Broken

Chapter 1

Seven days, four hours, 52 minutes and nine seconds. My heart is racing; in little more than a week, I will finally meet my soulmate. I've been waiting for this moment for 15 years. Thoughts race through my head as I think of all the possible scenarios I could find him at. If my clock has the correct time, I'll be meeting him Wednesday, so maybe I'll see him while walking with my friends on my way to Youth, or on one of my walks. Or maybe he'll move here into town and be the new kid at school. Constantly I've dreamt of what he would look and be like. Perhaps he would be a simple, run-of-the-mill, brown hair, brown eyes kind of guy. Or maybe he would be as good-looking as Zac Efron or as cute as Tom Holland. I really don't care, just as long as he isn't ugly and has a great personality. Beauty is a luxury; I don't have to have it to be happy.

Thinking back to my clock, I suddenly remember that, unlike most people, I don't have a mark where he first touches me. I don't have a tattoo that describes him. I don't get little drawings on my hand if he hurts or doodles on himself. It worries me all the time. I'm overthinking it, I tell myself. I know I need to stop, but I can't. Maybe he's just really careful. Maybe he's never drawn on himself. I make as many excuses as I can, try to reason with myself as much as possible, but it still makes me anxious. I need to distract myself.

I decide to text Adam. We've been best friends since elementary, and he's always known how to calm me down when I work myself up.

Hey, I can't sleep... u still up???

He responds back almost immediately.

Yeah, I'm still up. Why can't you sleep?

Thinking about your soulmate again? Lol

I groan in frustration. He's always teasing me about it. He says I'm obsessed, but I'm not. A lot of people, especially other girls my age, get excited and nervous about this. Still, he still continues to mock me.

How did you guess??? Lol

Tell me about YOUR soulmate

Pleeeeeeaaaaase??? You never do...

Adam has always been secretive about anything to do with his soulmate, and I've never been able to find out why. He always wears long-sleeve shirts to cover his clock and tattoo. Just as I start to regret asking him, my phone dings.

Okay, fine. Since you're never going to leave me alone about it anyways, I'll tell you one thing about her. She's very artistic.

I take a minute to ponder what he said. There are so many things that could have told him that. He could get a lot of doodles on his arms, or his tattoo could be colorful and artsy. I really wish he would just show me everything. His arms, his clock, his tattoos... I really want to see them.

Oh, that's cool

Thank you for finally telling me
s

omething about her

I really appreciate it...

You're welcome. I have to get to bed now, though. I'm exhausted. Goodnight

Goodnight

I close my eyes and try to get myself to sleep, but my mind keeps whirling. I walk to the bathroom to splash water on my face and hair. Coolness always helps. On my way back to my bed I turn the fan on. Laying back down, I take a few sips of my chamomile tea, not that it helps. I start daydreaming about my soulmate, and in a few hours, the daydreams turn into real dreams, as I finally get to sleep.