Unveiled (Torn #6)(16)

I loved those two madly and hated being in this position, but as much as Emma was the reason for his lunatic actions, she also had the power to heal him like no one else. Emma simply had that kind of influence over him. It was truly boggling how he would open his arms, knowing he’d keep on hurting over and over again. As the saying went, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

She sighed. “You’re right. Maybe I have to think this through. There’s only so much stress I can handle. I mean, after the miscarriage, I want this one to be different. Going through that ugly process once was enough.”

“You know better than anyone what’s best for you, babe.” Reaching out to give her arm a tight squeeze, I released a breath, the heaviness in my heart easing.

“I’ll call him later today, and I’ll take it from there. Maybe he and I could talk without having to see each other.” She was talking more to herself rather than conversing with me. “Yeah.” She made a small nod, as if she had finally made up her mind. “I think I can handle that better …”

I thought it was the best idea I’d heard all morning.

“It’s brilliant, babe. It wouldn’t hurt to try it. Thanks for dropping by anyway. It’s good to see you.” I leaned over to kiss her cheek before she and I made quick goodbyes and promised to call each other for updates.



It was admirable of Emma to even consider trying to help Carter after what my brother had caused between her and Bass. However, I supposed she was secure enough in her life to look beyond the past and focus only on the road ahead.

It was commendable, though a little foolish, too.

Heck, but who was I to judge? I had my own mess to solve, and by the look of it, my problems wouldn’t go away even if I made a deal with the devil just so Claudine would disappear from our lives. I felt guilty for not being one hundred percent focused on my brother’s predicament as I had promised myself; however, all that had dominated my mind since I dragged myself out of bed to shower was how to solve the problem of Claudine without damaging my relationship with Dimitris.

She was my Nikki to Emma’s previous hurdles with Bass. And God how I loathed that Russian cunt! She hadn’t stopped until she had wreaked havoc in all their lives, ruining and poisoning their relationship until there were only ashes left.

At one point, I had honestly thought Bass and Emma weren’t ever going to get back together. They were just too destroyed, too distrustful, too possessive, and their love was the epitome of borderline psychosis. They represented the fine line between love and hate. We were all shocked when they managed to pull through it and start having a well-adjusted married life.

If Emma could endure and survive all that crap, why couldn’t I? My girlfriends were my best friends and also my mentors, though they had no clue I thought of them in such a way. Heaven forbid Trista ever found out. She would happily lecture me on every mistake I committed from there on out. So, yes, there were valid reasons for why I kept that to myself.

*

After getting back to the room, I forwent telling Carter about Emma’s impromptu visit. Since she planned on calling him herself, I didn’t think it necessary to let him know she had come by.

As pessimistic as I was about Emma’s idea, I couldn’t deny the fact that I hoped her methods would help add structure to his life once more. We all had been through such heartaches, and I admit, when I was under its influence, seeing past anything I was going through was hard. All I could focus on were my problems; the rest of the world somehow was non-existent.

So when four p.m. came and went and still no word from Dimi, my nerves immediately shot up to where I was contemplating prescription drugs to steady myself. It almost felt like I was hyperventilating, as though I had a few cups of espressos, a vitamin B-shot with a hefty dose of Adderall, all in one heck of a jittery meltdown. The words why hasn’t he called kept swirling in my brain, making me doubt he wanted to see me that evening.

I wasn’t certain whether to save a little pride and wait until he was ready to speak to me or make the first move and drive to see him.

My indecision came to a standstill when Carter announced he wanted to sleep awhile since his medication was taking effect. Amber, Trista, Brody and I all agreed it was best to leave him and come back for another round of visits sometime that evening or the next morning when we could bring him some breakfast.

We were silent as we walked side by side, heading towards the parking lot. Earlier on, I had caught Amber giving Brody some lingering glances, as if she was trying to get his attention, but he was indifferent to them. It was apparent she was still completely in love with him, yet he might as well be living on a different planet because he was clearly blind to it. It was rather odd that I felt sorry for her. I knew very well how unrequited love felt, having dealt with it for most of my life. Thinking this, feeling poorly for Amber, showed me I truly was over my adoration to Brody Thompson.

Maybe, just maybe, someday, when he wasn’t so caught up with everything else that was going on, he’d notice her.

After a quick wave of goodbyes, I was pulling my keys out of my pocket when I heard Brody call after me.

“Linds, do you have a minute?”

Shit. Did Trista and Amber leave already?

Quickly scanning the lot for their cars, I let out a sound of relief when I saw them pulling out, driving towards the exit and onto the main street. I wasn’t sure why but I simply didn’t want Amber to see me speaking to Brody. It was odd but I know this move would truly hurt her so I wanted to avoid seeing that in her already very wounded eyes.