Broken Pieces (Broken Series) Read online

  “Calm down, Kara. It’s just a few friends at a coffee shop. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to. I just wanted to invite you,” she says, sincerely.

  I know she’s being honest and I don’t have to go. However, when I went to the club and when I made the decision to go with Drew the other night, I decided that this year is going to be different. It is my last year and I’m going to have fun.

  I give her my best smile and say, “No, it’s fine. I want to go.”

  “Okay,” she says, way too cheery.

  She starts in about my hair, and asks me what shoes I plan on wearing. She also informs me that the accessories make the outfit. In my twenty-one years of living, I guess someone failed to mention that to me. By the time she was done, after the matching navy wedges and from the way she straightened and styled my hair, I was a couple inches taller. She loaned me a necklace and earrings, but I drew the line on the make-up. I told her it was a waste time because I was just going to come home and take it right back off. We decided to do half-and-half. I reapplied eye liner, she added eye shadow, and I already had mascara on. Finally, I was ready to go. I didn’t understand the point, but I let her have her fun.

  I make sure to grab my phone before we leave. I’m secretly hoping that he gets off work soon so I can at least talk to him a little tonight. I don’t have class tomorrow, but I do have to go to work at one. Drew’s supposed to work from eight to five … except tonight, of course. I guess this is my new weird schedule I’ll have to get used to. I have a feeling I will grow very fond of weekends.

  We get in Laurens car, even though I told her it was only two blocks away. She said, “Yeah, and by the time we walked there, you woulda’ taken those shoes off.” Okay, I had to give her that. These shoes are not comfy, but they sure are cute. There is a lot of cars here for a Monday night, but I shake it off and follow Lauren inside.

  That’s when I remember that Monday night is band night at the coffee shop, and that means I will for sure get to see the only friend I have had for the past three years. When I worked here, he was like my rock; he always lifted my spirits. I haven’t talked to him since he got back from his home in Kansas. He said his father begged him to come and work the farm for the summer. Kace didn’t look like he came from a farm. He didn’t even look like he belonged on one with his black shaggy hair, tattoos, and rocker attire. He plays in a local band that has played at the coffee shop sometimes, and are really good.

  I looked around, but didn’t see him. I did see a couple of the guys he played in the band with so I had hoped he’d be here. I follow Lauren to where her friends are sitting in the front row at one of the bistro tables that align perfectly to accommodate the stage. I recognize a few of the girls from a couple of classes I had last semester and over the summer. One was a blonde, whom looks like she wants to be like Lauren so bad she can’t help it, and the other is red-head, who was too interested in her boyfriend to care about much of anything. They all seem nice, and introduced themselves. I sit and order my usual from the waitress. She had just started when I put my two week notice in so I didn’t get to know her very well, but I’m glad to see that it’s working out for her.

  I sit back and take a look around the place. It still looks the same. I know it has only been a couple weeks since I’ve been in here, but that feels like forever when I was used to being here every day for almost three years. It still had the same smell. It’s the “I could get high off coffee by walking in here” smell. Trust me, sometimes I thought I did. I loved working here, but it was defiantly time to move on.

  When I turn my head back around, I’m facing the door and see a hot guy walk in, carrying a guitar. He has his head down so I can’t tell if I know him or not. He sort of looks familiar. His jet black hair is spiked up in only a way that he could pull off. His red flannel shirt is undone with an old Led Zeppelin shirt under it, and he has on black skinny rocker-type jeans. I would have to say that he looks good. When my eyes travel back up, I noticed he’s staring at me. Then it hits me … Oh, my gosh! I was just checking Kace out! Holy shit! He has a few more piercings on his face, or maybe I never noticed them before because his hair used to cover them. His gauged ears and lip ring look good on him, though. I also see a tattoo poking out of his sleeves and neckline.

  He walks up to me and says, “Kara, is that you?”

  I’m a little confused by the way he greets me, but then it dawns on me that it’s the way I am all fixed up and dressed. “Kace?” is all I’m able to say. I am in utter shock that this is him.

