Repair the Broken

Chapter 3

“You can stop all the hushed whispering.  I am fine.” 

“You can’t be fine.  You passed out.”  Lexi huffs at my nonchalant attitude.  I can see the crease in her forehead that says she about to argue.

“Not gonna discuss this with you until I get some food in my system.”  I walk over to the refrigerator and take out the orange juice.  Noelle is standing in front of the pantry where I need to get my breakfast bar.  I can see she wants to say something as well.  I look her in the eye waiting for her to say her peace but she doesn’t.  She moves and lets me by. 

I take the OJ and breakfast bar to the table and sit down. The girls follow me and stare at me expectantly. I pour myself a glass of juice and down it so that I don’t have to say anything.  I just want a few minutes to gather my thoughts.  I should have done that in the shower but reminiscing my parents demise killed any chance of that happening. 

Lexi sits right next to me and Noelle is sitting across from me.  I can see the concern on their face.  They aren’t going to budge until I tell them what happened last night.  I take a few minutes to finish eating.  I take my trash and toss it out.  I make my way back to the table and prepare for the Spanish Inquisition. 

“Noelle, please stop staring at me like that.  I am okay.  I know you are concerned but don’t look at me like my cat just died.”  I don’t know why I have an attitude towards Noelle but I know that her staring at me that way is irritating me.

“Alayna, that’s a terrible thing to say to Noelle.  You wanna know what it was like for us, your best friends to see you like that?  It was awful.  We had no clue what happened.  All we know is that you walked into that yard on your own two legs and was carried out by Brody.  Not because you couldn’t walk from hurting yourself but because you were passed out.  Do you have any clue what it was like for us to see that? I’m thinking you don’t or you wouldn’t be talking to her that way!!”  Lexi’s voice is at a near scream.  She doesn’t usually yell at me or any one that way. 

I duck my head down in shame from the tongue lashing that Lexi just dealt me.  “I’m sorry Noelle and Lexi you are right.  I don’t know what it was like for you.  I can only tell you what it was like for me.  It was dreadful.”  I can feel my eyes welling up again.  I wipe away the tear and look them. 

“It was dreadful for us as well.  You were limp in his arms.  Do you know what I first though seeing you that way?  I thought you may have drowned or slipped on something and hit your head.”  Lexi is still breathing hard as she gives me her interpretation.

“That would have been a lot better than what actually happened.”

“What did happen?”   Noelle asks in a low voice trying to bring the tension back down so that we can discuss the elephant in the room. 

“He saw me.  He saw me naked.  He wasn’t supposed to be there and he was.”  My voice is no higher than a whisper as I think back to the scene at the pool. 

“Brody brought you home last night.  He had you in his arms and carried you upstairs to your bed.  He was really concerned.  Do you remember what happened?  Why did you pass out?”  Lexi asks steering the conversation in the direction necessary to get answers.

I spend the next few minutes reliving the events of the night before.  I tell them all the gory details leaving nothing out.  I have to take several pauses so that I can regain my composure.  The tears don’t stop and my voice is barely a pitch above a whisper.  The girls sit and listen.  Noelle has a hard time keeping her face expressionless. Lexi's face is kept neutral for the most part.  I hear the hitch in their breathing as I tell them about feeling defiant and thinking that I would taunt him.  Lexi’s mouth hitches the slightest in the corner lifting in a slight smile.  I can see she’s trying to restrain herself.  I can also see that see that she finds humor in my act of defiance.