Page 46 of Broken Things

He couldn’t have known then that the single act of taking something that wasn’t his would prove to be his undoing, and later, especially after ale, he would reminisce about his wasted youth. “That’s the thing with hearts,” he would say. “They’re the trickiest, troubledest things in the world.”

—FromThe Way into Lovelornby Georgia C. Wells

Mia

Now

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Finally, the lock in my throat has released. “You don’t need to go to the hospital or anything?”

“I’ll be fine,” Owen says, peeling a hand away from his eye, which is swollen shut. “But I guess my modeling career is over.”

We’re parking in front of a 7-Eleven on the outskirts of the old downtown. Wade, Abby, and Brynn have left us alone to go find ice for Owen’s eye. It’s hot in the truck, even with the windows open, but sitting so close to Owen, practically thigh to thigh, leaves me with a desperate shivery feeling. Blood is crusting above his upper lip. He looks so raw and bruised and open, and I want to help him, fix him, take his face and kiss it everywhere.

I want to ask him whether he meant what he said, about loving me.

I want to know why, if that’s true, he chose Summer.

Why he lied.

Where he was.

I want so many impossible things.

“Does it hurt?” I ask, instead of saying the ten other things that occur to me.#24. Feelings are larger than a whole dictionary full of words.He makes a face. “It’s not so bad. He was going for my nose. Good thing his aim was off. I kind of like my nose.”

“I do too,” I say automatically, and then wish I hadn’t. He peels a hand away from his eye and grins, then winces. “What happened back there?”

Owen sighs. “I just wanted to pay my respects, like everybody else,” he says. “I’d forgotten how crazy this town can be.”

“That’s because you left.” The words come out as an accusation, and I bite my lip. Words would be less frightening if you could swallow them again, chew them and digest them into nothingness.

But he doesn’t seem to notice. “Everything was fine until that pinhead and his friends noticed me.” He shakes his head. His hair is extra flame-like today. I have an urge to run my hand through it, and an idea that if I did, I’d get burned. “He told me to leave. I said no.” He shrugs. “You basically saw the rest.”

Before I can respond, Brynn slides into the car again. “Here. Best first aid 7-Eleven has to offer.” She hands Owen a frozen burrito. “Our options were limited,” she says before I can object. “But it’ll help. I promise. And when it thaws, we’ll have a snack. It’s black bean veggie.”

Owen’s laugh quickly transforms to a groan. “Smiling hurts,” he says.

“And check it out,” Brynn says. She pulls an unfamiliar iPhone from her pocket. “I got Heath’s phone. What do you want to bet he’s got dick pics on here?”

“Brynn.You stole that.”

“I reappropriated it,” she corrects me. “He shouldn’t have been flashing it around, anyway. Relax, Girl Scout,” she adds, rolling her eyes. “I’ll mail it back to him or something, okay?”

Wade and Abby come out of the 7-Eleven together. Abby’s carrying a plastic bag distended with sodas and waters and snacks. Wade has, for some mysterious reason, purchased a flat-topped red visor and a pair of sunglasses.

I feel a sudden hard pull of loneliness.

“You okay?” Owen touches the back of my hand, quickly. Skims it.

“I’m okay.” I put my hands between my thighs and squeeze. “I was just thinking about Summer. Missing her, I guess.”

He seems as if he wants to say something else. But then Wade slides behind the wheel, and Abby maneuvers into the backseat, both of them still arguing about whether Snickers have caffeine. When Owen slides over to make room for Abby, our knees briefly touch.

“Hey. I guess I should say thank you.” He straightens up, still holding the stupid burrito to his eye. “I mean, you guys saved me from death-by-mob.”

“Yeah. And now you owe us.” Brynn reaches into the backseat, swiping a Kit Kat bar from Abby. She rips off the corner of thepackage with her teeth. “We came to collect.”

Owen’s face changes. “What do you mean?”

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