Break Me Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Acknowledgements

  About the author

  BREAK ME

  Copyright © 2015 Ashley Christin

  All rights reserved.

  Editor: Jenny Carlsrud Sims

  Cover Artist: Sprinkles on Top Studios

  Formatted by: Cassy Roop of Pink Ink Designs

  2015 Edition

  LICENSE NOTICE

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner, the only exception being inclusion of brief quotations for review. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This Ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  DISCLAIMER

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. Please note this novel contains profanity and sexual situations.

  ISBN 13: 978-1507898406

  ISBN 10: 1507898401

  Brealynn

  “Lean in!” Kelsey announces from the passenger seat of my Jeep as she holds out her iPhone to take a selfie of us. I pull my long ponytail over my shoulder and smile so big my cheeks are blurring my vision. Kelsey tilts her head to the left, leaning her brown hair against my blonde, and sticks her tongue out for the camera. We just arrived back on campus for the spring semester, and she is hell bent on documenting our whole journey on Instagram. The hashtag this semester is #SingleBestieStatus.

  “Instagram straight flexin’!” she declares after she snaps the photo. I just ignore her ramblings because she is always saying crazy, off-the-wall things, but so am I. I swear we have our own language.

  Kelsey and I have been friends since she arrived on campus for her first day of eighth grade. We became best friends a few hours later when Alex Black was being a complete bully to me at lunch and Kelsey stood up for me. When things got bad for her at home, our bond became unbreakable, and we have been soul sisters ever since. We firmly believe there must have been a mix-up with the baby makers the day we were born; clearly, we should have been sisters from the start.

  Kelsey had moved around a lot before she landed in our small town north of Dallas. She never really talks about her life before I met her. I know that it must have been very chaotic. I mean, how many people could move around as much as she did and stay sane? She once told me before eighth grade that she had already attended seven schools. Seven. She never had time to actually have a life or a childhood. From what Kelsey has told me, her mom is just a very unsettled person and has always blamed her for being a burden. One night, she got into it with her mom pretty bad, and she ended up on my front porch with a bag. We told my mom enough so she would agree to allow her to move in with us, and the rest was history. Well, it was history to me; I fear Kelsey still holds onto it.

  “Ohmygosh, it feels good to be back!” The squeal of Kelsey’s uncontained excitement hurts my ears and draws my attention back.

  ”Hell yeah, it does,” I say with a huge grin of excitement on my face.

  I have been looking forward to this move ever since I finally broke things off with Nick the Dick. Why I stayed with that asshole, I will never understand. He was my high school sweetheart, and I use the word ‘sweetheart’ very loosely. After winter semester had ended, I had the bright idea to surprise Nick a day early. Wrong move! I was the one surprised when I walked in on him and Alex Black having sex. It could have been any other girl, but no, it had to be with the fucking devil herself.

  You see, Alex, Kelsey, Nick, and I all went to the same high school together. I decided to move away for college whereas Nick chose to stay close to home and attend the community college. Unfortunately, for me, Alex goes to the same college as I do. I swear Alex just likes to get under my skin by competing with me. She has always wanted whatever I have. I am not being conceited; I swear, I could be eating dirt and the bitch would want my dirt. Also, she is just as big of a slore (slut and a whore) now as she was then. Seeing her with Nick really didn’t surprise me for that reason. It did, however, hurt me.

  “Yo! Earth to Brea.” Snapping her fingers in front of my face, Kelsey brings me back to the present. “Don’t let Nick the Dick waste any more of your life. Let those memories go and let’s enjoy the rest of our sophomore year.” She opens the Jeep door and jumps out. With a determined look aimed directly at me, she sternly says, “RIGHT NOW. Get your hot, single ass out of this Jeep and let’s go have some fun, dammit!”

  "Hot, sexy, and single? Stop my beating heart! That news makes my knees go weak!" I hear a man’s voice drawl in a thick Texas accent, and I already know it is our neighbor and good friend, Tim.

  Kelsey turns slightly to greet our eavesdropper. “You know it, bad boy. The girls who make your heart go pitter-patter are back on campus.”

  I jump down from the Jeep, laughing as I walk to the back and grab my bags. I pause, turning around as I clasp my hands together to help aid the innocent look I am aiming for while I smile sweetly at Tim.“You know you would get major brownie points if you helped us carry our bags to the dorm.”

  “Anything for my favorite pretty ladies.” He winks a blue eye with a straight tooth smile and throws our bags over his strong shoulders. We all three take off walking the distance from the parking lot to the dorm halls, making small talk about our break.

  Since Kelsey and I arrived on campus freshman year, Tim has been a great friend to us. He does not lack in the looks department, but blond guys just aren’t my type. I’ve cried on Tim’s shoulder many times where Nick was concerned. I don’t mention my break-up, and Tim doesn’t ask any details about it. Thank goodness.

