Pieces of the Heart

Her eyes popped open as she laid there trying to listen for what had woken her up; hearing the pitter patter of rain drops on the roof she decided it must have been thunder. Silently she rolled on to her side; hoping sleep would reclaim her when she heard it again. No definitely not thunder; opening her eyes she squinted at the soft glow of her alarm clock. Who would be at her door at two A.M.?

Hearing the incessant pounding at her door once more she groaned, “All right already; I’m coming.”

Slowly she slipped from the safety of her warm bed and shivered as her feet hit the cold wooden floor. Running her hands up and down her arms for warmth she quickly made her way down the hall and to the door. Looking through the peep hole she frowned unlocking the door.

“Kevin?”

Arm raised mid knock, with his chest heaving Kevin Jonas stood before her. She gasped as she took in the sight of him. His normally curly hair was matted to his fore head; his wet shirt clung tightly to his frame, his jeans, heavy from the rain hung dangerously low on his hips and he had a canvas bag resting at his feet.

“What happened?”

Slowly he lowered his arm and looked up at her, “It’s over; she-she kicked me out.”

Sighing she stepped back to let him in, “Go on and dry off; I’ll make some coffee.”

As he made his way to the bathroom she locked the door and headed for the kitchen. Flipping on the machine she grabbed two cups out of the cabinet and listened to him move around as she waited.

Eventually Kevin joined her in the kitchen and leaned against the bar to wait. Noticing the pot was full she filled the cups handing him his before mimicking his stance and taking a sip of her own.

“So.”

Kevin sighed, “There’s no fixing it this time.”

“Did she?”

“No not yet. She has talked to a lawyer though; I’m going to file tomorrow.”

“Mackenzie?”

“Gracie is at my parent’s; thank the Lord.”

She cringed, “Was it bad?”

Kevin scoffed, “You know as soon as I walked in the house I knew something was off; it was too quiet. I had stayed late at the office, like usual; she had kept dinner warm. We sat down to eat and it was like she flipped a switch.”

“She started yelling that she wanted a divorce, threw her plate at my head and screamed for me to get out and to never come back; I went upstairs packed a bag and here I am.”

“Are you okay?”

“It’s not as if I didn’t see this coming; I mean things haven’t been right between us for a long while but,” He sighed, “How am I going to look my little girl in the eye and tell her daddy isn’t coming home anymore? Huh, how do I tell her that?”

At the sound of tears in his voice she sat her coffee cup on the bar, took his and did the same before pulling him into her arms.

“You tell her that you love her with all your heart and soul and that that will never change but that some things aren’t ment to be and this is one of them.”

“It’s just that I tried, I did try. For nine years I tried my damnedest to make this marriage work but she never did, not once; not even in the beginning. But I did; I at least did that.”

She ran a soothing hand down his bare back, “I know Kevin; shh, I know.”

“Is something wrong with me; is that why it didn’t work?”

Pushing him back she took his face in her hands, “You are smart, handsome, talented, kind hearted and one of the most amazing men I know and don’t ever let anyone tell you any different.”

Silently Kevin pushed a lock of hair behind her ear; the intensity in his gaze shocking her. Slowly he ran his hand across her cheek letting it trail down her neck before coming to a rest on her shoulder. As he took a step closer she could feel the heat radiating from his bare chest causing her heart to race. With her eyes closed she relished the feel of his lips on hers; feeling his tongue run across her bottom lip, she wrapped her arms around his neck running her fingers through his damp curls allowing him to deepen the kiss. As he started to trail kisses along her neck she let a quiet moan escape her lips.

Suddenly Kevin’s kisses became frantic as he gripped her thighs lifting her onto the bar. He started to push her shirt up when her eyes popped open.

“Kevin we can’t; we shouldn’t do this.”

Kevin looked up as he let her shirt fall back into place, “Please I need this. I just, I need to feel again.”

She paused at the desperation in his voice, “Okay.”

Kevin placed a soft kiss on her lips once more before carrying her to her bedroom.

Taking a sip of her champagne she looked around with a sigh. It was May 2010, the Jonas Brothers had just wrapped up a world tour and here she sat at none other than Kevin Jonas’ wedding. At the table next to her were three well know celebrities and if she wasn’t mistaken she had walked past Brad Paisley on the way to the bathroom; so she couldn’t help but ask herself what she was doing here.

The answer came easily to her mind; Kevin. He had been such a dear friend to her growing up and while she had been happy for him getting the chance to live his dream; she had been devastated when he moved.

