Made To Be Broken

“Cage!” The frantic call came from the kitchen.“The new salmon is bad, all bad!”

With a curse, Cage bolted into the kitchen of his seafood restaurant. He had opened The Trap about a year ago, and much to his surprise and delight, it had been a great success. “What the hell do you mean it’s bad?”

His head cook, Mercutio, gestured to the fish, which had been shipped in earlier that morning. “Smell. It’s slimy too. No good,” Tio told him empathetically. “What do you want me to do? The special for today is salmon.”

Without even moving closer, Cage could smell it. Ordinary fish smelled, but this was a different smell, one he had quickly learned to recognize. His livelihood depended on the success of the restaurant—any bad reviews would be devastating. He cursed under his breath. “Do we have any in the freezer? Any from yesterday?”

Tio shook his head. “Nothing. What should we do?”

Cage growled, and pounded his fist down on the butcher block counter top. This was the last thing he needed today. He thought quickly, running through the menu in his head. “Send one of the busboys down to the grocery store, and pick up say, fifteen pounds, or however much they have. That will get us through the day, if we take the salmon special off the menu. Put the sea bass on, we should have enough of that. Write out a check, and give whoever goes some money for gas too. Take ten bucks out of the register. I have to run uptown and meet with the real estate agent. When I get back, I’ll call whoever sent us this trash.”

“It’s that new company. We’ve been getting the sea bass from them for a week now, and haven’t had a problem. I ordered their salmon because it was 30 cents cheaper a pound than the place we usually get it. He swore up and down that it was fresh catch.”

“Yeah, well, he lied,” Cage muttered derisively. “Can you handle this for me, Tio, please? I have to run.”

“You need to relax, Cage,” Tio told him. “You work too damn hard.”

Cage only shrugged. They’d had this conversation before. Many times, in fact. “Call my cell if you need me. I’ll be back this afternoon.”

“Ciao, Cage,” Tio said, already turning to pack the bad fish back up. They wouldn’t keep it, that was for sure. It would get sent back to the company, along with a demand for a refund.

A scowl across his handsome face, Cage returned to his office for his jacket and keys. He’d walk across town, it was a nice day, and he needed the physical exertion.

He rolled his neck around, trying to relieve some of the tension.

He had a feeling his long day was about to get longer. The real estate agent he usually dealt with had called in sick, so he would be dealing with a colleague of hers.

Jenny had known exactly what Cage wanted—what he was planning, where he wanted to be, how much he wanted to spend, how much work he was willing to do, everything. She had told him not to reschedule, as she didn’t want him to lose a shot at any thing that was on the market.

He walked into the real estate office, and a young man jumped up. “Mr. Hayden? Jenny told me you wanted to find a spot for a new restaurant.”

He sighed. “Not a new restaurant. A grocery. A specialty one.”

“Oh, right, Jenny mentioned that. I forgot. Well, I have a few properties that just came on the market, if you’d like to get started.”

He nodded, following the man out to the company car.

By the time his appointment was over, he must have seen fifteen different store fronts, none of them anything like what he needed.

It was looking more and more like he’d have to build to suit, which would be yet another hassle he didn’t need. He was tempted to put the grocery idea on a back burner for a while, and concentrate on the Trap.

He stopped at a popular pizza place for a quick lunch and a drink. He usually ate pretty healthy, but every once in a while he allowed himself to indudge in a good pizza.

When the door opened, the chatter inside stopped for a minute, and Cage cursed the small town that he lived in.

“Cage…” a lithe little brunette murmured as she came up to kiss his cheek. “Where have you been? You never called me back.”

“Sorry, Lily,” he murmured distractedly, stepping up to order. “Been busy.”

“It’s Lila.”

“Lila. Right.” He turned his attention to the girl behind the counter. “Hey Carole. Can I get a slice of Hawaiian, and a slice of sausage with black olives? And this,” he said, holding up the Snapple bottle he had snagged from the fridge.

“Sure thing, Cage. It’ll be right up. 4.49.”

He handed her a five with a wink. Carole had taken his order so many times that she knew the routine—his change always went in the tip jar.

“Thanks, kiddo. Anytime you want to leave this dump and come work at a real restaurant, you just let me know,” he said with a grin. It was a long-running joke between them. Cage was always on the lookout for new employees that he could trust, and he had tried to recruit Carole within days of meeting her. She just insisted that the pizzeria was a real restaurant, and joked that he could never meet her salary requirements. It hadn’t been until much later that he found out she was dating the owner of the restaurant, a man who was currently twenty-six, seven years older than she was. He had inherited the place from his father at a rather young age.

