Being Broken

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

•Justin•

It was easier said than done. I didn't expect Brielle to open up that very second, which is good because that's not what happened.

I could easily tell that she was scared still. Of what, however, I had no idea. There wasn't anyone around, and I even double checked for her just to make sure, but I knew she was still afraid. She probably thought that there was some off chance that people would show up.

I focused my attention back on her. She was still sitting in the passengers seat. Her hands were fiddling with themselves in a nervous manner. Her head was down, and her long, reddish-brown hair made a curtain around her face.

"I have an idea," I announced, cutting through the silence.

My saying something made Brielle look up at me. She didn't say anything, but her eyes were questioning.

"Let's not talk about the past tonight," I continued. "Every part of the past is off limits. We're going to start making new memories for you. This can be your fresh start."

Brielle looked skeptical. "Why do you think there's something wrong with the past?" she asked quietly.

Oh shit. She doesn't know that Aidy told me about her brother. Even though she didn't say explicitly that there was something wrong with her past, it was easy to infer from my statement.

"Um, well it's kind of obvious that something happened to you Brie," I rambled. Then I smiled softly. "You aren't the girl you used to be."

"No," she whispered, finding the ground interesting all of a sudden. "I'm not the girl I used to be."

She didn't say anything after that, so I decided to change the subject. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was thinking about her past, and it was obviously bothering her.

"Hey," I said softly, crouching down so I broke her gaze at the ground. "Guess what."

"What?"

I smiled. "The beach is waiting."

That statement made her smile. It was a real smile that showed her teeth and made her face light up. Her green eyes lit up, and for the first time, she looked truly happy.

"Come on," I smiled, standing up and moving out of the way so she could step out of the car. She did so, but hesitantly.

I quickly got towels out of the trunk, and ran back around to where Brielle was.

"You ready?" I asked.

She nodded, eyeing the stairs that lead to the sand. "There's . . . there's no one there, right?" she asked in a whisper.

"Nope," I answered. "There's no one on the beach. I promise."

Even though she didn't relax, she allowed me to start to lead her towards the beach. We slowly climbed up the stairs, and the closer we got to the sand, the more rapidly Brielle started to breathe.

What took me off guard was when her hand slipped into mine. I was stunned for a second because it caught me off guard, but it was clear she needed reassurance. Tightening my grip on her hand, I sent her a quick smile which she returned.

When I focused on her hand in mine, I noticed I could feel her shaking. It occurred to me that I never really considered how she would react as soon as I got her here. What if this was too much for her? What if this was too fast?

I was brought out of my thoughts when Brielle gasped. I shot my eyes to her to see what was wrong, but nothing was. Her eyes were wide, and her other hand- the one that wasn't holding mine- was covering her mouth.

I was about to ask what she was so stunned about when I noticed we were at the top of the stairs. Sand stretched out in front of us, and the moonlight reflected off the ocean water that went on forever to our left and right. The soft, warm breeze was blowing along the beach, giving the area a welcoming, relaxing feel.

I glanced over at Brielle. She had a soft smile on her lips, and for the first time in the week that I've known the new her, her eyes held happiness.

"Do you want to go in the water or just stand here?" I chuckled.

Brielle turned her head to smile at me before starting to walk towards the water. Since my hand was still in hers, she ended up practically dragging me out of enthusiasm. I let out a chuckle as we walked across the dark, empty sand.

As soon as we got within two feet of the water, Brielle froze again. She dropped my hand and crossed her arms over her stomach.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, turning to face her.

She was quiet at first, but then she stuttered out a weak, "I-I don't know."

I was confused. She was so happy a second ago, and now she's back to the way she is when she's inside. What was she scared of now?

However, I decided not to question her anymore. Instead, I threw the towels behind me, bent down, and splashed some of the cool ocean water onto Brielle. She was taken aback at first, letting out a squeal of surprise, but then a smile creeped onto her face. She quickly slipped her flip flops off, ran towards the water so she was ankle deep in the ocean, and splashed me back, soaking my shirt.

"Oh, it's on," I said, smiling slyly. I quickly bent over and scooped water into my hands, splashing it towards her. She squealed again when it doused her hair completely.

We continued splashing and throwing water on each other for a good twenty minutes. Brielle was laughing and smiling, and it made me happy to see her enjoying herself.

By the time we were both tired from the water fight, we were soaked from head to toe. Brielle never took off her shorts or shirt, and I never took off my shirt, so our bathing suits were quite useless.

I looked down at Brielle who was sitting in the sand just staring at the water. She had a small smile on her lips, and she looked very content. Aidy wasn't kidding when she said that water calmed her down.

Wrapping my towel around my waist, I took the other towel in my hands. Sitting down next to Brielle, I reached behind her and draped the towel around her. Clutching the edges of it so it was tighter around her, she broke her staring contest with the ocean to smile at me.

For the next hour, we sat in silence. Brielle was just staring out into the distance, and not once did she turn her head to look anywhere else.

Around twelve thirty, she finally spoke.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she said softly. "It . . . It really means a lot to me that you're trying to help me."

"Well, you're welcome," I replied. "Plus, Aidy said you loved the water."

"I do," Brielle whispered.

"Do you want to leave yet?"

She shook her head no. "Is it okay if we stay for a little longer?"

"Of course it's okay," I smiled. "We can stay as long as you like."