Broken

Back to the Beginning

Chapter 1.

Sam

I arrive at school with my schedule in hand, avoiding all eye contact. I hear whispers as I walk past, and I faintly hear someone say “is that her?!” Starting in the middle of the school year was a bad idea but I didn’t really have a choice. After my mom died last month, I got shipped off to live with my dad, Charlie. I haven’t seen him since I was 14 years old, and I liked it that way. Charlie has always lived in this small town, and so did I until my mom relocated us over 600 miles away to Savannah, Georgia. I grew up with some of these kids, but it’s been years since I’ve seen or spoken to them.

I find my locker and quickly try to open it, messing up and feeling my face go flush as I hear more whispering. Finally, on the 3rd try I get it open and throw my books in there, just grabbing what I need for my morning classes. Closing the locker door, I quickly turn and head towards my first class not paying attention to what’s in front of me, and hitting a solid wall, dropping everything in the process of trying to steady myself. “s**t” I murmur to myself. Looking up I realize it wasn’t a wall but a gorgeous, muscular man. Double s**t.

“Ss-orry, I I didn’t see you there” I stuttered focusing on picking up my books.

“Yeah, I noticed. Are you okay?”

Surprised by the sound of genuine concern, I stop what I’m doing and look at him. Really taking in his features for the first time since nearly being knocked over. He’s more than gorgeous. This man is a God. A natural tan, dark hair, bright blue eyes, and just the right amount of facial hair, God. I feel my heart beating fast and I’m not sure if it’s from the whiplash of hitting his solid frame or his beautiful looks. He’s staring at me with a concerned look on his face and I quickly let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“Yes. I’m sorry it was my fault, I was rushing to class not wanting to be late and I didn’t see you. Thanks for helping me…” waiting for a name when he quickly inserts “Ryan”. “Ryan. Ok, um, sorry again I really have to go.”

I rushed off in the direction he was coming from hoping to get as far away from him as possible.

I finally made my way to English class and found a seat in the middle just as the bell rang. At least I wasn’t late, I thought to myself, taking in a deep breath, and letting it out trying to focus on class and not what just happened in the hallway with that gorgeous god-like man.

Class starts and Mrs. Walker, a middle-aged women with a serious case of resting b***h face stands at the board reminding the class that their research papers are due Friday when she notices me and stops midsentence.

“.. and who are you?”

“I’m uhh… Ssam. My name is Sam Harrison.”

“Oh yes. I was told I would have a new student.”

“Everyone, this is Sam Harrison. She is a transfer from Georgia. Be kind and show her around.”

Everyone stares at me, but no one says a word. In the back of the class, I hear some snickering and more whispering and then the teacher starts talking again about next week’s lesson. It would be the start of Shakespeare. Perfect. Knowing I did that last year I zoned out the window watching the wind rustle the trees until the bell rang, ending class. The rest of my morning classes were pretty much the same – introducing the new student and giving me assignments to get caught up. By my 4th period class, I was in a routine that wasn’t too bad. The whispering seemed to become less and less with each class.

I found a seat in my social studies class, excited to see how this goes. Social studies has always been my favorite subject, nothing could change that, not even … “What the… f.. s**t”, I whisper as I duck my head hoping Ryan, who just walked into class, doesn’t see me. No luck. He looks directly at me, smiles, and walks over to the desk next to mine where another student is sitting. I pretend not to see him and look at the board. I hear Ryan tell the intimidated looking kid to move to a different seat so he can sit there, and I’m caught off guard. The audacity of that ass-hat. Still pretending not to notice him, I continue to look at the board, waiting for the teacher, while I feel him stare at me, with a slight smile on his lips. Jerk. After another minute I give in and look at him. “Are you going to tell me to move too?” I say with sarcasm. His smile broadens and he retorts back “Not at all darling.” I roll my eyes and turn back towards the board as our teacher walks in, eyes searching for me.

Another class, another teacher, another introduction. This time my teacher, Mr. Craig, made me stand up and introduce myself, making this easily my new least favorite class. Reluctantly, I do as I’m told, standing, and nearly tripping over the leg of my desk. Perfect. New school, same clumsy me.

