Page 40 of Breakaway

Nevaeh smiles weakly. “Thank you.” Her gaze coasts over my face, and she tilts her head to the side. “How long have you been on the floor?”

“Since this morning.”

Scrunching her nose, Nevaeh takes a deep breath. “Did you eat?” I shake my head no.

Exhaling loudly, she gets up from the floor and extends her hand to me. I take it, barely registering what’s happening around me. With a hard pull, Nevaeh helps me to my feet. I stagger; standing still is a struggle. Even the floor feels unsteady.

Nevaeh tugs on my hand and makes me follow her. My headache is still there, but it’s not pounding so hard anymore. Or I’m just too weak, and the pain stopped mattering. Opening the door to my bedroom, she pulls me inside and stops beside my bed.

“Get in,” she orders in a stern voice. “Now.”

I do as she says, climbing into my bed and hiding under the blanket.

“Now sleep!” Nevaeh exclaims, taking a step back, ready to flee my room.

When her hand is on the doorknob, I prop myself on my elbow and call out to her. “Nevaeh?”

“What?”

“Can you please stay with me?”

She looks over her shoulder, and the crease between her eyebrows deepens. Then her shoulders drop, and she nods. “I’ll just change my clothes and be back, okay?”

“Thank you,” I whisper and close my eyes.

This exhaustion is bliss. It silences my mind, banning every little thought from making an appearance. No memories abusing my brain, no emotions causing me distress. It’s all gone…and I’m just an empty shell, hoping to make it through the night.

Saying good-bye wasn’t the hardest part. It was way tougher to learn how to live without someone who was always there for me. Who shared the same dreams and knew all my secrets. Losing my brother left a hole in my chest, and no matter how I try to fill the void…it’s never enough.

The slight shift of the mattress underneath me makes me aware of her presence. She moves closer while still keeping her distance. I open my eyes and turn onto my left side, facing Nevaeh. The tiniest smile crosses my lips when I notice she brought the blanket from her room and is now hidden under it.

“Why can’t you sleep?” she asks, watching me intently. My eyes roam over her beautiful face. She’s not wearing makeup, and her hair is pulled into a little bun on top of her head. Just looking at her brings me comfort. It calms me down and heals my invisible wounds, stopping them from bleeding.

A little cure for my tormented soul.

“I have nightmares.”

Nevaeh hides one hand under her pillow, scrutinizing me. I wait, expecting more questions. And kinda hoping she’s not going to pry. Lying to her doesn’t feel right, but telling her about Maksim feels even worse.

Sighing, she reaches over and pushes my hair off my forehead. “When I was little, I had nightmares too,” she says softly, holding my gaze. “Not because I dreamed about anything bad. But because my parents thought it was a good idea to fight at night. They’d wake me up with their screams, sometimes broken dishes or furniture. Anytime it happened, I’d get so scared I was afraid to move. I’d hide under my blanket for hours, trembling and crying silently. Even after my nanny told them I could hear them, they never stopped. Being at each other’s throats was much more important than their daughter.”

A sad smile spreads over her lips as she looks at something over my head. “My nanny wanted to help me, so she gave me a plush toy and promised it would protect me. It was Sulley fromMonsters, Inc.—my all-time favorite movie.” Her breath hitches, and she closes her eyes, lying still. “After that, whenever my parents would get into another argument, I’d hide in my walk-in closet with Sulley pressed to my chest. I wanted to be like Boo, the little girl from the movie. To live in a monster world instead of living with my parents.”

The sadness drowns me like an avalanche, breaking through my bones and going straight to my heart. I clench my jaw and grit my teeth as another emotion overwhelms me. Anger. So much anger at her parents, dammit.

“Eventually they stopped arguing. After that they just silently hated and barely tolerated each other. There wasn’t any love. Just business, because their marriage was beneficial for both of them.” She lowers her voice. “My parents got divorced when I was sixteen. My dad caught my mom cheating on him—with hisbest friend, in their bed. It was something he couldn’t forgive…and I couldn’t either. I haven’t talked to my mom since.” A bitter laugh rises from her throat. “Not that I talk to my dad much these days, but at least he didn’t disown me.”

“Your mom disowned you?” I ask in utter disbelief. Looks like we have more in common than I thought.

“Yeah, and she made sure I knew it. Just to spite me, she threw away everything she’d ever bought me, but even that wasn’t enough. One day, I came home from school and found Sulley cut into pieces.”

“But…”

“She didn’t buy it for me,” Nevaeh mutters, understanding my confusion. “She just knew how much I cherished it; she remembered that I’d clutch it to my chest any time I felt sad or scared. I didn’t bat an eye when she took back the jewelry she bought for me, but Sulley? I cried my eyes out, and couldn’t sleep for days.”

“I’m so sorry, Malyshka.”

“It’s fine. Life has proven to me over and over that not all monsters hide in closets or under beds. Sometimes they give birth to you…and sometimes you date them.”

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