Breaking the Arm, Healing the Heart

by Ashley Andrews

  "Shut up."

  "Luke, hear me out."

  "No."

  "Lu-?"

  "Leave," Lucas said in a tone of finality and the way he sounded, so serious and so emotionless, made Sicily feel a little bit sorry for Mallory.

  Just a while ago, Mallory had made Sicily feel like crap, and now, it was Lucas who was giving Mallory a taste of her own medicine. Sicily knew she and Mallory were bitches, but even bitches had feelings. She wanted to sympathize Mallory and comfort her, but she just couldn't bring herself to do that, especially when memories of her past were coming back to haunt and remind her of how much her life used to suck because of the person crying in front of her.

  Finally Mallory stood up to leave. She opened the door, but soon stopped in her place. Mr. Mercer just arrived, and he saw, for sure, Mallory's tear-stained face, slightly swollen red eyes, and her solemn expression.

  Lucas already knew he was going to be blamed for what his father thought had taken place her. And then he’d be punished.

  "It's nice to see you again, Mallory," Lucas' father said, sounding slightly suspicious when he saw her look down when she saw him. "You should stop by soon when you…feel a little better."

  It was then that he turned to look at his son and gave him a disapproving nod.

  Mallory, on the other hand, put on the best smile she could muster, though it was still obvious she had been crying, before she said, "Of course I will," and then she left, the smile immediately gone.

  It didn’t take long for everyone else to leave. Sicily soon found herself alone with Lucas' dad, Lucas, and Theodore. She had just opened her mouth to say goodbye, when Lucas spoke up.

  "For the nth time," he said, still sounding pissed. "You aren't leaving. Mallory's not here anymore, so no one's forcing you."

  "Speaking of her," Don cut in. "What did you do to her to make her cry like that?"

  "Nothi-"

  "I didn't raise you up to treat women like that."

  "Good for me," Lucas said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Mom must be crying her eyes out right now because she’s being forced to separate from such a gentleman."

  Lucas struck a nerve, and he knew it, but he just didn't care. He wasn't scared of his father. He was taller, stronger, faster and more heavily built and to add that, he could throw a punch, and he do that if his father ever pushed him into it.

  "Lucas," he said, warning his son to stop. "Behave an-"

  "And if I don't?"

  "Don't try me," his father repeated, threatening him again.

  "Am I not doing it at the moment?" Lucas stood in his place with his good arm resting on his injured one. They were in the living room, but it was only Theodore who decided to sit down on one of the many imported couches their receiving area had.

  Sicily had no idea what the right thing to do was. She wanted to leave, but Lucas’ dad was punishing him for protecting Sicily. That wasn’t right. This was starting to get scary. Before she could say anything, his dad spoke up.

  "If you won't stop, then just get out of this house," Don said in a tone of finality. "And come back when you can obey me."

  Lucas didn't know what to do. He wanted to stay because in his house. This was the only home he’d every known. But he didn't want to feel that he had to do whatever his dad said, even when he was wrong. He still had money from his trust fund that could last him a long time, but he didn't want to depend on that. And what about Theodore? He couldn't bring his younger sibling with him, and he also didn't want to leave him. "You lost mom," he said, starting to walk. "I guess you're going to lose me too."

  "It's your choice." His father returned sounding unaffected, but deep inside he felt a tug at his heart.

  Sicily looked back at Lucas’ father and finally found her voice. “He was protecting me from Mallory’s hatred. This wasn’t right.” And she walked out the door.

  * * * * *

  "Pick up. Pick up. Pick up…" Lucas said to himself as he held his mobile up to his ear. At the moment, they were at some diner having a late evening meal. Lucas had suggested it, wanting someplace to think.

  Sicily didn't know anymore what to do with the guy in front of her. Despite all the drama, she was on his side, looking after him, and worse, she wasn't really pissed at him anymore. She was actually reconsidering what she thought of him. He wasn't so bad after all.

  "Mom!" Lucas said, relieved. "Where are you?"

