Broken, page 8
“What’s wrong?” She let out a short laugh as she swiped angrily at the teardrops on her face. “What’s wrong is this guy hurt me in...in the worst way, and here my brother wants us to play nice like it never happened. Like he never hurt us, because he hurt you, too.”
“And we hurt him.”
This time Katrina’s laugh was bitter. “And exactly how the hell did we do that?”
“We didn’t look for him. Not after you’d asked us to stop, after you’d given up. After you’d said you couldn’t take the hurt anymore. We never went back, revisited the notion that maybe he was out there, maybe he needed to be found. And with social media the way it is, we could have found him. Easily.”
“The way he found Emily?”
“The way that Emily found him.”
“But she said, in that post—”
“Emily found him. Trust me. Now come here.” He pulled her into a warm embrace, one that she welcomed as she let her tears fall. “We’ll get through this together, okay? Together.”
Katrina sniffled and held her brother a little tighter. “Together.”
CHAPTER 13
The last person Katrina expected to see as she walked up to the hospital entrance was Timothy, who waited for her, his arms crossed. She squared her shoulders and held her head high. She had every right to be there, despite Timothy’s claims that she shouldn’t be.
“When you weren’t at work again, I figured I’d find you here,” he said as she neared.
“Yes, well, I’m visiting a friend.”
“The same friend you were mourning when I first met you.”
It was Katrina’s turn to cross her arms. She had no reply; Timothy was right. She had been in mourning of a love lost for years, unable to date another man. But Timothy had been patient, and safe.
Still, he didn’t know everything.
Just as Katrina was questioning whether she did.
“Let’s go grab some breakfast,” Timothy suggested, but Katrina shook her head.
“I’ve already eaten.”
“Why are you here?”
She sighed in frustration. “I’m here to see Ren. Justin can’t be here and neither can Martin.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t need a babysitter.”
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Look...” Katrina sighed again and pushed her hair back out of her face. “Right now, this is where I need to be. And I need you to respect that.”
“I need you to respect that no girlfriend of mine would be spending this much time with her ex.”
“It’s complicated, okay?”
“Well, uncomplicate it. Spend the day with me.”
“I can’t.”
“You can’t, or you don’t want to?”
“Please don’t do this here,” she said, her voice lower, hoping that he would get the hint. “I will call you later.”
“Like you were going to last night?”
“I was tired, Timothy. Please understand, I need to be here.”
He huffed past her, muttering something unintelligible beneath his breath. She turned towards him, brows furrowed.
“What did you just say?”
“I said he can have you,” he bit back, leaving Katrina stunned.
Timothy was breaking up with her.
Timothy, who had been her rock, or at the very least someone to lean on.
Timothy, who suddenly had a jealous streak over something as simple as Katrina sitting in the hospital with an old friend.
But she knew she was lying to herself.
Lorenzo was more than an old friend.
And his pull had her turning from Timothy and walking through the hospital doors.
His pull took her straight to his room, her pulse increasing as she neared.
His pull had her stomach dipping as his eyes met hers and softened.
And she damned her heart, telling it all she needed was answers.
***
Katrina and Justin had secured their invitation to the Torrence’s New Year’s Bash through Lorenzo, who somehow had managed to override Emily’s objections. Emily was still angry that Katrina and Lorenzo were dating, something she’d forbade her once-best friend to do.
But Katrina couldn’t help herself.
She’d been under his spell from day one.
“This,” Justin said as he stepped between Katrina and Lorenzo, putting an arm around each of them, “is going to be our best year yet. It’s the year we become seniors.”
“Not until fall,” Katrina reminded him.
“It’s the year we finally rule the school. The year we are one step closer to getting the hell out of here.”
Katrina noticed the tic in Lorenzo’s jaw at the mention of leaving.
He had nowhere to go, no family to truly call his own.
What would happen to him?
Katrina had no recollection of ever seeing the other foster children who had come and gone after they’d left school.
“So...think we can get away with spiking the drinks around here tonight?” Justin smirked as he looked back and forth between them.
“I hope you’re not expecting me to kiss you at midnight,” Lorenzo said as he pulled out from Justin’s arm, an easy smile on his face.
Katrina could see through it, though.
She knew he was thinking about it, too.
“I’ve got prospects lined up.” Justin straightened as he stepped forward, then turned to them and smiled. “Later.”
“Later,” Katrina called after him with a laugh, one that didn’t quite reach her heart.
They still had over a year before they had to worry about separation, when one’s parents would send them to college, and the other, with no parents of his own, would be left to find his way.
“Let’s think of happier things,” she suggested as she stepped up to Lorenzo, whose own attention was averted. Katrina followed his line of vision and saw Mrs. Torrence in the corner, looking out at the partygoers.
Her eyes on Lorenzo.
“Everything okay?” Katrina asked, taking his hand in hers.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah...yeah.” He squeezed her hand as he squeezed his own eyes shut, then he looked down at her, one corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. “Let’s get out of here.”
