Erin Kern - Along Came Trouble

At just the sound of her little brother’s deep, accented voice, all Elisa’s emotions from the past twenty-four hours rushed out of her like a bad stomach virus.

“Hi,” she answered in a wavering voice as tears pooled over her eyes.

“Elisa?” he said in a tone of alarm, which had her angst turning into guilt. “Is everything okay?” he wanted to know when she hadn’t said anything else. Mostly because her throat was too tight.

“I’m really sorry to bother you,” she started, while swiping moisture off her cheeks with the bed sheet. “You can call me back if you need to.” Though I don’t know what I’ll do with myself until then.

“It’s okay, I’m in between classes.” Shuffling noises came from across the phone, then it got quiet. “Tell me what’s going on.”

More tears leaked out, which she blotted away with the already damp sheet. “My life is a mess, that’s what’s going on.”

“Are you hurt?” he wanted to know.

She sniffed. “No. Well, at least not physically.”

Marcello was silent for a moment. “Ah,” he finally replied as though the light bulb had kicked on. “This has to do with a man, doesn’t it? This Brody you were telling me about.”

Just hearing Brody’s name sent her in a new wave of tears, which gathered too fast for her to control. In the past, Elisa had always thought that she knew what a broken heart felt like. After all, she’d been betrayed by the first serious boyfriend she’d ever had. But Micah keeping his true sexuality a secret from her was like a drop in a big-ass bucket compared to the damage Brody had done. She’d rather relive her breakup with the male model a thousand times over than to have this hollowed-out feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“ Merda ,” he cursed. “What did the bastard do? Because I’ll take the first flight out there and kick his traseiro .”

Her brother’s comments pulled a grin along her mouth, despite hearing him talk about kicking Brody’s ass. “I appreciate that, but it’s not necessary.”

“He made my sister cry,” Marcello argued.

“That’s my fault because I was stupid enough to fall in love with him,” she said on a whine as a new wave of tears blindsided her.

Her sweet younger brother waited her emotion out, giving her time to gather herself before bombarding her with questions. When he didn’t say anything, probably because he had no clue how to comfort her, she plugged on. “I’m so done with men. They’re all pigs.”

“Hey now, not all of us are like that,” he argued. “Only the ones who are in love.”

Elisa snorted. “Brody’s not in love with me.” Yes, that was her greatest hope, but there had to come a time when she needed to stop lying to herself. That way she could work on healing.

Her brother cursed again—this time in English. A sure pissed-off sign. “That’s it,” he said in a tight voice. “I’m flying you down here. I’ll get you a one-way ticket and you can return home whenever you want.”

Elisa shook her head, even though he couldn’t see her. “Marcello, no. Even a one-way ticket is like thirteen hundred dollars. I can’t let you spend all that money on me.”

Oh Lord, if her brother had to shell out all that money on a plane ticket for her, she’d never be able to sleep at night.

“No arguments, Elisa,” Marcello said in a firm voice. “Besides, I bet I could get Avô to pay for it. He racks up a whole bunch of airline miles with how much he travels.”

Getting away for a while to clear her head, seeing her little brother do his thing as a doctor, visiting with her grandparents. How could she say no to that?

She burrowed deeper in the bed sheets, already feeling the arms of sleep wrap around her. “You’re such a gem, Marcello. I knew talking to you would make me feel better.”

“Well, I do what I can. Plus it kills me to hear you cry and not be able to be there with you.” The smile in his voice was unmistakable. “Let me know when would be a good time for you to get away, and I’ll look into some flights.”

“Thanks,” she replied with a small grin. “And thanks again for listening to my whining.”

“That’s what brothers are for, querida .”

They disconnected the call, and unconsciousness took over.

Elisa couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so deeply. That afternoon, she’d awoken after dozing for about six hours, then dragged herself out of bed and took a quick, hot shower. The whole time, she forced her mind on what was left of the day, and not the time she and Brody had shared this exact space. All naked and wet—

No!

Dammit, could she not get through one afternoon without being haunted by the man who’d cracked her heart in two?

She’d scrubbed her scalp harder than necessary, as though it could actually scrub Brody from her mind. All that had done was give her a headache.

After tossing back a couple of painkillers, Elisa forced herself to get something productive done.

By late afternoon, she left the house and drove through town, looking for something to eat. Food hadn’t really been on her mind until her stomach let out a low rumble, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since the previous evening. Not that she cared much about food anyway. Really, nothing mattered to her at the moment, but her body would soon start to protest if she didn’t give it some fuel.

She spotted a burger joint and pulled her car into the side parking lot. The place was packed with the umbrella-shaded tables full of families and couples. Normally she didn’t really do burgers, but her mood wouldn’t allow her to put a whole lot of thought process into a meal. The only reason she stopped was because it was the first place she’d laid eyes on. And because making herself something at home would take too much effort.

On the other hand, perhaps going way out of her comfort zone was exactly what she needed. Step one in washing Brody McDermott from her life.

She slung her purse over her shoulder and strolled down the sidewalk, her stride growing stronger with each step. Why should she allow the man to affect her like this? Because she’d fallen in love and had her heart broken?

That had happened to her before, and she’d survived. Hell, if she could survive losing both of her parents, then certainly she could get over one man.

The Greasy Spoon had a guacamole burger on special. Add on a side of fries for only an extra dollar.

What the hell? Why not go for the fries?

At the last minute, she tossed in a chocolate shake because, really, who cared about calories?

Not this girl .

It’s not like she still had a man to impress.

The freshly grease-dipped fries smelled so good that Elisa couldn’t wait to try one. As she pushed through the glass door, she dug a fry out of the bag and popped the thing into her mouth.

Hmmm. Crunchy and not too salty. Just how she liked them. Well worth the calories consumed.

She went for broke and fetched another fry. And ran smack into a broad, unyielding chest. The action had her stumbling back, and the chocolate shake slipped from where she’d had it tucked under her arm. The drink crashed to the ground, sending thick chocolate crap everywhere. All over her, and spattering across the denim-covered legs of the man who.…

Ah hell.

“I would be pissed,” Brody said, “but at this point I don’t give a shit.”

The shake oozed down her legs and dripped in between her toes. Would it be totally uncouth of her to ditch the sandals and continue on bare feet?

“Did you ever get to see your sister?” she asked while trying not to cringe at the liquid seeping under her toes.

“Yeah,” he muttered through barely moving lips. His jaw was hard set and unforgiving, like granite. And his lips were pressed to a thin line. Not happy to see her. “Where’d you take off to?”