Breaking the Arm, Healing the Heart

by Ashley Andrews

  Lucas found her staring out over the sea. He reached her side and put a hand on her arm. The first thing he said was, "I want to make it up to you."

  "You don't have to, really," she said, drying her face.

  "But I want to," he said grinning.

  It was the first she’d actually seen him look genuinely happy.

  "That was harsh what I said back there. I shouldn’t have brought up the past.”

  "I never did drugs, Lucas," she said firmly.

  "But Mallory wouldn't say those kinds of thi-"

  "Yes, she would," she cut in. “Especially if she wanted you to like her, not me. That’s why it’s your fault. I had to change my entire life because of Mallory’s very harmful lies.” She stopped and let him think about that for a minute. "So if you really want to say you’re sorry, you can start by getting a tattoo or piercing. You turned 18 a few days ago, didn’t you?" she challenged, not expecting him to accept. Anything.

  Lucas' eyes widened in surprise, not just about the piercing, but that she’d known it was his birthday last week. His family hadn’t celebrated it. No one had even mentioned it to him. And his parents would have a screaming fit if he got a piercing or a tattoo.

  Lucas stopped and looked out over the ocean. And what did he care what either of his parents thought. They certainly didn’t care about him, which was pretty obvious when he hadn’t even gotten a birthday cake this year.

  He seriously hadn’t expected Sicily to dare him to get a piercing or tattoo in an effort to prove that he was sorry.

  What if Sicily was telling the truth? Had Mallory lied about Sicily taking drugs and all that other stuff to turn Lucas’ attention from the pretty dark-haired girl to herself. Lucas struggled to think back all those years, about five or six…to the beginning of middle school. He’d thought Sicily was really pretty. And his parents had been friends with her parents. At that time they had spent some time together.

  Mallory hadn’t been shy, she’d told him she liked him, but he had said he liked someone else. He hadn’t told her it was Sicily. But what if she’d guessed?

  What if Mallory had said all those things about Sicily using drugs, just to get his attention away from her friend? And Sicily had been forced to change schools, friends, and had gone through all kinds of hell, just because Mallory had lied, because of him. Shit, it couldn’t be, could it?

  He turned his attention back to Sicily. If Mallory did this to her, he wanted to make it up somehow. Even if she was exaggerating Mallory’s involvement, there was no way Mal was innocent in all this.

  Besides, he liked the idea of getting the piercing just to stick it to his parents.

  Might as well let Sicily think he was doing this for her. Maybe she’d be a little bit nicer to him. He was definitely going to figure out what had happened there. Where was the truth?

  He looked at Sicily and saw how sad she looked. It was a different side of her, and suddenly, he realized something, her weakness was her past. He had wanted to know what her greatest weakness was, and now he knew. It was something to file away for later. They were even now, she knew his weakness was Theodore, hers was the past.

  His parents would hate it if he got a piercing. "I'll get a tongue piercing," he said, feeling as if that answer would just take care of so many things in his life. "Maybe Tanner is right and it will come in handy that next time I kiss a girl on New Years Eve."

  * * * * *

  The tattoo and piercing parlor they went to was the same one Sicily went to when she got her bellybutton piercing. She’d also had her ears pierced her, and talked to a tattoo artist about a tattoo. They had her parental consent form on file so she wouldn’t have to worry about being turned away.

  When Lucas opened the door and made Sicily go in first, a bell chimed. The noise made everyone instinctively look over to Sicily and Lucas.

  Sicily recognized a few faces and greeted those she knew by name.

  "Hey Sicily," her close friend, Carlo, greeted before he looked at Lucas. "A friend?"

  Sicily turned her head to the side to be able to study Luke, but he was looking at the clock that hung on the wall. He seemed nervy with the way his arms moved restlessly at his sides and it made Sicily let out a small chuckle. Who knew a piercing could make Marina Del Ray's King all fidgety and worried?

  "No, we're not friends," she said, smiling sheepishly.

  "Oh," Carlo resounded. "So you guys are dating, huh?"

  Again, Sicily could only laugh softly before she opened her mouth to answer once again and said, "I'm babysitting him."

