ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ ✓

O N E

Alexa

I could feel the wet hot tears as they streamed down my face. My knee hurt so much, my breath hitched. My bully, Blake, stood looming over me wearing a smirk on his face as I clutched my knee. Even though I couldn't see my leg through my pants, I'm sure it's bleeding.

"Aw, the poor baby's crying," Blake said mockingly. When I didn't respond, he shoved me down and I hit my head against the hard concrete. My breath caught in my throat. I shut my eyes tight, wishing this would all be over, wishing that Blake would leave me alone.

"Open your damn eyes!" Blake demanded, pulling me up by my hair. I whimpered, but that just made him smirk, causing me to grow even more terrified.

"Please," I softly whispered, practically begging for Blake to let go, and to leave.

"What was that, Lexi?" Blake asked, calling me by a nickname I hated coming from his lips. "Speak up, why don't you?"

"Please!" I say loudly. A little too loudly.

I tried to pull away when I saw the menacing way Blake was looking at me, but he still had a hold of my hair. He let go, and when I thought I was free, he slapped me.

I fell to the floor once again, clutching my cheek, which I'm sure is red and possibly swollen. My eyes brimmed with raw tears. I fear I may start crying again, and I hated crying in front of Blake.

"Run along now, little Lexi," Blake said. "And remember, don't raise your voice to me."

All I did was nod, and through my tears, I ran away, not giving a damn about my hurt knee. All I wanted to do was get away from my tormentor.

I arrived home, gasping for breath, tears running down my face. I closed the door behind me and I noticed my dad standing in front of me with a beer bottle in his hand. I didn't like the direction this was heading in.

"Where have you been?!" he demanded

I tried to talk through my crying, but found that I couldn't, so I forced myself to calm down. I then said, "Do you not see my bruised face or knee?" My voice shook with the question, mainly out of sadness.

"I do," he answered. "But I don't care. I had to make my own dinner!"

"S-sorry," I muttered, scared, hoping he didn't have too much to drink. But he did drink some; that beer bottle was proof.

My dad glared at me. "Brat," he said. "Whatever. I have news. Remember Veronica?"

"No," I say. "I've never met your girlfriend!" This is true; my dad hides me away. He doesn't want his twelve year old daughter to have anything to do with Veronica.

I regret my attitude toward my father. He raises his fist, sighs, and then glares at me again. "Well, we're getting married."

My eyes widened in shock.

What if Veronica is just another person to make my life miserable? Even more so than it already is. I have no friends, no one that cares about me. My dad abuses me and I'm being bullied at school. I have depression.

But that's not even the worse of it. My mom died in a car crash. She never had any time for me in the first place, but she didn't dislike me, not like how my dad does right now.

But even so, that's still not the worse of my miserable life.

The only person I ever loved was in the very same car wreck that killed my mother. My twin brother, Andrew. He went into a coma and is more likely to die than wake up.

The car wreck was two years ago. He shows no signs of waking up. But I wouldn't even know if he did, because my dad forbade me to see him.

If he ever found out about the one time I went against his wishes, he'll beat me to death. That much I was certain of.

"You're getting remarried?" My voice sounded hollow, even to myself.

"Yes, you brat!" my dad says. "Which means Veronica finally has to meet you." He didn't sound so happy about it. Whatsoever. Of course he doesn't. That didn't surprise me.

I flinched away at his booming voice. It's hard to remember him as the kind man he once was, when Mom was still alive and my brother wasn't in the hospital fighting for his life.

"W-when will I meet her?" I managed to say, stuttering a little. My dad scares the he'll out of me. Especially when he's been drinking.

"In an hour," he says, thankfully not getting angry enough to hit me for asking a question. "Look presentable." He glared at me, and I knew I had to hide my bruises so Veronica won't see them and wonder if my dad was the cause. Even though he has left marks on me before, this time it was from Blake. Dad knows this.

I nodded. "Okay," I whispered and then rushed to my room.

Where's the concealor? There. I picked it up, and spread it on my cheek. I glanced down at my knee. My jeans were ripped where my knees hit the concrete. I'll just change pants.

Once I was done, I heard a doorbell. Is that Veronica? I wondered. She's here sooner than expected.

I left my room, and saw my dad opening the door. There, a pretty woman with black hair and green eyes stood, smiling. When she kisses my dad, I knew that she just had to have been Veronica.

"Alexa, sweetie," my dad calls for me.

Sweetie? The frick? I hestitantly went up to him and then awkwardly smiled at Veronica, and much to my surprise, she returned my smile.

"Hello," Veronica says. ""You must be his lovely daughter." No way my dad described me as lovely. But my dad gave me a warning look, so I didn't comment.

"Yes, I'm Alexa," I said. "Congrats on getting engaged..."

"Thank you, darling," Veronica said. "Now if only my sons were as supportive as you are!" She let out a lighthearted chuckle, but my eyes widened at what she had said.

Her sons? I was about to ask about her sons, but my dad spoke up before I could. "Dinner should be ready soon," he announced. "Let's go sit down in the dining room."

Oh, so we're dining in the dining room now? Together? And didn't he say he already had dinner? My stomach knotted uncomfortably. I hadn't eaten all day, and I expected to go to bed without eating dinner as well. My dad doesn't like giving me money for food or making any food for me, either. Plus, he thinks I'm fat. Sure, I mean, I'm 5"0 and 120 pounds, which is ten over what I should weigh, but that doesn't matter, does it?

"I am starving!" Veronica admitted. She beamed at me, and I became confused. She seems really nice, even to me. Is this a trap or something? After hestitating for only a moment, I followed my dad and Veronica into the dining room.

I sat down, and so do the adults. They began chatting, while I just awkwardly sat there.

Finally, Veronica turned to me. "I'm so glad I'm finally getting to meet you," she told me. "I never had a daughter before. Only five boys."

"Five?" I gaped at her.

"Didn't Bob tell you?" She turned toward my dad and gave him a playful glare.

"Isn't it past your bed time?" my dad asked me. Of course the answer to that was no, because he doesn't even care enough to give me a bedtime. But I knew he wanted me to leave.

So I went to bed, just like I expected to.

With no dinner.