Dangerous smiles

Shattered images

*Sawyer's POV*

Kat pulled in to the small parking lot of the shopping area. She was finally bringing her little brothers to meet us and we were all kinda excited. It wasn't often new people came into the friend group so Kat's two little brothers were going to energize the group to a new level.

Everyone in our friend group had finally had a free day at work or had come back home from school for the summer. Me and Kat were the only ones that stayed local to our hometown, even when we could have moved for school or work. We had all met my freshman year at a concert and found out we were all at the same high school. We quickly formed a friend group and were all super tight knit.

Kat was my best friend and I think everyone in the group knew I had been crushing on her hard since we first met except her. Everyone always seemed to make subtle hints but she never seemed to notice them.

Kat was absolutely beautiful and was one of the sweetest people I ever knew. She was insanely smart and doted endlessly on me and Joshie when ever she came over to our house. I had never met her parents but based on how she acted I had to assume they were amazing.

She had silky brown hair she had loose around her shoulders and was about a half foot shorter than me- around 5' 6". Her smile lit up any room and her laugh was bubbly and always made me blush when I was able to make her laugh. She was thin but still very healthy, and almost unintentionally wore clothes that brought out the light in her eyes and brightened her smile even more than what I thought was possible.

She knew how to talk carefully and had been there so many times for me, holding me tight when all I could do was cry. She was rooted in her faith and made me laugh lovesick. Her hugs warmed me like nothing else and unlike almost anyone else made me feel safe when she held me close.

I just wished she felt the same about me. I acted like a lovesick puppy while she was out of my league. I was a mess and she was absolutely perfect.

She sat down with her littlest brother next to her. He looked familiar but I couldn't figure out who he was. From behind her a teen around his fifteens walked up. Shock radiated across his face as he saw me.

The littlest brother under the bridge. Him fainting.
Me bandaging him from his back wounds.
Him leaving with his brother.

The pieces clicked together. The kid from the bridge was Kat's brother.

I thought I knew Kat. These faces broke my image of Kat into thousands of pieces. Twinkling, mocking, fake pieces. And there was no way I could ever put it together again in the same way.