Broken Bond by C.J. Primer

40

CALLUM

I don’t typically get nervous. Agitated and pissed off, sure. Annoyed, definitely. But nervous? It’s not a frequent state for me, at least it wasn’t until recently.

Since I returned from the mission, it’s like

I’ve lived in a constant state of

apprehension. Coming clean about my past and trying to win Nessa back came with a heavy dose of nerves, as did confronting Troy, but after successfully navigating all of that, I thought I was finally in the clear. Troy was exiled last week. Nessa has remained by my side, and we’re closer than ever. I can’t remember a time when I’ve been more at peace that I have been this week, but now here I am again, a fumbling, uneasy bundle of nervous energy as I walk with Nessa up to the front door of her family’s house.

“You’ve already won me over, but now you

have to win my parents.”

That’s what Nessa said when she invited me to this dinner, and my anxiety has been on overdrive since. I’ve never been great with parents, and the thought of coming face to face with these people after I abandoned

their daughter and broke her heart has me feeling physically ill. Sure, we’re back together now, but that doesn’t undo my past mistakes. Nessa may be giving me a clean slate, but I doubt her parents will be as forgiving.

“You ready?” Nessa asks, pausing with her hand on the knob of the front door and looking back at me with an encouraging smile.

I blow out a breath, nodding slowly. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” I mumble past the lump in my throat.

She leans in, cupping my jaw in a palm and brushing her lips against mine. “You’ll be fine,” she reassures. Her touch and scent

send a wave of calm rushing through me, but then Nessa twists the knob to open the front door and I follow her inside, stepping into a scene that can only be described as

utter chaos.

Right after I step over the threshold, a hockey puck flies at my head and I bob out of

the way at the last second, my head whipping around to see it collide with the

wall beside the door. 2

“Marco, Matias!” Nessa calls sharply, turning a glare on a set of pre-teen identical twins running through the foyer with

hockey sticks clutched in their hands. “You know the rules,” she admonishes.

“Yeah, yeah,” one of them sighs, rolling his eyes as he skids to a stop. “Not in the house.”

“Exactly,” she tuts, stooping down to pick the puck up off the floor. She hands it back to the kid and ruffles the top of his dark hair, much to his chagrin. “You’d better go put those sticks back in the garage before Mom

and Dad see.”

The twins scamper away, groaning, and a high-pitched yell draws my attention to the stairs, my eyes widening when I see a blur of motion as a younger boy shoots down them riding atop a red plastic sled. He picks up so much speed by the time he reaches the bottom that he goes crashing into the wall opposite the stairs with a loud thump, laughing hysterically when he lands in heap on the floor.

2

Nessa rushes over to help him up, her eyes wide with concern. “Raf, are you okay?!”

“That was awesome!” another young boy calls from the top of the stairs, jumping up and down excitedly. “Bring it back up, I wanna try!”

Nessa whips around, glaring up at him and pointing a finger. “Absolutely not! No more sledding down the stairs.”

The real-life crash dummy- Raf, apparently

– is still laughing like he just had the ride of his life. “Lucas, you have to try it!”

“No,” Nessa repeats, confiscating the sled from him as soon as he picks it up off the floor. “Go wash up for dinner, little

menace.” She shoos him away with a pat on the back, then pulls open the door of a small coat closet and stuffs the sled inside to hide it.

“Mom!” a shrill voice calls out, followed by a very angry looking teenage girl stomping into view from the upstairs hallway. “Mia got into my makeup again!” She freezes when she looks down and sees me standing in the foyer, her face flushing with

embarrassment before she whips around and runs out of sight.

“Did not!” a tiny voice replies defensively, and I turn to see a little girl in a bright pink dress skipping into the foyer, the evidence of her lie all over her face in the form of a truly awful makeup application. She lights up

when she sees Nessa, her face splitting into a

wide smile. “Ness!” she squeals, running up to her and launching herself into her arms.

“Hey, little one,” Nessa laughs, scooping up the small girl and balancing her on a hip. You know you’re not supposed to be playing in Elena’s makeup.”

“I wasn’t,” she protests, but then Nessa

gives her a hard look that has her heaving

a

sigh and coming clean. “I only used a little

bit. I wanted to look like Princess Aurora.”

