Etching Our Way (Broken Tracks 1)

I take the opportunity to get away from it all and head back inside, walking toward Nate and Mom as they walk in the direction of the backyard, more anger rolling through me. “What do you two think you’re doing?”

“I…” Mom’s hand flies to her chest, her fingers tapping relentlessly before she turns to Nate for his help.

“I already told you.” He shrugs. “You need to get your shit together, and this is the first step.”

He takes Mom’s hand, pulling her toward the backyard and leaving me standing in the kitchen, watching them as they all laugh.

Who the hell do they think they are doing this? This is my home, my family, my kids. What gives them—

My eyes flit to the grill as the memory of Natalia and me standing in front of it assaults me, her swollen stomach sitting between us as she tells me Izzie is kicking her like a soccer ball again.

Natalia wouldn’t want this; she wouldn’t want all this anger to consume me the way it is right now. She’d want me to go upstairs and get changed, to have a fun afternoon with the family.

I sigh, bracing my hands on the kitchen counter before pushing off it and heading upstairs. I pull off the suffocating suit and change into a t-shirt and jeans—already feeling lighter—before walking downstairs and heading over to the grill, taking the spatula out of Edward’s hand and not saying a word to anyone as I concentrate on the burgers sitting in front of me.

I flip them over before lifting my head and smiling at the laughter coming from Clay and Izzie. I can’t remember the last time both of the kids ran around the garden, playing like they should. It’s been too long and I need to work on that; I need to make sure that they laugh more and act like kids.

I watch as Izzie tags Clay and runs off, hiding behind Nate and squealing as Clay gets closer to her.

“Help me, Uncle Nate!”

He leans down, picking her up and putting her on his shoulders before running in a huge circle as Clay chases after them both, trying his best not to let the laughter overtaking his body stop his fast pace.

My grin widens at the sight of them all and a foreign feeling of peace washes over me that I haven’t felt in so long.

It’s taken us over five years to get to this point and they’ve been five hard years, but things are going to change from now on. No more hiding away to save my own feelings.

The sound of the doorbell ringing brings me out of my thoughts and I put the spatula down as Amelia comes out of the kitchen, passing Mom a glass of white wine.

“I’ll get it,” I tell her as she starts to walk back into the house.

I walk through the kitchen and over the marble floors, pulling the front door open and coming face to face with a UPS man.

“Package for Amelia Rivers,” he murmurs.

I take the clipboard he holds out to me and sign my name, taking the box from him and closing the door.

“It’s for you,” I say when I’m back out on the terrace, handing Amelia the package. She takes it from me, her face screwing up as she stares down at it. “Everything okay, A?”

“Erm… yeah, sure.” She pastes a smile on her face and spins around, walking across the circle stones that are interspersed in the grass and over to the pool house.

I frown as I watch her walk inside and shut the door behind her, leaving me confused. She’s never secretive, but whatever is in that package has her acting strange.

Was Nate right? Have I been blind to the things going on around me?

“Dude,” Nate says, coming to stand beside me and taking my focus off Amelia.

I shake my head, going back to the burgers and flipping them over again. “Dude? Really, Nate?”

He shrugs. “Just because I’m in my thirties doesn’t mean I’m any less of an eighteen-year-old at heart.”

I grin at him, remembering the long hair he had right up until he started at the law firm. He was the definition of “hippie” in college and someone who I never thought I could be friends with. Up until I met him, all of my real friends lived on the other side of the tunnel, but he was like me. He had family money behind him yet he wasn’t afraid to be himself. I think that’s why we became so close, because we both knew the pressures of carrying our family names but also trying to fight to be yourself at the same time.

Lately, we’ve drifted apart, no longer the close friends that we used to be. I know it’s my fault, that I’ve pulled away from him because of what he reminds me of, but I don’t know how to get back to the place we were once at. I don’t know if we can ever be those two carefree people again.

I shake my head, dispelling my thoughts and plate the cooked burgers before carrying them to the table and telling Clay and Izzie to come and sit down to eat.

“So…” he starts when I’m back at the grill, looking all around him. “I need to tell you something that I probably should have said in your office.”