Broken Lyrics (Book 3 of the Black Heart Series)

Fourteen

Bree

I woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon cooking.

And the unmistakable feeling that I had said or done something really stupid.

Rolling over proved that I was, once again, stripped of everything but my undergarments.

"Asher..." I sighed and sat up in bed, ready to glare at him, but my reading chair was empty.

He wasn't here...

I climbed out of bed, throwing on some yoga pants and a tank.

Decan's breakfast was calling me... She probably wanted to hear all about my date, which I would have to tell her was utterly destroyed...

"NO! If you make a mess, she'll kill you!" Declan's laugh was followed by others, as I rounded the corner, into my living room/kitchen area.

"Sis!" Jason enveloped me into his massive arms and twirled me around, "Please, tell me that I get to watch when you kill Chris!"

"We missed you so much!" He squeezed me tight, "You gotta meet my wife."

"She's gotta say hi to all of us first, man!" Gabe encompassed me, as though if he squeezed too tight he'd break me.

"You have been greatly missed, my dear..." He kissed the top of my head gingerly.

When Gabe released me, I noticed Nick for the first time. He stood a distance away, his arms folded and a stern, cold look on his face.

"I'm not going to tell you how stupid what you did was, or what you put us through..." He began to prowl toward me, his features softening along the way, "But, I am going to hug you and tell you that I love you and I've missed you so god damned much..."

He wrapped me in his arms, squeezing so tight that I could barely breathe, "And, if you EVER pull that shit again, I'll kill your scrawny little ass myself..."

"I love you too." I cried, "I've missed you all so much..."

"Okay, Bruittus, the girl can't breathe!" Nick let me go as a short, but taller than me, brunette came up to me, her green eyes shimmering as they searched my own eyes, "You probably don't remember me, but I was in your bar last winter, when my former band came through town. I'm Reegan, Chris's wife. I'm sorry to hug you, but with the way Chris and everyone always talked about you, I feel like I've known you since I've known them."

She wrapped me in an embrace, her pregnant stomach blocking a full hug and we both laughed tearfully.

"Hey, ditto!" I tall blonde came up to us, wrapping her arms around us both, "I'm Jason's wife, Cortney. And I am so glad that I finally get to meet you."

DC tapped me on the arm, coffee in hand.

"Here, Mom," She smiled cheerfully, "Have some coffee."

"Thank you, darling." I returned her smile.

"Dad made it, I'm just the delivery guy." She gave a gleeful nod and sauntered off to where Asher was manning the stove with Chris, not acknowledging me in the least.

"I like what you did to the place," Jason was examining the area around my kitchen island, where the wall used to be when my father owned the house.

"Yeah, it feels a lot bigger in here now." Chis seated himself at the island, looking around the room.

"Mom took out the wall with a sledgehammer!" Declan told them excitedly, "It was the coolest thing I've ever seen!"

"Seriously?" Gabe examined me with a skeptical smile, "Bree? With a sledgehammer?"

"Don't hate!" I told him, "You may get to see me use it, if Chris doesn't pick up after his ass today!"

I smiled, teasing Chris.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Chris rolled his eyes, returning my smile, "I get it, I get it..."

We talked for hours, laughing, joking and telling stories.

Everyone fell right back into place.

It was almost like old times.

Almost...

Except for the fact that Asher was avoiding me...

He had spent the whole day in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning up. He was even the first to leave, stating that he had a meeting.

When we were young, he would have been the last one to leave, or he wouldn't leave at all...

Once everyone had left, I began to get ready for work.

I was standing in front of the mirror, fixing my makeup, when DC came in and sat on the toilet lid. This was something she had done since she was little. She would always come in and chit chat with me while I got myself ready.

"That was fun, right?" She asked me with a scrunched face, "Even though they all just showed up?"

"DC, if history serves me right, I have a feeling that there will be a lot more of the guys "just showing up" in our future," I smiled at her, "They did this all the time when we were kids, they practically lived here and your grandfather always joked about having to triple stock the fridge, just for them."

"Is that why they all call you little sister?" She asked curiously.

"That's exactly why." I gave a nod, "I was the youngest of them all and they're all like brothers."

DC began to fidget with her hands, nervously biting her lower lip, "Are things ever going to be okay between you and Dad?"

"He's only been part of our lives for a heartbeat, Dee..." I sighed, "I assume, that with time, he and I will eventually be able to carry on a normal conversation, but, as of right now, he's still angry with me and I don't blame him. He missed a lot of your life and it was my fault."

"But I don't think he's mad at you," She shook her head, "Not after last night."

"Declan, tell me you weren't awake when I got home last night!" I gaped at her and she began to laugh.

"I've seen you drink, but never like that!" She laughed, "You were totally wasted!"

"I didn't say anything stupid, did I?"

"No," She shook her head, "You were out cold. Dad carried you in and put you to bed, then came out and watched a movie with me."

"I think you may have said something to him though," Her face scrunched, "He seemed... Off... He kept peeking in the room and making sure you were okay though... That's how I know he's not THAT angry with you."