  Sicily hadn’t expected him to call his mother, and when he did, she couldn't help but feel happy. At least he still had his mom after his father had abandoned him over something as stupid as Mallory’s tears. Lucas and his mom were talking on the phone. The conversation seemed casual and happy. To Sicily’s surprise, Lucas was actually smiling, something he seldom did.

  Discreetly, she watched his facial features and saw the way his lips curved up to form a smile that showed his dimples. His teeth were white, all straight and perfect. Sicily realized why Mallory and many other girls were obsessed with Lucas. He was drop-dead gorgeous, charming, and mysterious, when he wasn’t being an ass.

  He could be a bastard when he wanted and the complete opposite when he wished. Right now, at the diner, Sicily was able to see a much clearer picture of the more vulnerable Lucas Mercer.

  "You won't mind if I stay with you anyway, right?" Lucas asked a tiny glint of hope seen on his face. All of a sudden, his face fell and his lips curved down to form a frown. He leaned his elbow on the table and ran a hand through his already–messy hair. He didn't know what to do anymore. Everything that was happening just stressed him out. “Yeah," he said, losing the happiness that had been shining on his face just a second ago. "I'm with Sicily." Lucas scrunched up his nose before he made a few faces, some of which were cute and camera-worthy. After a while though, he nodded his head, as if he were agreeing to something, before he handed his cellular phone to Sicily, who hesitated before she took the handheld device.

  "Hello?" Sicily said with uncertainty, raising the phone up to her ear. "Hey Mrs. Mercer."

  "Sicily," she responded. "It's nice to talk to you again." Mrs. Mercer sounded hesitant and soon explained why she wanted to talk with her. "Sicily, is it too much to ask?" she asked her son's keeper. "Would your parents mind if Lucas lives with you for a few days or weeks?"

  "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but can't he stay with you?"

  "I've thought about it," Mrs. Mercer said, stopping for a second. "And I decided to not let my kids stay with me. I'm currently living in a suite, and as luxurious at that sounds, it isn't with lawyers coming in and out every day to talk about the divorce case. I don’t want them right in the middle of it."

  "Well, in that case," Sicily said, knowing she had no choice since she was talking to an adult. "I guess if my mom and dad say its okay." Sicily couldn't help but feel a mixture of both excitement and discomfort at the thought of having Lucas stay with her.

  "That's good to know," she then answered with a calm breath. "I'll call your parents and ask them formally, so that you don’t have to ask their permission."

  "Thanks, I guess," Sicily said, her voice trailing off.

  "Could you give Lucas back his phone, now?"

  Sicily handed him back his mobile. After a few minutes of watching Lucas nod and distort his face, Sicily finally turned her attention back to her food.

  A pair of cloudy grey eyes watched her. When he hung up the phone she frowned at him. "Why are you looking at me?" Sicily asked, her eyes moving to meet his gaze.

  "Where else do you want me to look?" he questioned in response, not taking his eyes away from hers. He hadn’t touched his burger.

  "At your food possibly?" she then returned with a small fake smile. "It's getting cold."

  Obligingly, he turned his attention to his food.

  Now it was Sicily's turn to study Luke. Even though he was much taller than her, with a height around 6'4", he still looked a little innocent, clueless, and vulnerable. She suddenly wondered if he liked her better wh
en she wasn’t around her cheerleading responsibilities and party–crazy friends. She only hoped he already saw some good in her since she was starting to see the better side of him, a side she was starting to like.

  "Sicily," Lucas said, letting go of his food for a moment, and in acknowledgement, the woman across him looked up with a smile.

  "Yeah?"

  "Thanks," he said, grinning. "I guess."

  Chapter 11: A New Home, A New Attitude

  It was a few hours before midnight when Lucas and Sicily arrived at her house. The moment she parked the car they headed up to the second floor of the mansion to get Lucas settled into his new room. The guest bedroom was pretty spacious. It was painted a pale green color and had transparent white curtains covering the shuttered windows. A king–sized bed sat in the middle of the longest wall, while a large office desk table occupied one of the corners. The bathroom and the walk-in closet were also good sized.

