A/N: So here we are with a quickly updated chapter 2. It was there and I've been too eager to post it. As for a posting schedule, I eventually plan to have one up, once a week. But for right now, it's going to be spontaneous. I have 7 chapters that are ready to post but the other few still need edited and everything. So until 7, expect it to be random.

Broken

It was raining hard, the wind was hollering outside as it made branches hit against the windows in his house. He was standing in his bathroom with a towel wrapped around his neck and a toothbrush in his mouth. He was trying very hard to ignore his surroundings, he tried staring at himself as he brushed his teeth. It really was getting bad out there.

Should he sleep in the basement? It was disgusting down there, that was no joke. He didn't want to think about how much dust was down there.

There was a strike of lightning outside, followed by a loud bash of thunder. The lights flickered. "Oh dear..." He groaned to himself. He needed to go to bed now, then once he woke, the storm would be over.

His mother had called him earlier, making sure he was alright. She apologized many times, telling him that she wished she could be by his side while all this was happening. Luckily for her, she was a few hours away working on a difficult case.

Rinsing his mouth, he listened to the window rattle. He rinsed his toothbrush off before sighing. "You are simply overacting. Calm down." There was another bash of thunder, the lights went out. Gasping. he was quick to move to his room. He had to bite the curse on his tongue when his toe hit the door frame. Feeling around, he was eventually able to make it to his room. Sitting on his bed, he snuggled deep into his blankets. Storms usually didn't bother him, he actually was intrigued by them. But this... Just a simply foggy day could make news here. This was on a completely different level. Laying down, he looked over at his cactus resting on his nightstand. "We'll be okay Jim," He promised the plant. "Hopefully." He added on after quietly. He then closed his eyes, hoping he would be able to go to sleep.

No matter how much of a heavy sleeper he could have been, no one could sleep through the sound made through the house. How could it be described? Like two cars crashing? A small bomb going off? Either way, it made Eddward wake immediately, scaring him enough to fall off his bed. He looked around quickly, trying to figure out what happened. He shook his head, his heart pounding in his chest from the suddenness of his wake. Looking for his phone, he saw it was nearly three in the morning.

Standing up, he rushed to his door. Going for his light switch, he groaned when the light didn't turn on. So the power went out, that was perfect. Turning his flashlight on his phone, he rubbed at his tired eyes. What had made such a booming sound? The moment he opened his door, he felt a large gust of wind. "Good lord!" Stepping out in the hall, he had to force his jaw shut to make sure it wasn't hanging open.

His living room TV was on the ground, glass and what he assumed where pieces of wall were surrounding it. Water soaked the carpet, it was a shocking threat that he did not want to get near. Above it was a broken window and what was obviously a tree sticking through. "How... How does this happen?" He couldn't believe this was happening, there was no way it was a nightmare. Turning back to his room, he grabbed his jacket. Throwing it around his shoulders, he quickly made his way outside. It was terrifying just to get out of the living room. Reaching the front door, he had to push it open just to get through, of course it only took a moment for his pajamas to get coated in rain. Heading out, he rushed into his yard. Looking back at his house, his head shook. "T-The crooked tree..." He managed to say as he stared at the tree crushing his house. The roof was caved in. He could see the living room from here. This was not good.

Rushing back inside, he made no stop as he went back into his room. Grabbing his plant, Jim, he left and went straight to the basement. Never mind the filth. No way was he going to pretend that everything was okay. Sitting down, he pressed his back against the wall. Dialing a familiar number in his phone with very shaky fingers, he put the device to his ear.

After a few rings there was a click followed by a yawn. "Eddward?" It was his mother, she sounded exhausted. "Is everything okay?" She asked softly.

Edd had his knees pressed against his chest, his grip on his cell phone was tight. "Mother... I'm terrified." He began before telling her exactly what happened.

She had told him that she would come home quickly, or at least as quick as she could. Just a few hours away. He was in a house that could fall apart but he didn't dare move from the spot he was sitting. He used his phone to keep his worrying thoughts away, though the battery would die eventually. So he used some time to talk to Jim, that alone helped calm some of his nerves. But only a few. He had rested his head on his knees, his eyes still tired from just waking up. So he allowed his eyes to rest for just a moment.

What was going to happen now? His house was kind of destroyed. What about school, it was supposed to happen in just a few hours. How would he get ready? Would there even be school, what if the building was swept away?What would his mother do? What could she do? He hugged his knees tighter and groaned. Why did this have to happen to him?

Somehow he had managed to fall asleep, down in his dark, disgusting basement. His phone had died, the wind was settling more as time passed. His dreams were just enough to help him escape from reality. That is, until he heard his name being called.

"Eddward? Are you here? Where are you?" It belonged to his mother. She sounded worried but at the same time, calm. Probably only for his sake.

His eyes blinked slowly, he looked around before it all came back to him. Groaning at his stiff joints, he slowly stood. He could see the sunlight creeping through the small windows. "I'm down here!" He called back to her before he began making his way up. "Stay out of the living room!" He warned as he reached the stairs. Heading up, he was relieved to see his mother standing in the kitchen.

The woman looked nervous as she stood there, a bit in shock. "You didn't pick up your phone, I was a bit worried." She looked around with her arms wrapped around herself. "I didn't think it was this bad. There was some flooding but I figured we would just have a broken window... but this.." She could see the TV on the ground, "Oh my..."

Edd nodded, "What are we going to do?" He asked first, before taking a seat. "What time is it anyway?" He would have looked at the stove but it seemed the power was still knocked out.