That smile wasn’t reaching his eyes. “Ren, what is it?”
With his free hand, he brushed her hair back behind her ear. “I just want time with my girl without all the chaos.”
She wanted to question the faraway look in his eyes.
Instead, drawn in under his spell, she peered up at him through her lashes. “Yes,” she said.
She would always say yes to him.
***
Katrina lifted her chin as she peered over at Lorenzo. His bruises, still prominent, were already beginning to heal. The stitches above his left eye would leave a scar, but that would only add to his allure, his appeal.
Damn this man for drawing her in.
Always.
“I hear my brother suggested us working together,” she finally said, her first words to him since she’d arrived.
He let out one short laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, he did. Crazy, huh?”
She scowled, though unsure why his words had bothered her. “Why crazy?”
“Could we work together, Trina?”
The way her name fell from his lips passed a chill through her body.
“What makes you think we couldn’t?”
Lorenzo was silent for a moment, his eyes locked with hers. “I didn’t say we couldn’t. I asked if we could. There’s a difference.”
“It didn’t sound that way.”
“I apologize.”
Katrina swallowed over her question, wishing she could scream at him, ask him which of the wrongs he was apologizing for.
Instead, she nodded, her eyes dropping to her hands which were folded in her lap.
“Is that why you came today?”
His voice cut through her, made her heart constrict in her chest.
“Not entirely,” she admitted.
“Then why?”
“I told you I would be here.”
“Trina...”
“You don’t like hospitals. You don’t like being left alone in them. I feel bad enough when visiting hours are over and I have to leave, and—”
“Thank you.”
His hand was covering hers.
Oh, how his touch burned.
***
“Well look at us, being all stealthy.” Katrina smiled at Lorenzo, who was leading the way down an unlit path towards the stables.
“We have to be.”
“What, are you chained to the house?”
“Fuck, I hope not.”
“Ren...” She stopped and grasped his hand, causing him to falter slightly in the shallow snow. “What is going on?”
He stepped up to her, cupping her face in his hands before he left a feather-soft kiss on her lips. “I just want to be with my girl.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. Here...” She reached up and smoothed her thumb over the crease between his eyebrows. “Something is wrong.”
Lorenzo was silent, his eyes sad as he looked down at her.
“They’re not sending you away, are they?”
He shook his head slightly.
“Ren, how bad is it there? I mean, I know Emily is obviously a pain.”
He looked away, back at the trail, then back into Katrina’s eyes. “You’re the reason I stay, Trina.”
She gasped at his admission.
“Please, I just...I just want to spend time with you. Without prying eyes or feeling like my every move is being scrutinized.”
“By whom?”
“By...” His voice trailed off. “It doesn’t matter, Trina. It doesn’t matter because I have you.” He rested his forehead against hers, his breath showing in the cold. “Please tell me I have you.”
***
“Why were you on Willow Creek Road, Ren?”
He removed his hand, his eyes closing.
“You said that you couldn’t talk about it yesterday. If you really want to work together, I need answers.”
His breathing shallowed and he swallowed slowly. “It’s...complicated.”
“Uncomplicate it.” Was it irony that she was using Timothy’s words? “Uncomplicate everything and just tell me why the hell you left me in the first place.”
His eyes met her, the sadness there tearing at her heart.
“I had to, Trina. I had to.”
CHAPTER 14
“Explain.” Katrina’s heart pounded uncomfortably in her chest as she waited.
“I just had to, Trina.”
“After what we’d...” Her voice trailed off. He wouldn’t even look at her, but she didn’t miss how hard he swallowed.
She knew he was aware of what she was speaking of.
“Trina, please.”
Her resolve remained. “No. No, I’m not going to drop it. You said you had to leave. Was it something I did? Was...” She swallowed over the lump, tried to stop the tears that sprung to her eyes. “Was it me?”
“God, no.”
He breathed the words, his voice falling around her. Was that relief that washed over her? She couldn’t tell. But she couldn’t stop the tears from falling at his words, couldn’t help that her shoulders relaxed just a little.
“Did they make you leave?” she finally asked.
Lorenzo’s eyes slid shut as he slowly nodded. Pain was etched in his features, a pain that Katrina knew and felt all too well.
“Why?”
“I can’t, Trina. Please not now.”
Please not now.
He would tell her; she would be sure of it. Still on a quest for answers, she continued.
“Fine, then why were you on Willow Creek Road? Why were you driving that way? They said that speed was a factor. You were always so careful.”
“Trina—”
“It wasn’t to find me.”
Again, he swallowed. “No.”
Her heart in a vice grip, thoughts racing through her brain, she could only come to one conclusion.
“Was it to see Emily?” Katrina thought of Emily’s cryptic message wondering how much they communicated, and why.
“No.”
She scowled at his short answer, even though somehow it comforted her. “Why, then?”
