THAT FIRST BREAK (Broken Redemption Prequel 1)

Chapter 4

Emilia

"Where are you going?" Mom stands over the sink, her back turned to me.

Surprised she's still here, I grab an apple from the fruit bowl and take a seat at the kitchen table. Though I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, it's hard to turn off that part of me that craves her attention.

"To Jen's. Lucas hasn't come around all week, so I want to check on him."

"Hmm," she considers as she turns off the water. Grabbing the kitchen towel from the counter, she dries her hands and turns to face me. "Is it true that he and that Becca girl broke up?"

"That's the rumor." Rumor because I've yet to hear it from him. "Has Aunt Jessa said anything?" Like the desperate girl that I am, I lean forward in my seat. To her, it probably seems like I'm eager for the answer to the question, when in fact, I'm just happy to have stumbled upon a topic that captures her attention.

"All she's said is he's not talking, and she doesn't want to pry." When she tosses the towel back onto the counter and leaves the kitchen, my face falls. From the foyer, I hear her yell, "I'm leaving. Your father will deal with everything else when he gets home."

Of course, he will. Just like he does every night because my mother is never here. Why she feels the need to remind me only fuels my disappointment. I can't understand why Daddy doesn't speak up and remind her she has responsibilities here at home. Instead, we all do this dance where we pretend not to notice that she only comes for an hour or two in the mornings before turning around and leaving us again. I know it sounds like I'm angry at my father, but it isn't that. I only wish he'd come right out and admit to me that their marriage is over. Or at the very least, it would be nice if he acknowledged that at this point, our family unit consists of only me and him.

"Okay," I mumble under my breath, at the same time the door clicks shut. Why her lack of interest in my life still hurts is beyond me. You'd think I'd be relieved since it means I don't have to constantly hear how I don't measure up to the type of daughter she envisioned for herself.

Annoyed at the burning sensation behind my eyes, I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. Without thinking, I open the text message Lucas sent late last night.

"I'm fine."

When I first read those two words, my stomach sank, and I spent the rest of the night tossing and turning, worrying over how I'm going to fix this.

Seven days.

That's how long it took him to respond to my calls and messages. Seven days of radio silence which, coincidently, started after that awkward moment at Amanda's party. The last time we went this long without seeing one another was back in the seventh grade when he was hospitalized with the flu. It's how I know that no matter what the text said, Lucas James Holt is anything but fine.

Sick of waiting for him to come to me, I grab what I need and head out the door. After a deep breath of the clean mountain air, I make my way down the front steps and start walking down the tree-lined street to where Jen and Lucas live a few blocks over. I make this trip half a dozen times a week, but today's walk feels different since I don't have a clue what's going to happen when he finds me standing at his door.

I'm not one for confrontation and I've spent most of my life avoiding it or pretending not to notice when it's happening around me. Unfortunately, the only thing I hate more than confrontation is knowing that someone I care about is angry with me. This is especially the case when that someone is Lucas.

In all the years I've known him, which happens to be my entire life, he's never turned his back on me. That is, until that night, and while watching him walk away was difficult, his absence since then has hurt far worse. Each day that's passed has been harder than the last, and now I'm at the point where I can't sleep because my mind won't stop replaying that horrible moment that changed everything.