Repair the Broken

Chapter 9

The cafeteria is loud as usual.  The hustle and bustle of the morning is being discussed amongst the students.  I don’t like to gossip and I don’t like to be the topic of gossip.  I normally fade into the background until I get to my table and take a seat next to the girls on the far end away from Brody.

I walk into the cafeteria and the noise levels come to a low hum.  I look around and most of the eyes are following me as I walk to my table.  Lexi and Noelle are there with Jaxon.  I lay my book bag on my chair and make my way to the salad line.  My stomach is in knots and I know that I won’t be able to eat today.

I look around and I don’t see Brody or Zayden yet.  They usually come dragging in a few minutes after the bell rings with whatever bimbo they have attracted that day.  Not only do I refuse to talk to Brody, but I really try not to become a target for Zayden.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a girl or boy; once he zeros in on a target he becomes relentless. I have witnessed him bring girls to tears and he just laughs like it’s no big deal. 

Once I have my salad, I make my way back to the table.  I sit in my usual spot and start eating.  Lexi is going on about some party the local college is throwing this weekend.  Apparently she thinks it’s a good idea for us to get a group together and go.  “We should all go.  It would be so much fun.”

“I have too much homework and you know that I don’t like going to parties and neither does Noelle.”

“Noelle will go wherever we go so don’t use her as an excuse.”

Noelle leans over and whispers, “You can drink and then have another thing marked off”

“That’s a great idea.” Lexi boasts and most of the table hears her end of our conversation.

“What’s a great idea?”  Great that’s just what I wanted Zayden popping up right at the end of our conversation.   Why can’t he just go away and mind his own business?

“There’s a party this weekend at The Hanger and we are all going.” Lexi pipes up again unable to contain her excitement. 

“Oh yay.  That sounds like a lot of fun.”  Triniti jumps in with her opinion.  She’s standing there sandwiched between Brody and Zayden.   She is leaning against Zayden with longing in her eyes.

“No one invited you!”  It comes out of my mouth before I realize I’ve said it.  I slap my hand over my mouth hoping to God they didn’t hear me.

“Excuse me?  What is your problem exactly?”  Triniti is standing within inches of me before I realize it.

Before I have a chance to respond, Brody has picked her up and removed her from my side.  He deposits her on the other side of the table before coming back.

“That’s a bitchy thing to say Alayna.  What’s crawled up your ass?  It ain’t got something to do with her being all over Brody this morning does it? Zayden found his target and it’s me. I look at him and he is grinning from ear to ear daring me to respond. 

There is a collective sigh amongst the girls and they know he’s about to rip me a new one. I can see the pity in Noelle’s eyes as Triniti sits there smirking at me with her eyes raised.   There’s no winning this; so I don’t even try to fight it. 

Before I have a chance to respond, Brody counters, “Don’t start that shit with her Zayden.  It’s not cool and I’m not going to stand here and watch you tear her apart for your own personal amusement.”

I sit and watch them to standing face to face.  Brody’s face tells nothing but his body is tense while Zayden stands there with a huge smile on his face as if he just won the lottery.  He throws his hands up, turns and walks away.  Triniti follows on his heels.

I let out the breath I’ve didn’t know I was holding.  I’m watching Brody as his body deflates then turns and looks at me.  There’s an unspoken truce that passes between us.  He smiles at me then walks to the lunch line. 

Before I know what is happening, Lexi has grabbed my hand and she is all but dragging me out of the cafeteria.  Noelle is right there with us.  We don’t stop until we are outside, away from prying eyes.

“Tell us everything and don’t leave anything out.”  Noelle is the first to speak up.  She normally waits for Lexi to push me to talk but it seems that she can’t wait. 

“He came over last night and asked for us to start over.  I tried to push him out of my house but he wasn’t leaving until I heard him out.  He practically begged me to forgive him but I can’t.  He pleaded with me to allow him to fix what was broken between us.  He had my bucket list and he gave it to me.  He offered to help me complete it as well.”

“What happened in class this morning?  There are all kinds of rumors floating that you told Triniti off.  And just now, what was that about?  Brody never says anything to Zayden when he’s harassing someone.  He looked ready to fight if he said something to you.”  Lexi lays all the facts out and demands the answers.

“We were assigned a group project this morning.  As soon as we were told to find our partners, Triniti was all over Brody.  She’s nasty and I’m tired of seeing her throw herself all over the guys.  I just reacted before I knew it. So yes I did yell at her.”   

“What was with the coffee this morning?” Noelle asks curiously.

“He was waiting for me at my car this morning.  You know how early I leave.  He was just standing there.  I tried to ignore him and when I went to get in my car I might have mentioned not having time to get my coffee before school because I was running late.”

“So are you two friends again or what?  He sure does seem to want to rekindle whatever you two had before.”  Lexi pushes.

“I don’t know what we are.  He has been really nice and he is finding excuses to spend time with me.  We were assigned a group project together.  I told him I would do it all and he said no he want to do his half.  He practically forced me to come to his house this afternoon using the project as an excuse.  I agreed as long as I don’t have to go inside.  We are going to work on his porch.”

Noelle looks confused, “Why would you want to work outside? That makes no since.”

“I don’t trust myself to be in a room alone with him.  Whenever I’m around him, I feel this pull to be closer.  I can close my eyes and be in a crowded room and still know when he’s near.  There’s this spark and its stronger now than I remember.”  I close my eyes thinking about how it felt to have him so close to me.

There is no response.  I open my eyes and see Lexi and Noelle smiling.  I immediately regret sharing that last bit with them.  “Don’t start, it’s not like that with us anymore and I don’t plan on having it rekindled.”

“Don’t you lie to me.  I’m not stupid.  You can’t tell us that and then expect us to believe that you don’t have feeling for him.”  Lexi has her hands on her hips and she is daring me to refute what she just said.  I look to Noelle for help; she smiles and shakes her head.  That’s all the response I’m going to get.

“I need to eat my lunch before the bell rings.  Let’s go and please don’t allow me to say anything to Triniti again.  I don’t need any more rumors going around about me.”  They follow me back to the cafeteria.  No one says anything to us. 

 The rest of the day is uneventful.  I am getting nervous about going to Brody’s tonight.  Im not sure what to expect with the way he has been acting today.  I can handle him ignoring me and pretending I don’t exist.  Today he has opened the door for me to several times, he smiles whenever our eyes meet, and he has ignored any girl that has flirted with him. 

I get home and mom is there.  She is somewhat sober but she has a beer in hand and is well on her way to inebriation.   I grab a sandwich and make my way upstairs.  I gather my stuff to start my homework.  I’ll work on it until I have to go next door.  About two hours later there is a knock on my bedroom door.

“Yeah coming.”  I open the door and Brody is standing there.