  He gives me a rock star smile. “Wow! I can’t believe it’s you; look at you!” he says, pushing his guitar to his back and opening his arms to me.

  I stand and embrace him for what seems like forever. I even think someone at the table I’m sitting at cleared their throat, but I did not care. I haven’t seen him in a long time. He was bummed when I told him I would not be working with him anymore. He made me promise to still talk to him when I was all rich and I laughed. We had a good friendship and I missed him.

  We finally break apart, but he keeps a hand on my back while I introduce him to everyone at the table. The way Lauren acted when I introduced her, well … everybody knows she has a crush on Kace now. I can’t blame her one bit; he is something to look at. He pulls up a chair and we talk about what’s been going on in each other’s lives. All too soon, it’s time for him to warm up with the band. He made me promise I would stay until he was done so we could catch up some more.

  So I watched the band get ready, and Kace keeps glancing in our direction. I wonder if he has a thing for Lauren, too. I laugh to myself. The only two friends I have here possibly dating. I really don’t hear the conversation at the table, as I sit and drink my frozen caramel latte. Mmm, how I have missed it. I make a mental note to come back here more often.

  Then I realize that I haven’t checked my phone for a few hours. Crap, I hope Drew doesn’t think I am ignoring him. I quickly sat my latte down and reach for my phone, and I don’t have a problem finding it because it is lighting up from an incoming call. I hastily grab it and answer.

  “Hello,” I say, sounding out of breath.

  “What are you doing?” I can tell it’s Drew from that husky voice, but he sounds … I don’t know … irritated?

  “Um, I’m at the coffee shop with some friends.” I didn’t know how to answer when being asked like that.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie. You had me worried. I ended up getting off work ten minutes after you texted me.” He sounded relieved for some reason. Was he really worried about me?

  “I didn’t mean to worry you. I thought that since you were working late and Lauren asked me to come …,” I say. I don’t know why I feel the need to explain myself.

  “No, it’s fine. Don’t worry ‘bout it. So what coffee shop are you at? The one you used to work at?” he asked. He sounds a little distracted, and I hear some road noise.

  “Yes … and are you talking on the phone and driving?” I say, curious as to why he would do something dangerous while he is worried about my safety.

  “Um … yeah, I was kind of coming by your dorm to make sure you were okay.” He’s acting like he doesn’t know how I’m going to take it.

  “Oh, then you shouldn’t be far from the coffee shop. Come on over. We just got here.”

  It turns out he’s only a block away so we hang up and I not-so-patiently wait for him. When he finally walks through the door, it feels like if I haven’t seen him in years. I just want to run and jump into his arms, but I remind myself that we are in front of a bunch of people. He looks really amazing, but he doesn’t look like the Drew that I met at the club that night. The “bad boy” is gone. He’s in black dress pants with a blue, long sleeve button-up dress shirt. I can’t see any of his tattoos, but his muscles show through the shirt. He looks good enough to eat. Drew can pull bad boy and business man off really well.

  I stand up to pull another chair closer to me, when he grabs my waist and pulls m
e into a hug. It seems like it means a lot more, but I gladly wrap my arms around his neck and enjoy his embrace.

  When he pulls away, he just stares down at me and we have our silent moment together. There is an unspoken truth and reassurance that everything is okay. Finally, we detach from each other, and I introduce him to everyone at the table.

  “Guys this is my … friend, Drew,” I stutter, not knowing how to introduce him to other people. We have only just met so I thought “friend” would work. But, by the looks I’m getting from Drew, that wasn’t a good idea.

  So I drop my head and pick up my latte again. Thankfully, the band introduced themselves and started playing their first song. It was a song I had heard many times and was an all-time favorite of mine. Out of habit, I start humming to the music. I catch a glimpse from Drew, but he says nothing so I start to sing along with the band.

  When the song ends, Drew leans in and says, “I take it you like them?”

  I turn and smile. “Very much.” He gives me his heart-stopping smile.

