Page 39 of Broken

Vaguely I remember her telling me about it a week or so ago.

“Yeah, sounds good,” I say with a smile.

“It’s close to your apartment. And the guys from Blackhawk will be there. Feels like it’s been ages since we saw them.”

My back stiffens at the mention of the tattoo shop. Someone might as well have pushed a cardboard cutout of Garrett’s face right in front of me the way the memories come rushing back. Ruby carries on as if I’m not having yet another flashback right in front of her.

This has got to stop. Putting my life on hold and avoiding people I care about, on the off chance I’ll run into him, is stupid. I swore I’d never let anyone, especially a man, influence me again. We had a… moment, so what? It means nothing. We can go back to ignoring one another.

Easy.

When I pull the bike to a stop at my apartment building after I leave the coffee shop, Sin is sitting on the low wall outside. I give her a rueful smile as I guide the bike up the path. The only saving grace, she has two huge takeout cups. I can already smell the hot chocolate.

“Why aren’t you in work?” I ask, unclipping the strap under my chin and removing the helmet. Ever since the accident with Garrett, I wear one.

And there I go thinking of Garrett again.

“Took the afternoon off,” she says. Something wrong withing spend more time with my best friend?” She side-eyes me.

“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter under my breath.

I store the bike in the small entryway. There is a place on the ground floor for bikes, but this was a big layout money wise, I don’t want to risk it.

I change my top before coming back into the living room. Sin hands me a cup and sits down, patting the seat beside her before I can move to the chair. It’s serious if she wants me right next to her.

“What’s going on?”

No preamble or pleasantries then. I twist my lips and stare down at the cup.

“Is this about Jared?”

“No,” I shake my head. “I don’t think about that asshole anymore.”

“Your mom?” she asks gently.

I heave out a long breath. Jared might be far from my mind but I do think of mom.

I’ve thought a lot about why I threw myself at Garrett. Maybe it has something to do with what those closest to me did. I’m settled here now and as infuriating as I find Garrett, I am attracted to him.

“She’s messaged me twice.”

What? “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Sin shrugs. “She doesn’t deserve to know where you are. The one time I answered, I told her to leave you alone. Then I blocked her.”

My stomach twists and I close my eyes. The warmth of Sin’s hand on my arm grounds me and gives me the strength to open my eyes again.

“Taking his side is something she should never be forgiven for,” Sin says.

Needlessly really. My mom is no longer part of my life.

“Thanks for dealing with that,” I say.

“Hey, you know I’m here for you,” she takes my empty hand and gives it a squeeze. “So, what’s going on? You’ve been great for the last couple of months, settling in. I’m worried.”

“Don’t worry,” I say, trying to find the right words. “It’s more embarrassing than anything.”

“What do you mean?”

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