Title: Shattered Hearts and Broken Glass
Author: katem_23
Rating: PG-13, rating will go up in later chapters
Disclaimer: I don't own it, probably never will. I do own the girl though. and no, I haven't told you her name yet, you just have to wait. The lyrics are from the song Grey Street by the Dave Matthews Band

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Chapter III - Grey Street
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// There's an emptiness inside of her, and she'd do anything to fill it in. But all the colours mix together -- to Grey. //
She had been driving for a long time when she crossed a border. She looked up and read the sign, Colorado. It'll do for tonight.' she thought to herself. She would see how much further she could get before stopping for the night.

Three hours later it began getting dark out and as she had been driving for a long time, stopping very soon would be a good idea. When she pulled into Everwood, she cringed at the cheesiness the hamlet possesed. I bet they only have one doctor, she thought out loud.

Leaning forward she looked out the windshield for some place - any place - that looked like a hotel, or even a decent motel. Cleanliness aside, she was in desperate need of a good sleep, and motel beds were usually uncomfortable.

She saw an open diner and parked the car next to a black SUV, then locked the door and preceeded to enter the restaurant. A distinguished looking man sat at the counter laughing with a woman who looked as if she was in her mid-30s. Taking a seat at a corner table she looked around the room. An elderly couple entertained a young girl, and the other side of the room a man sat reading a newspaper.

The woman from the counter approached her with an order pad, Can I get you something to eat? She looked slightly concerned, and had a motherly look upon her face. It was endearing but the girl shook it off and replied,
Coffee- black, and a cherry danish please. Actually, can I have that to go? I'll just come up to the counter.
Sure, that's fine. I'm sure Andy will have some anecdote to amuse you while I get your order ready.

Oh, uh, Dr.Brown, he's one of the town's doctors, only people think he's crazy because his services are free. He's a funny guy, he has two kids. You're not getting any of this? Nina looked apologetic as they walked towards the front of the of the diner.
No, don't worry about it. I'm just not used to small town life.
Well, you should stick around and get used to it, Everwood's a pretty friendly place. A good place to set down roots. I'll be right back. Nina went behind the counter, leaving her to her own thoughts.

A good place to set down roots.' the sentence kept repeating itself over and over in her mind, and she couldn't help but think that something about this town was drawing her to it. Maybe she should stay. It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go, besides, she should probably get back to school as soon as possible.

The man beside her leaned over, as if intentionally trying to break her concentration. Can I help you? she glared at him with more attitude then she intended. Sorry, I'm just a little bit stressed out.
It's understandable, I have a son with the same problem.
Yeah, well, we sometimes think that we can relate totally separate things. she slapped five dollars down onto the counter and walked out of the diner, grabbing her cup of coffee and danish she made a quick exit, but once outside she hit a patch of ice she wasn't anticipating and ended up flat on her back, covered in scalding liquid. Her danish had flung itself from her hand and flown straight into the glass of the door with an unordinate amount of noise for a danish, which caused most of the occupants of the restaurant to look up, and cause a few to rise and see what the commotion was about.

Upon the arrival of Dr.Brown on the scene, she became aware of just how much pain she was actually in. When she tripped she had rolled her ankle, and when she landed she landed on her right wrist, and managed to slice her arm open fairly well on the ice. The inital shock of the hot coffee had taken away the pain from the others, but it had quickly cooled and the pain set in.

She was tired. Tired from running; tired from lack of sleep; tired from the pain; tired from being who she was. Sick of being empty inside. She closed her eyes and drifted away as unfamiliar arms lifted her up and began to walk.


// And though it's red blood bleeding from her now, it feels like cold blue ice in her heart. //