Shattered

Chapter 11 Kristin

"It's you who I have thought of when I am at my weakest & you who have pulled me through."
Sarah Dessen

Kristin sat in the wheelchair in the lobby staring at her older sister's obvious misery. Bradley had finally convinced her parents that Mark was going to drive her home and stay with her, and yet, Mark was nowhere to be found. It had been almost two hours since he had woken up and he hadn't been seen since Caroline's short conversation immediately following.

"I'm sorry, his phone is going straight to voicemail," Phil said with uncomfortableness in his voice. Phil was still there and Mark wasn't. Kristin was silently gloating on the inside. Yet, part of her felt embarrassed for her sister.

"I can't leave him," Bradley looked down.

"Look," Kristin said calmly, "I'm not trying to be a bitch here, but..." her parents, Bradley, Conner and Phil all turned towards her, "I'm sure you just got released earlier than he thought and he just went home to shower and change and he'll come over when he can." It wasn't what she wanted to say...she wanted to tear into her sister for being pathetic, but she didn't have the energy to be the bitch everyone expected her to be.

"Yeah," Phil agreed. "I need to shower and change, too. And, I'm sure his phone died and he didn't even realize it."

"He wouldn't leave me," Bradley argued. "He said he'd never leave me again."

Kristin was growing irritated. She just wanted to take a hot bath and fall asleep in her own bed. "I'm sure he didn't leave you. Let's just go home and by the time you get cleaned up, I'm sure he'll be there."

Kristin was wrong, he didn't come. Not after Bradley showered. Not after she sat at dinner moving food around her plate. Not after she texted him or left several voicemails for him. Mark was just simply gone. Kristin turned off the television mounted on her bedroom wall and looked over at Phil. He was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall, his legs outstretched, staring at his phone.

"I know I don't know Mark very well, but he's your best friend. So if he's seriously ditching my sister after supposedly holding her all night, he better just man up and tell her, before Conner kicks his ass."

"He's not ditching her."

"And, if you're covering for him and providing false hope when there is none, Conner is going to kick your ass, too."

"I haven't talked to him," snapped Phil.

"Really, who are you texting then?" Kristin snapped right back.

Phil glared at her. "Brody and Tommy. I'm asking them to go check on Mark."

Kristin rolled her eyes. "Do you just speak and people do what you want? Why don't you go check on him?"

"I came over here to be with YOU!"

"Why? I never asked you to do that!"

Phil jumped to his feet. "A psychopath tried to wipe out you and your sister last night and you want me to leave? Fine! I'm leaving!"

"Wait!" shouted Kristin as Phil walked through the door. "I'm sorry, please stay. I just...I feel sorta bad for Bradley."

"You? Kristin Whitfield? The teenage beauty queen who doesn't have a conscience?"

"Ah, ha," Kristin mocked. "It's true, normally I love watching Bradley's misery, but...well, I can be a huge bitch and you don't even like me and you're here. I mean, Bradley really doesn't deserve to be sobbing right now because of some guy who was just claiming to be in love with her."

"He is in love with her. And, I don't dislike you," Phil's mouth curled faintly. "What you did to your sister, sending out that video of her over mass text was cruel, even for you."

"But, I..."

"Don't," he cut her off. "Don't sit here and make up some pathetic excuse. What you did was downright horrific. And, the humiliation Bradley is going to face because of what you did is harsh. Let's just hope people forget before school starts."

Kristin rolled on her back and stared blankly at the white blades of the ceiling fan circling. Phil's phone was incessantly vibrating. "Did you find Mark yet?"

"Huh?" Phil looked up from the screen. "I have to go." He stood up abruptly.

Kristin turned towards him. "Where are you going?"

"I have to go talk to Travis."

Kristin shot up immediately. Something didn't feel right. "I'm coming with you."

"No," Phil shoved his phone in his right pocket. "You can hardly walk."

"But..." she started to argue but he was already gone."