Broken Me

When We Were Young

"Young forever back then

Never knew the first love's the hardest"

                                                                           ~ When We Were Young by The Summer Set

     The car ride home was different. The air felt still and calm, a sense of knowing seemed to be more prominent. Even with all the cursing and homeless on the streets, it was normal. I didn't feel that knot in my stomach like when I first moved here from my small town. Exhaust from the big SUV in front of me clouded up the ground as a low rider pulled up beside me. That's LA for you. It throws every type of person in close range of each other. And you just had to deal with it.

     Life was like that. I mean, it threw me one hell of a curve ball with Kylie and Oliver. It wasn't like I was completely clueless. You could tell they were meant for each other. But I wanted to change that, cause some voice inside my heart kept telling me otherwise. I guess I was sort of right, Kylie was too different for him. They were an unstable pair. High ups and low downs. It ended with us caught up in a big fight. One that tore apart our friendship.

     The past is the past though, and Alex was my future. Her birthday was coming up, July 18th.  Alex had been coming with me to Jasey's lately and had taken an interest in the piano. I supposed I could save up some money to pay for a small toy piano. However, with no skills other than the piano, I only had a small source of income. Everything else came from the checks Kylie would occasionally send and Sam's high ranking position at his dad's company.

     However, Sam seemed to like "slumming" it and loved the city's lower class side better. That's probably why we meshed so well together. He loved that I played my cards calm and collected, I loved that he understood my feelings. Well, I guess being calm and collected fell through a hole in the ground the second he returned. When I pulled up to the apartment I noticed that Oliver's car was here.

     That's just another dandy thing to add to the list of things that annoy Rose. I stomped into the elevator, not even sparing a glance at the other tenants. Usually I was somewhat bright, shooting everyone a megawatt smile. When I was back Alex was in the arms of her father and Sam was out on the fire escape again. 'He needs to quit that habit,' I thought to myself, sighing.

     "Rawr!" Alex looked upset when she saw me, and seemed to bounce out of Oliver's arms before bounding into mine. I gave her a hug and swung her around for a good measure. Let her know I was okay and that my anger had melted away like ice cream in the sun. She giggled, her curls were a mess and was currently wearing a pink nightie from last night. Her bright blue eyes shone and her little smile was just adorable. Alex was just too cute.

     "Hey Missy! Why are you wearing your pjs still?" I cooed, snuggling her as she continued to laugh, tugging on my hair slightly. Ignoring Oliver's existence, I took her to my room were she got dressed. Her favorite outfit, a jean skirt and green flora shirt. With the command to brush her pearly whites, she was off. I smiled, before starting to work on the hair situation.

     "May I inquire as to why you are in my apartment?" I asked Oliver, dressed and ready to impress. Jeans and a band tee. My style hasn't changed one bit.

     "To see this monster you call Alex." He replied without hesitation, watching her as she played with her Barbies. I gave him a suspicious look.

     "If that's going to happen anymore, we need to set something up." I replied stiffly, going into mama bear mode.

     "Well, first, can you explain to me why you have custody?" Oliver was boldly keeping eye contact with me. Until his words sunk in.

     "You mean Kylie didn't tell you?"

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A/N: Chapter 10, my lucky number! :D Sorry I haven't been able to update, it's summer and my mother has decided that it's going to be "jam packed" with activities. Which basically means I have to run a mile everyday with her and go on nature hikes. Wonderfulness. Anyways, until next time!