Page 45 of The Fractured

“With the fight?” I hummed nervously and pulled a pillow into my lap. “Not great… It’s not like I’m doubting Dean’s ability. I know he can handle it.”

“Just look at what he did to Aiden,” Kira added, lifting her wine glass as if toasting the beating Aiden received that day.

“Right? Handled…” I played with the corner of the pillow.

“It’s the investigation, isn’t it? All the undercover stuff?”

My eyes shot to her. “How do you know about that?”

“Seb told me everything on our bubble tea date,” she winced. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.” I inhaled sharply. “Actually, it’s easier now that you know. I have someone else to vent to in case it all goes sideways.”

“I’m always here for when shit goes sideways.” She grasped my hand. “You know that, right? You can vent to me.”

“I appreciate you so much for it.”

Chapter 15

Lily

I stared at the call button on the office phone, waiting for the number I dialed, the one that would connect me to that psychologist, to ring on its own. I wished it would. That way, I wouldn’t have the choice to avoid pressing that button altogether.

The pros of speaking to a professional were that I was getting help, dealing with my trauma healthily.

Cons? Rehashing everything and potentially opening up to more pain before I could work towards feeling normal.

I was chewing at my bottom lip — it was slightly chapped from the cold outside — until I tore at a piece of skin that wasn’t as dry.

“Shit,” I muttered. It stung like a papercut and pulled me from my thoughts as I instantly brought a finger to it, checking for blood. A tiny red dot marked my fingertip.

As I grabbed a tissue, ignoring the side-long glance from Candice at her computer, Mom stepped into the foyer. Ready for her solo house inspection with her keys in hand and a foldertucked under her arm. She wore a dark blue pantsuit. Ever the professional.

“That can become a nasty habit.” She barely glanced at me as she made a quick detour behind the desk, checking her mailbox for anything important. “Also, you know that open house next Wednesday? I want you to attend. It’s time you start learning how to conduct an open house.” She paused her search and looked over her shoulder at me. “Unless you hadotherplans.”

Other plans,as in anything with Dean. I had moved on from believing she would ever change her point of view on him.

I smiled, but not as widely when it caused the cut on my lip to burn beneath the tissue I still held against it. “I’ll be there.”

Acne cream was blotted across my chin, my hair was in a loose bun, there was a warm wheat bag held to my stomach, and I was in my softest pajamas. It was one of the few times I loathed being a woman as my ovaries went to war with my body.

Kira was to my left as we sat on our pastel blue couch, watching as the host of a cooking show introduced what he deemed the best homemade candy to add to the kids' Halloween baskets this year. All I wanted was for that candy to be at my disposal. Preferably served with chocolate.

For a moment, my eyes slid to Kira as she refreshed her text notifications for the umpteenth time, waiting for that all-important text from Seb. One I doubted would come anytime soon as midnight drew closer. Kira would have to wait until Thursday, after her meeting, to talk to him.

Just like I would have to wait until tomorrow morning to talk to Dean.

So much for not waiting on a man…

Mine had been called in for a job. The kind I hated but knew he didn’t have much of a choice with. All I knew was that it involved collecting money and bringing it back to Antonio. All while inconspicuously strapped with a police recording device.

I wasn’t fully paying attention to the TV. More staring than anything before a text came through on my phone. My speed of tapping the notification was immediate. Despite knowing a text from Dean during one of these jobs was unlikely, I still half expected his name to be on the screen. Instead, it was a text from my sister, Jane, wondering if I could come to her soccer game this Saturday.

Me: Yeah, of course. Just don’t expect me to have any clue of what’s going on lol

Jane: It’s more that I need your opinion on something.

Me: Why not ask me now for my opinion?