Broken Lyrics (Book 3 of the Black Heart Series)

Seven

Asher

I stared after the kid, my kid, as she ran out of the room in tears.

I didn't turn to face Bree again, as I watched the girl's friend and some blonde chick chase after her.

I had one question for Bree though...

"Did my brother know?"

She didn't answer... I only had enough composure to ask one more time...

"DID CHRIS SEE HER YESTERDAY?!"

"Yes." Her voice was soft, but I already knew the answer and I was halfway out the door before she could say another word.

I made it to the car before I lost my shit and screamed a god-awful war cry.

"FUCK!"

I had a fucking kid!

Bree had MY kid!

BREE was alive!

She had a kid! MY kid!

I screamed again and beat the steering wheel with the palm of my fucking hand, until I could feel the burn.

Red... I was seeing things in shades and hues of red...

It hadn't happened in years, but here I was again, seeing things in blood shades.

I threw the car into drive and shot out of the lot, tires blowing smoke in my wake. I was going to find that fucking brother of mine.

And I was going to kill him.

When I made it back to the house I found his ass in the makeshift studio with the guys. It looked like they were jamming, but he stopped when I entered the room and he saw my path.

"Oh shit!" He hurriedly tried to move his bass, knowing full well what was coming as my ass stomped toward him.

My fist connected with his face before I even finished moving toward him. He fell out of the chair, grabbing his nose. His bass made a screeching sound as he landed on it.

"Fuck!" He yelled, but I yanked him up to a standing position, leaving his equipment behind.

"You forget to tell me something, bro?!" I yelled in his face, then slammed his ass back down to the ground and began to pummel his ass with my fists.

"Stop it!" Reegan screeched.

Jason was the first one to reach us, pulling me away, as I began to kick my brother in the ribcage.

"Woah there, hot shot." Jason pinned my arms behind my back, pulling me further and further away from my brother.

Chris was now virtually motionless on the floor, watching me as he caught his breath. His nose was most likely broken and I could see blotches that were going to form significant bruises tomorrow.

This wouldn't be the first time I'd put him in the hospital.

"Your such a fucking dick." Reegan knelt next to him, crying.

"What the fuck, dude?!" Gabe snapped.

"What happened this time?" Jason asked in my ear, loosening his grip on me.

"Baby, are you okay?" I heard Reegan whispering to Chris.

"I'll be okay." He responded.

"How many of you knew that Bree was alive?" I looked around at all of them, "How many of you fucking knew that she was here?! Huh?! Which one of you fucking idiots paid off my PI?!"

Jason's arms dropped and I turned to glare at him, but his face was pale and his jaw was gaping.

Looking around at the others in the room showed me that no one had known. Except for the two huddled in the puddle of blood, looking up at me in fear.

"I was going to tell you." Chris coughed.

"When, you fucking fool?!" I began to pace, "You even saw the fucking kid! MY KID!"

"No!" I didn't know when Cortney had entered the room, but she stood, taking in the scene.

I flinched. The chicks just watched what happens when I lose my shit... They'd never seen this before... Sure, they'd heard stories, but seeing and hearing are two different things.

"What fucking kid, Ash? Not Bree's..." Nick gaped.

"I'm seeing red, Cort." I ran a hand over my face, trying to calm myself.

"Nah, that's just Chris's blood." Gabe snickered.

"Wait," Jason's voice cut the silence, "Bree-Lee's alive?"

"Yes." Reegan was the one to answer him. Her voice was quiet and soft, but she glared daggers at me. Watching for my next move.

"I saw her when I came through with Lou. Louise and I heard of Roxy's through a passing group and checked it out."

"YOU FUCKING KNEW?!" I snapped, "ALL THIS TIME?!"

"That's why I kept bringing up coming back here!" She leaned protectively over my brother as she sobbed, "But Chris didn't know! I swear! He didn't know and I had no idea about any kid! I just saw HER! If I had known about your daughter, I would have told you. You know me, Asher. I'm not a vindictive person. Please, believe me. I had no idea."

***
Bree

"Bree-Lee, you drank more than half the bottle," Davis's voice cut through my thoughts, "Are you sure you're okay?"

It was somewhere around three am, the customers and the band had left an hour ago.

The band that Declan had been so excited to hear, but too hurt to stick around for...

It was my own fault...

All of this was my fault...

My daughter hated me...

Asher hated me...

Pretty soon everyone else would hate me too and everything that I had worked so hard to piece together would come crashing down around me. It was just a matter of time.

So, instead of fighting it, I sat at my bar and decided to drink and let my life crumble around me.

I brought the bottle to my lips again and took another swig. I wasn't feeling the burn any longer. Nope. That feeling was long gone. Now I was numb...

"Bree?" Davis's voice was weighed with concern, but I couldn't look at him. "Sweetie, you need to talk to me."

"I suck at life." I swallowed some more, "You know that, Davis? I suck at everything. Every single thing I touch gets pulled into Sucksville and I'm the Mayor."

"Okay, you're super cute when your drunk, but I think I need to cut you off now." He peeled my fingers off the neck of the bottle, one by one, then walked around the bar to help me up.

"Come on, I'll take you home." He attempted to pull on my arms but I just plopped my head into the bar.

"Nope. I'm good. I'll just stay right here tonight." I yawned, suddenly feeling exhausted.

"Sweets, I can't allow you to fall asleep ON the bar. It's not sanitary." He scooped me into his arms and suddenly the bar felt so far away.

"No, just leave me." I whined.

"I can't do that, princess."

"Why not?"

He sighed, "Because, Sweets, when Darren and I broke up and I didn't have one iota to my name, you were there to give me a job and a place to sleep. I can't leave you like this."

"Fine, just stop talking now." My voice came as a sleepy mumble.

He chuckled.

"-she okay?" I heard his voice and attempted to open my eyes, but it wasn't working.

"She will be in the morning." Davis spoke softly, "I told you to leave her alone."

"You understand why I couldn't?"

The movement stopped and I wanted to protest, but couldn't.

"What do you want?" I heard Davis ask.

"To talk to her, obviously. What happened?"

"She drank too much, passed out."

"Let me take her home..."