Nessa shakes her head, an amused giggle slipping from her lips.

The little girl in her arms suddenly spots me, brown eyes widening as she points a finger in my direction. “Who are you?”

throat, shuffling my feet, and Nessa

she provides. “Callum, this is my littlest sister, Mia.”

he your boyfriend?” Mia asks

((

incredulously.

to set her sister down. “Go wash that makeup off

about him. Use the makeup wipes

delight, rushing off in a blur of pink tulle.

you that my house can be a little

as she steps closer and reaches out to take my hand.

brow,

love that sound. We’ve been through a lot of shit lately, but since we came out of it, she’s been laughing more and more.

lead me from the foyer into the living

again as we

room. floor, making our

the

feels like a

see in movies but never believe exists in real life. My own house was always

its walls.

to an old Billy Joel song blaring from a small speaker that effectively

croons, striding over to greet Nessa with a warm embrace. He drops a kiss atop her head, stepping back to give her a once-over. “We’ve

see you again, sir,” I say politely, forcing the words

throat.

Diaz levels me with a stern look. “We

have to have a talk, son.”

bottoms out, a cold chill

washing over me.

on, Dad, can’t we get through dinner first?” Nessa

my hand

with a stoic expression. He looks to me again, beckoning me with a flick of his head. “Come

finish getting the table

Nessa’s hand and following her dad to the sliding glass door off the kitchen, my heart racing as we step out into the night and he closes it behind

father, my guts are so twisted up that I feel

smile as he moves closer, clapping a hand down on my shoulder and leaning in. “Relax, this isn’t an interrogation.”

my face and heaving a sigh. I’ve gone over what I wanted to say so many times, but now that I’m standing here across from Nessa’s father with his tight-set jaw and

in my brain.

begin, shuffling my feet on the concrete patio below. “I

leaving her the way I did, and that’s something I’ll always regret. But she’s giving me another chance,

a good girl, and I trust her. That means trusting her to make the best decisions for

He heaves a sigh, sidestepping to a wooden patio chair and sinking down onto it, gesturing to the seat across from

I follow his cue, dropping down into the chair

got pregnant. We were still kids ourselves, we had no idea what we were going to do with a child of our own. And then Vanessa came along.” His lips pull into a smile, his

kitchen through the glass patio doors. Nessa is grinning,

(C

she assists her with the meal. Just looking at her, at the beautiful smile on her face, my heart swells. Special is an understatement. Nessa is

and my gaze snaps back to him. “I love Lia with everything I

in those first few years. Life is stressful, starting a family

didn’t run just because

lump in my throat, my fingers

patio chair.

a relationship,” he says, leaning forward and pinning me with a somber

anywhere,” I grind out. “I won’t make

” Good. Because second chances are a gift.” He points a finger in

“I know I screwed up…”

interrupts. “It’s human nature. It

them. I’m not going to hold yours against you, as long as you take good care of my

in doing so, I’m trusting you with my baby girl. Don’t make me regret it.”

won’t, sir,” I reply with a shake of my head. “I promise. Nessa is the best thing that ever happened to me, and I won’t risk

across his face in response. “Good. I’ll hold you to that.” He pushes up from his chair, signaling the end of our conversation, and I quickly

For trusting

back toward the house. Ordinarily, I’d recoil at a gesture like that, uncomfortable with human touch,

wish I’d had. Sometimes I wonder what my

mind, Mr. Diaz pauses before opening the door to head back inside. “I heard about what happened over in

for you if you ever need to talk,

Anything.” 2

tightens, an

behind my eyes. “Thank

I say again. “I

open and ushering me back inside. As we enter, Ness immediately shoots me a look as if to ask if I’m good, and I nod

own father figure, and I haven’t felt that from another adult

Vaughn. 1

my hand and pressing a soft

of complete peace washes over me.

of the corner of my eye, I

arms around her waist and whispering something in her ear, and then they both look our way, knowing grins on their faces. In the two

my future with Nessa, and damnit if I’m not looking forward

and causing mayhem. I slip an arm

slowly.

imagine. I never believed it could really happen for someone like me. And now that

with Nessa’s family resembled the

we walked into when we arrived. The two younger boys kept flicking