Shattered

SHATTERED

By

 C.C. Brown

Cover by Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations

Formatting by Jennifer Martinez at B3 Publishing

Edited by Jennifer Roberts-Hall

Copyright © 2013 C.C. Brown

All rights reserved. This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any form without prior written permission of the publisher, as allowed under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable law. Any unauthorized distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author's rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Playlist

Drive-
Incubus

No Hurry
- Zac Brown Band

In The Arms of An Angel
- Sarah McLachlan

Tears In Heaven
- Eric Clapton

Harder to Breathe
- Maroon 5

Over You
- Daughtry

Fighter
- Christina Aguilera

Waiting on the Sun
- Sixpence None The Richer

Paralyzer
- Finger Eleven

Disappear
- Hoobastank

You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This
- Toby Keith

Unwritten
- Natasha Beddingfield

Like A Star
- Corinne Bailey Rae

Rockstar
- Nickelback

All Summer Long
- Kid Rock

Nothing Else Matters
- Metallica

November Rain
- Guns N Roses

Something In the Way
- Nirvana

Here Comes Goodbye
- Rascal Flatts

Interstate Love Song
- Stone Temple Pilots

I Can't Stop Loving You
- Bryan Adams

Broken
- Seether ft. Amy Lee

Better Days
- Goo Goo Dolls

Dedications

To Mom. For always believing in me. I love you!

Chapter 1

Driving from Seattle to Bellingham had never been a source of enjoyment for me. For starters, the drive seemed unbearably long and brought back too many memories…too many bad memories.

Of course I wasn't doing the driving. My boyfriend, Colby, took the helm and made the long, tedious drive. Colby and I had known each other since high school, but didn't actually start dating until three years ago. We were both Bellingham raised and we both wanted out of that town faster than we could snap our fingers. It wasn't that Bellingham was a bad place to grow up. In fact, it was an excellent place to spend our childhood, but it was just too small to contain us. We had big dreams that would only be stifled if we stayed behind.

I had dreams of going to a big college as did Colby. Fortunately for him, he was able to leave first, being that he was three years older than me. Colby left and moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, then three years later I moved to the eastern half of the state to attend Washington State University. It wasn't that I had moved to a large city, but I
had
moved to a large school, one with a lot more people than I could not have encountered staying home and going to the local college. We would occasionally see one another on our breaks from school, but nothing had ever sparked between us.

Until the most horrific event of my life occurred.

It was a little more than three years ago when I got the phone call that I thought would end my life as I knew it.

I had been snuggled in my bed on a chilly March evening, studying for midterms, when my mother called. She normally didn't call as late as she did that night, so I knew to answer immediately. When I picked up, she informed me through deep sobs and gasping breaths that my father had been killed in a drunk-driving accident.

I remember dropping the phone from my hands and staring down at it, my mouth gaped open, not wanting to believe what was just lashed into my ears. I could hear my mother's deep cries as she called my name, "Dallis… Dallis…" but I was in a state of shock and couldn't bring myself to answer to her. My roommate, Miranda, glanced over and saw my horrified look and jumped from her bed to mine, picking up the phone and answering my mother with panic in her voice.

After trying to calm my mother, and periodically checking on me, Miranda confirmed that we would be on our way and hung up the phone. I still hadn't cried, and for the life of me I wasn't sure why. My body felt unnaturally cold, and my face had hardened into the same shocked expression that had taken over the second I'd heard the dreadful news. I was hoping that if I sat long enough, Miranda would tell me that it was all a nightmare and that everything was right in my world, but that wasn't the case. The second she sat down on my bed and wrapped her arms around me was the second that the dam burst and the tears came gushing from my eyes like a raging river. I didn't want to believe the truth; I wanted to believe that those terrible words had never been spoken. I wanted to go right back to studying, but Miranda was the blaring sign of reality staring me in the face, coaxing me to gather my jacket so that we could head back to Bellingham.