  It seemed like the whole place went dead silent the moment Sicily said that, and Carlo and the other workers eyed each other before they turned their attention back to their customers.

  Lucas, feeling slightly humiliated, bent his head down to whisper to Sicily, "Don't you know how small and weak that makes me feel?"

  Sicily stared at him before she smiled sheepishly. She looked away, then headed over to one of the chairs, sat on it and patted an empty one beside her.

  Only nodding in silence, Lucas obligingly sat down, and leaned comfortably against the leather cushioning. He had no idea what he’d just got himself into.

  "Hi, I’m Carlo, you must be Sicily’s not-friend," Carlo said, grinning. "What do you want to get today?"

  Lucas turned his head to be able to look at Sicily, and he sent her this deadly but worried look.

  Sicily could only smirk before she reached her hand out to be able to squeeze his arm. She didn't exactly know how he felt because she was so used to needles. She had four piercings on both ears, one on her stomach, and she was planning to get her tattoo while Lucas was had his tongue pierced.

  He turned back to Carlo. "I want to get my tongue pierced," Lucas said, not waiting for Sicily to say anything anymore. "Just make this fast."

  "It will be. Don't worry," Sicily spoke up. "And while I’m waiting for you, I'm going to get a tattoo okay?"

  “Sicily, I know your parental consent is on file, do you have one?” he asked Lucas.

  “I’m 18,” Lucas replied, taking out his driver’s license, showing it to Carlo. He turned back to Sicily and said, "You're crazy. Either you're the reigning Queen of Fear Factor or you’re just doing this to impress me."

  "I think I prefer the latter reason," she said, smirking. "It sure hurts your pride, doesn't it?"

  "Hell, yeah."

  Sicily smiled one last time before she laid a reassuring hand on Lucas' shoulder and then she went to the other side of the parlor for her tattoo.

  She went over to see Muriel. She had talked to the woman several times before as she was setting up the approval for the tattoo and discussing options for her first ink. Muriel had been doing this for years, and had a love of the art, as was evident by the array of tattoos inked on both arms. Muriel liked a gothic theme for her own artwork, but she had assured Sicily that she could do anything.

  "Hey Sicily," Muriel said. "Have you figured out your design?"

  Sicily sat on one of the reclining chairs and nodded her head. She told Muriel what kind of design she’d settle on, actually taking a piece of paper out of her purse. It was a quick drawing she’d done of her idea. “It’s a small flower with a long intertwining stem made up of the names of the people I love and care for the most. I would like my mom and dad: John and Serena. My siblings: Matt, Jamie, and Nathaniel. And my best, long time friend: Zane, to be on the vines. I had thought about including Bailey, one of my girlfriends, but I don’t know.”

  .

  "That's a nice one," Muriel said, smiling genuinely. "Elegant, beautiful and personal."

  "That was the point," Sicily said laughing before she flashed her pearl-white teeth. "I want it to be on my left foot."

  “Not a problem. Let’s think about the girlfriend’s name. Esthetically you will have six vines right now, add Bailey and its seven, so not a big deal. But if she moved away tomorrow, would you miss her?”

  Sicily just stared at Muriel. Would sh
e miss Bailey if she moved tomorrow, or would Vanessa just take her place? “Ouch. I don’t think I know the answer to that question, and if I don’t, I probably don’t want her name on my foot.”

  “Good point, and with this design, you can actually add a couple more vines with names sometime down the line. I think we're all set up." Muriel nodded at the tray with the ink and disinfectant.

  With that, Sicily leaned against the chair she was on and looked at Muriel who was preparing the ink and the needle which she firmly locked at the bottom part of this electricity-powered instrument. She turned the thing on and Sicily heard this electronic sound and saw the needle going up and down in an extremely fast pace. She closed her eyes, and before she knew it, Muriel had started.

  It took longer than Sicily had though it would. Some of the colors had to be done a couple times. Most of the area hadn’t really bothered her, there were a few spots that were so painful they brought tears to her eyes. When it was done she opened her eyes and looked at her foot. It was slightly bruised and a little bloody. The finished product made her smile. She loved it.

