Fractured by Erin Hayes Page A

more before making the announcement.
    “We’ve been saving this announcement for a special occasion. And after everything that’s happened today, why not?” Seth pulled her to her feet and held her close. “Bathsheba Irene Martin has consented to be my wife. We’re getting married!”
    The words still had a bit of a thrill for her, but it was masked by her sense of dread. This wasn’t right.
    Maria screeched at the top of her lungs in giddy glee while her boyfriend didn’t say anything. Scott whooped, and Darius clapped Seth on the back saying, “Congratulations!”
    “What?” Lily asked, her voice bordering on disbelief. “What?” She sounded different. Like there was someone else speaking through her mouth.
    “We’re getting married,” Seth answered for Bash, his voice a bit calmer. There was also an edge to his voice, as if daring her to cause some trouble.
    “You...you can’t marry her,” Lily said. Her chair legs scraped on the floor as she stood up, then the entire char clattered as it fell. Bash barely heard it over the blood pumping in her ears. “ You can’t marry Bash ! You were meant for me !”
    Bash reached up and tugged on her sister’s dress. “Lily, listen to me, I—”
    “ Don’t tell me what to do! ”
    Suddenly, Bash was flung backwards. It took her a few stunned moments of cradling her sore cheek to figure out what had happened. At first she thought that Lily had hit her, but no. It was Rick who had come across the table and rammed his open palm into her face. Beat her down was probably the more appropriate phrase. A choked sob escaped her throat as she heard Seth’s angered yell at his friend, who wasn’t responding. Maria was yelling too. There was another crack, like a fist to the face, and Maria was screaming now for Rick’s safety.
    Above the pandemonium, Bash could hear Lily’s voice.
    “After everything— EVERYTHING— you’re going to marry her, you fucking piece of shit?” Lily’s raging voice reverberated in her brain, filling up her senses with her terrible words. There was a shocked silence as everyone in the restaurant paused to hear what Lily was saying.
    Lily laughed. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I ever loved you.”
    Bash’s heart fell somewhere into her stomach. Lily was still in love with him? Suddenly everything clicked into place, her sister’s descent into further despair, their strained relationship being pushed to the limits. Everything was making sense now.
    The silence was overwhelming. No one answered. Bash couldn’t bring herself to explain what was happening.
    Lily laughed again. “I see. If that’s the case, then you can all BURN. IN. HELL. ”
    The restaurant around them exploded.
    There was no other word for it. Bash felt her body lift up in the air several feet with the swell of the impact. She screamed as her body was flung across the dining room. She hit the wall with such force, she was sure something was broken. She slumped to the floor, her hearing gone.
    What the fuck? she wondered, unable to process it. What happened?
    A few moments passed, then her ears cleared enough to allow her to hear again.
    People in the restaurant were screaming. And she joined them.
     
     

     
     
    CHAPTER EIGHT
     
    Steve had been acting strange all day.
    Tom had noticed that when he came in for his shift at the Duck Creek Bar just before four o’clock. His fellow bartender had been mostly silent all day, going about all his work with dogged determination. All of the glasses had been cleaned spotlessly, and he had cleared the bar numerous times, continuing to wipe down areas that were long since sterile. It was as if something else had been on his mind.
    In fact, Tom didn’t think that Steve had spoken once. When Tom came in, Steve wouldn’t even look at him, he just continued cleaning glasses. Good thing there weren’t too many people coming in. Steve wouldn’t even acknowledge people when they ordered, he’d quickly fill up a