough for them to take things further than they had gone at the Fourth of July party.

  Adam, though his degree of concern for Emily bordered on outright love, was torn. He knew that the little bubble that they had created couldn't last forever. There were contracts to fulfill, critics and customers to appease. And, on top of all that, there was the knowledge that he shouldn't go back to New York.

  Not if his father was still there looking for him. That, he was certain, was something he wasn't quite ready to explain.

  He spent many of those July nights staring up at the exposed beams that ran over his bed, wondering what was going to happen once the dust had settled. Would their steamy fling end up being nothing more than just that: a fling? What if they never even spoke again?

  Sometimes, Adam felt guilty for going to Virginia and meeting Emily when her entire world was crumbling. He wondered what all of it was doing to her and how she felt. Was he just making it harder for her to move on with her life?

  It was an idea that haunted him.

  Emily, on the other hand, came from a place of pure fear. With both her parents dead, it felt like her heart was out there for anyone to smash into little pieces again. Who could she trust? What other surprises did life hold?

  Am I doing the right thing?

  She sank down into the fluffy comforter that rested over her parents' bed.

  It was the first time since the accident that Emily had even set foot in the spacious bedroom. The sheer curtains lining the long windows were pulled shut but still allowed the early morning sun's golden rays to pour through and collect in a puddle on the dusty carpet. Some of that same dust-a lot of it, really-swirled through the air with every deep breath that escaped her lips.