  My college experience has consisted of one party that I only went to because Nick was visiting. To say Nick was controlling is an understatement. Now I know why—he had a guilty conscience. Other than that, my social life was studying or hanging out at the dorms and driving home to see Nick. He has only made the three-hour drive to see me once—that right there should have been a red flag.

  Tim walks us to our room and dumps our bags down in the doorway then blurts out, “Parker is throwing a welcome home party for Colt. Y’all should come. I will let you know the details soon.”

  He and the Taylor boys have been a trio since I started college, most likely even longer than that. It shocked me to hear that Colt left town about six or so months ago, and Tim didn’t know until he was already way beyond the city limit sign.

  “We will think about it.” With Kelsey’s response, Tim walks off down the hall.

  I haven’t seen Colt since the only Taylor party I went to. He didn’t notice me, of course. I walked past him while I was looking for Nick and saw he had a redhead straddling his lap—I understand how that could be distracting. Once I walked into the kitchen of their house, I became distracted as
well and the whole night went to crap very quickly.

  “So, what do you want to do first?” With a thud, Kelsey’s bag hits the floor beside her bed.

  “Avoidance much? We’re going to that party, Kels. I don’t like Parker any more than you do, but I will be damned if I let another man dictate where I go,” I tell her. I let Nick control too much of my life, and Parker won’t do the same. Parker came on to me at the party I took Nick to.

  I wish it would have been Colt to look my way.

  He justified it by saying that Nick was with some other girl. Of course, I didn’t believe him. Besides, if I were to hook up with either of the Taylor boys, it would be Colt hands down. Now that I am newly single, I can actually appreciate Colt’s looks without feeling guilty.

  I am going to that party.

  “You’re right.” Her sigh confirms that she agrees with my choice to attend.

  “Time for a caffeine fix?”

  At my question, she quickly perks up. She’s a sucker for caffeine.

  “Sounds amazing. Leaving at eight this morning was a bad idea,” she whines. Kelsey is a lot of things, but a morning person she is not. Without further convincing, she follows me through the commons area of the dorm halls.

  As dorms go, we really lucked out. It’s really clean and spacious, but who knows how long the clean part will last. We are in a co-ed dorm, and if it’s anything like the previous semesters, it will be trashed by tonight. As we walk down the hall, we come into a room that connects the dorms to the commons area. The connecting building is the living area for all of us residents. There is a big flat screen TV, couches, a pool table, and even an air hockey table. I can see a sign that points down to where the bathrooms and showers are and a small kitchen area as well. Glancing around the room, I see that a lot of students are already making themselves at home for the spring semester, including Kelsey; she already seems to be making new friends. I was too busy taking in my surroundings to see that she had left my side.

  “Hey Brea, come over here!” Kelsey’s hand is waving in the air as she calls me over. Walking up to the group, I see Kelsey talking to two brunettes who look almost exactly alike. “This is Savannah and Hannah. They are twins!” The excitement in her voice makes me happy.

  “What is your dorm number?”

  “A seven,” Savannah replies.

  “Y’all are right across the hall from us,” Kelsey informs the girls.

  “Hey, I’m Brealynn.”

  “Brealynn? That is such a unique name. I like it!” Hannah’s perky personality shines through her.

  “Hey.” Savannah’s response is quiet. I can already tell she is the shy one of their duo.

  “We are headed to grab some coffee if y’all want to join us,” I suggest.

  “We have time to kill and coffee sounds good!” Hannah adds as we walk through the door. The fresh air of freedom outside caresses me, and I can’t help but inhale a deep breath.

  Today is a good day.

  With the burden of Nick off my back, I can now focus on having the ‘college experience’ my parents rave about. They met here at Whatley University, so to say they are trying to live the experience again through me would be an accurate assumption. The coffee shop is only two buildings down from our dorm. We are all chatting about our hometowns. Hannah and Savannah are from the North Dallas area. It just goes to show you how big of a state Texas really is, considering Kelsey and I are both from the Dallas area as well.

  Kelsey, being herself, perks up at the nearness of caffeine and bounces right on into the coffee shop as we follow her lead. I take in my surroundings, walking into Cougar Beans, named after our school mascot. It is a decent size shop decorated with modern décor. There are couches and tables throughout the shop with the coffee bar directly up front. Scanning the room, I see the warmest set of brown eyes locked on me. Colt Taylor has his gaze focused directly on me, and of course, I just stand there like an idiot. I can kind of make out Kelsey placing her order… something about a mocha cream crappa something in the background?

  “ … want Brea?” Kelsey questions.

  “Huh, what? I’m sorry,” I mumble, trying to adjust my eyes in her direction.

  “Brealynn, wipe your mouth off! You’re drooling! I’m buying. What do you want to drink?” Kelsey asks with a huge grin on her face.

  Shit.

