Crushed (Breaking the Rules Series Book 5)
Read Crushed (Breaking the Rules Series Book 5) Online
Authors: K Webster
Tags: #Book 5 in the Breaking the Rules Series
Crushed
Copyright © 2015 K. Webster
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information and retrieval system without express written permission from the Author/Publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Editor: Mickey Reed
Cover Designer K Webster
Cover Photo: Dollar Photo Club
Formatting: Champagne Formats
Table of Contents
Disgrace (Book 6 in the Breaking the Rules Series)
Defiance (Book 7 in the Breaking the Rules Series)
My Books
The Breaking the Rules Series:
Broken
(Book 1)—Available Now!
Wrong
(Book 2)—Available Now!
Scarred
(Book 3)—Available Now!
Mistake
(Book 4)—Available Now!
Crushed (Book 5)—Available Now!
Disgrace (Book 6)—Coming Soon!
The Vegas Aces Series:
Rock Country
(Book 1)—Available Now!
Rock Heart
(Book 2)—Available Now!
Rock Bottom
(Book 3)—Available Now!
Rock Out (Book 4)—Coming Soon!
Alpha & Omega
—Available Now!
Omega & Love—Coming Soon!
Apartment 2B
(Standalone Novel)—Available Now!
Love and Law
(Standalone Novel)—Available Now!
Moth to a Flame
(Standalone Novel)—Available Now!
The Road Back to Us (Standalone Novel)—Coming Soon!
To my little angel that was too pure for this world.
I will hold you one day, in another life.
Warning to the Reader
This story deals with miscarriage and loss. The subject matter is dark, heavy, and gut wrenching at times. I did my best to project the feelings and emotions of the characters in a realistic manner. Unfortunately, reality sucks. And with this story, you’re going to need a big, fat box of tissues—maybe even two.
On the bright side, the story does have a happy ending—even if it is an unconventional one. You’ll be glad you stuck it through.
A miscarriage is a natural and common event. All told, probably more women have lost a child from this world than haven’t. Most don’t mention it, and they go on from day to day as if it hadn’t happened, so people imagine a woman in this situation never really knew or loved what she had.
But ask her sometime: how old would your child be now? And she’ll know.
- Barbara Kingsolver
My wife is dying.
With every breath she takes, every second that passes, she dies a little more. I can hardly stand to watch it. I’m not callous and unloving—quite the opposite, actually. I love her so much that I want to kick the fucking machine the doctor is using to assess her because I can’t stand seeing her this way. I want to storm from this room and punch anyone who even looks at me the wrong way in the teeth because they don’t understand how it feels to slowly lose the one they love.
And I am losing her.
Little by little.
Life just isn’t fair.
As if clued in to my melancholy thoughts, she squeezes my hand from the bed. I briefly glance at the monitor and then my eyes land on hers. They’re the saddest fucking eyes on the planet. They gut me.
I can’t fucking do this anymore.
“I need a drink of water,” I grumble under my breath to her. I’ll do anything to get out of this room.
“Jackson, don’t be nervous. Just sit tight. Everything will be okay, babe.” Her words are soft and reassuring.
Why the fuck is she reassuring me? What kind of asshole am I? I’m the one who needs to take my fucking panties off and be a man—to reassure my wife—not the other way around.
I lean down and kiss her forehead. I can’t lose her. I just can’t.
“I’m sorry.” My voice is nearly inaudible.
But my Andi hears. She always hears.
The doctor clears his throat and smiles at me—fucking smiles. Maybe I should throttle his ass. After all, he’s an accomplice in this slow death of hers. My free hand clenches into a fist.
I dip down and press a kiss to her soft lips. Why can’t I just fix it? All of it?
“You see it? Right there?” the doctor asks with a gentle smile.
Andi’s eyes fill with tears. Her hand is shaking in mine. When she turns to look at me, I’m almost torn in two by her expression.
The hope in her eyes fucking shreds me to my core.
“Three?” she chokes out through a sob.
Does God really answer prayers? Right now, he’s taunting me, ignoring my pleas.
“Yep, three. Congratulations, Mrs. Compton. You’re pregnant.”
The excited chatter of my wife is muted as the room spins around me. Where Andi has hope, dread fills every ounce of my being. In that single moment in the doctor’s office, I know.
I know without a shadow of a doubt.
This pregnancy will kill my wife.
