Broken
Authors: Marianne Curley
For the special girls in my life,
Amanda, Danielle, Jessica and Josie.
And for the boys, my two Christophers, and Zach
And for Missy,
my loving companion for fifteen years,
gone from this world on 21 August 2013.
May she have fun forever in puppy heaven
Contents
1
I met her first. The connection was intense. She felt it too, and even after all that’s happened since, she still does. They try to tell me it’s not real love, that it’s a supernatural bond that links us together, but the truth is there’s only one thing standing in our way – the angel.
A Seraphim Prince.
Nathaneal.
He’s convinced Ebony that the two of
them
should be together for eternity or some crap, and she’s fallen for him in a big way, like it’s her fate, or destiny.
It’s ridiculous how much I want this girl. I
need
Ebony in my life. It’s that simple.
Thane knew how I felt about Ebony from the start, and he still played his secretive games. He needed me to find her. Born in the same nanosecond, we are linked for life, and he knew the heavens would light up when we came close.
He knew everything, and he made sure I knew
nothing
.
I can’t forgive him for that.
It’s early on Monday morning and he’s training us in his downstairs gym before school. It’s our new training schedule since Ebony moved in. And it’s rigorous. He’s training Ebony to use her powers so that they can disappear off to Avena, the world where angels live.
I feel his piercing blue eyes on my back as I pound the boxing bag.
Wham! Wham!
I grab the bag with my gloved hands and turn round. He’s looking straight at me, and I can feel him poking about inside my head, so I stare back. ‘Do you have to?’
Ebony’s working on the treadmill with earplugs in, but right away, her Guardian Angel alarm goes off and she stops. ‘Have to what?’
‘He’s in my head again,’ I tell her.
She raises her eyebrows at him.
‘Jordan,’ he says in his silky-soft voice that could turn horse shit into whipped cream, ‘it’s to protect you both.’
‘Yeah? Well, maybe I don’t want your so-called protection any more.’
‘Jordan,’ Ebony looks uncomfortable. ‘Will one of you tell me exactly what’s going on?’
I shove my chin in the direction of the angel with the guilt-ridden expression on his face. ‘Ask
him
.’
Stepping off the treadmill she studies Thane’s face, touches his arm and gives him a sad little smile that turns my stomach over. ‘Do you have to listen to
every
thought?’
‘Ebony, I can’t hear
your
thoughts, so if you’re in danger I will know through Jordan.’
‘Oh. Because of our bond?’
He nods. ‘Yes.’
‘There you go,’ I tell her, ‘another perfect example of me being used again.’
He glares at me with darkening eyes. ‘Neither of you is safe. Danger could come in any form, one you might not recognise. I watch and listen, and I will do whatever is necessary to keep you
both
from imminent danger.’
‘That’s bull! You just wanna know what I’m thinking when I’m thinking about your fiancée.’
‘Jordan, you’re always thinking about Ebony. That’s not new. What is new is your hostility towards me.’
Wham! Wham!
I slam the bag, wishing it were his head.
‘Jordan, we need to talk.’
Seething hot breath pushes out from between my locked teeth. ‘So
now
you wanna talk? You could have told me Ebony was your fiancée a hundred times, but didn’t. Why was that, Thane? Why now and not before?’
He flicks a glance away before bringing his eyes back to mine. ‘I should have told you.’
‘Damn right.’
‘I’m sorry I didn’t.’
‘Too late for that.’
‘Jordan!’ Ebony scolds me like I’m a kid she’s babysitting. ‘Can we try to get along?’
I laugh. ‘Oh, I get it. You’re uncomfortable around me now.’
‘No, I’m not. But
you’re
uncomfortable around us.’
Us.
US. I hate that word.
‘Damn right I am!’
Her face collapses and she sighs.
‘Ebony, I don’t mean
you
. I mean
him
.’
‘But it
is
me.’ Her words rush out fast, like they’re bursting to break free. ‘If it wasn’t for me, none of this would be happening.’ She glances at Thane. ‘If you two can’t get along, I’ll have to move out.’
‘No!’ I yell.