“Hi. I’m Sam. I uhh, moved back here last month from Savannah.”

“Welcome back Sam. Here’s hoping you like Rohoboth High.”

I looked at my teacher and gave a small smile, hoping it was enough and with a nod, signaling it was, I made my way back to my desk, avoiding Ryan’s gaze. Class continued and although I tried to pay attention to what Mr. Craig was saying, all I could focus on was Ryan’s eyes on me. What is so interesting about my face that he hasn’t stopped looking at it since he walked into class? Is there something wrong with me? Is he trying to get enough details to make fun of me with his friends later? After basically forcing that kid out of his seat, I wouldn’t put it past him.

After the longest 45 minutes of my life, the bell rang and I quickly left class, trying to find my way to the cafeteria. The more distance between us the better. I don’t even know the guy but being too close to him has my nerves on edge. I follow a crowd of students to the cafeteria and get in line, hoping I don’t see Ryan for the rest of the day. I grab a lifeless salad, sun chips and a poweraid, pay and scan the room for an empty table. In my attempt to find one, I spot Ryan sitting at what looks to be the jocks table. The table is filled with equally muscular men and beautiful, mean girl looking, cheerleaders. One of the guys’ nods in my direction causing Ryan to turn his attention to me raising his brows with a slight smile on his lips. I put my head down and make my way to the other side of the room where there is a small table by the window and close to the door. Perfect location for a quick get away at the end of the period.

The rest of the day seems to go smoothly, and Ryan isn’t in any of my afternoon classes. My last class ends, and I head to my locker to grab my things and head home. After a 15 minute walk in the cold February weather, I make it to my house and see Charlie is already home. s**t, hopefully it’s nothing bad. I slowly head in the house and see him on the couch, drinking a beer and watching the game. I try to sneak up to my room but fail.

“Sam is that you?”

“Yyeah, dad. I just got home. I have a lot of homework to do I was going to head to my room to get started.”

“What no kiss for your dad?” he says with a slur.

I say nothing but make my way over to him and kiss him on the cheek, heart racing as flashbacks try to poke through.

“That’s my girl. Now get dinner started, I’m hungry.”

“Ook. Spaghetti okay?”

He waves me off, so I take that as a yes and sigh in relief. So far so good. 20 minutes later dinner is done. I quickly serve Charlie a plate and take mine upstairs, thankful he didn’t stop me to try to have a family dinner.

Once in my room, I quickly shut and lock my bedroom door. I kick off my shoes, take out my books and sit on my bed, eating my bowl of spaghetti while I get my homework ready. An hour in and my homework is done. I hear noises downstairs and I stiffen up hoping Charlie doesn’t try to come up here but instead the front door opens and shuts loudly behind him, and I hear his truck start up. I slow my breathing down and make my way to the kitchen to clean up after dinner.

The house is a mess. Dishes are everywhere, empty beer bottles everywhere, and the trash overflowing. I quickly clean everything up, running the dishwasher, taking out the trash, recycling the empty bottles and wiping down all the surfaces. Once the kitchen was cleaned, I looked around and noticed how nice it really is, catching me by surprise with granite countertops, white cabinets, new hardwood floors and a cozy 3 person dining room table. This isn’t the Charlie I grew up with when I was a child. Maybe he really did change, except for the mess he seems to always leave around. I make my way throughout the rest of the downstairs, cleaning up everything and noticing how different this house looks from when I was a kid. It’s nice but it’s not my home. Home is in Savannah where my mom is buried. I think about the night of her accident almost every day. The look on her face when she realized the car was not going to stop. She tried to block me from most of the impact, but at the cost of her life. All because of a stupid driver trying to race the light. I lost my mom that night.

I clear the thoughts from my head and grab another quick shower before going to sleep, realizing just how exhausted I am from such an eventual first day. I spend the night tossing and turning, but instead of my normal nightmare, I dream of him. Them electric blue eyes.