Title: Unforgivably Broken
Author: Maegan Abel
Publisher: Forever Red Publishing
Pages: 225
Genre: New Adult
Format: Kindle
Author: Maegan Abel
Publisher: Forever Red Publishing
Pages: 225
Genre: New Adult
Format: Kindle
It took a near-tragedy for Zane and Lili to admit their
feelings for one another. If they could survive that explosion, wading through
the debris left behind should be a breeze, right?
Lili has spent years hiding from her past. Now, she's being forced to admit her mistakes and make a decision. Can she conquer her demons head-on, or will she remain by Zane's side while he fights his own?
Zane learned early in life that charm and deception are easier than hard truths. Sometimes, old habits die hard. When his past mistakes start making continuous reappearances, he is faced with some of the most crucial decisions he's ever made.
When you have secrets, they can rip ragged holes in the ties that bind even the strongest relationships.
What do you do when you realize you're unforgivably broken?
Lili has spent years hiding from her past. Now, she's being forced to admit her mistakes and make a decision. Can she conquer her demons head-on, or will she remain by Zane's side while he fights his own?
Zane learned early in life that charm and deception are easier than hard truths. Sometimes, old habits die hard. When his past mistakes start making continuous reappearances, he is faced with some of the most crucial decisions he's ever made.
When you have secrets, they can rip ragged holes in the ties that bind even the strongest relationships.
What do you do when you realize you're unforgivably broken?
“Hunter
Davis was taken into custody just hours after the body was discovered. Davis,
whose two silver medals helped Team USA’s Men’s Gymnastics win bronze at the
Olympics just months earlier, was named in a suicide note found in the girls’
bedroom. The note accused Davis
of raping Hansen weeks prior to her suicide. The note also implicated the gym’s
coach, Ensel Romanov, of having knowledge of the alleged rape and not notifying
authorities.”
“What are you
watching?”
Lili let out a
small yelp, slamming her hand down on the space bar to pause the video as she
spun toward where I was standing in the doorway.
“Jesus Christ,
Zane. You scared the shit out of me.” She let out a shaky breath, her eyes
drifting from mine as she avoided my question.
I blinked a few
times, trying to clear the remnants of the medication-induced sleep so I could
focus. My energy was shot and without my glasses, the tile of the kitchen floor
seemed oddly slanted as I took the first few shaky steps into the room. Lili
jumped up, moving quickly to help me to the table. It had taken some time to
get used to not only accepting help, but needing it. It wasn’t a concept I
enjoyed but after several fights with Tish, Paige, and even Lili, I was
learning to keep my mouth shut and let them help. After all, as the shooting
reminded me, I’m not invincible.
“What are you
doing out of bed?” She asked, holding me steady as I lowered myself into the
chair she’d just vacated.
“Woke up and you
weren’t there. I got worried.” I focused on relaxing the tense muscles in my
back. “What are you watching?” I asked again, hoping she wouldn’t evade my
direct question a second time.
“Old news clips.”
She started to
sit in the chair beside me but I grabbed her hand, pulling her toward me. “Come
here.” She curled up in my lap, carefully keeping her weight on my right side
as she tucked her head under my chin. She sighed, reaching out to press play on
the video.
“This
is not the first legal trouble for the River Bend
Gymnastics Club. Four years ago, Coach Romenav was arrested on child
pornography charges after an anonymous tip revealed nude pictures of an
underage gymnast on his phone. The same day, the female gymnast, Kylee Camden,
went missing. Camden, thought to be kidnapped, was well on her way to the Olympic Trials
that year…”
A picture came on
the screen then and the tension I felt radiating from Lili’s entire frame
nearly overwhelmed me. Her hair was lighter, a dark blonde, and her face was
much younger, but in her eyes, I could see my Lili. The hardness I knew wasn’t
there yet and her carefree smile made my heart ache. It was clear something
changed the girl on the screen into the one curled against me. That was a side
of her I’d never seen and would never know.
Lili reached out,
slamming the laptop closed, cutting off the newscaster mid-sentence as she
talked about the search for Kylee. I didn’t speak at first, giving her time to
sort her thoughts.
“This is why your
sister came?” I guessed, trailing my fingers slowly along her bare arm in a
gesture I hoped would show I wasn’t judging. I hadn’t meant to ask the
question. I knew I’d told her that her past didn’t matter but after Kaitlyn’s
appearance last week and Lili’s distance since they spoke, I’d be lying if I
said I wasn’t curious.
She nodded
slowly, moving carefully back to her spot against my chest, effectively hiding
her face from me. “She wanted me to know Hunter’s trial is coming up.”
I rested my chin
in her hair, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as the fingers of my other
hand found hers in her lap. Engulfing her tiny hand in mine, I ran my thumb
along her soft skin. As I tried to piece everything together, I wondered what
about the news story had involved Lili. Obviously she knew Hunter, and knew him
well enough that her sister tracked her down to let her know about the trial.
That was, of course, before I’d seen the picture of her. Now I knew she also
trained at the same gym.
“So, you know
him?”
She nodded
against my chest again but didn’t elaborate. I hated myself for the questions
that were building in my mind. I wanted to ask her so many things but I refused
to make her uncomfortable. She’d been open enough to watch at least part of the
newscast with me but until she was ready, I wouldn’t push. I couldn’t. As I’d
told Kas before, with Lili, pushing would send her running.
After several
minutes of silence, I bent down, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head.
“Let’s go back to bed, Pix.”
She nodded,
sliding off my lap before grabbing the computer. Staying beside me, she
steadied me as we made our way back to my bedroom. Sitting had unfortunately
made me stiff but I could tell my body was healing. Every day that went by was
easier than the last.
When they’d first
started decreasing the pain medicine in the hospital, I was surprised at just
how tight my muscles had become. I knew the damage to my body, of course, but
knowing it didn’t help in the slightest when it came to the actual experience.
Honestly, those first few days in the hospital, I wished I hadn’t woken up yet.
Especially when every single breath brought with it the agonizing memories of
the bullet ripping through my body. I’d declined the counselor and still
maintained that I didn’t remember anything after the gun went off, but truth be
told, it was a bold-faced lie.
I remembered it
all.
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