Thane moves in closer, shrinking the space between them. ‘This is the safest place for you right now.’
‘I’ll be fine at Amber’s. She’ll love to have me back.’
‘And so would her brothers,’ he says. ‘Twins, who recently turned twenty-two, presently away at university.’
What’s with his anxious undertones? Can angels get jealous too? His eyes slide to mine, revealing that, clearly, they can. I laugh, enjoying the moment maybe a little too much.
See what it feels like, dude?
I turn to Ebony. ‘
I’ll
move out before you have to.’
‘You can’t, Jordan,’ she says, ‘this is your home and –’
‘And what? What do you think I would do? Where do you think I would live? I’m way too old for Social Services, and I can’t afford to live on my own, but I’d rather be homeless than have you staying anywhere but in this protected house. It’s why he built it. Don’t be an idiot, Ebony. You’re staying right here.’
‘All right, I’ll stay if you do, as long as we find an amicable way to live together under one roof.’
I flick a look at Thane. He promised to teach me how to block my thoughts, but that was just another lie. The sooner I learn how to do it, the more bearable it’ll be living here. Somehow, I’ll teach myself. I have an idea that might work. ‘OK. I’ll stay, on the condition you two stop doing that thing all the time.’
Her eyes widen, her face darkens with hot colour as she glances at Thane. ‘But, Jordan, we haven’t done . . . er, anything like, er . . .’ She stops and adjusts the ponytail at the back of her head.
‘I’m not talking about
that
. Jeez, Ebony, I mean the way you two are always, you know . . .’ Damn, now
my
skin’s growing hot.
‘Making you uncomfortable,’ supplies Thane.
I nod, and check what’s next on my training schedule.
On my third cardio set, Thane glances at the wall clock and calls out, ‘That’s enough for this morning. Move into cool-downs.’
‘Already?’ Ebony says. ‘But that’s not even half as long as usual.’
‘I thought you two might like some time to clear your heads before your exam today.’
‘How thoughtful,’ I mutter, working through the cool-downs as fast as I can.
Ebony keeps pace with me and we finish in no time. I grab a towel to wipe the sweat off my face while Ebony checks the clock and grins. ‘We’ve got heaps of time left.’ Playfully, she tugs on Thane’s training T-shirt. When he leans in, she whispers, ‘And the best way I know how to clear my head . . .’ She leaves the rest unspoken, and he smiles meaningfully down at her.
This is exactly what I mean. The secretive looks between them, the way they radiate towards each other like magnets – they’re driving me crazy. Only twenty minutes ago they had agreed to tone it down.
Bracing myself as I try to calm down, I throw the towel round my neck, and lower my eyes to avoid seeing the lovebirds staring into each other’s eyes. But the burning rage inside is not going away. I’m shaking with it.
Thane notices something’s wrong and cuts me off at the door. I try to make my thoughts erratic by thinking of different things, switching ideas around as fast as I can. But nothing can hide my mood when Ebony joins him and they stand so close their fingers keep brushing together at their sides. Any second they’re gonna run upstairs to Thane’s room and start working on . . . on . . .
clearing Ebony’s head
!
‘You gotta be kidding me,’ I mutter, balling my fists.
He frowns. ‘Jordan?’
I keep scrambling my thoughts. Either he can’t believe what he’s hearing inside my head, or my scrambling concept is actually working. ‘
What?
’
‘I think you’ve misunderstood what Ebony was referring to,’ he smiles.
My head says to keep walking out, but my fists are tightening. ‘I didn’t misunderstand anything.’ I can’t let him work out what I’m thinking of doing, or he’ll stop me.
So I just go ahead and do it.
Clenching my right fist into the firmest ball I can make, I swing fast and high. Right away I can tell I’m gonna come up short. But it won’t matter. I’m still gonna hit something.
‘Jordan,
no
,’ Ebony screams.
My fist connects with the underside of Thane’s jaw – and it feels as if I’ve hit the bull-bar of a moving truck! I drop to the floor in a crouch, instinctively cushioning my hand against my stomach. ‘
Argh, shit! Shit!
SHIT!
’