  Muriel cleaned up her foot and wrapped it for the day.

  "It's wonderful!" Sicily squealed excitedly, opening her arms widely to take Muriel in for a hug. "You did a great job!"

  Muriel smiled before she said, "I'm happy I didn't make any mistakes," and grinned and continued once again. "You'd probably kill me if I end up messing up your foot."

  "Don't you dare," she said feigning a threatening tone. "I'd probably sue you."

  The two women shared a laugh before they headed over to the cashier for Sicily to pay for her tattoo. After handing over the few hundred dollars, she went over to Muriel and gave her a large tip for a great job. Once again, the two shared a tight embrace, and when they pulled away, Sicily turned to find Lucas waiting for her at the front door. His face was red.

  "How'd it go?" she said, limping slightly.

  "Ik hurts wery much," he replied, frowning.

  "Why the long face?" she asked and then opened the door to leave.

  She turned and waved goodbye to everyone and they all returned her wave with shouts of either, "Goodbye!" or "See ya!" or "Take care!"

  She steered Lucas towards the Starbucks next door. As far as she was concerned this was the end of their walk on the beach.

  They went inside before Lucas answered her question, "Howl the fuck amf I suppose to go tos schools stalking like thiss?"

  Sicily couldn't help but laugh loudly while the people around her, especially the cashier woman in Starbucks, looked at her with raised eyebrows. She shrugged her shoulders and simply ignored everyone to focus on Lucas and his pierced tongue. “Do you want something?”

  “I dof, but I donf’t reylly knowf what I canf havle. There’sss a lisst of stuff to stafy awafy from,” he said in a pitiful tone of voice.

  Sicily clamped her lips together to make sure she didn’t laugh again. He’d kind of done this as a way of saying he was sorry. She shouldn’t make fun of him. “Let me see the list,” she said and held out her hand. She read the instructions. “While your tongue piercing heals you should avoid tobacco, alcohol, large amounts of caffeine, oral sexual contact, including French kissing, chewing gum, and playing with jewelry during healing. You should also avoid spicy, hot, salty, or acidic foods for a while. These can cause stinging and burning sensations on and near the piercing.” Now Sicily laughed. “Man, no making out for you. But it looks like a cold, non-caffeinated, non-fruit drink would be good for you. I bet the ice would help with the swelling. How about a Vanilla Bean Frappe?”

  Lucas simply nodded.

  "Tanner's going to make fun of you," she said.

  They left the cashier and headed over to the receiving end of Starbucks. After a few minutes of waiting, Sicily was handed her Mocha Frappe, and Lucas got his white, Vanilla Bean.

  She watched while he took a tentative sip, relaxing when the tight look around his eyes eased just a bit. The cold drink must have helped with the pain.

  "You knows Zack's gonna hate syoo more for making me do thiss."

  Sicily hadn't thought about that ever since…forever. She completely forgot Zack was mad at her for revealing to the whole world Mallory's deep dark secret which he, himself, didn't even know about. Thinking about it, she got worried and scared. She didn't want to get on the bad side of any of Lucas' friends, especially when things were starting to get better between the both of them.

  "Don't remind me about him, and as far as Zack is concerned, I didn’t make you do anything." She grinned.

  "Syoo already knows he doessn't like syoo," Lucas said which made Sicily roll her eyes.

  "Way to make me feel better," she answered as she led him to her car.

  "I didn't ssay anyfhing about wanting to mayke syoo feel betters," Lucas returned smirking.

  Sicily pushed Lucas in the arm, and before she knew it, Lucas was groaning while he knelt down on the asphalt of the parking lot. She didn't know what happened to her company. He was big. She never thought pushing him would do any kind or form of damage.

  "Whyf you push mee?" Lucas shouted.

  "Because you were joking," was her answer. "And I always do that!"

  "I accfivenfally bift my tonguef!" he said in a loud voice.

  Sicily knelt down beside him and cupped his face to be able to look him in the eyes. She then tried to open his mouth and check if his tongue was still okay and intact. His tongue was redder than usual and then she saw the piercing. It was only a simply round metal but it looked beautiful…inside his mouth.

