Broken (Edited edition)

Competition

Mark is asleep when I wake up the next morning, it's Monday. The day of the Competition. I pack a bag of extra clothes, homework, and some art supplies. I decide to wear black skinny jeans, a pair of red converses, and a dark red hoodie. I take my bag, and leave my bedroom. The house is quiet still, which means Mark's still asleep. I go into his room, and stand on the side of his bed. He's sleeping on his stomach, and he still has his glasses on. I tap him softly, and he slowly wakes up." What is it?" He asks, he sounds really tired." Competition? Remember? It's Monday." I tell him, and he looks at me confused." What Competition?" He asks, and I roll my eyes." The Art Competition that you wanted me to do?" I say, kind of hurt that he had forgotten because of his tired mind. He then opens his eyes widely." Oh I'm sorry Honey, I couldn't remember for a moment. I'm sorry." He gets out of bed, and I see he's still in his jeans. His stomach is flat, and he has a six pack. His muscles are very tight and well showing. He pulls a gray V-neck T-shirt over his head, and ties on his shoes.

"To tell you the truth, I've haven't been to one of these School things since I was in school." He says as we get onto the street. His car is parked right in front of the apartment complex, and he smiles for a moment." Best parking I've done." He says to himself, and I smile at him. We get in the car, and he drives us to Dunkin' Doughnuts." This is new." I say as I get out of the car. Well today is a special day, you're showing your talent to the world. Which is a big deal." He says as we exit the car. The lady at the counter takes our orders. I get a vanilla white chocolate coffee with extra sugar, and Mark gets a regular with cream and sugar." How is it?" He asks as I sip my drink on the way back to the car.

"It's tasty, very sweet." I say, and Mark smiles. I feel my stomach turn and twist so many times I've lost count. A word is being shouted in my head over and over again. Crowds, Crowds, Crowds! I swallow hard, and almost choke. Mark sees me sweating, and I look over at him." What's the matter? Aren't you excited?" He asks, and I look over at him. I shiver so badly it's painful, my scars feel like they are splitting open again." Stop the car." I say, and he looks over at me." Stop the car!" I say more violently, and he pulls over on the street. I stumble out of the car, and lean over the bushes in front of a parking lot. Mark comes over to me as I start to get sick, and I vomit for nearly five minutes. He strokes my back, and I wipe my mouth off." Do you know that most people are afraid of preforming. Even if it's little things like painting a picture . That might be one of the problems for why you don't like crowds. But there's also the reason with you and your brother. He kept you isolated, so when you saw other people you were frightened.

"Maybe if we start a little slower, and then we'll keep adding people. But for right now, you have to show what you're made of. Or else you might never show your talents." He says, and I nod. I take in a difficult breathe, and follow him back to the car. We arrive just a little bit late, and Mark escorts me to Art class. Mr. Jackson looks concerned when I show up late, and so does Robbie. He pulls my chair out for me a bit, and I sit down. Mark gives me a kiss on the forehead, and heads out." You alright Lyca?" Mr. Jackson asks, and I nod." Just a little morning sickness." I say as I pull out my drawing notebook. He asks if he can see it, and I let him. He takes it into his hands, and flips through pages. I feel my stomach flip again to the sound of the pages flipping.

My vision goes blurry for a second, and I ask him if I can go to the nurse." Is everything okay?" He asks, and he looks concerned." I just need some aspirin. If it would make you feel better, I could use an escort." I say, and he nods." Robbie, you go with her." He says, and Robbie nods. He follows me through the hall toward the nurse's office." What's wrong?" He asks, and he pulls me by the arm." I'm bad with crowds." I tell him, and he gives me a soft smile." Oh, well can I tell you something that might be helpful?" He asks, and I nod." We don't face the audience, we're faced the opposite direction. Because the audience enjoys watching us work." I look at him shock, and feel my stomach stop twisting. I start smiling brightly, and look at him with happiness." Thank you for telling me that, that makes it so much better!" I say, and we turn around to go back to the Art room.