Shattered Wall
225 Words
Chapter One: Shattered Walls
Cathrina Brooks used to believe that families stayed whole no matter what. But lately, her house had become a battlefield—voices rising, doors slamming, silence filling the spaces that used to hold laughter.
Her mother, once gentle and calm, now argued with her father every other night about bills, about trust, about things Cathrina couldn’t fully understand.
She would lie in bed listening, wishing she could fix everything—but she was just eighteen, stuck between childhood and adulthood, watching her home fall apart.
When her parents finally decided to “take a break,” it didn’t feel temporary. Her father moved out with only a suitcase and a sad smile. Cathrina’s heart broke quietly that day—not from romance, but from the kind of pain that changes how you see love forever.
At school, she stopped talking as much. Her grades slipped. The laughter that once came so easily became forced. Until one day, someone noticed.
His name was Edward Hale—the quiet guy from her literature class. He wasn’t the loud or popular type; he was thoughtful, often found sketching in a notebook near the old oak tree behind campus.
He didn’t try to fix her sadness. He just sat with it. That’s how their story began—not with fireworks, but with silence and understanding.
- Writer
