Page 11 of Broken

"You look good, Sinclair. Life in southern California is treating you well."

"Really? Small talk? Noah? How are you not angry with her for disappearing for over ten years" The snark rolled off Mia like a heat wave.

"There's plenty of time for that, Mia. I'm enjoying our little threesome." Noah gave Mia a wink and a smile. I didn’t expect everyone to stop living life and go their separate ways without me, I just didn’t expect their lives to be so entwined after all this time.

Toeing the freshly cut grass of the front lawn, I thought back to the aftermath of my little bonfire in the front yard right before freshman year.

Noah got his first car over the summer. I was standing outside, back straight and fucking proud of my blazing act of defiance. It didn’t take as long as I thought it would for my parents to come out screaming at me.

When dad realized I set fire to his work bag with my backpack, he lost his mind. I braced myself. I had enough of the abuse, the neglect, and the lack of love. If they didn’t want me anymore, then they could get rid of me.

I still wonder sometimes what would have happened if Noah and

Kai hadn’t driven by when they did.

Mom was busy attempting to douse the fire, and dad had a firm hold of my hair in his fist. At first, he shoved my face near the blaze Id created, he wanted me to witness what I’d done so that when he beat me, I would know why.

Dad didn't throw me to the fire. I'm pretty sure my adolescent mind was on the verge of snapping because a small part of me was hoping for such a punishment. My father gripped every strand of hair on my head, wrapped around his fingers and he dragged me toward the house, yelling something about an ass beating I’d never forget.

I heard the squeal of tires. A couple of seconds later, Noah and Kai jumped out of Noah’s car right in front of my epic symbol of rebellion. He told Kai to run home, get his dad and call the fire department. Noah, at sixteen years old, stood up to a man in his forties, who was about to beat his only child within an inch of her life.

Noah saved me that night. He was always saving me. Dad flung me against the wooden steps and threatened me if I moved and went to yell at Noah for interfering. I hit my head hard against the stairs and couldn't remember anything after that.

I woke up in an exam room at Dr. Carter's office. I had eight stitches in the back of my head, dad was in jail, and Kai and Noah insisted that dad lit the fire and then beat me. Mom wouldn't look at or speak to me when the Carters brought me home that night. It was my fault my dad went to jail.

I cleared my throat and looked up at the house that I grew up in.

"Are you sure it’s too late to burn it all down?"

"Yes." Their voices rang in unison, and we started up the stairs to the front porch.

"You guys don't need to do this with me. I'm sure it’s an absolute shithole. I'll just figure out what it'll cost to get a cleaning crew in here to clean it and start making calls."

"Nope. In this together, Babes. I finally got you back. Even if it’s for a few days. I'm sticking through this with you." Mia had my back. She always had my back, something that made my runaway stunt cut much deeper than I thought it did. With a warm smile, Noah took the keys from Mia's hand. I didn't miss the odd little brush of skin between the two of them.

The door opened, and my hands trembled. The last time I had been through this door was the day I left home and never returned.

I closed the front door and looked at my car. It was already packed for my trip to Arizona. I would be starting at ASU in the fall.

I know mom was expecting me to stay and pay rent for the next three months, but I couldn't risk the darkness touching this tiny human inside me, and I couldn't have anyone find out about it.

No, this little thing, they were my light, my future. This baby was the only thing to pull me from the shadows, and I would escape it. I'm leaving Lakewood and never looking back.

I sighed and made sure the door was locked behind me although we had nothing worth stealing in this shit hole of a house. My mother didn't deserve the love and protection a locked home provided; I couldn't bare the idea of her being left unprotected.

"Sin, You okay?" Mia's voice broke through my memory.

"Yeah, fine. Let's do this." I pushed the door open, bracing myself for the stench of stale garbage, and layers of decades-old dust. Only, there wasn't any. The citrus and earthy scents of Pledge and Pinesol lingered in the warm air.

This was the house I grew up in, but different. It looked like an actual home, not a run-down shack. Pictures hung on the walls, and the furniture, although dated, was in good condition, without stains or burn holes.

To the left, the door to the master bedroom sat open. My hand tingled from the coldness of the old brass handle a memory of the last time I closed the door.

I squeezed my hands together, remembering my last day, fighting back the tears that hung from my lashes. I would not cry. The house, my mother, neither one of them deserved any more from me. I didn't understand the chasm that opened inside me.

My chest tightened and all the air left my lungs. One, two, three, four. I counted my fingers trying to focus and gain control. It didn't work. The edges of the darkness closed in on me.

I repeated the same verse of a My Chemical Romance song in my head. I needed to pull myself out of the encroaching darkness before it swallowed me whole. Danielle loved the song. She and Aine would belt out any and all MCR songs that came on the radio whenever we were driving.

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