  Drew puts his arm on the chair behind me and the moment is perfect. I’m sitting at the table with Lauren, whom I have grown very fond of; my only other best friend is up on stage doing what he does best and rocking it; and Drew’s sitting beside me. After all these years, I feel like my life means something, like it actually makes sense for once. Maybe I’m where I belong; this feels like home.

  “Our next song goes out to a special young lady that’s here tonight, and our very own Kace wrote it. We hope y’all enjoy!” the lead singer pronounces into the microphone.

  Kace must have met someone and didn’t tell me. Oh, I will get him for that later. He could have at least texted me during the summer. I look around, trying to find a girl that I think he could’ve written the song for, but no one catches my attention.

  They begin to play and it sounds familiar, but I can’t put a finger on it. Then the lead singer starts to sing, and I freeze. I didn’t think he would turn that into a song. One day, when it was slow at work, we were messing around and popping off random lyrics back and forth. He said that he thought it would make a good song and later, after work, before I went back to the dorms, he got his guitar out of his car and played me a little bit … exactly what he is playing now.

  A part of me is happy he actually followed through with it and made it a song, but he dedicated it to a girl he’s dating now which kind of makes me sad.

  Sometimes your first scars won’t ever fade away,

  But sometimes the past is just the past.

  Move on, move on, baby.

  You’re better than that.

  The song is bad ass. We are definitely going to have to make more. They start playing another one that I like. Actually, I’m not sure they have one that I don’t like. Then they say they’re taking a break, and will be back in ten.

  By this time, I have finished my latte and really need to use the bathroom so I let Drew know that I’m going use the ladies room. Of course, according to Lauren’s rules, I can’t go alone so she gets up to tag along. I stop at the trash can to throw my cup away, but Lauren just keeps treading.

  “Hey,” someone says directly behind me, scaring me, making me jump and throw my hand over my heart. It is just Kace, though.

  “Oh, Kace, you scared the shit out of me!” I say, trying to slow my heart down.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” he replies, putting a hand on my arm.

  I just laugh it off. “Oh, I’m fine. You sounded great up there!”

  “Oh, yeah? Did you like the song?” he asked, sounding optimistic.

  “I like all your songs!” I say, but I know which one he is talking about. I just want to know about the special someone.

  “You know what song I’m talking about, Kara.”

  “I loved it, Kace. I can’t believe we practically wrote that song while joking around in here over a year ago. Gosh,” I say, shaking my head. I can’t believe that it was that long ago; look at us now.

  “Yeah,” he says and looks down at the floor, shuffling his feet nervously. This isn’t like him; something is different.

  “I’m sorry, but I really have to pee, Kace,” I say, laughing.

  He’s laughing now, too. “You had a latte, didn’t you?”

  “How did you know?” I raise my eyebrow, giving him a playful look.

  He suddenly pulls me toward him and says into my hair, “I’ve missed you, Kara.”

  When he pulls away, I just smile and nod because I really have missed him, too. His stance changes and he has a hard look on his face. I turn to see what he is looking at and I find Drew standing behind me. I look back at Kace to introduce them. I finally catch what is going on. They are sizing each other up. Oh no, they have to get along!

  “Hey, Drew, this is Kace. I used to work with him here and somehow, while we made thousands of cups of coffee, we became pretty good friends.”

  I can see that Drew’s manners gets the best of him, and he sticks his hand. Kace looks more hesitant to shake, but eventually does.

  “Kace, this is Drew, my new …”

  Before I can finish, Drew says, with a sly smile, “Boyfriend.”

  Did Drew just say he was my boyfriend? I thought he looked a little upset about the “friend” comment earlier, but we have only been talking for less than a week. I will admit that it is different between us now. We have probably had more conversations than the normal couple does in a year, but we have not talked about this.

  I look back up at Kace and, for once, I can’t read his face. I’m not sure if it is anger, hurt, or a mixture of the two. I hope he doesn’t think we can’t be friends now because I have a boyfriend … that I didn’t even know about.

