Breaking the Arm, Healing the Heart

by Ashley Andrews

  She left the school and made her way back home. Even though her eyes were on the road, she knew that Lucas was looking at her, staring even. She just got that feeling, and she didn't know if she liked or hated it. It was nice to know that someone as drop-dead gorgeous as Lucas was staring at her and it would also be fine if she could look back at him with the same intensity, without feeling awkward.

  "Why are you looking at me?" she asked when the hairs on her arms stood up, marking her nervousness.

  "How'd you know?"

  "I just got that feeling."

  Lucas rubbed the back of his neck with his palm before he rested his hands on the dashboard and started drumming his fingers against it. Both of them weren't used to the silence, Lucas decided to have another go and talk about her past.

  "Mallory told me she lied about everything," he said, reaching for Sicily's free hand.

  Sicily acted on instincts when she pulled her hand away from Lucas. It wasn't that she didn't want him to hold her hand. It was just that it was happening at the wrong time. She didn't want him to hold her hand just because he felt sorry for her, and if she ever let him hold her hand, it should be because he wanted to.

  "What does everything mean?"

  "She lied about the things she said about you," Lucas said. "You know, about all the scandalous things you supposedly did."

  Sicily swallowed hard. What was she going to say? "Past is past. I don't want to dwell on it," she said, looking anywhere else but at Lucas.

  Lucas got the feeling that she didn't want to talk about it. It was obvious in the way she avoided eye contact with him, and in the way her body stiffened the moment he said Mallory's name. He knew he had to stop talking about it, but because of her agitation, his curiosity rose. He didn't want to be left in the dark.

  "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

  "Ask away."

  "Did you really take anti-depressants?"

  She kept quiet, and he forced her to say something. "I said you could ask, but I never told you I'd answer."

  This made Lucas laugh. She was one smart girl, he thought, and secretive too. Once more, he tried to reach for her hand, and finally, she let him hold it.

  It was a sweet gesture considering it was Lucas. He wasn’t really the cold-hearted bastard she’d once thought him to be. He rubbed her hand with his finger and drew invisible circles on it. Before he knew it, she had parked the car and turned the ignition off. She pulled her hand away from him.

  "How'd you know I took those?" she asked when he didn't speak.

  "You fought with Mallory, remember?" he said, and in response, she nodded. “She mentioned the anti-depressants during the fight."

  "Oh."

  They entered her house in silence, and Lucas couldn't help but feel sorry for Sicily. With her quietness and anxiety, he now knew how much she didn't want to talk about her past. He honestly got kind of freaked out when she didn’t insult or question him in an irritated tone.

  "Hey," he said. "I’m craving fast-food, wanna go get some?"

  Sicily looked at him, her eyes full of emotions that were tugging at his heart. The offer was nice, but she didn't need his pity. "You feel sorry for me, don't you?" People were always like that. Every time someone would find out about what happened to her, he or she would spoil her or try to soothe her with useless words. Now, Lucas was bribing her into eating with him.

  "No! I mean…-uh" he said stuttering. "I feel bad, but I don't. Umm…just come with me, please?" he then finished, curving his lips up before he stuck his tongue out and showed off his piercing.

  And how could she ever reject the wide smile and dimples on his face?

  "Under one condition," she said with a small smile.

  "I promise I won't talk about anything related to your pas-"

  "No, that's not the condition," Sicily replied, laughing and punching him in the arm.

  "Oh," he said, his cheeks blushing crimson. "My bad. Then what do you want?"

  "Bring Theodore with us," she replied beaming and Lucas couldn't help but grin as well.

  * * * * *

  Sicily and Lucas drove off to the Mercer residence, and once they got there, they hurriedly grabbed Theodore. Lucas didn't know whether his dad was home, and if he was, he didn't want to risk seeing him. They didn’t stop for a drink, a bathroom break, nothing. They ran in, got Theodore, and left. The three of them headed over to the nearest fast-food place, which was McDonald's. When they got there, Sicily turned off her engine and unlocked the car.

  "Where have you been?" Theodore asked, facing his brother as Sicily helped him get out of the car.