  She totally caught me mentally undressing Mr. Brown Eyes over there. She knows I’ve always had a secret crush on him since we started college, but who hasn’t crushed on him?

  It’s just an innocent crush.

  Hannah and Savannah glance over to see where my attention was, and the huge knowing smirk on Kelsey’s face is now mimicked on theirs.

  Oh, freakin' great.

  Blushing, I stutter, “Ah-uh-a salted caramel mocha…small please.”

  Real smooth.

  Kelsey is going to pounce on the unease in my voice. She knows I’m affected.

  “Let’s go grab a table,” Savannah suggests, taking the attention off me.

  I knew I liked her.

  Soon after, she giggles. “Then we can discuss what just went down with Brealynn.”

  Okay, scratch that. Maybe I don’t like her, and maybe she isn’t so shy.

  Colt

  Returning to campus from the long trip back home from California, I decide to head on over to the coffee shop on campus after receiving a text from Tim. I immediately see him at a table in the back checking things out. Tim has been one of my good friends ever since we met freshman year here at college. He likes the ladies, and well, so do I. Our friendship became solid at a party when he swooped in to be the best wingman a guy could ask for.

  At six foot and a hundred and ninety pounds of lean muscle, it doesn’t take much to have the ladies crawling toward me. Being a professional BMX rider doesn’t hurt either, but when you have a friend who is willing to talk you up to get the girl in your bed a hell of a lot sooner with half the work, you keep ‘em around. Not to mention he has walked through my shadows with me—that alone makes him all right by me.

  “Hey, man!” Tim calls out as I approach the table. I feel a small tinge of guilt for leaving town the way I did, but I needed time. Time away from here. Time to struggle with the loss of the only good I had in my life. My cell blew up after the funeral. Everyone sending their apologies and condolences as I left the city borders and didn’t look back.

  “What’s up, how long have you been here?” I take a seat on the hardwood chair across the table from him. Tim tried to reach me for weeks after I left; he was the only one who kept trying. One night I got drunk and broke down, answering his millionth call to me. I cried that night. I let it all out over the phone to my best friend while sitting in the parking lot of some shit-hole bar.

  “Not long; just got my schedule for the semester and decided to head here. Erin is supposed to meet me.” Tim folds the piece of paper up, shoving it in his jeans pocket.

  “Damn, I should probably get my schedule soon. She your flavor of the week?” I just got back into town yesterday from a tour.

  “She made me put a label on ‘us’ yesterday. We will see how long that last.” Tim shifts uneasily in his chair. The thought of anything more than one night makes me uneasy, too.

  It’s been about six months since I’ve crossed the green city limit sign heading back into my hometown. I have been all over the great US of A and still feel the ache in my chest. The one that’s been there since the day I got the call.

  The tension is minimal, but it’s there starin’ me in the face. I look away from Tim to scan the room, the intensity of his glare bringing up emotions I want to keep buried. As my eyes move across the shop, I see one of the prettiest girls that I have ever seen. I take that back; I have seen her multiple times in the past, but she’s always been distant and untouchable. My mind switches from the past to the present, and she’s all I can see. Medium height with long blonde hair that flows down to the middle of her back and piercing blue eyes.


  Brealynn Sutton.

  This girl has been a name on my list for some time; however, she has always had this prick of a boyfriend standing in my way. I can’t take my eyes off her. Soon hers will catch me staring; there is nothing I can do about it. When those ice-blue irises focus on me, I give her a smirk.

  Shit, caught.

  No smile back. She doesn’t even move. Just stares at me like a deer caught in headlights.

  I mean, don’t get me wrong, she looks cute as hell, but seriously?

  One of the friends in her group gets her attention, and in slow motion, she turns back to her circle. I can’t hear what they are saying, but Brealynn looks to be a little panicked and soon they make their way to a table.

  “Dude, seriously, Brealynn is going to think you are some kind of creep! You’ve been eye fucking her for five minutes at least.” Tim’s hushed tone successfully breaks my stare in her direction.

  “I’d like to do more than eye fuck her,” I tell him jokingly, kind of.

  “That’s one of my duo girls so back off. You can’t just use them. They are better than that.” That’s what Tim has called her and her roommate since they moved into the dorms. Last year, I had asked Tim about Brealynn and he informed me about her situation, a boyfriend. She never came to our parties, so I just assumed she was serious about the douchebag.

  My eyes never waver from her direction. “I guess we will never know until she dumps the loser she’s in love with.”

  “They broke up over Christmas break; I don’t know the details yet, though,” Tim confesses with a look of worry. If I didn’t know better, I would say Tim was trying to get with her last year, but their friendship has been maintained so long that he worked his way right into the friend zone.

  “No shit.” A smile spreads across my face. I lean back in my chair, cross my arms, and stare in Brealynn’s direction. I’m back in town for good, and now it’s time to pick my life back up. Brealynn looks like a good place to start.

  Brealynn