A/N: Hey SLAT fans! I'm glad you decided to drop by to check out my story. I really hope you enjoy this one. It's done from Ricky's POV. I wanted more insight on the kid who knows how to be so bad, but is dying to be good. You know what I mean? Well, you'll see! Love always, Alex

Broken

"Hey, Ricky!" Grace calls out my name in the hallway. I face her hesitantly. I didn't have the energy to be dishonest. In fact, I was in desperate need of a hug. But I'd never admit that, especially to a girl. That'd ruin my reputation here. Here, high school, hell. There seems to be a pattern. Grace touches my shoulder and I flinch. She tries to hide the hurt look in her eyes. I feel bad. I didn't mean that. But every time someone reaches out to touch me…I can't help, but…

"Are you okay?" she asks. I nod quickly and walk past her. I hate leaving her alone like that. But that's what the poser does. Not the real Ricky. The fake Ricky leaves a girl standing alone in the hallway. The real Ricky leaves the house shirtless to rescue her. I have to get out of here. I'm suffocating, dying, and I don't want to have a mental breakdown in front of the jerks that go to this school.

As soon as I step outside I see Amy. Sweet, shy Amy. The same Amy I took advantage of. The same Amy I had sex with. It doesn't matter to the fake Ricky. He's out to have sex with every girl in school. I see Amy fall and I run to catch her. She looks at me with wide eyes. "Are you okay?" I ask softly. No, I let the real Ricky take over. I can't do that. I'll be exposed to nothing but more pain.

Amy nods and looks past me. "I need to talk to you about something." She starts. I keep my eyes on her. I notice an awkward movement she makes. She starts rubbing her stomach nervously. Weird… "Ricky, I'm…I'm…I'm…" she trails off, stuttering uncontrollably. She turns away, her back facing me.

"What is it?" I ask her, getting mildly impatient. She turns around. "I-I-I….I'll call you later!" she exclaims and runs past me, entering the school. I watch her go. I go down the school steps, dragging my backpack. Adrian's car pulls up on the side of the curve. She jumps out.

"Jerk." She mutters to me. I scoff. What's with women today? "What'd I do this time, Adrian?" I ask coolly. She slaps my arm. "Don't pretend you don't know!" she exclaims. She hits me again. It doesn't hurt. Nothing hurts when you're completely numb.

"Enlighten me, cause I don't know." I tell her. Adrian smirks at me. She's a brilliant, beautiful girl. She washed it all away for sex, sex, and more sex. Why does everything have to be about sex? Asking that must make me a hypocrite, but I ignore the thought.

She hands me a condom. I try my hardest not to scream. "What's wrong, Adrian? Are you pissed that I didn't sleep with you last night?" I regret asking. But it is more hurtful to me then it is to her. "Wrong, Ricky. Jack did. So you have nothing to worry about, baby." She slips past me, shoving her butt into my hip. I shake my head, rolling my eyes. I start walking home, dizzily. As I pass the baseball park, I see a man with long blonde hair teaching his extremely young blonde son to hit a ball.

"Just like this, Matt." He says, patting the boy's back. The boy hits the ball and squeals with joy. A memory floods through my brain.

"You are so worthless, Ricky! Can't you damn learn to do anything right?" Dad smacks me again. It's harder then before, more hate with each passing punch.

I don't care anymore. "Go ahead, old man. Give me your best shot." I spit out. I cough up blood. A tooth falls to the floor. Shit. Second one this year. He hits me again and I fall to the floor weakly. "Look at you. Why don't you fight like a real man, shitface?" PUNCH! "Stupid idiot!" PUNCH! "You're nothing but extra work to me!" PUNCH!

I lay on the floor. Is this the day I'm going to die? "Why don't you love me?" I ask him. I hate myself for asking. I'm so weak…so pathetic…so useless. Dad pulls me up by the collar. "Love? LOVE! You want my love? I'll give you my love!" He drops me to the floor and pulls down my pants. I'm too weak to fight back. "No…don't…" I trail off and he begins harming me.

"Go on, boy! FIGHT ME! FIGHT ME NOW! I DARE YOU! FIGHT ME!"

I stare at the baseball park, returning from the past. The man and his son were gone. I feel nauseous. I run to the nearest garbage can and hurl. I look up at the sky. The sky is spinning. The sky is falling. I'm falling. Falling…. back.

"Do you remember what happened, kid?" the officer asks me. I space out. "What?" I ask. He sighs. "Do you remember what happened…" He looks at his notepad. "Ricky?" I nod, shake my head quickly, then nod again.

"Make up your mind, kid." The officer tells me. He's getting impatient. "Don't yell at me." I beg. I look down. The cup of coffee is tilting. The officer arches his eyebrows. "Get a doctor in here!" he exclaims, poking his head out the door.

He approaches me. "Are you doing drugs?" I look at him. "Drugs?" I echo. He sighs. "Yes, drugs, LSD, smoking pot, drugs, are you high?" I shake my head. "I don't know, sir. I just…" I trail off. "Don't know."

He leaves the room. I hear him talking outside. "Someone needs to take that boy in. Put him in foster care. I'm not letting him sit behind bars just because his father shoved heroin in his arm." The officer argues. "HE NEEDS A HOME!"

"Ricky, oh my gosh, are you okay?" Grace helps me sit up. I nod quickly and stare at her. A loose strand of hair hung messily in front of her eyes. On impulse, I push it behind her ear. She smiles at me. "I'm fine, Grace." I tell her. I groan. My stomach is killing me. What did I eat?

"What's wrong?" she asks me, her voice flooding with concern. I stare into her eyes. Her lips touch my cheek briefly. "I'm sorry, that was out of line." She apologizes immediately, the color rushing to her face. "Grace, Grace!" She stops and looks at me. I stand up and she takes a step back. "Shut up, Grace." I pull her closer to me and kiss her instantly, caressing her cheek. She grows soft in my arms and wraps her arms around me.

We pull away. Grace is shocked. "I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow." She walks past me, stops, and faces me again. "Ricky?" She calls my name. I nod. "Yes?" I ask. She kisses me softly and pulls away rushing off. I smile, shaking my head slowly.

Walking home is a blur to me, but I get there. "I'm home!" I shout in the empty house. No one is home. I take advantage of that moment and punch my fist into the wall. "WHY? OH GOD!" I fall to the floor, on the verge of tears. "Oh God, help me. NO! STOP TOUCHING ME!" I punch the air blindly. No one's there. You're losing it Ricky. Get a hold of yourself. "STOP DAD!" I'm cracking, almost broken.

My cell phone rings. UNKNOWN NUMBER. I answer anyway. "Hello?" My voice is hoarse. "Ricky?" a female voice says softly. I clear my throat. "Amy?" I barely recognize her voice. She sounds like she's been crying. Like me. Crying just like me.

"I'm pregnant, Ricky. You're the father." She whispers. The phone falls from my hand. No longer cracking, I'm finally broken.