When the invitation came inviting her to his wedding she readily accepted, happy at the chance to see an old friend; though looking around now she has never felt so out of place. It was plain to see she no longer belonged in his world. Downing her champagne and grabbing her clutch she decided to just leave.

As she pushed through the crowd near the dance floor she heard something that made her stop in her tracks.

“Hailey?”

Putting a smile on her face Hailey turned around, “Kevin, congratulations.”

“Thanks, wow it’s been a while; how have you been,” He asked while pulling her in for a hug.

“I’ve been great and apparently so have you; I can’t believe you’re married.”

Kevin laughed, “I know right, come on I want you to meet her.”

“Oh, okay,” she answered as he lead her through the crowd.

As they stopped in front of someone who was obviously the bride, Kevin went to her side slipping his arm around her, “Danielle I’d like you to meet a good friend of mine, Hailey Higgins; we grew up together here in Jersey.”

“Kevin there you are; oh nice to meet you by the way. But Kevin it was so horrible, Garbo had an allergic reaction to the food. Apparently catering used pine nuts even though I specifically told them no nuts at all. I just knew something like this would happen to ruin our wedding; I just knew it.”

“Honey its okay, calm down; now how bad of a reaction was it? I mean should I call an ambulance?”

“No Joe took him to the bathroom to wait it out; he had Benadryl with him so he’ll be fine.”

Kevin sighed “Still in all I should go check on him.”

Danielle scoffed, “Yes of course because that’s exactly what you need to do on our wedding day, go check on your friend.”

“Danielle, it’s not his fault he’s allergic to nuts.”

She crossed her arms, “Fine whatever; just go.”

Kevin turned towards Hailey, “Sorry Hailey but I do need to go check on him; it was good seeing you though, thanks for coming.”

“Oh no problem, I was just leaving anyways. It was good to see you too.”

She looked over at the man sleeping contently beside her; he looked so peaceful. She still couldn’t believe what they had done but who was she to deny him of something he asked for when she herself had wanted it for so long.

There was no denying that she was in love with him, she had been for while. Looking back over the years there was no way to pen point an exact time when she knew that; it had been a gradual development.

Of course she had been attracted to him from the beginning and Kevin himself had even voiced his attraction to her after a particularly nasty fight with Danielle. Neither of them had ever acted on it though because he truly wanted his marriage to work and she well, she would never try to break up his family.

But now; well now is an entirely different story isn’t it.

Smiling to herself she placed a soft kiss to his forehead before snuggling into chest and closing her eyes.

Grabbing some books off the cart she stood on her tip toes to place them on the shelf.

“Excuse me Miss… Hailey?”

“What are you doing here,” They both asked at the same time.

Hailey laughed, “I work here; what about you?”

“Uh, looking for a book.”

“No I mean what are you doing here as in here in Jersey.”

Kevin smiled, “We just moved here.”

“That’s great; how’s Danielle?”

“She’s good, uh pregnant actually.”

Hailey’s eyes bugged in surprise, “Oh wow, congratulations.”

Kevin’s eyes lit up, “Yeah I’m…we’re really excited about it.”

“That’s great Kevin; I’m really happy for you.”

“Thanks…So a librarian huh?”

“Children’s librarian, yes; so what kind of book were you looking for,” She asked.

“Something on pregnancy but I can’t seem to find anything.”

Hailey laughed, “That’s because you’re in the wrong section; come on I’ll show you.”

Kevin trailed behind her as she made her way through the different sections of the library.

As she came to a stop she turned around, “Here you go; you should be able to find what you’re looking for. It was nice seeing you again Kevin.”

“It was good seeing you too.”

As she started to walk away Kevin called her back, “Hey Hailey?”

“Yeah,” She asked turning around.

“Would you like to go get coffee sometime; you know catch up.”

She smiled, “I’d love too.”

Feeling the bed shift she opened her eyes and looked around. Spotting Kevin pulling on his pants, she frowned.

“Hey where are you going?”

He didn’t turn around as he grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head, “I have a meeting with my lawyer at ten.”

“Kevin, it’s only seven.”

Kevin sighed as he turned around and sat beside her, “Look Hailey, this was a mistake; we shouldn’t have done that. It’s my fault and I’m really sorry.”

She sighed.

“Look everything’s a mess and I really do have to go but I’ll see you later okay,” He walked to the door.

“No I understand, its fine; bye Kevin.”

“Still friends right,” He asked as he grabbed his bag and opened the door.

Hailey smiled, “Still friends.”

As he closed the door behind him she let herself fall back onto the bed with a sigh and when she heard him close her front door she fought back the tears that she so wanted to let free.