Page 87 of Shattered Pieces

Sasha would be happy I was moving on, but that didn’t mean I didn’t feel like a piece of shit for it. She would’ve really liked Rory too.

“What do I do, Sash?” I murmured into the empty house, kicking my pants off and wiping the cum from my skin before washing my hands and walking into the bedroom for fresh boxers.

I hadn’t slept in the bed in forever, my eyes sliding towards it. It no longer smelled like Sasha, I washed the sheets regularly, but maybe it would be nice to just lie there for a while?

It was still early, but I slid into the bed in nothing but my boxers, leaving the light on since I didn’t intend on falling asleep.

I somehow did though, not waking up until morning.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CADEN

“Happy Birthday, honey,” Mom smiled as I walked into the kitchen for a coffee on Sunday morning, forcing a smile.

“Thanks.” I didn’t feel like celebrating. I was having a huge party tonight, but I was pretty sure none of the guys were coming. Skeeter would be here for business, but that was it.

It felt even weirder without Rory. All I’d wanted for my birthday this year was to spend the day with her, but that obviously wasn’t happening.

Mom cooked my breakfast herself like she always did for my birthday, and I picked at the pancakes once they were in front of me, feeling how empty the table was.

The guys and I had always spent our birthdays together, so knowing they were all actively avoiding me sucked.

“Want to talk about it?” Mom asked, making me realize I’d been quiet for too long.

“I just don’t really feel in a birthday mood,” I sighed, her mouth curving into a small smile.

“Why don’t you call them?”

“They hate me.”

“They don’t hate you. They’re just upset, that’s all. You’re allowed to feel different to them about things, but you’ve been a bit of an ass to them lately. You’re the one that ran off, remember? They didn’t leave you, you left them.”

“Is this supposed to make me feel better?” I asked dryly, and she rolled her eyes.

“My point is, you’re the one holding onto hatred, Caden. You need to offer the olive branch for them to know you want to see them.”

She wasn’t wrong. I was the one that started avoiding the house, they were only respecting my wish for space by not being here anymore.

“How can you be okay with Hunter and Marco being around?” I asked, taking a bite of my pancake.

“Those boys might be on your shit list, but they’ve been really good to Rory while she’s stuck in that prison, and they’ve been checking in with me with updates a lot. You don’t have to like them, I understand why you feel that way, but you need to look at it from another perspective. They’ve had her back. Whatever history they have with Skeet is blurring your opinion of them. You’re angry because he’s angry. Rory didn’t do anything to hurt you, honey.”

“She snuck around with Slash.”

“True, but it sounds like no one was sneaking around in this situation. She forgave you boys after the horrible things you did to her. Surely, you can try harder to move past this when she didn’t do anything wrong in the first place. You and Skeet really need to sit down and think about it because that girl has really needed you both, and you walked the other way,” she said gently, reaching out to give my hand a small squeeze.

“I just can’t, Mom,” I murmured, swallowing around the lump in my throat.

I was a little surprised when I heard the front door open and close, just before Tyler walked in. He looked unsure, not knowing if I wanted him there despite it being my birthday.

“Hey,” I mumbled, motioning to the seat beside me. “Pancakes?”

“That’s what I’m here for,” he joked lightly, relaxing and grabbing a plate before moving to sit down while Mom finished eating and excused herself to give us privacy.

Tyler helped himself to the pancakes, both of us eating in silence for a moment.

“Happy Birthday,” he finally said between mouthfuls, and I sighed.