  Sicily walked into the room first, with Lucas following quietly behind, as he put his bags just beside the door. There was an awkward silence for a few minutes and the two avoided eye contact.

  Lucas finally broke the silence. "Where are your parents?" he asked, looking at anywhere but Sicily. "I want to make sure that they're fine with me staying over."

  Sicily looked up and grinned at the guy standing calmly before her and then said, "They're not here."

  "Oh."

  "Yes, oh," was Sicily's reply.

  Lucas's family had always been the loving type. Taking vacations together, going on hikes, spending lots of time and attention on the family group. They had been a tight-knit group. Many might not have expected this since Lucas had always been the cold emotionless player. His family life had been a different story though. And it was kind of sad to realize that Sicily had never experienced a family life like this. Lucas may have lost his family, but it seemed that Sicily had never really had one.

  "Are they always out?" Lucas asked as he took a space on the edge of the bed.

  Sicily sat Indian-style on the floor. She felt nervous and a little awkward in this situation. Lucas was going to stay with her, which meant they'd probably see each other every day, which was very unusual considering that she’d hated him just a month ago.

  But after spending time with him, it was hard to dislike the guy. She was actually starting to like him. The fact that he was both gorgeous and adorable didn’t hurt.

  "Yeah," she said in reply. "My mom's probably out with her socialite friends, and my dad's in some European country doing business."

  "Now that sucks,” was Lucas' reply.

  Sicily raised her eyebrows and asked, “Why would it?" she asked.

  "Don't you miss them?"

  Sicily smirked before she shook her head in disbelief. Did Lucas just ask that? If she missed her parents? Evidently the devil himself had a heart and thought she might be lonely. It was nice of him to think about her when his parents were about to be divorced.

  "I don’t believe you just asked me that," Sicily said, covering her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

  Lucas didn't know what he said wrong, but with the way Sicily snickered at him, he realized he had committed some mistake. She was grinning at him like he had just told her his deepest, darkest secret. He didn't get it. All he asked was if she missed her parents. "What did I say wrong?" he asked, disliking the fact that she seemed to be laughing at him with her eyes.

  "You just asked me if I missed my mom and my dad," she answered with a raised brow. "Why would I?" she questioned and after a while continued with a, "Should I?"

  "They're your parents."

  "Who have never been involved in, or an active presence in my life," Sicily finished quickly not giving Lucas ample time to explain what he said. “I had a nanny until I turned eleven, so did all of us kids. A slew of nannies really, so we never got used to or attached to one.

  Lucas shook his head and then ran a hand through his hair. He wasn't in the dark hallways of his house anymore and he needed to remember that. He was in a different house which meant different people with a whole new lifestyle and family relationships. Sicily's family, he soon realized, didn’t spend a lot of tine together. Worse, it seemed like they weren't bonded at all. Yet Lucas knew she loved her siblings and parents. Or why would she have had their names tattooed on her body?

  "Are you okay?" Sicily asked after just staring at Lucas for a couple of minutes. "You hardly blinked. Do you want to go back?"

  "Go back where?" Lucas questioned, and after a while, he finally got what she meant. "If you're talking about the hellhole, then no, I don't want to go back."

  "You aren’t really talking; do you want me to leave?" Sicily moved closer to him and bumped his shoulder with hers.

  "No, I can't help think about the differences," Lucas said in defense as he looked at her before turning back again to face the wall. "Your family's weird."

  "Oh, that."

  "Huh?" Lucas asked, starting to lose out on the pace of the conversation.

  "I know what you think about my family."

  "No, you don't,” was Lucas' defensive reply.

  "You think that we all have our own lives and that we don't bother to acknowledge one another's presence," she said. "I'm right, aren’t I?" she then asked which stunned Lucas into silence. "It's always been like that," she then continued, her voice trailing off.

