She's Broken

Chapter 29

Chapter 29 - not proofread so please ignore any grammar mistakes.

                ‘”Finn!” I shouted, jogging out to the middle of the football pitch to meet him during his break. He smiled and rubbed his sweaty neck with his towel.

 

                “Hey, you alright?” he asked, putting it down and picking up his water bottle instead.

 

                “Yeah, I’m okay,” I said, pausing when I saw that the other football players were watching us talk. Finn turned his back on them, raising one eyebrow expectantly. “Do you have a spare house key?” I asked. He chewed his lip and glanced over his shoulder at his teammates.

 

                “It’s in my bag, you can go and get it if you like,” he replied, shrugging. I nodded, thanking him as I walked over to his backpack, which was sitting on the bench.

 

                Having just moved up into the secondary school, walking over to a bunch of older kids was just about the scariest thing I could’ve done at the time. When I reached his bag and unzipped the front pocket for the key, I cringed. A small box of condoms was sitting at the bottom of the pocket. With a grimace, I zipped it back up, taking the key.

 

                Finn swung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in for a hug against his muddy chest.

 

                “See you at home,” he said with a wink, making my stomach churn with dread as I turned and started to walk in the direction of our house.’

 

                I screwed up yet another bit of paper and lobbed it towards the wall. Harley’s ears pricked and he raised his head from the grass to watch the paper fly. It was the fifth bit that was sitting in a ball next to his stable.

                Grumbling, I got to my feet and brushed the mud from the backs of my jeans.

                After putting my rubbish in the bin and grabbing some food, I retook my position by the fence and plonked down on the floor again, picking up my notepad.

                I’d been sitting outside with Harley for the good amount of an hour attempting to write out a statement and some practise for court. Ally’s old therapist had been really nice and taught me a few tricks to controlling the panic that the old therapist hadn’t told me.

                “Want some company?” I looked up at the sound of Eli’s voice, waving my arm around the space next to me.

                “Help yourself,” I said. He hoisted himself over the fence and dropped onto the floor next to me, not saying a word, obviously letting me get used to him being there. My heart was racing, but for once, not for panic. Rather nerves and embarrassment.

                “I shouldn’t have shouted the other day,” I admitted at last, trying to break the heavy silence. Eli sighed, shaking his head. He pulled one of his legs to his chest and rested his forearm on it.