Fractured by Erin Hayes Read Free Book Online

insistence sometimes.
    “No,” she whispered. “No, they’re not getting married.”
    There was no way they were getting married. Bash would’ve at least told her that. Right? And with the ski trip to Colorado coming up soon...
    No, they wouldn’t be getting married. They’d only known each other six months for Christ’s sake.
    You’ll see , the voice said smugly. You’ll see . You’ve failed us Lii—illlly...
    She rubbed her palms to her eyes, feeling her soul break at the admission. All she wanted her entire life was to be loved. Now, she really was never going to have her happy ending.
    A rustling sound made her glance up into the trees, which were swaying even harder now, despite the lack of wind, like an invisible person was shaking them. She frowned, feeling an overwhelming sense of negativity sweep over her. She shivered involuntarily.
    You’ll see .
     
     

     
     
    CHAPTER THREE
     
    T wo weeks later
     
    “We need to get going if we’re going to make it to Steamboat Springs tonight,” Seth barked. He mentally winced, thinking that his tone reminded himself so much of his commanding officer back in Afghanistan. Don’t even go there , he thought to himself and shook his head.
    From the other side of the SUV, his best friend Darius, the guy he’d trust with his life, met his eyes and gave him a funny look as if to say, Dude, stop ordering us around. Seth shrugged and hoped that he could get rid of the shadow of their CO.
    “These’re about as tight as they’re gonna be,” another voice added, breaking through their unspoken conversation. Seth’s younger brother, Scott, hopped down from the back of the old GMC Suburban after strapping everyone’s skis and snowboards to the top of the SUV. He wiped his hands on his pants with a huge, metal-encased grin.
    At just sixteen years old, Scott had picked up their father’s Irish genes, so he had their family’s trademark red hair, green eyes, and a splattering of freckles across the nose. Scott was gangly and awkward, far more than Seth had been at that age. Hell, the kid still had braces.
    It would be good just to get him away from computer games and out and doing stuff. Their father had a pretty stern talk with Seth when he came in from Fort Hood the night before. Something about not letting Scott go too crazy on this trip to Colorado, all because Seth’s “hoodlum friends would be there”. Of course, Seth had to assure their father that nothing would happen. Truth be told, he didn’t care what Scott did as long as he had fun. After all, Scott needed to break out of his shell.
    He clapped Scott on the shoulder, feeling a sense of protectiveness towards him. “Go grab the suitcases and we’ll start piling them in,” he said.
    Darius chuckled. Watching the gangly kid carry their bags was going to be amusing.
    Although some bags were already stacked chest high by the SUV, Seth knew there were more inside his parents’ house. It would be tight quarters for seven passengers in the Suburban, and some people would have been happier for more privacy. Then again, they were borrowing his dad’s Suburban to get there, so no one could really complain.
    Rick, his good friend from high school, came out of the house with his girlfriend Maria firmly latched onto his arm. After graduation, while Seth enlisted in the Army, Rick went to college and got an MPA in accounting. He hated his job at a local accounting firm, but he was making good money. And he had a hot girlfriend, whom Seth had to fight hard not to gape at. She wasn’t Bash, but damn .
    “We all gonna fit in there?” Maria asked. She was chewing bubblegum and popped it loudly in three short bursts, oddly sounding like gunfire. Seth winced at the sound.
    Maybe I should go see that psychiatrist , he thought warily. He was just afraid of what he’d have to tell the shrink. There were a bunch of things he didn’t want to remember. Lots of things... PTSD was a bitch.
    “There’s enough seats,”