  Kace says, “I have to get back to the band. I will see you later, Kara.” Why does he sounds so sad?

  I just stand there, confused as to why he is acting that way. I turn to see Drew staring me down, while giving me a look that I can’t quite read. It’s a mixture of satisfaction and smugness, and I don’t understand it. I turn to Drew, “I still have to use to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” I don’t wait for a response.

  I silently hope that Lauren has already gone back to the table so I can have a minute of peace to sort through things in my head. When I push the door to the ladies restroom open, at least someone is on my side. She must have gone back to the table without me seeing. I duck into one of the stalls and do my business. After I wash my hands, I stand there and try to figure out what was up with the way Kace seemed defeated when he walked off, and Drew’s smug look he had when Kace walked away. I don’t know what I will do if Kace doesn’t like Drew. I have a soft spot for Kace. He’s been through a lot growing up and when he is sad, I am sad. That has been our relationship for the past three years. We feel what each other is feeling, and make each other feel better.

  I don’t know how long I have been in here so I take a deep breath and walk out. When I make it back to the table, Drew is talking to one of the guys and Lauren is giving me a look that says we will talk later. I just nod. Before I sit down, I tell them I will be right back and don’t wait for their response. I walk towards the stage.

  “Hey, are you okay?” I say to Kace. I’m worried about him.

  “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Congrats on the boyfriend, by the way,” he says, but adds the last part with a little sarcasm.

  I stand there a minute, confused, trying to decipher his words. He is looking down, messing with his guitar. “Do you not like Drew?”

  That makes him look up. “Sure, he’s great,” he replies, blandly.

  However, the look on his face doesn’t convey his words. I have never seen Kace react this way about anything. It’s time for him to go back on stage so I will have to have a talk with him later. As I turn to head back to our table, I find Drew glaring at Kace. I wonder if I am missing something, but blow it off and take a seat.

  The rest of the night went off without a hitch, except Kace made sure that he was not aroun
d me the rest of the night. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but I will get to the bottom of it. Drew was especially quiet tonight, too. Since he’s taking me back to the dorm, I will get my chance to see what is wrong.

  On the short walk to him car, Drew’s quiet. We get in and leave, but he doesn’t make the turn to the college. I’m confused. “You missed the turn.”

  He doesn’t look my way or say a word, just nods. So I sit silently, waiting to see where we’re going. He pulls into an abandoned warehouse that looks pretty creepy. It has a few broken windows on the bottom floor, and some of the tin is covered in years of rust. I know I do not know my way around the city very well, but I do know that this is not a good part of town, that is for sure. I can see graffiti on a few buildings, and I check my door … locked.

  He must have seen my reaction. “You are safe with me.”

  I just nod and he gets out of the car. I take a deep breath and grab my purse, just as he opens my door. We walk to the front of the abandoned warehouse, where there is a door without a lock on it. I am mentally kicking myself for putting myself in these situations that I know are not safe, but then I think about it. I actually do feel safe with him.

  I step into a musky smelling room that has double heighted ceilings. It is dark, but the streetlight is shining through the broken windows so I can make out what looks like a boxing ring. I see punching bags and mats scattered everywhere. This must be the center where he contributes his spare time. It’s sweet that he’s showing me, but in the middle of the night?

  He’s a few steps ahead of me, looking at me. “You coming?” he asks, skeptical.

  I follow him through the big room to a metal staircase that leads up to a door with enough locks on it for the whole building. He takes keys out of his pocket, and starts attacking the locks. It takes him no time for him to unlock them all. He holds the door open and motions me to go in. When I step into the room, the space takes me by surprise. It is the total opposite of downstairs. Even though the floor plan is the same, this is an apartment. There are a few walls here and there, but I can see all the way through to the back of the space. One whole side is a brick wall with open duct work. On the other side is a kitchen that runs along another wall with an island in front. It’s quite big, and has the clean, comfortable feeling of being lived in.