  "And you're okay with that?" he asked in response as he looked at her again, but this time, his gaze stayed right on her. She seemed fully okay with their conversation and the state of her family. Lucas wasn't though.

  "Yeah, it's not a big thing for us, really."

  Lucas couldn't help it anymore. He just needed to know. "If my family were like that, do you think my mom would still divorce my father?"

  Sicily didn't know what she was supposed to say to that question. She wasn’t a therapist and didn’t really understand what was going on in his home. How could she make him feel better? It was so hard to understand and keep up with him, and she didn't want to make things worse.

  “If your family acted like mine, it wouldn’t be your family. You want things to go back to how they were before, and unfortunately we don’t ever get a chance to redo the really hard parts of our lives.” Sicily sighed as she thought about a few things she’d like to change if she could. "So, you can’t let this drag you down. You have to man up, and soon you will have to stop acting like that," she said, resting a hand on his shoulder.

  "Acting like what?"

  "A child," Sicily answered, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows.

  "I'm eighteen," Lucas said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  "Tell your mind that. You have a couple of months until school is over, and you can go wherever you want, do whatever you want to do, because you are an adult. So really, what your parents do means zip to the rest of your life, right? But it really sucks to be Theodore right now."

  Lucas didn't know if he was supposed to feel offended, but he didn't harbor any ill feeling towards Sicily. He just felt slightly annoyed. But she was right, probably. He might have been sulking, but he had the right to feel hurt. His parents were fucking getting a divorce.

  "It's not my fault my family's falling apart right before my eyes," he said to her. "But it's not like you'd understand."

  "Now stop acting like a girl," Sicily cut in before he could say any more emo statements. "It's not the end of the world."

  "That's easy for you to say."

  "Maybe it is, but you're just making it hard on yourself," she then told him. "Just accept it. They're not going to change their decision; this is just the next phase of your life."

  "What do you want me to do? I can't help it, you know," he said, rolling his eyes.

  "So take tonight and wallow in your self-pity. Then decide if you want to allow your parents to dictate the tone of the rest of your life. You are responsible for how you feel, and what you do. You can’t do anything about them. So grow up."

  * * * * *


  Sicily was awakened by the sound of knocking on her door. It took her a few minutes before she finally got up and answered it. Sleepy-eyed and yawning, she opened the door to find Bailey on the other side, her arms crossed over her chest. The two exchanged questioning glances before Sicily finally stepped back to let her friend in, “What’s up?” she asked, “Need anything?"

  Bailey entered the room and plopped herself down on the bed before she lay down on it. "What is Mercer doing in your house so early in the morning?" she asked, her lips forming a thin line.

  "I could ask you the same thing?"

  "In his pajamas?" she then questioned. "He didn't sleep here, did he?"

  Sicily could only smile at her closest girl friend before she nodded her head. The two stared at each other, they eye’s getting bigger by the second.

  "No way," Bailey said grinning as she held threw a small pillow at her friend. "No way!"

  "What do you want me to say?" Sicily asked disliking the look in Bailey's eyes.

  "That you two hooked up last night."

  Sicily laughed before she hit her friend on the shoulder and told her to. “Shut up!” The two exchanged evil grins before they stood up and decided to head down to join Lucas for breakfast. Sicily still remembered what happened the night before and their conversation where she told Lucas to grow up. Hopefully, he had already forgotten about that or he could just pretend to be thankful and not stay mad at her.

  "So, how did this happen again?" Bailey asked as she encircled Sicily's arm with hers.

  Sicily pushed her friend into an empty room and then quickly went through last nights events. It took about fifteen minutes to condense everything and answer about a million questions from Bailey about her beach outing with Lucas, the get-together he had with his friends, the fight with Mallory, Lucas' argument with his father, their argument, and about his staying over at her place for a week or two. By the end of the narration, Sicily was out of breath while Bailey was smiling maniacally.

  "Wow, I leave you alone for a single day and look what happens. Girl you have been buussyy. I still hate him, but it seems like you don't anymore," she teased and grinned.