Fractured Souls - Page 58

“You’ve phoned him over fifty times! I checked your call history,” she says and grabs my phone. “Please don’t tell me you called him again.”

“Give that back!” I jump at her, trying to get my cell. “Sienna!”

“You did! I can’t believe you.”

“I haven’t called him.” I take my phone from her. “I was looking at some photos.”

“What photos?”

I shrug.

“You never told me you had a photo of him!” Sienna widens her eyes at me. “Let me see! Please? Please? Please?”

I unlock my phone and reluctantly pass it to her. She grabs it with a squeal and starts going through the folders.

“Oh, I can’t wait to . . . holy fuck, Asya! Is this him?”

I glance at the screen, at the photo of Pasha I secretly took one morning while he was still sleeping. He’s on his back with his arm thrown over his face. The blanket is bunched up around his waist, leaving his tattooed broad chest fully on display.

“Yeah.” I nod.

Sienna flips to the next image. That one’s a little blurry, taken the day he gave me the phone. I was trying out the camera with a selfie but moved my hand too fast. In the photo, I’m leaning against Pasha’s chest and gazing at the camera. He has his arm wrapped around my waist and is looking down at me.

“I still don’t understand what happened,” I say, looking at the screen. “Why did he shut me out? Did I do something? Did he decide he can’t deal with my issues anymore?”

“Asya, stop.” Sienna takes my hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You hear me? He doesn’t deserve you, not after how he acted.”

“I miss him so much,” I whisper and look back down at the phone. I wish I took more photos of him.

“It’ll get easier. You’ll meet a guy, fall in love, and forget all about the Russian.” She wraps her arm around me and pulls me into a hug. “When you’re ready, we’ll go out together and find the most handsome, sweet guy for you. Okay?”

A heavy feeling settles over me, and I close my eyes. I don’t want a sweet, handsome guy. I want Pasha. Just the thought of any other man touching me makes me sick to my stomach. Acid rises up my throat, so I fan my face, hoping the nausea will pass. It doesn’t. It only gets worse. I jump off the bed and dash to the bathroom, barely managing to reach the toilet in time. Sienna runs in after me and lifts my hair away from my face as I empty the contents of my stomach. When I’m done, I slump to the floor next to the toilet and stare at the ceiling.

“I can’t even think about other men without vomiting, Sienna,” I whisper.

Chapter 21

One month later

My phone rings as I’m rearranging my closet for the third time this week. I found that folding stuff helps me keep my mind thought-free. Funny thing, I’ve also started sorting my clothes by color.

I reach for the cell and see that it’s an unknown caller. Only a couple of people have this number because I’m still using the phone Pasha gave me. Somewhere deep inside, I’m still hopeful he’ll call, but it’s been nearly two months.

“Yes?”

“Asya?” a vaguely familiar male voice asks. “Can you please put that piece of shit on the line? He’s been ignoring my calls for weeks, and I have a clusterfuck on my hands at Ural.”

I raise my eyebrows. “Kostya?”

“Of course, it’s me, sweetheart. Who else has such a sexy voice? Oh fuck, please don’t tell him I called you sweetheart.”

“Tell who?”

“Pasha, of course. Can you please put him on? It’s taken me two days to crack the password on his email account to find your number. Things here are getting disastrous.”

Why would Kostya think Pasha’s with me? I swallow the lump that’s suddenly formed in my throat and close my eyes. “He’s not here.”

“Please tell him to call me when he—”