Heartbreaker by Anna Brooks

Author:Anna Brooks [Brooks, Anna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: A Bulletproof Butterfly Novella
Publisher: Brooks
Published: 2018-02-20T05:00:00+00:00

I wake up slowly, his fingers gently gliding over my skin. I have no clue how long I’ve been sleeping, but it’s still pitch black, so it couldn’t have been long. His lips tilt up into a gentle smile, and I decide it’s now or never.

Because I know I’m confusing him, I give him the truth. He should understand why things are the way they are. I want him to understand. He needs to know I’m not playing games; that this is my life and my daughter’s life. It’s our future and not something I’m willing to risk.

“He died, Ryan,” I whisper to him. His chest is to my back, and his arms hold me tight in his bed.

“Who?”

“Josh, Olivia’s father.” We lie together, and I pour my heart and soul out to him, so he gets it.

I hear him suck in a breath, and his arms, already tight, hug me impossibly tighter. “Fuck, baby. I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” He wouldn’t. Nobody talks about it anymore, and I want it that way. I don’t want Olivia overhearing something and trying to process things she can’t fully understand yet. She knows her daddy loved her, and she knows he’s in heaven. That’s enough for now. She doesn’t need to hear any of the gruesome details.

“I was, um, I was in labor in the hospital, waiting for him to show up. God… so much pain. I just remember the pain and how I thought I would pass out from it. I couldn’t get an epidural because Olivia arrived so fast. Josh tried to come faster, but he got in an accident on the way and died.”

He slowly opens and closes his eyes, then wipes my tears away with his thumb.

“He never got to meet her and—” I choke on a cry, words failing to come out, refusing to form. He lets me use his strength, soothing me with encouraging promises and gentle kisses. I pull him over the top of me and beg him to make it go away. Plead with him to just give me a night… just one more when I don’t have to remember.

“Opal, you’re hurting, baby doll, and I don’t want you to regret anything more that happens.”

“I won’t,” I promise. “Please, Ryan. You’re the only one who can take it all away.” He’s the only one who makes it all disappear.

“Baby…”

I grab his face. “One more time. Just once more, Ryan. Please.”

He kisses my lips and then rests his forehead on mine. I see the moment he decides to give me what I need, what we both need. It’s sweet, and it’s wild. It’s soft, and it’s hard. It’s all the things I ever wanted, and it’s everything I didn’t know I needed.

But the next morning, while he’s still asleep, I let him go for good.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.