The Broken by Ker Dukey Read Free Book Online

looking at
River sitting behind the wheel of a gorgeous red Mustang. I notice
her watching an old Nissan pull up, and then Chelsea folds out from
behind the wheel. There’s no comparison. Chelsea is the definition
of easy; her short, tight skirt shows too much, her make-up is
plastered on, she’s pouting and applying more crap to her face as
she saunters up the path with River’s eyes burning a hole into the
back of her head. I smile and go to the door to greet her. Her eyes
devour my near-naked body, an undeniable sexual glint in her eye.
Her fake nails rake down my body. I flick my eyes to River and
usher Chelsea inside. Once I close the door I point her in Jasper’s
direction. “This is Jasper, he’s going to take care of your needs,
Chels. I’ve got shit to do.”
    Jasper cocks an
eyebrow, looking her up and down. She licks her lips.
    “Follow me,
sweetheart.” Jasper smirks and leads her upstairs.
    Chelsea had
always been a slut. I remember when I first fucked her in the back
of the cinema. We were on our first date; I was sixteen and hurting
because Blaydon had told me River was going to a dance with a guy
in her class. I wanted to be the one taking her to dances, but
although our age gap is nothing now, back then it was a big gap.
She was only fourteen, so I used Chelsea, and a couple of other
easy cheerleaders, for a year until I couldn’t stand touching them
when River was the only girl who occupied my every thought. So I
began the final wait. A full year of no dates, no hook-ups, just to
be crushed at the end when River didn’t wait for me.
    I climb the
stairs to my room, pull on some jeans and a t-shirt, and bolt back
down the stairs so I don’t have to listen to Chelsea wailing like a
chick being cut up in a horror flick. I jog across the lawn and try
the handle to Blay’s house. It gives under my hand so I push it
open.
    “Yo, Blay?”
    His head pops
around the kitchen door. “What’s up, dude?”
    He’s ironing.
My brow furrows and he laughs. “You know my sis can’t iron for
shit, so that job’s been delegated to me.” He holds up a tiny K’s
work polo. “Not that this takes much ironing, but believe me, she
still manages to come into work with wrinkles, so I iron her shit
and she does everything else.”
    He grins,
slipping the shirt onto a hanger. “What’s up?” he asks, redirecting
my focus back to the reason I came here.
    “So, I know
this is probably a delicate subject, but what happened with the
garage when your dad left?”
    His body
stiffens. “We run it.”
    “We?”
    He pulls his
eyes from mine, picks up a bigger work shirt, and begins ironing
it. “Me and River. I do the work and she runs the books and the
office.”
    I cross my arms
over my chest. “What happened with Saunders?”
    “When Dad …was
gone, we just took over. We did most of the work there anyway, man.
You know he was hardly there. Danny sorted the accounts for me and
it showed that Saunders was skimming off the top, pocketing himself
extra cash.”
    Holy shit.
Saunders was the manager of K’s. He ran things because Keith was
living more and more for the bottle.
    “So, is the
business in your name now?”
    Blaydon pales
and his hands shake. “No, it’s still all in Dad’s name. Danny got
me passwords and account numbers for his bank and shit. We run it
as if he never disappeared.” He looks up at me. “Why?” His tone is
cold, bitter.
    “I was just
curious. I saw Twink and I didn’t know she worked there. I know she
had a scholarship.”
    Pain crosses
his face, his lips press tight, a gloss coats his eyes. “I love my
sister more than life. She’s the reason I breathe. I want her to
have a good life, Sam. She’s not the same person she was when you
left. Neither of us are the same. Dark shit has plagued my fucking
life, and as much as I tried to keep her in the light, the shadows
pulled her in.”
    He’s totally in
his own world, his eyes gazing at the floor in front of him. His
hand