Broken

Chapter 8 (Claire)

  Sam holds the ice pack to my head while he balances one on his ankle. "You don't have to do this, you know that right Sammy?"

  "Oh, I know. I just want to."

  "Why would you want to? Isn't your hand cold? Isn't your arm tired?"

  "Yes, and yes, but it's worth it," he says while smiling. Then, he leans over and kisses me on the cheek and I smile at him.

  "How is it worth it?" I ask, pushing him farther.

  He smiles and pulls me onto his lap. "Well Claire bear, even if you don't know it, you're the most beautiful girl at school."

  At that, I blush. "Sammy if I didn't know better, I'd think you were flirting with me."

  "Who says I'm not?"

  "Sammy, I love you as a friend and like you were my brother. I don't know if I could love you more than that."

  "Can't we at least try?" He sounds like he's pleading now.

  "Will it mess up our friendship if it fails," I say with a sigh.

  "Absolutely not Claire bear!"

  "I guess we'll give it a try," I say reluctantly. I hope I don't hurt his feelings.

  "Is your head feeling better Claire?"

  "Yeah, why?"

  "Well, I wanted to to this," and then his lips are on mine. My first kiss. His lips are warm and taste like honey. I close my eyes and kiss him back, feeling as if it was just him and I, the world at a standstill.

  He pulls away first, but not very far. I feel like I am breathing his breath, our noses touching.

  And then, he's pulling me on top of him as he lays down, pressing his lips to mine. I've never done this before, but I'm sure Sam has. He's great with girls.

  He slips my shirt over my head, and the cold hits me like a shock, but I don't care. I press my lips harder to his, trying to make us the same person, not wanting to pull away.

  But then, a flash illuminates the room and there's a crash. But, there's no rain. Then, realization hits. That wasn't lightning, it was a camera flash. My eyes widen but Sam doesn't seem to care, even as another flash goes off.

  I jerk away from Sam and reach for the phone. I don't know what I was going to say. Hello, 911, I am calling to tell you that someone is taking pictures of me and my new boyfriend who is also my best friend, just didn't sound right.

  I sigh and let my hand drop and go and curl back up on Sam's lap. I tug on my shirt and grab the phone, only, I'm not calling to complain about creeps taking pictures of me. I'm calling for pizza. And just then, I hear a car door slam and tires squealing on the road, and I smile to myself as Sam flips on the TV.