Love Damaged

Prologue Two-weeks prior ~Mia~ The morning sky greeted me as I opened my eyes and gazed around at my surroundings. It had been late when I arrived in Death Valley, and without a moon to provide light, it was impossible to see the scenery. Adjusting my seat into an upright position, the view outside my windshield was as breathtaking as I remembered. It had been a while since I’d come here. Had Ayden and I not had a huge fight, I doubt I’d be here now. I shook my head and rubbed my face. I had been awake five minutes, and the first thing on my mind was the man who broke my heart. How was I going to get over him? As I pushed the thoughts from my mind, I opened the door and released the latch on the convertible top. Within a few minutes, I had it lowered. Then I opened the trunk, hoping to find some clothes I may have left inside the last time I took my mother’s car on a trip. Thankfully, I’d been right. I found one of my duffle bags with a fresh set of clothes. As I pulled them out, I made a better discovery. At the bottom of the bag was a bottle of whiskey. Having a drink first thing in the morning didn’t seem like a wise choice, but I needed something to numb me. Whiskey would do the trick. It always had in the past. Staring at the bottle, I made my way back to my seat, but instead of sitting in it, I climbed into the back and sat on the compartment where the top was stored. The cap twisted with ease as I cracked open the bottle. One quick sniff and I contemplated my decision again. Ayden’s face played through my mind. Then the bottle touched my lips, and I accepted the liquid into my mouth. I didn’t think about the burn I’d feel until I swallowed. Still, it was better than the ache pulsing within me. No matter how much I tried to focus on something else, Ayden was branded into my brain. The look he had given me when he realized I was going to peel out of the parking space spoke of his fear as much as it did his frustration. If he had calmed down and spoken to me rationally, I may have reconsidered leaving. After the way he acted in the arena, the last thing I wanted was to stick around and argue more. He wanted me to admit to something I couldn’t. I was telling him the truth. Wesley was the one who’d lied. I regretted not telling Ayden the full story behind my breakup with D. If I had, maybe we wouldn’t be going through this. He would have recognized the same thing Andi and I had. Izzy and Wesley were working together, and depending on the results of my test, Wesley may have taken it a step further this time. My stomach rolled. I waited for it to subside then I took another drink from the bottle. This time, it was a bigger drink. I struggled to swallow it all, but I enjoyed every second the whiskey burned through me. Coming to Death Valley was fitting, considering it was the place where my life first went to hell. I glanced around at the rocks and dirt, curious about the things that had gone through my mother’s mind when she’d met Izzy’s mom here, seventeen years ago. It was the last place she stood. Maybe that’s why I always came here. Whenever I was here, I felt connected to her. She’d had her heart broken in this same place where I was salvaging what was left of mine. A few more shots of the whiskey soothed me enough that I didn’t break down in tears. I could have easily, but crying solved nothing. It didn’t convince Ayden that I was telling the truth. Leaning forward, I turned the knob on the radio until music filled the empty air around me. The song playing was by a band that got their break at Music Haven. It was one of the last groups my grandfather signed before he passed away. No matter where in this world I went, I would never escape who I was. It was a curse and a blessing at the same time. I would never have a normal life. For me to think I would just confirmed how delusional I was. It also proved that Music Haven wouldn’t exist past me. The whiskey bottle met my lips again. I took a few more long drinks, desperate to erase the memories from my mind for a few hours. I’d never do it permanently. I felt the buzz of the alcohol, enjoying the way it eased the tension tightening my muscles. Why couldn’t I find this level of peace any other time? I loved my life at Music Haven, but I wanted to share it with someone. Wesley was determined it would be him, but that would never make me happy. I despised him, wouldn’t piss on him if he were on fire. Chuckling at the thought, I realized how much I was losing it. Drinking at six in the morning. Thinking about pissing on my ex. Contemplating my existence. I went from one extreme to the next. Was I having a mental break down? Perhaps I was. Good. Maybe then Wesley would leave me alone, though I highly doubted it. Just the thought of his smug face was enough to stoke my anger to life. I gripped the bottle of whiskey, jumped out of the car, and walked back toward the trunk. Instead of putting the bottle inside, I neared the guardrail overlooking the valley below. I looked over the edge as far as I could, curious about how much of a drop it would be. No one would survive a fall from here. Heights didn’t scare me, but they sure as hell bothered my ex, which is why Wesley never came with me to this spot. D had, not long after I brought him to Music Haven. I had planned to bring Ayden, but now . . . The searing pain in my heart made me wince. I didn’t think when I slammed my hand against the guardrail post. It took a few minutes for me to realize why I heard a high-pitch cracking. Neither the red splatters on my shirt nor the blood trickling down my hand made sense until I saw the broken whiskey bottle. “Great,” I mumbled. Inspecting my hand, I found a large sliver of glass in the center. Once I eased it out, the blood flowed faster. Going back to the trunk, I searched inside again for something I could use to wrap around my hand. The first aid kit I kept in most of my vehicles had somehow disappeared from this one. When I came up with nothing, I glanced at my shirt. The frayed edges would be enough to make a decent bandage. Besides, the shirt was already ruined from the blood I’d managed to get on it. Within a few minutes, I had the shirt in my hand, a few of the edges ripped off, and the best bandage I could make with the material I had. The whiskey was good enough to clean the wound, and once I wrapped the cloth around my hand, it felt ten times better. After removing the rest of my clothes and changing into the clean ones, I slipped my shoes back on then shoved the old clothes into the trunk, closing it when I’d finished. Now I had to make a decision on where to go from here. As I climbed back into the car and sat near the trunk, I debated my options. I could go back to Music Haven, deal with the situation, and hope for peace while Breaking Silence was on site. After they were established, they would have the money to buy their own homes wherever they chose to live. Or, I could take a break from the insanity and find someplace to lay low. Andi was more than capable of running things in my absence. I still had my phone and could answer work-related calls, if I chose to do so. I would have to keep in contact with Andi, and doing that meant she’d beg me to come back every chance she could. The thought of returning had my heart racing, much like it had the night before, during my argument with Ayden. I struggled to fight back the tears forming in my eyes. This wasn’t my first argument in a relationship, but I’d never felt fear the way I did when Ayden was in screaming in my face. An unmistakable sound of a motorcycle engine roared in the distance. I glanced in the same direction, curious who would be in Death Valley this early in the morning. The deep rumble increased as the bike grew closer. Once it did, it took me five seconds to recognize it. I knew that black and blue Harley Davidson—had been on the back seat many times. Still, seeing it here, in the middle of nowhere, made my heart pinch. He promised to always be here for me, and he was living up to his word. D had found me, and yet I didn’t know how he’d managed to drive from Florida to here in such a short time. It was impossible, which meant he hadn’t been in his home state. He had been somewhere close. He pulled his motorcycle beside my car. Then dark eyes found mine. No words were exchanged. Instead, I stood on the trunk of my mother’s car and took his hand when he offered it to me. Then I placed my foot on one of the pegs before easing onto the backseat. As soon as I was seated, I drew in the scent of his cologne. The familiar notes comforted me. When he peered over his shoulder, the smile lifting his lips made me sigh. I wrapped my arms around his waist. Wherever he was taking me, I was ready to go, so long as it wasn’t Music Haven. “Ready to get out of here?” I nodded. Pressing my chest to his back, I leaned closer to his ear and whispered, “Promise you won’t take me back.” He didn’t hesitate on giving me an answer. “I promise.” “Good,” I whispered and pressed my cheek to his shoulder. “I don’t care where we go, as long as it’s not back to the hell I just left.” “Don’t worry, baby girl. I have the perfect place in mind.”