“Fifty bucks an hour,” she countered.

He laughed, knowing she was joking. “Well, when you leave him for a better man, I’ll be waiting to give you a job,” he said as she moved to help the couple in line behind him.

“Cage,” Lila whined, pressing herself against his arm to get his attention. “Why didn’t you call me?”

He laughed bitterly. “I think the whole town knows by now that I don’t do serious, and I don’t do relationships.”

“But I thought what we had was special!”

He simply shook his head and accepted his food. “I told you it was a one time thing, and you said you were okay with that. Sorry, Lila.” He walked away from her without looking back.

He sat at an empty table with his food, and began to eat, ignoring everyone else in the pizza parlor. When he was finished, he simply left.

There was nothing holding him to this town, except for his restaurant. He could have opened up anywhere, but he hadn’t had the heart to leave. He had grown up here, in a decent sized house on the outskirks of town. Growing up he had a large yard, a pool, a dog, but his parents had gotten divorced when he was eight, and his father had been given full custody when his mother moved away with her new boyfriend, so he rarely saw her.

At an early age, he had vowed that any child of his wouldn’t know that separation. His father had loved him, but had been always been working. Aunt Catherine had been the one to raise Cage, and bring him up, sacrificing her chance at a family of her own when her husband had left her.

When Cage had been twenty five, and just out of rehab, his father had passed away, leaving Cage alone.

He had sold his father’s house, and eventually opened up the Trap, not knowing where he could relocate to.

But that wasn’t the only reason he hadn’t left. There had always been a hope that she would come back.

--

It occurred to Cage Hayden as he made his way back through town that he should have been happy. He was healthy, his business was successful and relatively easy to run, except for days like today, he had a house of his own and a dog that occasionally listened to him. Women liked him, and he liked them back, but it wasn’t enough.

He sighed, knowing the memory that was about to surface, and he hated it.

There was a ghost haunting him, keeping things from going farther with any of those women. It was a ghost of a girl he had hurt years ago, and that ghost kept him from getting too close to anyone. His aunt told him it was high time he settled down and got married, but he couldn’t bring himself to that point.

He had a reputation with women, and was considered one of the catches of the town. Every night, there was a different woman chasing him, and most of them ended up in his bed. Nothing ever came of those one night stands, because no one could ever compare to her. He didn’t want anything more from them.

It wasn’t that he was married to his restaurant, like some people accused. And it wasn’t just that he had been burned once, as others said. It was so much more than that.

He shoved his hands in the pockets of his khaki slacks as her face popped into his head.

Baby DeCilia. She had been all soft, wavy brown hair and delicate features, with big blue eyes that should have been impossible to resist.

He’d been twenty two, and she had been everything he could have possibly wanted.

They’d met at a party some of his friends were hosting. It had been his senior year of college, just a few months before graduation, and Cage was on top of the world. He thought there was nothing in his way, nothing that could hold him back. He had been drunk, but not so drunk that he couldn’t see that she was special. She was shy at first, and had seemed so different from the gyrating girls around her. She had been above all that. She had been perfect, and so he had asked her out, quickly snatching her up before someone more deserving of her came along. Their relationship had grown from there, and he still couldn’t believe that they had only been together for three months.

He had been a fool though, and didn’t think he could ever forgive himself for what he had done. It had been years since he had seen her, but hardly a day went by when he wasn’t thinking about her. She had disappeared off the face of the earth. If nothing else, he needed closure. He needed to know that she had forgiven him for hurting her; that she had moved on, and more than anything, that she was happy.

He had yet to find a woman who could compare to her. He didn’t think he ever would. Everything about her had just fit him so well, but he had been too young and stupid to see it.

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the painful memories. He didn’t think he would ever be over her.

Cage slowed as he passed a playground, in no hurry to get back to the restaurant and have to deal with the salmon company. It was a gorgeous, warm September day, and he took the time to enjoy his stroll.

He paused at a coffee truck, and ordered a large regular. While waiting, he glanced around the park.

He never came around this side of town much. Samsion was a pretty small, relatively wealthy town, located in the heart of New Hampshire’s Seacoast region. The town was divided by this park. One side was more residential, with homes, small boutiques and restaurants, while the other was more commercial with all the grocery stores, banks, and chain stores. It was in the latter that he was hoping to open up his new store, if he could ever find the right front.

The park was nice, with its big green fields, baseball diamonds, and the large, newly built playground in the center had kids crawling all over it. There were weeping willows up along the river bank, with picnic benches under them.

