Broken Vessels

| Chapter XII- Cole |

| December 5, 2017 |

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Good afternoon everyone! I'm back with a new chapter and I'm slightly worried because I'm catching up on the latest chapter I just finished ^^'  Anyway, I do hope you enjoy this chapter!

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| Chapter XII- Cole |

*The greatest evil is physical pain. -Saint Augustine*

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Progress. At least, that's what I think just happened. I just made a very small step called progress with Veronica. I didn't want to. I tried to ignore her and let her, along with me, start failing even though I couldn't afford it. But there was something about her that just couldn't be ignored.

Maybe it was her rich, long, blonde hair that looked soft enough to comb my fingers through without hitch. Or maybe it was her round hazel eyes that hid her real self almost as well as my blue eyes did. Maybe it was the soft tones of her voice and the way it softly coaxed me into chatter. Or, perhaps the best of all, was the 'I wish I didn't either' comment she whispered in a tone I was sure she thought I couldn't pick up.

Veronica Dayton was as much of a mystery to me as I probably was to her. She didn't seem like the type of girl to have any burdens on her back. Yet she slipped a few times unknowingly in my presence. And as someone who knew the darkness that took place in the world, I couldn't just ignore it.

But once again, how could someone like Veronica experience anything dark and still seem to shine in the world? Surely if there was something else going on in the shadows, it would taint her like it has to me. She would not be all smiles and sweetness. She'd be more closed off and bitter.

My conclusion was, something was happening in her life, yet it wasn't as big of a deal like mine was. I had abuse- both mentally and physically. Brian didn't care if I was hurt or not. As long as I still functioned for him to beat up, that's all that mattered. And my own mother didn't care enough to stop it.

I was all alone in this small part of the world with no one to understand me and my pain. I was alone in my thoughts, in my darkness, and that's when the demons always came out to play. And they never played nicely either.

The journal was passed to me and I couldn't stop the tiny smile that took over my face when I saw Veronica's answer to my 'do you like cheese' question.

My favorite is Gouda.

A classic line from a movie I watched a long time ago. She's the Man was always a family movie for my family before it broke apart. Despite it being cliche and not as appropriate for the younger audience, my parents allowed me to watch it since I had a the mindset for someone beyond the years I had lived.

"I see you aren't completely without a childhood," I whispered, slightly wincing at my hoarse throat. I'm hoping she still bought the idea I gave her about me being sick.

"How can I? That movie was bomb as heck," she chuckled softly, staring at me with her doe eyes. They were innocent looking with a wall thick enough to hide away her thoughts but thin enough for others to see what she wanted them to see. Impressive.

"That it was," I softly replied as I eyed her, trying to decipher what her thoughts were. But she so cleverly hid them that I was only able to see what she wanted me to see- pride in herself for getting me to talk and that we are actually talking about something we both have in common.