"Almost eight," She answered before falling into the chair next to him. "Your father offered to come but I told him no." She explained before looking over at him. She noticed how pale he suddenly got, "What's wrong?" She asked.

He looked at her, "I'm late for school." He stated, as if he were almost out of breath. He was surprised when she laughed.

"Even with the situation were in, school is always your top priority. You're just like your father." His mother laughed lightly with a shake of her head. She leaned back, "But don't worry. School got canceled, they have fallen electrical lines over there." She explained before getting back up. "I'm going to cook something for us."

Edd watched her head to the fridge, she was playing this off a lot better than he thought she would. See, his mother was almost completely different than him. She was laid back, showed her emotions like the back of her hand. The only similarity was the black hair and blue eyes he got from her. He noticed her staring ahead.

"The fridge is off. I don't think we have any food." She pointed out, opening the freezer next. "What can we eat that doesn't involve cold food?" She than began opening cupboards quickly.

Now she was freaking out, he could tell. There was a knock, he turned to look at the door. Looking back at his mother, he stood. "Ill get it." He didn't think she even heard it. Who in the world would be knocking on his door at this time? Reaching the wooden door, he pulled it open.

In front of him stood a woman with light ginger hair, she was one he didn't recognize. Her smile was wide and her eyes were warm. "Hello there," Her voice was soft and welcoming. Who was this woman? "Is your mother home?"

He looked behind him, "Yes... Just give me one moment to grab her." Closing the door, he walked back towards the kitchen to find his mother with her head down on the table. Reaching her, he lightly touched her shoulder. "Mother, there is a woman at the door asking for you. She's kind of strange-"

There was a squeal behind him, causing him to jump. "Elizabeth, is that you? I saw the news and then your car and-"

He turned to see that the unknown woman had made her way in herself. He was more surprised when his mother made a similar sound. Apparently they both knew each other well because they were both making very excited women sounds that he honestly did not entirely understand. It seemed his mother got over the food situation.

They were all sitting at the table, the woman that was now known as Carol was gawking at the hole in the wall. "They were talking about it in the news actually," She explained. "The trailer park was nearly flooded and your house... I couldn't believe it. But when I looked outside, there it was! Then I saw your car and I just had to come over!"

Elizabeth laughed nervously, "It's on the news? That's embarrassing." She rubbed the back of her neck, "This has to be the worst time for this to happen, especially with the case coming up." Her expression grew dim, "There aren't any apartments or hotels or anything around here, what am I going to do with Eddward?"

Edd frowned when seeing his mother stressed like this. She cared for her job as much as he cared for school. "I'll be fine mother, I can find somewhere to stay for a few days, Eddy can-"

"It's going to take weeks, maybe even months before we can fix this." His mother interrupted. "Who would want to be that inconvenienced?"

"Elizabeth?" The ginger pipped in. "We actually have extra room and I'm sure Gerald wouldn't mind." She offered, looking over at the two of them. "I mean I don't live that far away and we've known each other for how long?" She smiled, "And before you say anything, I am offering so it isn't any type of inconvenience." She added on quickly, knowing how persistent the other could be.

Her shoulders relaxed and she looked over to Edd. "Carol is a very nice woman who is a very good friend of mine. I'm not going to force you to do something you don't want to," She began to explain. "If it weren't for my work, I wouldn't mind staying somewhere and taking you to school. You know that right?"

Edd looked at his mother, being this close, he noticed a few detail about her that he hadn't before. Like the black circles around her eyes from lack of sleep. Or the way her skin was a shade lighter than usual. It was from work, he knew pretty well. Like his father, his mother was constantly away working hard on her career. He felt bad for adding on another weight to her shoulders. His eyes then moved to the woman sitting across from him. She looked nice, but appearances could be deceiving. But then again, his mother recommended her. Looking back to his mother, his mouth twitched into a smile. "A few weeks couldn't be too terrible." He noticed relief in his mothers eyes, it made him a bit more happy. "Plus a new adventure is always a thrill," He continued.

The ginger haired woman suddenly clasped her hands together, "Great to hear! Now that it's settled, I think I should prepare that extra room. So Eddward, please give me some time and I will come back to take you over." She explained as she stood. Walking over to his mother, she gave the woman a hug. "You really need to visit sometime."

Edd watched the women exchange goodbyes before the one left. He then turned to his mother. "How come I have never heard about this woman before?"

Elizabeth laughed nervously, "Well... She was a good friend of mine during our childhood. We kind of grew apart over the last few years. I just didn't really come around to it?" She looked down to her fingers, "Work sometimes separates your personal life. It's not really a great thing but I guess I chose it." She tried to explain, her laughs suddenly turning higher before she stood up. "Lets get you packed up," She looked around. "I'm not sure how safe this house is so we should probably be quick about it." She grabbed her phone, "I'll make a few calls to take care of that crazy tree. Whatever you don't take with you, we'll get someone to pack everything else up. They'll probably take out the entire wall to fix this. And then there's the carpets..." She stared at the stains, "Oh the carpets..."

Edd noticed the woman began to ramble to herself so he stood from the table. Heading back up to his room, he grabbed the two suitcases he owned and neatly folded clothes into them. He still could not believe all of this was happening. He wasn't even sure what to think about it. His life was going to change, that he knew for sure.

A/N: There it is, the end of the second chapter. Now he's going to be living with our precious red haired cinnamon bun. Let me know what you thought in a review, I enjoy reading them! Quick note, thank you to the ones that review last chapter. You're the reason I was so eager to update so quick!