Free Broken (Broken #1) by A. E. Murphy

turning back to his brother. “Are you
crazy?”
    “ At least say
hello to my pregnant fiancée, Nathan. Where’re your manners?” Caleb bites out
through clenched teeth. Why did he say pregnant like
that?
    Nathan looks at me again but
his eyes are focused on my stomach, “I can’t believe you.”
    “ Nathan,”
Caleb warns, his hands raised and his eyes wide. Nathan’s scowl is
scary, even I’m shrinking fast. “Please.” Nathan seems to think
about whatever the hell they’re talking about for a moment. His
eyes narrow so I’m guessing the conclusion he’s drawn isn’t a good
one.
    It happens so fast, too fast,
Nathan’s fist strikes out and connects with Caleb’s cheekbone.
Caleb flies backwards, tripping on a shoe before falling to his
arse. My hand goes to my mouth in shock.
    “ You’ll do
well to get rid of that before it’s too late,” Nathan says pointing
at my stomach. I watch him whip his glove off and start squirting
some kind of sterilising fluid onto his hand. He turns and leaves,
still rubbing the lotion around his fingers with his gloved hand.
That’s weird. What an arsehole.
    “ Are you
okay?” I ignore Nathan’s comment, as much as I want to scratch his
eyes out right now Caleb needs me.
    He rolls his jaw and touches
his cheekbone with a finger, we both wince. I can already see it
swelling and have no doubts it’s painful to touch. “I’ll get some
ice and you’re going to tell me what the hell just happened.”
    “ My brother’s
a dickhead, that’s what just happened,” he snaps and pulls his arm
free of my hands before stomping into the kitchen. “Fuck, he’s got
a good right hook.”
    I stand in the doorway and
watch him grab a bag of frozen peas from the freezer before
wrapping them in a tea towel and placing them on his face. “Is that
all you’re going to say on the matter then?”
    “ I don’t want
to talk about it,” he sighs and rests his head back. “I’m sorry you
had to see that.”
    “ Me too.
Especially since I don’t know what I’ve seen exactly.”
    He shakes his head, “He’s
pissed that I left him to deal with our parents and even more
pissed that I got someone pregnant before marriage. My brother is
weird.”
    “ So why’d you
tell him I’m pregnant?”
    Caleb shrugs, “Seemed like a
good idea at the time.”
    “ He told me
to get rid of the baby, that doesn’t seem like normal
behaviour.”
    He laughs coldly, I’ve never
heard such a laugh from him before. It’s kind of scary. “My brother
isn’t normal. Stay away from him, Gwen. Okay?”
    I nod not wanting to argue over
something I’m in completely agreement with. There’s no way in hell
I’ll be going near him again. “Maybe you should report it.”
    “ No, he’s my
brother, he punched me and he left. It’s done.” Caleb says and now
he looks sad.
    I slide onto his lap and wrap
my arms around his neck, “I’m sorry, Caleb.”
    Kissing his mouth gently, I
press my body against his, wanting to absorb his pain.
    “ I love you,
Gwenny. Don’t ever,” he pulls back and looks me in the eyes.
“Forget that. No matter what. Okay?”
    I frown on a nod, “What’s
gotten into you lately? You seem on edge and you’re always coming
out with weird things that you wouldn’t normally say.”
    He shrugs, “It’s probably the
excitement of becoming a dad. Sorry if I’ve seemed...” Now he’s
smiling. “Weird? Is that the right word?”
    “ You’re
always weird, maybe it’s because for once you’ve actually been
acting normal.”
    “ Cheeky,” he
chuckles and forces me to straddle his lap on the high stool. “Let
me take you to bed and remind you how weird I am.”
    “ I don’t
think I need reminding but I’ll gladly play along and pretend I
do.”

    ******

    Two weeks go by and I’ve
finally told my boss I’m pregnant now I’m starting to get a bump,
not long after showing up for work late due to Caleb being ill. His
migraine has him stuck in bed, his face under