Page 11 of Unbroken

“Did you get out on good behavior?” I ask, sliding the mug towards him, moving over to the glass case to get his muffin. I need Fran to get here ASAP so I can get the hell out of this place. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, he shows up. Looking better than ever in his lumberjack attire. Big and burley in a flannel shirt and denim jeans. His muscles clearly filled out while he was on the inside, and he has more ink running up his neck, leading straight to his scruffy beard, which makes him look sexy as hell.

God, why does he have to be so good looking? Why couldn’t he have gotten out with rotten teeth and a big fat belly, anything to make the sting of his rejection not so painful?

“Wren.”

I look at the muffin, watching as the plate wobbles in my hand, nearly sending the thing to the ground.

“Look at me, baby. It’s been a long damn time, angel.”

I shakily place the plate in front of him, trying to catch my breath. I can’t do it. This whole friend thing. I’m not cut out for it. I need him to leave. I need him to get back in his car and get the hell away from me.

“Sorry if I’m not thrilled about you showing up, Kayden. It’s a little unexpected, and I’m not exactly sure what to think after you um...” I can’t even say the words. After he ripped my heart out with his break-up letter, making sure I wasn’t confused on his feelings for me.

“We need to talk, baby. Is there somewhere private we can go?”

No. I’m not doing this. I don’t want to hear some heartfelt apology about how he’s sorry for the way he ended things. I don’t want to be tortured any further. I’d rather believe he was still locked behind bars. Knowing he’s out is going to destroy me. Six years. It wasn’t twenty. But six. Doesn’t matter. The end for us was inevitable because apparently, he never truly loved me. Came to that realization since he had all that time on his hands to truly think about the way he felt.

I shake my head. “Sorry. Fran’s running late this morning, and I have to handle the morning rush. Here you go. It’s on the house.” I should’ve put it in a bag and given him a to-go cup for his coffee. Now, he’s inclined to stay in my diner even longer. He’s going to make sure the image of him sitting at my bar is burned deep inside my brain.

“What time do you get off work, angel?”

No, this isn’t happening, and I need to be blunt about it before he pushes me to my breaking point. “I’m not doing this Kayden. I’m happy you’re out because you certainly didn’t belong behind bars, but I have a life now and I’m not interested in taking a step back into the past. So, if you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you ate and then left.”

The tension grows around his eyes and in his jaw. He’s not happy by the request, but what did he expect? Did he really just think I was going to want to kumbaya with him and reminisce over a cup of coffee? Did he think I was going to want to be buddy buddy with him, maybe help set him up with some local girl? A single friend of mine. Just the thought is gut wrenching.

He even said it himself. He knew I was going to hate him. He shouldn’t expect me to throw my arms around him and jump for joy. Honestly, I wish I did hate him because then this would be so much easier. Life would be so much easier.

“I know you’re upset with the way I handled things, babe, but I needed to do it that way. If you give me a chance to explain…”

I look over to Mr. G who’s very much attuned to the conversation I’m having, and it’s making me nervous. Before news spreads that some ex-convict showed up demanding to meet with me and I become the latest gossip in town, I need to deal with this.

“This isn’t the time or place, Kayden. Why don’t you sit down and enjoy your breakfast, and we’ll have this conversation when we don’t have listening ears.” I point a stare at Mr. G, who gives me a sheepish look before burying his nose back in his newspaper, but I’d bet money his hearing aids are now turned all the way up.

“I’ll wait till you get off work so we can talk.”

Great. So now he’s just going to sit here all day? My shoulders drop. If I have to see his handsome face all day, I’m going to break. It’s better if I nip this in the bud now and send him packing. “Fine. Come. Let’s go chat. But I only have a minute. Someone has to watch the front.”

I walk around the counter and then straight out the front entrance, stepping to the side of the building so the customers can’t watch us through the windows. I’m sure there’s going to be whispering anyway, but I’ll deal with that later.

“God, baby. You’re still just as breathtaking.”

A shudder runs down my spine as I look up at Kayden’s unnervingly handsome face. The fluttering feeling that would always take hold when he looked at me is back, but it isn’t a welcome feeling. I don’t want his flattery. I don’t want to be buttered up. I just want him to go back to where he came from and never contact me again.

“Why’d you come here, Kayden? Don’t you have better things to do with your freedom?” I cross my arms, doing everything inmy power to maintain my strength. Being this close to him is too much.

“I got out two days ago, babe. And there was only one person I wanted to see.”

Two days ago.That means he came straight here.

“That’s sweet,” I snap, unable to hide my irritation with the fact that he just couldn’t wait to come and ruin my life. He broke my heart. Couldn’t he have the common decency to just leave me alone? I don’t want to be his friend. I just want to pretend like he never existed. “I’m sorry you wasted a trip on me. But I would like for you to go and never contact me again.”

“Baby, just let me fucking explain.” He reaches for me, but I shrug away from his hand. If he touches me, I’ll lose it, and I don’t want to burst into tears in the middle of the sidewalk in the middle of this tiny town.

“No, you don’t need to explain. I hate you, Kayden,” I grit the words through my teeth, all the emotions that I’ve been trying to suppress are about to boil over. “I hate you so much. Every day.” I shake my head. “Every day, I wished you’d write me. I so desperately wanted to read your sweet words in a letter and know that you were all right. To know that you still thought about me. And then one day, the envelope showed up. My heart leapt for joy.” I thought he’d finally realized I wasn’t going to give up on him. I thought he was finally writing me to tell me how much he loved me and missed me. But the words on that page broke my heart.

“Baby, please.” He steps closer, looking down into my eyes. His are swarming with regret, and I fucking snap. I don’t want him to bandage me up with apologies and tell me I’m going to meet someone special and will forget all about our silly relationship. I don’t want to hear him apologize for not loving me. I just want him to go.

“I really need you to leave, Kayden. If you want to be a friend, then I’m asking you to get in your car and drive the hell away from here. You’ve done enough damage, and I don’t need to be reminded of the pain. So please just get in your car and go live your free life and let me live mine. I’ve got a good thing going, and I don’t need you to uproot it.”