The drive from Pullman back to Bellingham was unbearably long. It was normally about a five hour drive, but no matter how fast or slow Miranda drove, we seemed to be idling on the highway. The claustrophobia setting in made me want to rush out of the car, but another side of me didn't ever want to get to Bellingham for fear of having to face the harsh reality that my dad was gone.

When we finally arrived, I exited the car with an overwhelming feeling of sickness invading the walls of my stomach. I saw cars in the drive way, so I knew my mother wasn't alone. That provided me with a slight bit of comfort, but I still wasn't prepared to deal with any of the impending aftermath. Miranda ran around to my side of the car and helped me out. I was incapable of removing myself from the car because the fear that I would have a nervous breakdown as soon as I entered the house had me frozen in my seat. The closing of the car doors brought Colby and his parents out of the house, and he took me from Miranda, carrying me inside.

My mother's face was soaked with tears as if she had been crying buckets, and the ghost-like complexion she wore eerily reminded me of the emotional trauma that she had endured. She warmed a little when she saw me, and Colby stood me up so that I could gather my mother in my embrace. We hugged tightly and cried on each other's shoulders. No words were spoken, but the level of sorrow that filled the room spoke more than any words could ever say.

Hours passed and while I didn't have much to say, I had to know what had happened to my dad. Mr. Shaw, Colby's father, filled me in. From what the first responders told my mother, my dad had been killed instantly when the car he was traveling in was struck on the side by another car and pinned to the guard rail. The driver of the other vehicle was traveling in excess of 100 mph and sustained minor injuries. He had blown well over the legal limit and was so inebriated that he had no idea where he was. The story sent nauseating shockwaves through my body and I couldn't bear to hear anymore. Miranda helped my mother and me up to our beds.

That was all I remember from that night.

Traveling the I-5 reminded me of that horrible day. My dad died on the I-5, and although I knew it was silly, I hated the thought of driving on the very interstate that my father had lost his life on. Unfortunately, in order to get from Seattle back home to Bellingham I had no choice but to travel that stretch of road. My mother was now a widow and being her only child, I tried to spend as much time with her as possible.

Luckily for me, I had my gorgeous boyfriend, Colby, by my side. He wasn't what I would have ever imagined for myself, but after the death of my father we just clicked. We had known each other for quite a while, but the romantic sparks hadn't flown prior to the tragedy.

In high school, Colby was the star athlete. He was tall, muscular, had a head full of spiky blond hair, and the most sparkling cerulean eyes that I had ever seen. I figured the only reason that we were even friends was because I was also an athlete and our mutual friends had brought us together. I didn't exactly resemble the perky blondes that he typically went for; the cheerleaders who idolized athletes and would drop things on a whim to be with them. I was the short, feisty redhead who would go toe to toe with any guy on the field as well as in life. I didn't care that Colby or any of his buddies were the stars of the town. In my eyes, they were no better than I was. The more time I spent with Colby, the more I pushed him into the friend zone. It wasn't as if he were trying to hit on me or anything; it was just a mental note I had made to myself. Colby Shaw harbored a level of arrogance that not only turned me off, but also made me wonder what girls saw in him.

It wasn't until after my father's death that I started seeing Colby in a different light. He had been so helpful and attentive and the earlier judgments I had stockpiled were slowly disintegrating. The arrogance was still intact, but he was older, more refined, and showed me a side of him that I hadn't known existed. He allowed me to cry and I did plenty of that. In the days following my father's death, I think I cried more than I had in all of my high school years combined. Colby would take me out to walk, or just sit in the park, and he even helped plan my father's funeral service. He showed that he cared and it was that trait that made me fall for him.

Shortly after the funeral, Colby and I went our separate ways. A few months later, I graduated from State; Miranda and I packed up and moved to Seattle, where we both started new and promising lives. It was then that my feelings for Colby Shaw began to grow. After spending all of our free time together, we became a couple and we've been together ever since.