  The ten-year old stood in between the two teenagers before he got each of their hands and pulled them closer to him. Sicily smiled. Onlookers probably thought they were a family.

  "I've been staying with Sicily," was Lucas' casual reply. "What about you? What have you been doing for the past few days?"

  "Nothing special."

  Sicily eyed the two guys with her and noticed how each of them avoided eye contact with the other. She saw how much Lucas was trying, trying to say something that would smooth over any hurt feelings. But Theodore wasn’t having it.

  Confusion etched the ten-year-old's face. He bent his head down and kicked at the ground.

  Sicily wanted to say something, but she didn't want to interrupt.

  "Oh, come on," Lucas said, trying on an awkward laugh. "I'm sure you can do better than that.

  "No, I can't."

  Lucas' eyes darkened. "I don't believe you," he then quipped, his voice sounding forceful and demanding.

  "Lucas," Sicily cut in, placing a soft hold on the guy's shoulder. "Stop." Now was not the time to have a pissing contest with his brother. Surely he realized that? She fixed her gaze on him, and he acknowledged her by nodding his head. She pulled on the sleeve of his shirt before she put a hand on one of his shoulders. She just wanted the two guys in her company to relax and enjoy one another, but it seemed an impossible task at the moment.

  "Let's just grab a bite, okay?" she asked the both of them. "Or would you guys prefer to watch a movie?

  "Really? We can go see a movie?" Theodore asked with an huge smile on his face.

  He then turned his head to look at his older brother who nodded his head and smiled in return.

  "Sure. I think Step Up 2 is still showing," Lucas replied and quickly got a slap on the shoulder from Sicily.

  Aside from the slap, Sicily tiptoed and leaned her head closer to the other guy's ear to be able to whisper to him. Her breathing was hot on his neck, and though he would never admit to his friends or to anyone for that matter, he liked feeling her breath on his skin, particularly on his neck. It made him hot.

  "I see your skills with children are at an all-time low if they haven’t died out all together," the woman whispered into his ear. "Step Up 2? Were you serious?"

  "And you can do better?" he quipped back smirking. "I'd like to see you try."

  Sicily returned Lucas' smirk with one of her own. Then bent down and placed her hands on her knees.

  Behind her, she heard Lucas say teasingly, "A bitch will always be a bitch."

  To prove him wrong, she put on her best smile and asked Theodore if he wanted to watch Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who.

  Theodore shouted his answer, “Yes!”

  Sicily grinned and nodded her head before turned her attention back to Lucas. "How's that for trying?" she asked, eyes gleaming mischievously. "Being bitchy is a conscious choice, not an ingrained personality trait.”

  Lucas shook his head.

  "You're still a bitch to me and will forever be one."

  She turned her lips up into a smirk. "I’ll take that as a compliment."

  Chapter 14: Damn High School

  With Theodore attached to Lucas' hip, Sicily decided to leave the two alone to bond, while she stood in line and bought tickets for the three of them. For a weekday, the theater was crowded. There seemed to be a sea of people entering and ex
iting the cinemas, lining up for tickets and buying popcorn and other finger foods.

  Sicily was just staring off into space when she noticed a couple headed towards her. Holding hands, Bryce and Mischa walked up to her, and the two women exchanged hesitant smiles before Bryce pulled Sicily into a rather awkward hug.

  "I'm sorry about a while ago," he whispered referring to what happened at the gym with Lucas.

  Sicily decided to just let it ago. They were outside of school, and she didn't want to cause a scene. Besides, they'd been friends for too long, and she didn't want their relationship with one another to just vanish because of a stupid argument they had.

  "Apology accepted," she said, smiling weakly before she noticed Bryce's protective arm around Mischa's waist. "I see you two are trying to work things out," she added.

  "Yeah, no choice," Bryce answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "She's carrying my child."

  "Stop it," Mischa replied in between laughs. "You're really such an ass!"

