Whispers of a Broken Halo by Abbi Glines

“What?” I heard Drake ask. “I didn’t know that was going to make him pissy.”

I didn’t wait to hear what else was said before making my way to the stairs. Henley was right about my not knowing Bryn’s life. We had spoken at work briefly, and then I had only asked her if she was enjoying her job. Giving her a job had felt good, but I hadn’t been interested in catching up. She was part of a time in my life I didn’t want to think about.

Closing the door to my bedroom, I went directly to the bathroom and turned on the water to the shower. Thinking about Bryn wasn’t doing me any good. That was a part of my past, and bringing her into my life now had been a mistake six months ago. I wasn’t going to do it again. She was no longer the girl in the trailer next door who needed saving. She was a grown-ass adult, and we lived two different lives.

There had never been closure for me with her, and that was all this had been. I had found my mom dead, my grandparents showed up, and I was gone without even a good-bye to Bryn. I had worried about her for months until life moved on and her memory slowly faded.

I knew the life she’d had as a child and the kind of effect that could have on you. My grandparents had saved me. They had turned me around. I was different because of the life they had given me here. If my mom hadn’t died and I’d continued living in that life, there was a good chance I would be in jail by now.

Bryn hadn’t been saved, and it was too late to save her. She was the result of a very broken, fucked up childhood. I couldn’t continue to let myself remember the girl she had been because I wasn’t that boy anymore. We were grown. The days of turning things around for her were over. She was a product of the life she had been given.

Knowing this and accepting it were two different things.

The hot water continued to fall, and while it washed over me, I stood there, staring at the marble tiles. Bryn’s coming here could have been fate, but then I wasn’t sure I believed in things like fate. There was a good chance she’d looked me up and come here because of me. She could have thought she could get money from me. It was almost too long of a stretch to be a coincidence. But at first, I hadn’t wanted to think that about her. I wasn’t so sure now.

I didn’t know her. This Bryn was different. The best thing I could do was put this and her behind me.

Forget it. Forget her. Move the fuck on. Leave the past where it belongs.

I’d be better off, forgetting her.





Chapter Eight

Bryn

Walking down the main street in town, I held Cullen’s hand firmly in mine. Tory had taken the car to job-hunt today while I was home, and I had picked Cullen up from school. I glanced down at the ice cream that was dripping down his hand. He couldn’t eat it fast enough to beat the heat from the sun. The smile on his face said he didn’t mind at all.

Things like ice cream delighted him. It had once been a treat he never got to have. Now, I could buy him an ice cream every day if he wanted it. I didn’t, of course, because it wasn’t healthy for him, but I loved days like today when I could stop and let him pick whatever he wanted from the ice cream stand.

The Help Wanted sign on the store up ahead caught my eye, and I turned to walk closer to the window. I could see books lining the walls and tables sitting inside along with sofas and comfy chairs. There was a bakery and coffee. Lifting my gaze, I read Signed Sips displayed on the building.

This was walking distance from our apartment. I wondered if Tory had checked here. It was maybe a quarter of a mile away from where we lived, and she could get here quickly. I couldn’t imagine a bakery and coffee shop stayed open late. She would have early hours.

“Let’s go in here,” I told Cullen, then remembered he was dripping with melted ice cream.

I stepped in front of him and bent down to wipe him up with the napkins. Once he was no longer a walking mess, I took his hand again, and we headed inside the shop.

“Cupcakes!” Cullen said gleefully as we walked toward the counter.

There were several artfully decorated cupcakes displayed. I noticed many of the items in the case were marked dairy-free, gluten-free, and even nut-free. That was rare. Every one of the cupcakes had an allergy-free sign in front of it. How something that looked so delicious with all that icing and bits of candy could be free of all those things, I had no idea.

“Welcome to Signed Sips. Can I help you?” a female voice asked.

I looked up to see an attractive brunette wearing a black apron on the other side of the counter. She had a friendly smile that put me at ease.

“Hello. Uh, yes. Could we have the pink unicorn cupcake and the …” I paused and looked down at Cullen. “Which one?” I asked him.

“The chocolate bar one!” he replied gleefully.

I glanced up at the menu hanging on the wall to see what drinks they had available. “And a caramel cappuccino, please.”

“Regular milk?” she asked me.

I had never had any other kind of milk. I nodded my head.

She walked over to the coffee machine behind her and began working on my order. I glanced down at Cullen to see his ice cream was once again beginning to drip. I quickly scanned the place for napkins, then walked him over to the counter to clean him up before he got ice cream on the floor.

“Do I get to eat a cupcake too?” he asked me.

“Yes, but not until after dinner,” I replied.