Shattered Hearts

Chapter 2

Liam
4 years ago
People always said it was the three of us. The three Van Brattenburgs.
And not far behind was always Madelyn King.
She'd grown up next door to us, her father worked for my parents, doing what, I wasn't quite sure, but he was constantly traveling.
She'd started sneaking in around the age of five. Crawling up the ivy that lined the front of our house and sneaking in Charlotte's window. Once her dad found out, he'd just started leaving her with us when he went on trips.
By the time middle school started she basically lived with us.
Seeing her walking around the hallways wrapped up in a towel, and out by our pool in a bikini did nothing to help my ragging 13 year old boy hormones.
Even as I got my hormones under control, it was still hard to not get... ya know... hard when she was around.
So I kinda just reverted to hiding in my room all the time.
But I really needed to move my desk away from my window so I'd stop staring at her every time she lounged around the pool.
Charlotte was paddling around on one of those stupid pool floats we had that was shaped like a slice of pizza.
Maddie was sitting on my brother Charlie's shoulders as they chased Charlotte around the pool.
I had never been jealous of my brother for anything before.
But once he was old enough for everyone to start the "Oo Charlie and Maddie would be so cute together!" or "Oh Charlie and Madelyn are totally gona get married some day!" a day hasn't gone by where I haven't envied him.
I had to let it the fuck go. She was two years younger to me, and that was the only argument I had come up with so far, which was fucking dangerous.
A knock on my door pulled me from my thoughts, and I turned around to find Charlotte peaking her head in my room.
"Hey dickhead. Maybe you should stop peeping through your window like a perv and come join us." She teased, "You do realize when you inherit our dad's title you'll have to actually socialize with people."
I rolled my eyes and pushed back from my desk, "You're kinda an ass, you know that?"
She leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms as I started to change into some swim trunks, "I kinda prefer the word bitch but I'll accept ass."
I chuckled softly as I met her at the door. I placed my hands on her shoulders, something I'd been doing since we were little. She'd always been a lot shorter than me, even at 5'9 I had a good five inches on her.
"I don't use the word bitch. It's degrading to women."
She rolled her eyes and both of us headed for the stairs.
•••
Madelyn
4 Years Ago
It was rare that Liam hung out with Charlotte, Charlie, and I anymore.
So when he walked out into the backyard with Charlotte, I was shocked.
I also almost started drooling when I saw his chiseled chest, but that wasn't at all shocking.
My heart raced every time I saw his electric blue eyes and that had been happening well before the fire between my legs had started.
But all of those things normally happened when I saw him, whether I liked it or not.
Over the last few years, he'd really started to pull back.
He basically ignored us now.
Not today I guess.
He stood in the glass doors that lead to the patio for a second. Charlotte said something to him that I couldn't hear.
"What the fuck is he doing here?" Charlie wondered out loud, a breathy laugh escaping his nose.
Then Liam took off into a full sprint.
Asshole cannon balled into the pool, splashing Charlie, me, and half the patio with the after shock.
"Hey!" I yelled, splashing Liam as he resurfaced, "You hide in your room for ten years, then appear just to splash us?"
Something flashed in his eyes. Something I couldn't read, then he laughed, and it left just as quickly.
"Charlotte convinced me that it was too nice of a day not to swim."
He had a tell when he was lying. It was really hard to catch, but I'd learned it from all the games of clue and poker we'd played as kids.
He'd tug at his right ear. I'd mentioned it to Charlotte once, but she had no idea what I was talking about.
I kind of liked knowing something about him no one else did.
Something he might not even know about himself.
Made me feel closer to him. Something I could hold onto. Something to justify the way I felt about him, because I needed something.
He hated me and I loved him.
And sometimes that just fucking killed me.