Page 28 of Brittle Heart

Carolina

My shoulder aches under the weight of my backpack, but it’s not the only thing hurting right now as I step out of the subway station and head to NYPD headquarters.

I’m twenty-two today, but no one remembered. Not that I expected anyone to, but even Chiara didn’t say anything to me today.

That stung.

We had breakfast together like every morning, and she simply forgot. I try not to take it personally. She’s a teenager with other stuff on her mind.

Everything I do is for her…

… and she can’t even…

I take a deep breath, and I push the thought aside.

I can’t dwell on that.

Getting through classes was hard enough, and I still have my internship now. But after that, I’ve got my tattoo appointment. I smile to myself. At least that’s something no one can take away from me.

It’s only my fifth day here, but to my surprise, I already know the way to Sophia’s office and quickly join her in running the tests she is doing.

A couple hours in, we get a result that surprises me.

“See, this is what I suspected,” she says. “It’s definitely not your everyday drug.”

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” I say.

“Neither have I, but finding out what this is all about is going to be so much fun.” She grins at me, and I can’t help but grin back. “Did you just smile at me?” She laughs. “Oh wow.”

“I do smile… sometimes,” I mutter.

“Sure, I just haven’t seen it before. But Mr. Sexy Toxicology is making all the STEM girls smile.” She winks at me.

“Okay, that was just weird,” I say, trying to suppress a laugh.

“And that surprises who?” she giggles.

“Did you have too much tea today, Sophia?” I ask, only half serious.

“I don’t think there’s such a thing as too much when it comes to tea,” she says.

We continue our testing, and an hour later, Josh and Clay enter the office.

“Hey, you two,” Josh greets us with a smile. “Working hard?”

Clay walks over to my desk, standing behind me and peering over my shoulder at my screen.

“Ooh… this looks cool. What are you working on?” he asks, leaning in so his head is next to mine.

“I neither have the time nor the crayons to explain it to you,” I say.

He laughs, clutching his heart and giving me an exaggerated, pained expression. “That was cold, Karen.”

Any other day, my mask would remain firmly in place, but with my emotions all over the place, I can’t save myself from the smirk that forms.

“Oh my God,” Clay says, leaning into my space again. “Did you just smile at me? Josh, I can die in peace now. Karen just smiled at me,” he declares.

Sophia says, “It’s the day, not you.”

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