Broken

I cringed. I could feel my breathing quicken as I placed a hand on my mouth. The warm, wet feeling of my breath further dampened my already sweaty palm. A tear, slowly but surely, dropped ever so gracefully from my hazel eyes. I closed my eyes in a weak attempt to mask the pain, only to send more tears flowing down my pale cheeks like rain falling down from the dark, cold, grey sky.

We were classmates. We were neighbours. We were best friends. Inseparable, as people would call us. Young, handsome, intellectual - he was the epitome of perfection. Things were going his way - a scholarship to Cambridge, well-liked by his peers, a loving father. Or as so it seemed.

People could never understand the bond Lucas and I shared. I could never forget the way his hands animatedly moved when he told a story, the way his eyes would sparkle even in the dullest of lights, the warmth of his strong arms whenever he hugged me...

Or the smile that made the whole world stop and stare.

That smile. Nobody could ever have guessed what he had hid from the world. How much that smile masked his bleeding, broken heart on the inside. His smile, perfect on the outside, was to hide the bruises, the cuts, the scars on his battered body that even I wouldn't have known if I hadn't heard his cries of help from across the street one night.

His hands trembled in fright as he held a knife in his right, blood splattered on the carpeted floor and his face. His father lay motionless in one corner. My mind was in a mess as he ran into my arms, crying, pleading with me to believe in him, to not let go of him.

"I can't lose you too!" He sobbed uncontrollably, his hands grabbing mine so tightly I could see my hands turning red. I could still remember the desperation in his voice as he tried to explain himself.

Silly boy.

Why didn't you tell me earlier?

"Any last words?" A cold, emotionless voice boomed from behind. I could still feel his hands which were on my face just minutes before, wiping my tears away.

No you can't. It wasn't his fault. You can't do this to my best friend. You don't know what he had to go through.

I bit my lip once more. More and more tears continued to flow down.

"I'm-I'm sorry, Jessica." Lucas turned to me as the noose was being placed around his neck.

His eyes.

They still sparkled.

"Lucas!" I cried out his name in vain as the deafening sound of his neck breaking echoed throughout the almost empty room.

He was...

Misunderstood?

Check.

Gone?

Check.

I was...

Left alone?

Check.

Broken?

...

Check.