Our Broken Pieces

Chapter 38

Gage~

I was standing in my office, looking out at the city of Chicago, wondering how I could have fucked up so badly.

When I had stormed that room, it hadn't ever occurred to me that Mystic would end up seeing me in the same light as she viewed her parents, and that was frightening if I were being completely honest with myself. Forgiving me for being stupid was a no-brainer. However, forgiving me for treating her the same way that her parents had, not so much.

It also hadn't helped when Lorcan had come searching for me because David had gone straight to him to tell him that I'd had Mystic trapped in that room. While I'd wanted to kill him, I could also appreciate his concern for her. It was the only reason that I wasn't firing his ass.

Lorcan had stormed into the room as I'd blown up Mystic's phone, demanding that I tell him what the fuck was going on, and after I'd told him everything, he had called me a stupid motherfucker, then had told me that I was too stupid to be as wealthy as I was.

I hadn't denied it.

Then, being the best friend that he was, he had called Reagan Contreras into the room, ripped her a new one, then had fired her on the spot. He'd still had leverage from that thing with her and Mystic, so she really hadn't had a leg to stand on. She had cried and begged Lorcan to give her another chance, but, again, Lorcan was dead inside, so her tears and pleas had been pointless. After that disaster, Lorcan had kicked me out of CI, then had told me not to go back until I got my shit together. He'd also told me to call him if I hadn't heard from Mystic by tonight.

Now I was standing in my office, my calendar completely clean for the day, wondering where the fuck Mystic was and wondering what the fuck was I going to do if she decided to end things. Of course, I wasn't going to let her, but I didn't want her unhappy.

I turned at the sound of the door opening, and my head dropped as I saw my mother walk in. I had completely forgotten that she was in town, and that I had promised her that we'd do lunch.

Sonofabitch.

"Gage, honey," she said as she walked towards me. "I've missed you." She wrapped her arms around me, and the force of her hug supported her statement.

I hugged her back, and when we broke apart, I glanced down at the tiny woman and realized how much I missed her, too. "I missed you, too, Mom."

To the world, she was Dr. Evans or Maureen Evans, wife to Dr. Quinten Evans. However, to me, she was just Mom.

She stepped back, then straightened her blouse. "Well, where to?"

"Now's not a good time, Mom," I told her, letting out a tired sigh. "I'm sorry-"

"What's wrong?" she automatically asked as her brows furrowed.

I jammed my fists in my pockets as I told her the truth. "I suck at relationships."

The surprise on her face was almost comical. My mother and I never got personal, so this had to feel like out of left field for her. "Relationships?"

I couldn't fault her surprise since I'd never been in a relationship before. Mystic had been my first, was my only, and my last.

Hopefully.

"Do you remember Mystic Anderson?"

"The girl you started dating your senior year of high school?"

Like all the other adults in our lives, at the time, my mother had believed that Mystic and I had started dating the night that I'd outed us at Margot's party. While Mystic had kept me a secret from her parents-and rightfully so-I had told my mom about her.