Broken Halves

Chapter Twenty-Five

POV: Cole

            "Cole? Do you have a minute?" I look up from the book I had been reading and smile when I see Jorden's figure jutting out from behind the door to my bedroom. "Come on in Fly," I say while setting my book down on the table by the couch. "You know you don't have to ask." The door shuffles open revealing Jorden's figure in its entirety.

"What's wrong?" I stand instantly at the sight of the tear streaks slowly dripping down his face. "Is it your mother?" Jorden just shakes his head and wanders into the room. "Calla is fine last time I asked." He sits down on my couch with a sigh before burying his head in his hands. Slowly, I lower myself down next to him. It isn't often that I have seen Jorden this upset. When we were really little, it was common to see him in my room seeking comfort with his thumb in his mouth while his parents were engrossed in one of their screaming matches. "Tell me what's wrong Fly, I am here for you Jorden no matter what; I have you always brother."

            "Do you remember when I spent a summer in Italy? Back when we were 16?" I nod absent-mindedly. At the time, I was still spending my summers in France so I was not present for the trip that Jorden had taken to visit the family. "Nona took pity on me that year and planned the trip for me; she said I would have fun and wanted me to meet new people." He whispers tiredly as my brows furrow. "What do you mean Nona took pity on you?" I frown at my 21 year old best friend, causing him to blush slightly as he answers my question.

"Every summer you'd leave for France and I'd be lonely ole Jorden lost without his best friend by his side." A sudden wave of guilt consumes me at the thought of how alone Jorden felt all those years. With his parents gone, he truly didn't have anyone else. "Jorden, I am so sor--" He cuts my apology off. "It doesn't matter now Cole." He flicks his wrist to emphasize his point. "It's in the past; it doesn't matter now." I keep my mouth shut realizing he is ready to continue talking and does not want any more interruptions from me.

            "Any way, Nona arranged for me to stay the summer in Italy with her family. I guess you could say I had a bit of a culture shock; Famiglia Di Lupi is so different than Blood Moon." Jorden pauses for a moment to lean back and close his eyes. "She had me staying with her eldest sister." Jorden's lips quirk upwards into a smile. "That woman hated me Cole. She'd chase me out of her house with a wooden spoon threatening to tan my backside if I didn't stop making a mess in her kitchen." "She was pure evil! I was a 16 year old newly shifted werewolf what did she expect? I liked to eat." I laugh when I remember my own struggles that summer with food consumption.

            "One morning, I woke up to the smell of cookies and let me tell you Cole we are talking mouth-watering cookies. I knew if I wanted any, I would have to sneak my way down the stairs and into the kitchen and steal a few." I laugh again at the thought of 16 year old Jorden sneaking into the kitchen to steal some cookies. Once we hit the age of 12 Jorden had always been between an inch and two taller than me; however, I bulked out first. At 16, I was 6 ft. with a healthy amount of muscle, but Jorden? Jorden was 6'1 with a skinny frame. "Sorry," I get out between breaths. "Continue." Jorden removes his scowl from his face to grin at me before picking up his story where he left off.

            "Imagine my surprise when instead of the old grouch in the kitchen I see her beautiful granddaughter." I straighten up genuinely surprised at his words. Jorden had never told me of a girl that he had met in Italy. "She's related to you somehow, don't know, didn't care really." He continues making me smile at the impulsive mindset we had as teens.

"She was 15 at the time but she had captured my attention with her beauty Cole. She had dark Italian skin paired with long silky black hair and the brightest brown doe eyes. But she truly had my heart when she handed me a cookie."