Broken- Ch. 3

The next morning I woke up to the smell of grass and bright sunlight hitting my face. I feel sick. Not the sick that you feel like throwing up, but the exhausted sick that you just want to just curl up in bed and shut the world out.

I feel an arm around my body; I look up to see the dirty blonde hair guy staring at me.

"Hey"

"Hey-" My voice is so raspy. I can barely talk.

He turns around and looks through his bag. He pulls out a bottle of water and hands it to me. I give a shy smile.

"Thanks"

"No problem." He wants to say more.

"Sorry about- Sorry about last night. I'm just going to go."

"It's okay Karma."

I look up at him. How does he know my name? He notice my confused look.

"I'm Mitchell" He holds out his hand for me to shake it. I oblige. "I've seen you around school. We used to have several classes together before you were transferred to honor classes. Smarty pants!"

He gives me a big smile. I look down; I don't have the energy to return the favor.

"Why don't I take you home, your parents have been worried".

"How do you know my parents have been worried?" I say before I even think about it. This makes me mad. When do they care about me?

"They called you like one hundred times last night. I answered after the tenth call. They asked who I was and I told them I am your friend. They sounded worried and wanted to pick you up, but I told them that I will stay with you tonight and bring you home in the morning".

I stare at him. Why is he being so nice to me?

"Why did you say that?"

"Say what?"

"That you were my friend."

"Because we are?" He says smiling at me like we have known each other for years.

"I don't know you, we are not friends". I sounded harsher than I meant to.

He still looks at me with a smile. What is wrong with this guy?

"We are friends. Friends don't let friends cry by themselves."

That phrase stung in my chest. Friends don't let friends cry by themselves. I couldn't stop myself from thinking of her.

"Take a deep breath. Everything is going to be okay. " He says looking me straight in the eyes like he knows what I am thinking. "I know right not it seems like the world is against you. But everything will be okay, you just have to strong."

He grabs my hands and pulls me up to my feet. He hugs me again. The warm feeling inside feels so foreign. I feel tears forming in my eyes.

"Are you ready to go home?"

" Home is the last place I want to go", I say honestly.

"Okay, lets get breakfast, do you like pizza?"

I don't know what is wrong with this kid. First it is breakfast time, yes you can have pizza for breakfast but there is no restaurant that is open that sells pizza before eleven in the morning. And second, well I just met this guy and he is acting like we have known each other forever. I feel my stomach growling.

"Sure, but can we get pancakes?" Chocolate chip pancakes are my favorite. Not even my mother knows that.

"Sure, I want the cooks to draw a smiley face on mine."

He puts his arm around my shoulder and we walk off to his car.

Breakfast was actually enjoyable. Neither of us said a word and just ate silently. I didn't feel the need to speak and to be honest I don't think I could if I tried. My throat hurt so badly. I've already drunk Mitchells bottle of water and three glasses from the restaurant. I start to pull out my wallet to pay for my portion of the meal. Mitchell quickly grabs my hand and brings it back down.

"I got this," he said winking at me.

I try to pull my wallet out again and the same thing happens.

"Karma, I got this. Don't worry".

The waitress is just staring back and forth at us smiling. I suddenly get the urge to use the rest room. I excuse myself from the table and head towards the rest room.

I look in the mirror. God I look terrible. My eyes are blood shot red, my hair looks messy and I have dark black circles around the bottom of my eyes. I cup my hands together and wash my face with the sink water. It makes me feel better for like two seconds. Than I get that feeling again in the pit of my stomach. I hear a beeping coming from my right pocket. I take the phone from my pocket and check the caller ID.

-MOTHER-

Great! The last person I would want to talk to. I answer the phone annoyed.

"Hey"

"Darling! Where are you? When are you coming home?"

"I'm at the café downtown. I will be home soon."

"How long will you –"

"Mother. I will be home soon."

I hang up the phone and walk out of the rest room. I head towards the table where Mitchell is. He is signing the receipt and looks up to me smiling.

"Thanks Mitchell. I'm sorry but I need to go home."

He stares at me for a moment, worry in his eyes.

"Okay, I'll drive you."

"No, no. I have been a burden. I can walk home"

"What? You are not a burden. I wanted to do this"

Why is he being so nice to me? I don't deserve his kindness.

"It's fine. Thanks for breakfast, I'll pay you back". I turn around and start heading towards the door.

"Karma." He is now standing walking my way. "I am not going to let you walk home and you are not going to repay me. I want to help you."

I feel my heart beating fast. I just nod and let him lead the way.

As we walk to his car I notice a brown haired nice smile guy looking at me. I haven't talked to him since that night and I sure in hell don't want to talk to him now. He looks at me for half a second than he is back swapping spit with this girl with long black hair and big lips. Like I am nothing. Like I meant nothing to him. I keep focus on the ground and quickly jump in the car. I tell Mitchell the directions to my house. As we pull up to my house I see my parents and the new addition to our family standing in the doorway. I look down at my hands and stare. I'm not sure if I am ready to be with my family. I feel a nudge in my left side. Mitchell some how has my phone and is typing something in it.

"Here, I just saved my number. Karma, if you need anything please please don't hesitate to call. I'll be here in a jiffy!"

He is looking at me with big eyes. I nod my head. He grabs my face with both hands and repeats what he just said. He says it slower and with great eye contact. I feel uncomfortable. I guess he is doing this to make sure I am hearing and understanding everything he is telling me.

"So you will call if you need me?" He asks, his hands still on my checks.

I pull away his hand and say yes. I turn around and see my parents waiting for me to come in.

I take a deep breath and open the door.

A/N: I wanted to introduce Mitchell. He is going to be Karma's rock. We will learn more background about his life and family as more chapters' progress. Also I will go into more detail about Natalie, her life and how her friendship with Karma will be.

Some might wonder who this "additional family member" is. It will come clear next chapter.

Thank you for reading my story! If you have any comments or suggestions feel free to let me know!