He grabbed his coffee from the vendor and took a step towards the river. It couldn’t be real. It had to be a mistake. He was probably over tired, and his mind was playing tricks on him. It had been a while since he’d had a good night’s sleep.

He couldn’t believe his eyes. She looked different, but he knew it was her. He just knew. If she was real, she looked damned good. If she was real, she had slimmed down some, not that she had ever been fat, but now her body was toned and tanned. She had on a loose blouse, her breasts pushing it out farther than he remembered, and she was wearing a long skirt and flip flops that dangled off her dainty feet. She was still every bit as perfect as she had been.

He took another step towards her, and then another, his feet mindlessly propelling him forward. He didn’t dare blink for fear that she would disappear.

“Baby? Is that you?” he said, his voice sounding hoarse to his own ears.

She looked up, and he winced as her face paled.

“C-cage…” she whispered.

“How are you, Baby?” he asked, standing awkwardly in front of her with his hands in his pockets.

“Fine,” she nodded. “What do you want?”

“I just…I saw you sitting here…I wanted to say hello. It’s been a while… How are you?” he asked, standing awkwardly in front of her with his hands in his pockets.

“Fine,” she nodded.

“How long have you been in town?”

“A couple months now.”

“Do you need a job? You can work in my restaurant.”

“No, I don’t need a damned job, Cage,” she snapped.

He held out his hands innocently.

“Easy there, little Lionness.” He called her by his pet name for her. It wasn’t a name he had called her often, only when they had argued, and he had wanted to calm her down. She was obviously every bit as fiery as she had always been.

“What do you want?” she sighed.

“I just—I couldn’t not say hello.”

“Yeah, I know the words self-control mean nothing to you,” she said, her voice dripping with disdain and anger.

He dropped his gaze, hesitating for a long moment.

“I’m sorry if I insulted you by offering you a job. It’s been a long time, huh?”

“It has,” she said shortly.

He leaned against the edge of her picnic table, gazing down at her. For so long, he had dreamed of seeing her again, but now, he had no idea what to say. He had hurt her so badly. He didn’t even remember all the details of that night. He hadn’t remembered anything but waking up to find blood on the sheets, her ripped clothes on the floor, and dried blood on his body as well.

It hadn’t been his blood, and she had been gone. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that he had lost control. He knew it was no excuse, but he had been out of his mind with both drugs and booze. That had been when he had first admitted to himself that he had a problem.

She bit her lip staring at him. All she could do was remember.

She trembled as he gazed angrily at her. They had been dating for three months. She was perfect. He was a drunk. She was smart, funny, fiery and gentle, independent and strong, and at times he hated that he couldn’t control her.

“Goddammit all I want is to come home to dinner on the table, and you can’t even fucking do that right,” he screamed, his eyes bloodshot and his face pale. “Now you make a fucking mess of my fucking apartment. Clean that shit up!”

She dropped to her knees, a damp dishtowel in her hands, and attempted to mop up the juice. He had startled her and the glass had slipped through her fingers.

She cried out when his foot met her stomach, and the breath rushed from her lungs as she hit the ground.

“Cage, stop,” she whispered when she could breath again. “You’re hurting me…you’re drunk again…”

“Hurting you? You have no idea what pain is, little girl. I’ll show you. Girls like you are good for nothing. You were made to be broken by a man like me. I’ll show you.”

He lunged for her, his hand clenching around her wrist and she cried out as he twisted it sharply. “Get the fuck up.”

“Please, Cage, don’t do this…please, no…” she cried as he dragged her down the hallway.

He picked her up bodily and threw her on the bed. “Don’t move,” he ordered her.

She stared fearfully at him. She had never seen him so beyond reason like this. He wasn’t always like this. It was only when he mixed the drugs and alcohol. With just one or the other, he was a little pushy, but he’d never even hit her before.

She tensed her muscles, ready to bolt. She watched as he reached for his belt buckle first and she drew backwards on the bed, nearing the far side.

In a swift movement, she rolled and leapt off the bed, and stood, trembling, staring at him. He was blocking her way out. Even as drunk as he was, she knew she could never out run him.

“I told you not to fucking move,” he snarled. Before she could slip by him, he was in front of her, tossing her back onto the bed.

Naked, he pinned her down easily, tearing at her clothes. When she pushed him, he slapped her across the face, her head turning painfully. “Cage,” she whimpered. She could taste the blood in her mouth, and she could feel it dripping from her forehead.