  Sicily discreetly eyed Mischa. As a supposed friend of Mallory's, she was suspicious as far as Sicily was concerned. She really didn’t like the clothes Mischa wore, the word skank came to mind. The micro-mini skirt, thin-clothed tube top and three-inch heels, just seemed to scream, ‘Come and get me, boys!’ Sicily almost gagged. She couldn't believe what she was thinking—that even Mallory might have been a much better choice for the mother of Bryce’s child. Although personality wise, she hoped Mischa was the better choice.

  "You," the familiar voice of Lucas said from behind Sicily. "What are you doing here? And with him for that matter?" he then asked, glancing coldly at Bryce as he pointed a finger towards Mischa's direction.

  Mischa pulled Bryce closer to her. He placed a hand on the small of her back. To Sicily's disbelief, the two actually looked compatible, even cute, with their arms around each other's body, and she could only stare at them since she didn't know what the right thing to say would be.

  Bryce demanded, "Why? Is it illegal for two people to watch a movie together?"

  "It's not illegal, but it's embarrassing for two people to have sex in the cinemas," Lucas returned. "Oh, fuck," he then said once he realized Theodore was with him.

  "Pretend you didn't hear that, Theodore," Sicily said smiling as she patted his mop of hair.

  Before another fight could ensue between the two men, Sicily pulled Lucas away from Bryce and Mischa, giving the couple a little wave as they entered the cinema.

  She kept her hand on his good arm and looked at him to see his reaction. To her dismay, he was frowning, and so, she let go of him. He stared back at her.

  "Why'd you do that?" he asked, his lips forming a thin line, when Sicily let go of his arm.

  "What did I do exactly?"

  "Oh, nothing." Lucas smirked. He knew she was just playing dumb and pretending that she hadn't been holding him. He wasn't going to tell her, but he was frowning because he couldn't hold her hand back. He had his good hand on Theodore, and she held his injured arm, and even though he wanted to intertwine his fingers with hers or slide an arm around her waist, he couldn't because that arm was immobile.

  "Then what's that smirk for?" Sicily asked, rolling her eyes and dropping her hand. "I swear. You're such a psycho. You were frowning a while ago and now you're smiling at me like you have a secret I'm dying to find out."

  Lucas' grin just broadened.

  "Nah," he said, shaking his head from left to right. "No secrets."

  "Whateve-" Sicily returned but was caught in the middle when Lucas let go of Theodore and took hold of her hand, leading her to their designated seats.

  Good thing Theodore was in front of them so he was oblivious to the hand holding and the times Lucas rubbed the palm of Sicily's hand with a few of his fingers. Unfortunately though, the semi-public display was short-lived because Theodore wanted to sit in between the two teenagers. The three of them sat down, and Lucas and Sicily pretended that nothing had happened between them.

  In the middle of the movie though, Sicily's body betrayed her. She was starting to feel sleepy. Against her will, she couldn't help but lean her head to her side, and her eyes closed.

  Lucas watched her sleep for a bit, but couldn’t resist bugging her. "Sicily!" he hissed.

  "What?" she returned, blinking her eyes rapidly in order to wakeup.

  His facial expression softened as his lips curved up into a small grin, and after doing so, he tilted his head to his side and showed off his dimples.

  "Did you just wake me so that I can look at you while you act cute?"

  "No," he answered in a teasing fashion. "Not only that."

  "Then get it over with."

  "I just wanted to say…"

  "Yeah?"

  "A bitch will always be a bitch," he said, sticking out his tongue to reveal the piercing. "Don't let my brother see you sleeping."

  She reached out to slap his shoulder and said in a loud whisper, "Dumbass! He's right in between us. He can hear!"

  Sicily was about to say something else, but an usher walked up and told them to keep it down. Sicily rolled her eyes subtly before she slouched further down in her seat.

  "I'll give you a warning and let you guys go this time. Another one and then you're out," the employee said.

  "I thought they gave three warnings?" Lucas asked, trying to be a bigger pain in the guy's ass.

  Sicily sent him a lethal glare before she pinched his shoulder hard.

  "Shut up," she said through gritted teeth. "It's not funny."

  "Oh really?" he returned smirking. "I thought I saw you trying to suppress a laugh?"

