Heart of Stone - Book 2: Hearts Collide
Chapter 9 - Aubree (Part 1)

Seeing Stone again, kissing him, feeling his hands running up and down her body, and his lips on her neck only fueled Aubree’s resolve to break up with Dan.

She didn’t want Dan’s hands and lips anywhere near her anymore. As much as she didn’t want to break Dan’s heart, she knew it wasn’t fair to keep leading him on much longer either. She no longer felt the same way toward him. Even though she still cared deeply for him, it wasn’t his touch she craved. It wasn’t his hands that scorched her skin or his lips that took her breath away.

Letting Stone go and heading back into the apartment building was hard. She felt like a part of her was being ripped away and her chest ached to breathe.

Damn this stupid bond thingy!

She grappled with the memory and feel of Stone’s hands on her body as she trudged to Dan’s apartment, dragging her feet down the carpeted hallway.

How was she going to tell Dan?

Slumping against the doorframe for a minute, she took a few cleansing breaths as Gwen waited patiently for her to unlock and open the door.

“Hang in there, Bree,” Gwen said, using the nickname she had picked up from Dan these past few days.

Aubree gave her a small nod and jammed her key in the lock.

Dan was playing a video game when they entered and went into the kitchen to put the groceries away. The two girls didn’t say much and kept conversation simple and food-related, but Gwen’s eyes didn’t miss anything in Aubree’s tone and body language. Aubree could tell that Gwen was concerned but she didn’t pry. For that, Aubree was thankful.

Aubree felt like Dan was watching her every move, even when she wasn’t in his line of vision. It was crazy, and she knew it was because of the guilt gnawing away at her.

You have to end this, she told herself as she sliced the chicken breast into small pieces at the counter. But how? And when?

She kept thinking about ways of bringing it up, playing different scenarios over and over in her head. Each one made her cringe and feel even guiltier. It was all so forced and unnatural and... wrong.

“Let me,” Gwen said, sliding next to Aubree and gently bumping hips. She gingerly took the knife from Aubree’s hand and slipped the cutting board and chicken closer to her and continued to slice the raw meat.

“Thanks,” Aubree muttered.

“Don’t worry about it,” Gwen said, though her words hinted at more than just the chicken.

The need to distract herself took over, but handling a knife was not the best task for her at the moment. She decided to wash the few dirty dishes sitting in the sink. By the time she was done, Gwen had finished cutting the chicken.

The pasta was delicious and, thankfully, no one said much during dinner. Aubree couldn’t help but worry about what would happen later when it was time to relax or even go to bed.

The three of them hunkered down in the living room and watched an action movie, something Gwen suggested. Dan brightened at the idea. He could never say no to a good movie full of action and suspense. Aubree merely agreed, knowing that Gwen suggested it in an attempt to keep her mind off things.

Halfway through the movie, Aubree got a text from Brooke.

Brooke: Hey girl. Haven’t heard from ya in a while. Wasup?

Aubree pursed her lips, wondering how she should respond. After a minute of deliberation, she sent a text back, asking Brooke to call her when she had a moment.

Not even ten seconds later, her phone was ringing and Aubree excused herself to answer it in the bedroom.

“Want me to pause it, babe?” Dan asked as she got up.

“Nah, you guys go ahead. It’s Brooke. I might be a while,” she said, giving him the biggest smile she could muster.

“Alright,” he said, returning his attention to the movie as she slipped out.

“Hey, Brooke,” Aubree said after she closed the bedroom door behind her.

“What’s going on? I haven’t heard from you in a few days. I was getting worried,” Brooke said.

Aubree sighed, brushing her hair back from her face as she made her way to the bed to sit down. “Some crazy stuff happened and I haven’t had a moment to myself the last little while.”

“Oh, yeah?”

She hung her head with the phone pressed to her ear. “Yeah.”

“You don’t sound too happy.”

Although Aubree had been telling herself all evening that she had to end things with Dan, to actually vocalize it to someone was another matter. Emotion immediately blocked her throat and prickled her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose to try and alleviate the sudden build-up of pressure.

Her voice came out choked. “I can’t marry Dan.”

She heard Brooke’s sharp intake of air through her teeth before she cursed under her breath. “You sure about this other guy? I mean, you’ve only known him for how long? A few weeks?”

Aubree nodded as she struggled to swallow. “Yeah. I know, you must think I’m crazy, but... I know this is the right decision.”

“Does Dan know yet?”

“No...” Aubree hesitated. “And I’m not sure how to break it to him.”

“Well, there’s no rush to, right? I mean, don’t get me wrong, but this is all happening really fast. I’m just afraid that you’ll change your mind in a few weeks and it’ll be too late.”

Aubree pursed her lips. She couldn’t explain it to Brooke. She wouldn’t understand without knowing the whole truth and she couldn’t tell her about Stone being a lycan—not that she’d believe her anyway.

“I guess so,” she said, although she didn’t actually concur. “I just don’t want to lead him on, you know? It’s not fair to him. He deserves better than that.”

“Aww, Bree, I know.” She sighed. “You’re breaking my heart, girl. But I guess I should be happy for you. I mean, you’ve found an amazing guy and he’s gotta be worth it to go through all this. I mean...” She sighed again and mumbled another curse under her breath.

“I know, I know,” Aubree mumbled. “And I’m sure about this.”

Brooke made a whining noise in her throat when a word couldn’t express her feelings. It lifted Aubree’s heart a bit to know that her best friend was so concerned about her.

“You know, I’m always here for you, Bree.”

“I know,” Aubree said. “Thanks.”

“I gotta go but are you gonna be okay?”

Aubree nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“Good. Hang in there. Let me know how things go.”

“Kay.”

They said their goodbyes and Aubree hung up. She stared at the phone in her hand until the screen turned off.

She knew what she had to do. Even though it hurt her heart to think about it, there was no going back.