Nearly Broken

Chapter 11 - Before

My mother hummed a beautiful melody from her youth as she slaved over the dishes in the kitchen. She smiled as she remembered the time that seemed so long ago.

"Well I like it! Verona, did you hear Mommy's song?" Marisol turned towards me, but I was young and stubborn. I refused to tear my eyes from the electro-reader.

I heard a sigh and felt a tinge of sadness. Again, my mom felt hurt by my lack of communication and that hurt me. But ever since my loser of a father left I had gone silent.

"Mommy why does Verona hate us?" There was a clinking sound as Marisol dropped her plates in the sink.

"She doesn't hate us; she's very upset and all she needs is our love right now."

"Oh, okay." Then in a louder voice, "Verona, even if you hate my guts, I still love you!" Marisol had pronounced 'love' like 'wov' ,making her statement even cuter.

She stared and smiled, obviously waiting for a response. I hadn't talked in days and I wasn't going to start today. My eyes met hers and then I stood and left the room.

Behind me I heard Marisol start to complain about me, but then she got off track and went on about butterflies.

I wish I had only known that would be the last 'happier' moment for our little family.

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"click!" That was the only noise I heard as I awoke. My eyes slowly fluttered open and then closed once I realized how much light was flooding through the windows.

I turned my back to the sunlight and opened my eyes once more. In front of me was a half empty bed. No Nash. No note. No nothing.

I sat up and looked around the room, but it was also empty. The entry to the bathroom was open and the light was off. Obviously he wasn't in the room anymore so I stood and went to find my way to the kitchen.

"Hey, Verona. Did you sleep well?" Matt's voice chirped when I walked into the living room. Nash, Carter, and Matt sat on the marvelous, white couch.

I blinked and wondered how he hadn't heard the commotion last night. Then I collected myself and pushed the memory out of my mind before answering the question.

"Erm... Yeah. For the most part." I smiled and plopped next to Nash.

"Where's Cam?" I asked, wanting to thank him for helping me last night.

"At work. He thinks he should experience a 'real' job even though he's on tour with us." Carter snickered.

I nodded and replied with an "oh." Nash bumped my arm and pointed towards the kitchen.

"You hungry?" I was going to reply, but my stomach made the noise for my mouth.

Nash giggled and made his way to the kitchen. He pulled out a pan, the toaster, and a fryer. Then he put eggs, bacon, and bread on the counter.

"The guys and I already ate, but I'll cook for you." He flashed me a smile as he put the bread in the toaster.

I sat quietly and watched as Nash cooked the food. He did everything with skill and in time. As if he'd done this a million times.

"What were you before you became famous? I mean did you have a job?" I questioned.

He looked up from stirring the eggs and nodded, "I was a waiter for awhile. Then I saved up enough money to move here. When I got here someone noticed me from the Internet and I've been on tour with the guys ever since."

"i wish it was that easy for me. You've seemed to have it so good." I thought out loud.

My life had not been so simple. I lost everyone and everything I knew when I was 16. I had to start from nowhere to make it to L.A. and find a suitable home. But i was still struggling to survive.

Nash looked down as he flipped the bacon and shook his head. He stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose and for a moment I thought he was getting angry.

"Verona, nothing about my life is easy. You just met me. I understand that it looks pleasant and elegant, but underneath what you've seen is utter horror." His voice was slow and dark. My eyes averted to the floor.

"I'm sorry. You're right I don't know. Sorry." My voice was soft and i thought about how terrible i was with people.

'This is why you have no friends and no boyfriend.' I reminded myself as I continued to stare at the floor.

"Aw Verona, I'm sorry. I'm in a bad mood. Not really a morning person" I heard Nash chuckled lightly and a plate was placed in front of me.

"After you're done eating I'll grab you some girl clothes from a store close by and take you out. It will be a fun, relaxing day. Will you let me do that?" I looked up and met his beautiful eyes.

A smile formed on my face and I nodded excitedly before digging into the eggs.

"Its a date. I'll be back. Let me go get you some clothes." He quickly rushed out before I could turn down the offer for new clothes.

When Nash vanished, Matt walked towards the island and took the stool next to mine. I swallowed down the rest of my eggs and gave him a nod.

"How'd you sleep?" His voice dragged, but he smiled through the drowsiness.

"Umm okay. It was fine once I stayed asleep in peace. What about you?" I let a fake laugh escape my lips and Matt gave me a confused look.

"Oh. Cameron said you were having trouble during the night. And, honey, I don't sleep." He winked and now it was my turn to look confused. I quickly went back to my normal expression; knowing he was joking.

"You look exhausted. So I could believe you didn't sleep." I smirked.

Matt took a piece of bacon from my plate and moved closer to me. I started to feel slightly uncomfortable with how close we were.

He opened his mouth to say something. His eyes held this power and sense of importance in them. I felt myself lean in; ready to hear whatever he had to tell me.

"Has Nas-" He stopped talking and sat up while quickly moving away.

"Hey Verona. Matt" I heard Cameron greet us.

"Hey Cam! How was work?" Matt asked. Cameron narrowed his eyes at Matt.

"Okay. Some kids thought it would be funny to throw tacos everywhere." He chuckled and threw his bag over a dinning chair.

"Where do you work?" I spoke up.

"Taco Bell. Amazingly enough that survived world war 3. It's not a great job though." He shrugged and walked towards the fridge, but stopped and turned around.

He gave Matt a warning glance, then turned to me and smiled before going to his room. I watched him walk down the hallway and open a door.

I spun around to ask Matt if Cam had been acting weird, but Matt wasn't in the room anymore. My eyes scanned the room, but he was gone.

I may not have the best hearing, but i can notice when someone leaves. My eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. I shrugged and got up to put my dishes away.

A door opened and closed shut and i turned around. Nash grinned and handed me two bags.

"Go get changed. We're going to have some fun today."