  "I was suppressing a gag."

  "No, I don't think so" Lucas said. "My eyes can't be foole-"

  "That's it," the usher said.

  Sicily looked at the guy's uniform and saw a pin with the name 'Jeff' printed on it. Apparently, Jeff was going to make them leave, and Sicily was flabbergasted. She had never been kicked out from anything.

  "You didn't give us a second warning," Lucas quipped to Jeff's further annoyance.

  In Sicily's point of view, Lucas was entertaining and funny for sure, but Jeff certainly didn't feel the same way. He bit his bottom lip and then narrowed his eyes at the three, and Sicily didn't need any more words or actions to understand what he wanted to happen.

  She pulled Theodore out of his chair and moved him in front of her. With her hands on his shoulders, she pushed him gently out of the cinema.

  “I wanted to see the movie,” Theodore winded. “That’s not fair; they shouldn’t have thrown us out.” He looked ready to cry.

  When they were finally outside, Sicily couldn't help but throw a minor fit at Lucas. She punched him in the chest before she slapped his shoulder and growled at him. "What the hell was that for?" she asked enraged. "You didn't need to do that!"

  "Yes, I did," Lucas replied. "And don't get mad at me! You were smiling!"

  Sicily breathed deeply and tried to restrain herself from doing anything melodramatic. “You don’t understand, Lucas. This whole scenario has upset Theodore. The movie was for him, not you. And now you’ve ruined it for your brother. Can you just shut up and grow up?"

  Lucas bit his lip and decided to avoid eye contact with Sicily. He looked at his brother, Theodore was sulking and walked a few feet away from the two teenagers.

  "The movie was boring, so sue me if I wanted to be entertained,” was Lucas' answer was sullen.

  “You aren’t five, Luke. The world doesn’t revolve around what you want to do. Imagine how Theodore feels, he had been looking forward to the movie and you spoiled it for him.”

  "Oh, so that's how you see me? To you, I'm just some spoiled and selfish kid?"

  Since they had been kicked out of the movie they were watching, it was safe to say that only a few people could hear their argument. However, the popcorn lady was shooing them away and telling them to leave the theater house. They did leave without any objections. Sicily helped Theodore get in her car. She and Luca
s had evidently decided to settle one of their many arguments outside in the parking lot.

  "You're not spoiled, nor are you selfish," Sicily said, looking away. "I would say you're confused and stubborn right now and you just aren’t thinking about anyone but you."

  "Thanks for the insult. I already get a lot of that from my father."

  Sicily stepped closer and placed a hand on his arm, but he pulled it away. She shook her head. He was really stubborn, and nothing would get pass that thick head of his. "That wasn't an insult."

  "It certainly wasn't a compliment," he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

  "Lucas, just please…" she trailed off. "Just please stop," she continued, and something she never thought she would say, left her mouth. "I don't like seeing you like this. I actually hate it when you're sulking. You become an ass, and it's like you want me and everyone around you to hate you."

  That stunned him to silence, and he couldn't explain why, but something inside him seemed to just crack open. It was an unwanted and unmanly feeling, and it wouldn't leave no matter how much willpower he exerted into erasing that feeling deep inside him. He felt like crying. He looked at her, but she was looking away. She seemed like she wanted to leave but couldn't bring herself to do exactly that.

  "Why do you care so much?" Lucas asked her before he continued. "I used to think you were an apathetic, shallow, and materialistic bitch."

  Sicily tried her best to grin, but what came out was a small unsure smile. "I'm still shallow, materialistic, and bitchy, but I was never apathetic."

  "Right…" Lucas returned, rolling his eyes.

  "Okay fine," she said, holding her arms up in the air. "Maybe I was and most probably I still am, but come on, I have a heart, and your parents are divorcing. I can't imagine my folks separating. I wouldn't even try to imagine the possibility, so I know that you must be really hurting underneath all those muscles."

  Sicily's last statement surprised a laugh out of Lucas laugh. God, she always made him laugh. Even when he was spitting mad, or deeply depressed, she always managed to lighten the mood. It was such a relief.