Beautifully Destroyed (Beautifully Broken)

There’s a desperate need to put as much distance as possible between my attacker and me.

“Going on vacation?” Sherrie asks, her eyes flicking to me via the rearview mirror.

I shake my head. “Moving.”

“Oh, where?”

Only then do I realize I’ve lost the ability to trust people. “San Diego,” I lie.

“Nice,” she grins. “I hear the weather there is perfect. Not freezing like here.”

I nod, hunching my shoulders as I wrap my arms around my midsection.

“You have family there?” she asks.

I only nod, too exhausted and mentally drained to even try and have a conversation.

Somehow, I’ll have to act like my old self when I reach Southport, so Quinn doesn’t realize there’s something wrong. Just until I find the strength to tell my family what happened.

I need time to deal with the trauma… somehow.

Or I need to forget it ever happened.

I doubt that’s a possibility, and it makes my heart weigh a ton.

ETHAN

I park my truck, and once again, Quinn says, “Thank you so much for doing this.”

“Sure.” With Dad helping Eli at the hardware store and Mom standing in for Quinn at the bakery, Quinn asked me to pick up her cousin who’s moving to Southport.

From what Quinn’s told us, Finlay’s a lot like her, an introvert.

Climbing out of the truck, my eyes land on the bus coming up the road. Quinn steps closer while I hang back so they’ll have some privacy to say hello.

The bus comes to a stop, and I glance at the elderly couple climbing off. A girl’s next, and I wonder if she’s Finlay. Quinn doesn’t move until another girl steps off the bus. She has a guitar hanging at her back, light brown hair tied back in a ponytail, her face cast down.

“Finlay,” Quinn calls out.

The girl lifts her head, and there’s an intense slam to my heart, robbing me of my breath.

Holy fuck.

I’ve seen beautiful girls before, Quinn included, but Finlay’s… breathtakingly stunning. She has huge eyes, lending a vulnerable quality to her petite, heart-shaped face. A button nose and perfectly bowed lips. A slender neck. Hands made for a piano.

Her clothes are baggy, though, almost boyish. A checkered shirt and jeans, rounded off by sneakers. The shirt looks like it’s a man’s, and there’s a flicker of disappointment as I wonder if she has a boyfriend.

“I’m so glad you’re finally here,” Quinn says, her tone brimming with happiness before she pulls Finlay into a tight hug.

Finlay’s features tighten for a moment as if she’s in pain, and I instinctively take a step closer. Then, slowly, she wraps her arms around Quinn while sucking in a trembling breath.

She’s probably just emotional from seeing Quinn.

When the women pull apart, Finlay wipes a tear from her cheek. “I’m glad too.”

I’m so caught up staring at her, I see and hear nothing else around me.

“I hope those are happy tears,” Quinn says, her tone soft and warm.

“Yeah. Of course.” Finlay’s lips curve up, and once again, my ability to breathe is missing in action from the sight of her beauty.

“Let me look at you,” Finlay says as she takes in her cousin. “Dang, girl, you just keep getting prettier.”

Quinn gestures at Finlay. “You’re one to talk.” I catch a look of concern on Quinn’s face. “I’ll have to feed you, though. Don’t they have food in Naperville?”

Finlay turns to the bus to get her luggage, and I move closer to help. Quinn grabs two bags, and Finlay takes hold of another. Adjusting the guitar’s strap over her shoulder, she turns around toward me. Her eyes lock on me, and when fear ripples over her face, it makes my stomach sink.

She takes a step backward, her lips parting on a breath. Gray irises, the color of the clouds when a hurricane’s rolling in, stare at me.

“Ethan is Eli’s brother,” Quinn says with a chuckle, probably trying to set her cousin at ease.

“Oh,” the word drifts from Finlay, her eyes glued to me as if she’s afraid I’ll attack her.

“Thanks, Ethan,” Quinn says when I come to a stop next to her. “This is my cousin Finlay.”

Keeping my movements slow, I reach a hand out to her. “Nice to meet you.”

I watch as Finlay hesitates, her eyes dropping to my hand, but then she places her much smaller one in mine. “Same.”

Her skin is soft as silk before she pulls away from me, fisting her hand as if my touch repulses her.

Ouch.

Grabbing the luggage from the women, I head to the truck and load it onto the back. A frown settles on my forehead as I strap the bags down, wondering what’s up with Finlay and her reaction to me.

I know I can come off as intimidating, but damn, I’d never hurt anyone intentionally. It actually makes me feel shitty.

Glancing at Finlay, I ask, “Gonna keep the guitar with you?”