Page 33 of Brittle Heart

I’m reminded of the moments when I wished for someone, anyone, to just notice. To offer a hand, a shoulder, a kind word.

Perhaps we can be that for her, even if our paths have only just crossed.

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

Carolina

“Lina?” Chiara’s soft voice reaches me as she enters our bedroom.

I’m sitting on the edge of the bed, my head buried in my hands, contemplating what the hell I’m going to do now.

“Si,piccola,what’s up?” I look up at her, and she looks slightly embarrassed.

“I need a new phone,” she says.

“A new phone?” I furrow my brow at her. “What happened to yours?”

“It has a huge crack on the screen, and I can’t text properly like this,” she states, handing it to me.

Indeed, there’s a big, noticeable crack running through the middle of the screen, although it still functions.

“How did that happen?” I ask.

“I accidentally dropped it.” She shrugs.

Of course. Nonchalantly tossing away a few hundred dollars.

We both have older, secondhand smartphone models, but they’re still our most valuable possessions, besides the laptop I need for college—a luxury I have to work hard for every day.

“I can’t afford to buy you a new one right now. You’ll have to make do with what you have,” I say.

“But I can’t text properly like this, and Leo is waiting for a response. He’ll think I’m not interested anymore if I don’t reply!” she says, agitated.

“Leo? Who’s Leo?” I stare at her critically.

“If you didn’t work all the time and took more interest in my life, you would know that Leo is going to be my boyfriend soon.” She huffs.

Wait a second, boyfriend?

“Oh, is he now? Who is he? A classmate?” I try to sound interested, not panicked, even though my heart rate jumps.

“No, he’s older.” She shrugs again.

I stand, feeling the need to level the playing field. It’s hard enough that she looks down on me when we’re both standing, but I don’t have to give her the advantage while sitting.

“How much older?” I ask, my tone turning icy.

“He’s seventeen, and he’s already working as a mechanic part-time. I can ask him if he can buy me a new phone.”

My blood pressure is rising. “Sei pazza?” I ask her, “We arenotgoing to let men pay for our stuff so they can have leverage over us. If you need something, I’ll provide it for you. Youneverask a man for anything, got it?”

She tilts her head, looking annoyed. “But you just said you don’t have the money right now.”

I take out my phone from my pocket and backup our phones before placing them on the bed and swapping our SIM cards. I hand her my phone and take her broken one.

“Here. Now, tell me more about this Leo guy. What do you mean he’s going to be your boyfriend soon?”

She doesn’t respond for a moment because she’s busy setting up her new phone and texting Leo back.

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