Fragments of Us (A Contemporary Broken Hearts Romance) (Book Book 2)

sleep.
Nicole whispered, “DJ’s up. It’s your turn.”
Again, he mumbled something incoherent.
She shook him harder and spoke a little firmer. “Davis. DJ is crying.” He still wouldn’t wake up. Nicole was so angry she wanted to cry. Instead, she got up and did what mother’s do—she took care of her son.

Chapter 4
The alarm buzzed. Zzzzz . . . zzzzz . . . zzzzz. Blaring. Unceasing.
Nicole could see herself, smashing it against a wall, but couldn’t move a muscle. Both her body and brain protested. I only went to sleep five minutes ago! I just need a few more minutes. She lay face down on her stomach not even having the strength to cover her ears. The only movement she could muster was to squeeze her already closed eyes tighter.
Then the side of her bed dipped. Davis sat down and shut off the alarm. He ran his hand lovingly down the length of her back, bent low and whispered into her ear. “It’s 6:00 a.m.? Are you getting up?”
Didn’t he sound refreshed? Nicole didn’t want to start the day off angry, but she was. She was pissed and exhausted—so tired—she wanted to pass out. Staying up half the night and into the early morning would do that to a person. She hadn’t been able to get DJ comfortable enough to go back to sleep until after 3:00 a.m. Nicole pushed the overwhelming desire to smack Davis upside the head out of her mind. Instead, she inhaled deeply and blew it out slowly before responding. “Yes. I need to be on the road by 8:00 a.m.” She didn’t ask if he was able to change his meeting time and didn’t give a shit about it. He was going to stay here with their kids.
He had been taking her for granted for far too long, and she was over it. They were going to have to address the elephant in all the rooms for the millionth and one time, but not this morning, now was not the time.
Nicole waited to hear his response, but there wasn’t one. After a moment, she rolled over onto her back, and when she opened her eyes, she did everything possible not to make eye contact with his. If Davis gazed into them, there would be no hiding her emotions—especially since her shade of red-hot anger would only become more apparent once she realized he was already dressed for work. It wasn’t that Nicole didn’t want to unload, but she needed to be in the right head space for her meeting. Having a knock down drag out fight with Davis, wasn’t the best way to get there. She sat up and moved to get out of the bed. Davis leaned in to kiss her on the cheek, and Nicole dodged his lips. “I need a shower.”
He grabbed hold of her wrist. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Your entire body is tense. That’s not usually what happens when I touch you. I thought everything was fine when we went to bed last night.”
“No. We called a truce, but everything wasn’t fine. Look, I can’t do this with you right now. I have a meeting to get ready for.”
His eyes flashed with anger. “I don’t give a damn about your meeting; I care about you and me! Let’s talk this out.”
Nicole snatched her wrist away from his grip. “And THAT is the problem! Everything is not always about YOU!” Her rage was bubbling just under the surface. She scooted off the bed and stalked toward the bathroom before she did something like release the full force of her anger. Only she couldn’t help herself. She stopped just outside the door and half-turned. She had to throw at least one parting shot since he seemed so utterly clueless. “I hope you are well rested considering it was your night to get up with DJ, never mind that I had to get up early too. He was up until 3 a.m.” Nicole walked into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Davis closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Damn. I messed up . . . again.
*****
Ding dong. Ding Dong.
Davis carried Rayna on his shoulders as he made his way quickly down the spiraling staircase. Only one person would ring his doorbell like a crazy person this early. He made it to the bottom of the stairs with a giggling Rayna as he jogged over to open the door.
Rayna turned around, and her eyes grew wide. “Auntie!” Surprised, she reached out and threw tiny arms around her aunt’s neck.
“Good morning, darling.” Jane Chatham-Ross had arrived. She returned Rayna’s hug and winked at Davis over her shoulder.
He smiled. “Thanks for coming over on such short notice.”
Jane walked inside. “Now I know why you talked Russell into moving to this state and closer to you. Seriously, that’s what sisters are for. Just remember, it works two-ways, when I need a babysitter for the twins, I don’t want to hear any excuses.”
“I think I can handle that.”
“Good. Has Nicole left yet? I hope I didn’t miss her.”
“No. She’s still upstairs getting ready, and so is DJ. He hasn’t woken up yet. According to Nicole, he was up until about 3:00 a.m. this morning.”
“Poor guy. He’s still not feeling better?”
“No. I hate seeing him like this. I feel so helpless.”
“I know that feeling, but you and Nicole are doing the right thing by taking him back to the doctor. I’ll call you as soon as I’m done with his appointment. It’s probably just a horrible cold, and he’s teething, so don’t