Beautifully Broken (The Infinite Love Series, Book Three) -Published; Sample Only.

(2) A Necessary Change

Jacqueline

            It had been over 3 months since I had last spoken to Parker; since he had called me from Hawaii for advice. Not that he hadn’t been reaching out—just that I hadn’t been taking his calls. Oddly enough, letters began arriving from Madalynne…the girl he had chosen over me. I wasn’t sure what to expect out of them so I let each one pile up for weeks. Until one night it’s like the pile was glaring at me and I couldn’t ignore them anymore. I ended up devouring the letters in one sitting.    

            I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel about the letters. But after the third one I found myself laughing and crying with the tales she told. She apologized for her feelings towards me even though I had never known about them. She apologized for what Parker had put me through when he gave me hope and then pulled away. She wrote about her experience with Lee and how much he had changed her life.

            Then, something happened that I wasn’t expecting. I grew fond of her letters. I found myself waiting impatiently at the door every single day to see if a new one would come. Originally she had sent one a week. But when I had failed to reply they became more distant…fewer and far between. By the sixth letter I had broken down and written her back. It was nearly impossible for me to hate her after she had opened herself up to me so fully. I came to admire her; respect her.

            A friendship began to blossom and we were corresponding not only by letters, but by emails and calls too. I came to lean on her for advice. She was the first ever real friend I had that wasn’t a guy. I wanted to cherish the relationship.

            “Oh, Travis is here, I have to go,” I mumbled into my cell phone as he approached. Madalynne had called nearly two hours earlier and we had gotten caught up talking.

            “You too,” I replied to Madalynne before hanging up.

            “Let me guess…Maddy?” Travis said, sarcastically, already knowing the answer.

            His brown eyes twinkled as he laughed when I stuck my tongue out at him.

            “If I didn’t know any better…I’d think you have a girl crush on her,” he teased, ruffling my blond hair playfully.

            “Hey, stop!” I pushed him away, not being able to feign a smile. Travis knew me better than anyone. I could hang out with him every day of the week and never get tired of him. A part of me had always loved him…but as a brother. Luckily, he never passed that imaginary line so I never had to face that awkward moment.

            “So, what’s on the agenda?” He asked as he slid his fingers through his short blond mane. “Okay, what in the world are you wearing?”

            I looked down at my clothing. I did look a little homely. “I'm sorry my winter clothing isn't up to par for you!”

            He looked at me like I had two heads, then chuckled lightly. “I'm going to ask my mom to give you a raise so you can spruce up your wardrobe.”

            “Oh shut up!” I replied, huffily.

            “Well?” He looked down at me. Travis was over six feet tall. Anytime I stood beside him, I felt like he towered over me.

            “I kind of just want to lay low tonight.” It was true. Travis had been dragging me out along with his friends the past few weekends and while it was fun for the first half, I always felt unstable and ready to go home much earlier than anticipated. Plus, most of his friends couldn’t stand me. Travis tried to hide the fact; but I could see it in their eyes when they looked at me. They always thought he could do better than a friend like me. Luckily Travis didn’t buy into the bullshit. He always made his own decisions…especially when it came to me. That’s what I loved about him.