Shattered Hearts ePub by Pen Name

life?”
    “I’m not an alcoholic,” he said sharply.
    “Sure, that’s what they all say,” I chided, pushing past him so I could retrieve a bag of frozen peas from the fridge freezer.  Then I turned on my heel and marched past him, trying my damnedest not to wince.  With my head held high, I exited the room feeling proud that I’d had the courage to stand up to a man who was trying to control me.
    Then a moment later I had to swallow that pride and drag myself back into the kitchen.
    Nate was seated at the dining room table with his head in his hands.  He looked up when he heard me and the expression on his face said it all.  He was bracing himself for another attack.  I felt a twinge of guilt.
    “Nate,” I said, trying to work up my nerve.
    “Yes?”
    “I can’t make it down the stairs myself,” I confessed sheepishly.  I’d tried.  Gritting my teeth, I’d given it my best shot, not wanting to have to make the walk (well, limp) of shame back to the kitchen to ask for help.  But it had been too much.
    Obligingly, Nate followed me over to the stairs and then picked me up, carrying me down to my bedroom.  His touch was gentle and even after all the horrible, unfair things I’d said to him, he was careful with me.  I leaned my head against his chest and wished I could take it all back. 
    There were all kinds of things I wanted to say to him – apologies, mostly – but it was as though invisible tape had been put over my mouth.  So I just pressed my ear to his chest and listened to his heart pounding inside of him.  The beats matched my own.
    Maybe I hadn’t quite figured out the difference between being assertive and being aggressive.  It was more complicated than I’d thought.  Why couldn’t anything ever just be simple?

Chapter 09
    T he next morning my hip and upper thigh were stiff and sore, but it was nothing unmanageable.  A long hot shower helped immensely, limbering me up after my tumble from Penny’s back.  Even so, the thought of putting on a pair of pants was too much, so I settled for one of the few skirts I owned: a simple knee-length denim one.
    Once I was dressed, I hobbled upstairs to the kitchen.  The stairs were manageable this morning, whereas they’d been unfathomable last night.  That was a good sign.  I was on the mend.
    Maggie was home.  I could hear her chattering excitedly overtop of the clink of spoons connecting with bowls.  Sure enough, she and Nate were seated at the kitchen table and there were no less than six boxes of cereal set out in front of them.  She hadn’t been kidding when she said she’d gone overboard at the grocery store!
    “You might say I bought too much cereal but it isn’t true,” Maggie was cheerfully informing her brother.  “See, if you mix it all together like I did, it turns into a super-cereal.  It’s like, amazing.  After just one bite, you’ll never want ordinary cereal ever again, trust me.  You should try it!”
    “No thanks,” Nate replied, covering his bowl with his hand as Maggie attempted to tip a box of cereal overtop of it.  “You know Mags, there’s a reason I usually skip breakfast...”  Then he looked up and saw me standing there.  He sat up straighter in his chair.  “You managed the stairs.  I was just about to come down to see if you needed help,” he informed me.
    “What are you talking about?” Maggie demanded, looking from Nate to me and clearly sensing the tension in the air.  “What happened?  Are you alright, Amanda?”
    “Oh I’m fine,” I assured her, making sure to keep my tone light.  Even though she wasn’t much younger than me, I felt like a protective mother hen when it came to Maggie.  The last thing I wanted was to worry her.  “I had a bit of a fall last night, that’s all.  It’s nothing.”
    “Okay, good,” she breathed, her relief evident.  Then she looked down at her wristwatch.  “Oh no, I’m going to be late for my stupid online class discussion,”