Chipped Heart

Chapter 3

Today was Saturday meaning that Ethan was coming over. He knew exactly where I stayed at because Trevor announced a party that he was throwing soon since our parents will be out of town.

Nobody was home today, so it was the perfect time to treat myself before Ethan came over. I got dressed while trying to ignore the sadness trying to break through me. Happiness wasn't a common emotion for people like me, and that was something I had to accept.

Driving calmed me a lot. Seeing everyone outside at parks, taking walks, or chilling in their front yards made me long for the same. A simple day with my family without guilt taking over me.

I made it to the bookstore while trying to smile. The more I practiced it, the more believable it would become. People walked by with large smiles, children laughed while playing, and a man came by with a cart of fresh fruits. How could anyone be sad in an atmosphere like this? Surely, something was wrong with me because I felt like screaming. One more thing to ruin.

Barely anyone was inside of the store as I stepped inside. The smell of new books filled my nose, and it felt like home. Brianna used to always drive me here before I got my license. She never once complained about having to do the task. We would walk around this store for hours gazing at all the books.

Each time we found a book that seemed good, we would put a small dot on the inside of it. People stared at us giggling each time we brought out a pen. I walked down our favorite aisle "drama" to see all the books we marked. One of them still had a small amount her scent on it from when her jacket rubbed up against it. Nobody touched this book, and the thought made me happy. Our very own special book that no one could have.

"Check out The Silver Star." Someone said from behind me, and I turned towards the voice.

A boy with wild black hair met my stare. It was soft and kind. The type you would receive from a caring friend, and I instantly smiled. "Declan?" My voice was tender. The softness of it could be broken at any second. "Oh my gosh. You look so different since we last seen each other."

He reached for a book behind me while handing it to me. I grabbed it, but was too focused on him to look at it. "Well it has been three years since we last seen each other. People change."

Small pieces of my heart fell at the last sentence. If only he knew how much I changed. How broken I was now. "You have an accent?" He nodded. "You're so lucky to have lived in England. Wait, so what are you doing back here?"

Declan shrugged, and the honey in his eyes glistened. The beauty he held was for a model. I used to always try to convince him to give it a shot. "Missed home. We loved England, but it just didn't feel the same." There was a long pause for a second. "Come here. Give me a hug. Tell me what's been going on in your life."

As we hugged, I began to explain my tragic story. Without going into too much detail, I gave him the run down of the past few years. The mood dropped after mentioning Brianna, but he did his best to pick it back up. That was Declan. Always trying to make people happy.

My phone rung loudly, and I realized that Ethan was at my house waiting. In a hurry, I said goodbye to Declan to rush home. Such poor manners! Mom always raised me to never make company wait.

I pulled up to my house, and seen Ethan leaning against the front door. "So sorry for that. My old friend, Declan, is back in town. We were-"

"Don't care." Ethan shrugged while stepping inside of the house. He looked around in shock.

We awkwardly took off our jackets while walking to the living room. I pinned my hair into a ponytail while trying to grasp his stand offish attitude. "Want some water or something?"

Ethan shook his head while sitting down next to me. "Nah. Whoa, so you really are rich." I shot him a weird glance because most people only used me for money. Having two rich parents must be the code for being popular. "Most definitely loaded." He mumbled more to himself than me while continuing to look around.

"And we most definitely have a great security system. Not really an easy house to break into, so don't get any ideas. You should just focus on this project or else-"

"Or else what?" Ethan shot the words back at me with a viscous stare. Behind the jealousy in his eyes, it was hard to see the carefree guy he was yesterday. I stumbled over my words while slowly walking backwards. Of course only I was home when a burglar was inside our home. "You know, I'm actually very curious to see how you were going to end that sentence. Go ahead, Princess. Finish what you were going to say."

Words got stuck in my throat as I tried to think of something to do. Any sudden moves could send him spiraling. He was a thousand times stronger than me, so anything was pretty pointless. "Get out." My voice trembled, and Ethan looked stunned. "We can finish this Monday at school, but please leave for now." I try to gain some strength.

One of Trevor's stupid footballs was on the floor, and I almost tripped over it. Ethan caught me with strong arms. The aggression never leaving his face as I feared for my life. My heart started to beat faster, and I could feel my entire body shaking. Why was he dragging this out? Just kill me already!

Ethan slowly let go of me, but not too much. I couldn't go anywhere. "You're scared of me. Oh no. I'm becoming just like him." Confusion spread across my face as tears poured out his eyes. "I hate him!" The scream would surely be heard by the neighbors, but I could care less.

On my soft, white couch there was a boy the same size as it. Seeing him sit in the object didn't look right. Darkness radiated from him, and took away the brightness from my couch. Sobs came from him as he tried to control himself. "Ethan? Talk to me." I spoke carefully. Too afraid of him snapping at me.

"That bruise didn't come from your car hitting me." Ethan said the words while looking at me with tears storming down his eyes. "I'm so sorry if I scared you, Jenna. Before getting here, he had one too many beers, and decided to go after me instead of mom."

More sobs came from him, and I tried to quiet him. Seeing this huge, masculine guy cry in my lap automatically made my heart ache. How was that possible for someone like him? Trevor reminded me a lot of him, and I've never seen him cry once.

I continued to calm him while trying to fight back tears of my own. Once his father came, I begged him to stay with me, but he said that would only ruin things. The sadness never left his eyes as he climbed into the large truck. My heart broke even more at the sight of it.