Braydon

Something is wrong

Braydon

I sat on my bed and stared at my phone, willing Emerald to call or text me. Anything to tell me she's okay. Nothing. She blocked me on everything. I didn't understand.

"Bray," Dallas said, leaning against the doorframe, arms folded.

Don't listen to him. You can't trust him. Those voices seared through my brain while I stared at the blank phone screen. You can't trust anyone. All they want to do is to hurt you.

I shook my head and blinked several times.

"Braydon!" Dallas shouted.

My head snapped up as I stared at my brother with a blank expression. "What?"

Dallas pushed off from the doorframe, strode toward me, and crouched before me. "Braydon, something's wrong with you."

Don't listen to him. He's lying. They're all lying. The whispers repeated, making me shake my head to get them to stop. I needed them to stop. But they wouldn't stop.

I caught movement as the voices grew louder. My thoughts became jumbled. I couldn't focus. Nothing was right. Everything was upside down and inside out.

"Braydon," a soothing voice said.

I blinked several times, trying to focus on the person crouched before me. "You're not Dallas."

"No, it's Jayden."

"Emerald." I scanned the area as my heart stuttered in my chest while the voices grew louder.

"You'll see Emerald soon after we help you."

Stop him! He wants to hurt you!

I felt a sharp poke in my arm, trying to fight off the monster, gouging me with its piercing claw until it stopped. My lids grew heavy until I fell into utter darkness.

********
Emerald

Three months is all it took for a conniving bitch to rip apart my relationship. Wait. That's not accurate. It took almost a year for an asshole to put a wedge between Braydon and me.

The coach's daughter, a license therapist, destroyed my relationship with my childhood sweetheart. I wanted to gouge their eyes out while nursing a broken heart.

The bell chimed to the floral shop, causing me to pretend like every day. I forced a smile on my face and greeted the customers. Dyson Harper was a godsend when I searched for a job. I found flowers helped with a broken heart.

"Emerald, why don't you check the flowers outside while I wait on the customers?" Dyson mentioned.

I looked at Dyson before nodding and walking through the back door. I needed to breathe since the room became stifling and small. I stood in the greenhouse and stared at the different flowers, wanting them to fix this gaping hole in my chest. The hole where my heart resided. My lips pulled into a grim line because I had no reason to smile, not after those assholes blew up my world.

"Emerald," a soft voice said from behind me.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to answer Charlie. Or maybe it was easier to erase the pain that clawed its way through my heart and squeezed it until it shattered. Whatever it was, those bastards helped to decimate it.

"Emerald," a familiar voice said, placing their hand on my shoulder.

"I can't breathe," I whispered, not focusing on anything.

Jace turned me to face him as his brows furrowed and lines formed in his forehead. "It'll be okay."

I looked up at Jace with a stricken expression. "Nothing will be okay." My shoulders hunched as I dropped my head, wanting the unbearable pressure in my chest to stop.