Being Broken

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

•Brielle•

"So how long are y'all in town for?" Aidy asked Pattie after taking a bite of her chicken.

"We planned on spending our little vacation time here in LA. Justin is on tour right now, and because I'm not traveling with him, I don't get to see him much. So this is kind of our catching up time. He plans on being here for a few months. That's how much time he has off."

Tour for what? Time off? Traveling?

"How did you know Aidy and Brielle lived here?" Noah asked.

"Aidy and I ran into each other a few years back when I was here in LA. She recognized me first, and we have kept in touch ever since. I actually moved here a few months ago."

Noah nodded in understanding. "Why LA?"

"Well, I was going to go back to Canada, but I didn't want to go back through the whole process of moving from one country to another. It's a long one."

"Makes sense," Aidy said.

I focused on my plate. Picking at the food that Aidy made, I began to feel eyes on me. It was as if they were burning a hole into the top of my head.

Peeking up, I met my childhood friend's eyes. He smiled softly at me, and I immediately refocused my gaze on my plate again.

"Brielle," Justin said softly. It was the first thing he had said to me all night, and his voice made shivers run down my spine.

Glancing up, I met his brown orbs once again. He was sitting across from me, so it was kind of a given that our eyes would meet as soon as I looked up.

He smiled softly at me again, making me smile small in return. "You have the same smile as you did fifteen years ago."

His statement made me smile a little more, and I fixed my gaze on my water glass now.

"Brielle," he said again. I sighed before hesitantly looking up again. His eyes held confusion. "What happened to you?"

My eyes slowly grew wider and my breathing started to become unsteady.

The hits. The kicks. The yelling. The final thing that made me the way I am. It all came rushing back so fast that I quickly set my fork down, pushed my chair back, and sprinted away from the table. I heard all conversation stop from Aidy, Noah, and Pattie as I fled to my room.

'He doesn't remember me this way,' I kept telling myself. 'He only knew me before the incident.'

Once I got to my room, I closed the door quickly and huddled myself in the corner on the ledge by my window. There was blankets and pillows there set up as a little relaxing area, so I grabbed one and held it to my chest.

•Justin•

I was in shock at what just happened. What did I do? I remember Brielle being this fun, carefree girl with the world at her hands. She used to tease people and laugh with people. Now, I can't even get a word out of her.

"Justin Drew, what did you do?" my mom snapped at me.

"I don't know!" I admitted honestly, throwing my hands in the air.

"Well, why did she run away?"

"I-"

"No, it's okay," Aidy cut in. "This is just who Brielle is. She gets scared very easily."

I scared her? How? I mean, Aidy explained earlier that Brielle was not a very social person, and she particularly didn't like men, but I didn't think it was this extreme. From what I just saw, she doesn't just not like men. She's terrified of them. It would also explain why she hasn't said a word to me all night. She barely even looks at me.