Shattered Hearts

Chapter 7

Liam
4 Years Ago
When I met Charlotte and Madelyn out by the gate that night, I knew immediately it would be a weird night.
Madelyn had a half empty bottle of wine in one fist, and was taking a hug swig as I approached.
Charlotte dropped her blunt and snubbed it out before reaching to push the gate open. "Ready?"
I nodded and followed the girls out.
We started down the street, Madelyn walking a bit ahead of us. She had a bag over her shoulder and she was swaying while she walked.
"So... You didn't invite Charlie?" I leaned over and asked Charlotte quietly as we walked.
She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked to Madelyn. She was almost done with her bottle of wine.
"That's her third bottle of wine."
I flinched, and whipped my head to look at her.
She was stumbling, and she almost dropped the bottle to the pavement.
"Not taking the news of her new boyfriend well?"
Charlotte shook her head, "She hasn't said much. She started drinking as soon as we left dinner."
I couldn't help it, but it made me a little happy that she wasn't taking it well.
Maybe it made me a dick, but I couldn't help the fact that I didn't want her to be with my brother.
All of a sudden I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard glass shattering ahead of me.
"Fuck!" Madison yelled, jumping back as her bottle smashed to the pavement.
Both Charlotte and I ran forward, I grabbed Madelyn around the waist and pulled her away from the glass. I let go and she almost fell face first into the broken bottle, so I held on to keep her upright.
Charlotte surveyed the glass then looked up at her friend.
"Maybe we should just go back."
"No!!" Madelyn exclaimed, trying to stomp her foot on the pavement, but not quite hitting it, "This is a tradition, we can't break it now!" She whined.
Charlotte eyed her best friend, obviously assessing her sobriety. Then she held up her hands in defeat.
"Okay, but Liam is carrying you the rest of the way so you don't smash your face into the pavement."
Madelyn let out a small laugh as I let her climb onto my back.
Having her legs wrapped around my waist was almost too much for me to handle.
Her soft thighs were resting in my hands and she was so small, her breath was hitting the back of my neck. It took all of my energy to hide the shivers that it sent down my spine.
I got her to the lake safely and set her down on the blanket Charlotte set up.
As soon as I set her down, she sprawled out on her back, stretching out like a cat, her baggy teeshirt riding up and showing her stomach.
I sat down in the sand next to her.
She looked content for the first time since dinner.
Then her eyes popped open, wide and mischievous.
"I wanna go swimming."
Charlotte and I both laughed and started to take off our over clothes.
Madelyn was not on the same page.
She pulled off her teeshirt, then started to untie her black bikini. She almost got it off and over her head before I realized what she was doing.
"Whoa." I said, reaching out and grabbing the strings of her bathing suit before she could take it off.
I had to stand kind of close, which was dangerous because I'd been semi hard since she'd gotten on my back earlier.
"What do you think you're doing?" I asked.
I had to lean forwards and say it in her ear.
And fuck now I was full on hard.
She looked over her shoulder at me and batted her eyelashes.
"What? You don't wanna go skinny dipping?" She asked innocently.
This girl was going to be the fucking end of me.
I shook my head and let out a laugh, "Not with my sister I don't."
"The feeling is mutual." Charlotte interjected, shooting me a look like I should step away from her friend.
After a few minutes of convincing, we got Madelyn to keep her bikini on.
The lake was warm and it felt like a dream to float around in.
After about a half hour of swimming around, Madelyn said she was going to take a break.
She walked up the beach to the blanket we'd laid out earlier and pulled out a book from the bag she'd brought with her.
I turned to Charlotte and splashed her to get her attention.
She shot me an angry look and I ignored it.
"What is she doing up there?" I asked, pointing towards Madelyn.
Charlotte turned around to look at her best friend, "Uhh... that's her journal. She only writes in it when she's having a bad time or in a shitty mood," She turned back to look at me, "She's taking what happened at dinner pretty hard."
I nodded.
"She really doesn't want to be with Charlie, does she?"
Charlotte shook her head, "No, I don't think that's it. I think she just doesn't like being told what to do."
I scoffed, and Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows at me, "What?" She asked, "You don't think she likes him?"
I shook my head, "If she wanted to date him, they would've started dating a long time ago."
Charlotte shrugged, "I'm sure by tomorrow morning she will have gotten over it. He really likes her, and she deserves someone who is going to treat her like a princess."
I looked back to Madelyn, who still sat on the blanket, writing in her journal. Her long red hair, wet and loose around her shoulders, shone in the moonlight.
She deserved a lot. Charlotte was right. But, I had my doubts that Charlie would be that guy. I had no doubt he would be good to her. He'd liked her since we were children, but he wouldn't be enough for her.
Not that I would either.
At least Charlie was a nice guy. I was a dick who'd been ignoring her and distancing myself from my siblings for years because I couldn't keep my hormones in check.
But I was starting to feel that shifting a bit. I wasn't sure why, but I had this foreboding feeling that those tactics weren't going to work anymore.
And that scared the shit out of me.