  "Ift you waft to kees me, all you haff to do iz askf," he said, and immediately, Sicily let go of his face.

  "Don't even think about it," she said, limping to her side of the car.

  She waited for Lucas to get in the passenger side of her Audi, and when he did, she turned the engine on and drove back to Lucas' home. It was around six in the evening, and she only had two more hours to go before she could leave her babysitting job and enjoy her time without having to worry about Lucas.

  Today had been better than the other days she spent with him, but that still didn't make her happy with her punishment. She had barely hung out with Zane and the rest ever since she injured Lucas' arm, and she knew she was missing out on everything.

  "Thanfk God, we're bafck," he said, getting out of the car quickly.

  They made their way inside his house and immediately headed to the second floor. The mansion was usually quiet, unless Zack and Tanner where here, but the silence disturbed Sicily. It felt wrong somehow. Then she heard the sobs. They seemed to be coming from a room at the end of the long hallway.

  "Do you hear that?" she said, tugging Lucas' arm.

  "Hearf whaft?" he asked, sounding irritated for no particular reason.

  "I think someone's crying…" she whispered.

  They were getting closer to the sound, and all at once Lucas jerked his head to focus on the door of the room she had suspected the sound was coming from.

  Sicily was sure he finally heard the heartbreaking cries. Before she knew it, he was running to the room. Sicily realized then who was crying. It was Theodore.

  Lucas flung the door open and in a few long strides, he got to his brother and enveloped him into a tight embrace. He didn't know the reason for Theo's crying, all he wanted was for him to stop. "Whaft's wrongs?" Lucas said, lisping around his swollen tongue.

  Theodore eyed his older brother and frowned. It was obvious he wanted to ask Lucas why he was speaking like that, but he needed to tell him the reason for his crying. For a young boy, he understood a lot, and his parents probably didn't know that. They had no idea how heartbreaking it was for their small boy when they’d told him the news about their 'separation'.

  "Mommy told daddy she needed space and he said the same to her," he said, his crying stopped slowly. "They're getting a divorce, aren't they?"

  Lucas didn't know how he was going to answer Theodore. He was too shocked with the news. He let go
of his brother. He wanted to slap himself for being so stupid and blind. Why didn't he see it coming? His parents fought all the time. They even argued in front of Sicily. But he seriously hadn’t expected this. He’d never seen it coming.

  He was sure if Sicily were in his position, she would've seen it coming. He looked at her and saw the pity on her face, and that made him mad. He didn’t need her pity, he didn’t need anyone’s pity. "Leafe," he said to her, not even turning around to face her.

  Sicily just stood there. Did she really hear what she just heard? They spent the whole day together, teasing and irritating one another, and in the end, he was just going to tell her to leave. That was rash…and…just too harsh.

  "Didfn't syoo hear me?" Lucas said, his voice emotionless. "I sssaid leafe."

  Sicily turned around and left the room after whispering a soft goodbye to the Mercer siblings. She didn't wait for an answer from any of them and took her time going down the stairs, leaving the mansion.

  Suddenly Sicily thought about her own siblings. Not just Matt, but her older ones. She missed them. No matter how much they annoyed the hell out of her at times, they were still her family. That was one reason she’d had their names tattooed into her flesh. And they were so far away. Her older sister Jamie was in Paris taking a design course, while Nathaniel was in some part of Africa, she thought maybe Egypt, working as an archaeologist. She worried about him being in those places.

  She got in her car and drove away, and when she got home, she called Zane.

  She wanted to call Vanessa and Bailey and ask them to go out with her but she was too tired for that kind of entertainment. They would probably think she had turned into a killjoy.

  Without hesitating Zane agreed to an informal dinner at Sicily's house. They decided to just call Pizza Hut to deliver their pie, and they could watch movies all night long.

  "That is the best idea I’ve heard in a long time," Zane said and this caused Sicily to smile.

  "It's definitely better than going out," she returned, chuckling.

  "I'll see you in thirty."