With no warning at all, he thrust inside her dry body, and she screamed. He bit her neck sharply.

“Shut up. You’re mine,” he growled as he took her. “And it’s about time you learned that. I’m going to break you. I own you. You were made to be broken…” He used her body, and she hated the way it responded to his touch. He knew her well, and she somehow orgasmed through the pain. She only felt dirtier because of it.

“Baby…I never got the chance to tell you I was sorry.”

Wide-eyed, she stared at him, waiting for him to turn into the man who had driven her away all those years ago. She took the time to look him over. His six foot one frame was broader than she remembered, and more developed. His hair was as brown as ever, and his eyes were the same hazel, only they seemed clearer.

‘Maybe he has sobered up after all,’ she thought to herself. He had certainly learned how to dress, his khakis and polo shirt a far cry from his old wardrobe of ripped jeans that hung low on his hips, paired with ratty old t-shirts.

When she didn’t answer, he continued. “I—I don’t remember what happened that night. I just know I hurt you, and you’ll never know how sorry I am.”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Cage. What do you want from me?”

He ignored her question. “How old are you now anyway? Twenty six, twenty seven? You look good.”

“I’m twenty three,” she told him.

He laughed. “Very funny. You can’t be. It’s been what, seven years?” he asked awkwardly.

She said nothing, just glanced down at her clenched fists, where they rested under the table. He had never been completely stupid, so he would be able to figure out the math on his own.

“No…” he whispered. “That would mean…” His voice trailed off as he did the numbers in his head over and over again, and came up to an unbelievable answer each time.

“I was seventeen, Cage. Seventeen,” she said before he could open his mouth. It had only been six years, but she didn’t dare correct him. She didn’t want him to put the pieces of the puzzle together. For now, that was the only piece he had, and she hoped she could keep it that way.

“I didn’t know…I swear, I didn’t…I thought you were at least twenty…You never told me…”

“And you never asked. You were too drunk to bother.”

He took an involuntary step forward, hand outstretched, and in a split second, she was out of her seat standing a few feet away from him. “Stay away from me, Cage,” she warned him, her heartbeat thudding in her ears. “Don’t come near me.”

As soon as he had passed out, she worked her way out from under him. Her whole body was on fire, throbbing with pain, but she had to get out. She had to.

As she dressed, she looked over at him. He looked so vulnerable now, but he certainly hadn’t seemed that way just an hour before. She hadn’t known he was capable of hurting her so badly. She had thought he loved her.

She gathered up what things she would need, knowing that she would never come back to this apartment of his.

Ten minutes later, she was letting herself out the door, a fistful of twenty dollar bills shoved deep in her pocket. She had found his stash weeks ago, but it was only now that she helped herself to it.

Two hours later, she was still walking, limping along. Buses, trains, planes, were all traceable, and she didn’t want him to ever be able to find her. Now though, she had a destination in mind. It wouldn’t be too much longer before she reached someone who would be willing to help her.

His voice jarred her out of the memory and brought her back to the present.

“My God,” he murmured, his voice oddly reverent, “You were just a child. Baby, I wish I had known how young you were…” He sank down onto the bench, suddenly overwhelmed. He dragged his hand down his face.

“What difference would it have made?” she snapped, her eyes shooting daggers at him. “You were a worthless drunk. You weren’t listening to a thing I said.”
Cage hung his head in shame. Every day since she had left he had torn himself apart over the things he had done to her. “I never realized…God, I’m six years older than you? I can’t believe it… I looked for you, you know, after…after I’d sobered up. But you were gone.”

“I couldn’t come back,” she told him.

“Why?”

“You, of all people, should know why!”

“Baby, please…”

“Come back and have you kill me? I’m not a fool, Cage. I told you once that I wouldn’t stick around if you hit me.” It had hurt, so badly, the way he had treated her. It hadn’t always been bad, but it was never a fairytale either. He had always been drunk. Three months after meeting him, she still hadn’t known who Cage Hayden really was, and at times, she wasn’t sure she wanted to. But she had loved him despite all that.

“I’m clean now. Haven’t touched any kind of booze or drug in five years.”

“Good for you.”

“I did it for you.”

She dropped her gaze, unable to meet his eyes. “You should have done it for yourself,” she told him softly.

“Baby…can we go somewhere? And talk?”

She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please…” He hated himself for begging, but he couldn’t help it. This was his Baby.

“I have nothing to say to you—“ She might have said more, but a small voice interrupted.

AN: Read, enjoy, and please let me know what you think of this new story!

--Ashley