Picking Up The Pieces (Last book to 'Keeping Secrets' and 'Broken')

Chapter 8.

"Goodmorning, lovely!" He pushes a loose strand of hair behind my ear and kisses my head. "Put on your bathing suit and some sun tan lotion and let's go!"

"It's so early though!" I whine. "Can't we just wait a little? Please?"

"Nope." He says, popping the 'p'. "Katherine and Norman are already down stairs eating breakfast. They were up way earlier but decided to wait for you to wake up."

"Fine, give me fifteen." I sigh and hop up out of bed. 

"Alright, I'll be down stairs." 

Fifteen minutes goes by faster than I expected, but luckily, I'm all ready. I slip on my sun dress and white sandals and head down stairs to join the party. I quickly walk down, looking at myself in the full-length mirror that, for some unknown reason, is placed in the stairwell. I look very nice, and I will give myself props for getting my beach body back. I give myself a smile and enter the kitchen. Norman's eyes are the first to find mine. He gives a slight smile but quickly focuses back on his Pancakes. 

"Goodmorning, Danielle." Katherine greets with a smile. 

"Morning." I smile back. "Where's Ryan?" I ask looking around the room. 

"He went down to the beach to get a nice spot. I'm actually heading down there myself, you eat some breakfast and come down when you're done?" I give a nod and she soon disappears. 

A few moments of silence goes by, the tension gripping onto my lungs, squeezing out the air. I take a deep breath and pour myself a cup of coffee. 

"Ryan made Pancakes." He says, not daring to look at me. 

"I see that." I laugh under my breath and my eyes dart to the Pancakes that sit on the stove. "Norman, can I.. ask you something?" 

"Sure." I take a seat beside him, watching him closely as he finishes his breakfast. 

"Why don't you ever look at me? Like, when you talk to me, you hardly ever look me in the eyes. I can count two, maybe three times that you have, but no more than that." He stops chewing and fiddles with his fork. 

"No reason." He shrugs his shoulders and begins to finish chewing. "Maybe you scare me." His tone is serious, but only for a moment. His eyes meet mine and he smiles. "I'm joking." He says softly. 

"There they are." I whisper with a smile, keeping the eye contact. "Promise me you'll look me in the eye from now on? I like when you look me in the eye, it lets me know that you're talking to me." 

"I promise."He whispers. I smile widely and he nods. "How'd you sleep?" He asks, getting up from the table and walking over to the sink. 

"Very good, actually. I haven't slept that good in months." I say with a giggle. He rinses off his plate and places it in the dishwasher. 

"Why not?" He pours a cup of coffee and takes his seat back beside me. 

"Things have been keeping me up all hours of the night. My mind wonders a lot." He gives me a sincere look and a nod. He knows exactly what I'm talking about, and if he says he doesn't, he's a liar. 

"What kind of things?" Our eyes lock intensely and it takes my breath away. I quickly shake it off and answer his question with the best answer I can give. 

"Just things. Nothing big, really." I lie. He chuckles and takes a sip of his coffee. 

"I think we know each other well enough to know when the other one is lying." I swallow hard. "Talk to me, Danielle." 

"Just things I wish I could do over, people I wish I could have back.." His expressions never change. 

"Who do you wish you could have back, Danielle?" He asks in a whisper, his eyes continuing to lock with mine. 

"My mom and dad, mostly." I was so close to letting him know, so close to ruining everything. He doesn't need to know that I want him back. He deserves to be happy. He doesn't need me jumping in and destroying his relationship with Katherine. 

"No one else?" He looks a little uneasy. I shake my head no and he nods. "Have you tried talking to them? I'm sure they miss you.. how could someone not miss you?" 

"Yeah, actually. We even tried paying them to talk to me, but they won't budge." I can feel my cheeks heating up. I quickly shake my head to hold back the tears. 

"I'm sorry, Danielle." He gives me a frown and I shrug my shoulders. "Don't do that, Danielle, they'll come around, I promise." 

"Thanks." I give a small smile. 

"Now, can I ask you something?" He raises an eyebrow and I nod. "Are you going to eat? Or do I need to feed you?" He smiles with a laugh and I find myself laughing along. 

"I'll eat, I'll eat!" I put my hands up in surrender and thank the Lord above for letting us have a nice long conversation. Except now I know that I want him again. I need him. 

I'll always need him. 

~

Another update! This one is a little longer than the others, which I am happy about! I think some of you can probably see where this is going to end, and that's okay. I feel like this book is going to be shorter than the last two but that's okay, too. Lol I love love love when you guys comment! It makes me smile! I love hearing what you guys think, so please! Keep commenting! (: I love you!

:)