Page 8 of Letters From a Broken Heart
“Taylor? What’s wrong?” Easton rubs the sleep from his eyes and scoots up in bed so his back is resting against the headboard. He tugs me into his arms and holds onto me.
“It was just a bad dream.” I try to brush off his concern, but he doesn’t allow that. Easton sees too much when he looks at me.
“A bad dream or a bad memory?” He murmurs in my ear, his fingers trailing up and down my back in a soothing motion.
“It’s kinda the same thing, isn't it?”
He knows what I'm talking about. I’ve told him about the dreams and how I wake up in a panic. When I realize what’s going on, it doesn’t make me feel better because Jack is still gone.
“I hated having to break the news to you. I feel like I ruined part of our relationship because of it. But your parents kept looking at me and I knew they weren’t going to do it. They couldn’t shatter your world.”
The pain and misery lacing his voice breaks my heart. No one wants to be the bearer of bad news, but Easton shouldn’t have been forced to do it. My parents should have.
“I'm not mad at you for doing it. I think it’s almost better that it came from you…”
“Why?”
“My parents didn’t like Jack very much,” I whisper as I place my hand over Easton’s heart and squeeze my eyes shut. I focus on the steady thump against my palm. I don’t know why, but it calms me so much.
Maybe because when he held me in the hospital, it was the only thing I could hear. The only thing keeping me grounded was hearing his heartbeat and knowing even though Jack was gone, I still had Easton.
“Really? Why?”
“They said I was constantly getting in trouble with him. I think the only reason I was allowed to hang out with the two of you is because my dad loves you and he swears you’re the reason we never got in more trouble.”
Easton’s quiet for a few minutes and I wonder what’s going through his head. Right as I'm about to give in and ask him, he starts talking.
“Your dad isn't wrong. My mom forced me to hang out with Jack when we were younger because she knew he’d get into trouble. As we grew up, I kept hanging out because you and Jack were mybest friends and I didn’t want to miss anything. I kept the two of you from getting in trouble, but you guys taught me to live.”
“What are you going to do now that you’re alone in that house?” I peek up at him.
Easton’s hair is getting a little long. The black strands are sticking up in every direction, making him look more like the boy I grew up next to and less like the confident businessman he grew into. More often than not, these strands are gelled back and they’re all perfectly in place.
His blue and green eyes are locked on mine as I run my fingers through his hair and grin. He normally swats my hand away if I try to touch it, but today he’s letting me. I love feeling the silky strands move through my fingers.
Him and Jack have so many of the same features, but it’s the way they carried themselves that was incredibly different. Jack was laidback. He didn’t care if his hair was a mess or if he didn’t look completely polished. Easton cares. He’s always been perfectly put together and ready to impress. Now, there’s a thick layer of stubble on his angular jaw, making him look more like Jack than normal. But it’s the way he watches me… It’s so different than how Jack ever looked at me.
Easton is transfixed as I move my hands through his hair, down his neck, and over his broad shoulders. I let my fingers trail down until my palm is over his heart again. I don’t know why I need thereminder that he’s still with me. I feel like I’ve lost everything over the last four months, but I still have Easton.
“I don’t know,” his voice comes out gritty and raspy. It’s like he’s not sure if he should be talking at all.
“Are you going to get a new roommate?”
“No. I don’t need the money and I don’t really want to deal with a stranger living in my house.” He stares at me for another moment, before he shifts me off of his lap and stands to his full height. “I think it’s time to order dinner.”
Chapter 5
Easton
I grip the sink on either side and hang my head. I don’t know how I'm going to do this. No clue at all.
How do I stand by and try to get Taylor back on her feet when all I want to do is pull her into my arms and kiss her breathless?
It’s all I’ve ever wanted. All I’ve ever dreamed of. But Jack wouldn’t allow that. He didn’t want to lose her to me.
The memory of the day everything changed slams into me and I feel like I'm experiencing it all over again.
“What do you mean you like her?” He follows me out the front door and into the garage. He’s driving me crazy. I need something to do that doesn’t involve punching Jack in the face. That would probably upset my mother.