“For answers.”
Answers.
The same that she was looking for now.
“Answers to what?”
“I had to talk to Emmett. Can we stop with the third degree now, please?”
“Why did you suddenly have to speak to Mr. Torrence?”
“Trina, please.”
“After ten damn years, don’t tell me to drop it. Don’t tell me to be okay with it. Just tell me why. Did you get the answers to your questions?”
She faltered as she watched one lone tear escape and run down his cheek.
“I think so,” he finally said. “Yeah, I think so.”
“Then tell me. Please,” she added, her voice soft, pleading with him to give her some sort of closure.
Was it closure she was searching for?
“Please not here,” he replied, his eyes beseeching hers, finally holding her gaze even through his tears.
And hers.
“Fine.” She sniffled and sat up a little straighter. “Just tell me why you were driving like a jackass after all the times you gave me hell on that road.”
One corner of his mouth lifted in a sad smile. “I did, didn’t I?”
She huffed and brushed a tear away. “Yeah, you did. You said someone could get killed driving down the road that way. And you almost did. Was it some sort of death wish?”
His eyes darted to her lips for one brief moment, causing her face to flush as her pulse hammered away.
“Maybe.”
***
“Damn it, Trina, slow down.”
“I’m going the speed...okay, only five over. But that’s not enough to get us pulled over. No one bothers my dad when he does, anyway.”
“Yeah, and your dad could get killed on this road, too. Please, Trina.”
“Fine.” Her bottom lip stuck out in a pout as she slowed before taking the next curve, the one where the guardrail was missing after being hit one too many times. “I thought you liked me driving.”
“Sometimes.”
“Well, it’s a Sadie Hawkins dance, so I’m the one in control tonight.”
“Is that so?”
“And it’s our first official school date.”
“I heard all about Judith asking Justin.”
“Ugh. So did I. He won’t shut up about it.”
Lorenzo laughed softly. “He’ll see what he’s in for soon enough.”
“Why don’t you like Judith?”
“No, Judith doesn’t like me.”
Katrina thought for a moment, taking the next curve slow as well. “I’m not so sure that Judith likes anyone.”
“She’s not around as much anymore.”
“Yeah, well, Emily has decided that Justin and I are pariahs. Sorry to bring your social status down, by the way.”
His fingertip traced the line of her jaw. “I thought I was the one doing that to you.”
“Not a chance. And stop it; you know I can’t concentrate when you touch me.”
“Really?”
A soft smile touched her lips though she kept her eyes on the road. “Really.”
“I’ll have to remember that.”
***
His eyes were on her hands that were folded in her lap, fidgeting at times. “Trina, when I was asleep, did you...” His voice trailed off before his eyes met hers. “Did you hold my hand?”
She felt her face flush.
She wasn’t about to lie.
“Yes.”
“I think I remember that.”
She wanted to ask from when—when it was while he was sleeping, or if it had been from before.
The way it used to be.
When his touch would send her senses reeling the same way it had in that hospital room when she’d begged him not to die.
“What else do you remember?” she asked as she wracked her brain trying to recall everything that she’d said to him.
“I’m not sure.” His eyes began to droop. “I’m so sorry, they have me on so much pain medication, I’m just tired. So tired.”
Their tears were now gone as they looked at one another, her eyes questioning, his soft and drowsy.
“Sleep,” she said with a soft smile, not wanting to further tire him with her incessant questioning.
As sleep overcame him, she could almost hear his words, something about his hand, about holding it.
Again.
He’d said “again.”
She swallowed her pain back as he slept, and when she was certain he wouldn’t notice, she took his hand in hers once more.
***
“Why the hell did he go see Mr. Torrence?”
Katrina was at Justin and Judith’s home, the first place she went after leaving the hospital. “Fuck if I know,” she replied, thanking him as he offered her a slice of the pizza they’d ordered. “But it has something to do with why he left.”
“He hadn’t even graduated.”
“But he was 18,” Katrina pointed out.
“This shit doesn’t make sense.”
“Add in Emily’s crypto-gram and now I have more questions than answers.”
“I have something for you,” Judith spoke up from her perch on the couch, her phone directly in front of her face. “Prominent businessman Emmett Torrence was taken to a local hospital for an undisclosed medical emergency.” She pulled the phone down to find Katrina and Justin staring at her. “The same day of Cade’s accident.”
Katrina gasped.
“Fuck, do you think Lorenzo did something to him?” Justin asked.
Judith shrugged. “Could be.”
“No,” Katrina said, her tone firm. “There’s no way. Lorenzo wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“Um, did you not see his MMA shit in his office, Trina?” Justin asked. “Because I did.”
“I was a bit preoccupied. You know, lost love returning and damn near dying.”
“I’m just saying you should be more observant.”
“Children!” Judith snapped her fingers. “He’s still in the hospital, according to this article. You could always pay him a visit, from an old family friend.”
