Breaking the Arm, Healing the Heart

by Ashley Andrews

  * * * * *

  The hotel hosting this nights Valentine’s Day Dance was one of the best ones in the city. It was grand and luxurious, and the ballroom that had been rented for the night was spacious enough to accommodate all the students, a large dance floor, a stage, a DJ booth, and a welcoming area. To cut things short, the place was to die for. It was that nice.

  "Hell yeah!" Mischa couldn't help but squeal. "We're freaking right beside the dance floor! Can this night get any better?"

  Bailey only smiled since she didn't know what to say to the Marina del Ray High School student as the rest of the group walked over to the head table while a few others headed over to the nearby tables to take their respective seats.

  "Well you should thank Bailey for heading the committee that was tasked with the seating arrangements," Bryce said smirking. "Now, you can dance the night away and not have to worry about going back and forth from the dance floor to your table."

  Sicily couldn't help but stiffen and cringe in her place. She just had to ask.

  "What about the baby?"

  Opening her mouth before Bryce could even think of what to say, Mischa was the one to answer. For emphasis, she started rubbing her belly. "The baby isn't even two months old yet, it won’t be hurt so don't worry about anything."

  "Oh…okay," was the only thing Sicily said. How would she know what to say anyway? She had never been pregnant, nor known anyone who was. She wouldn't know what was healthy or not for the baby. She simply shrugged her shoulders.

  "You know, S," said Bryce, and instinctively, Zane knew something bad was going to happen. "You're the last person I expected to care."

  And immediately, Sicily knew what he was talking about—the fight they had at Starbucks. She didn't know he still held hard feelings about her because of that, and she couldn't help but feel annoyed, not sad, but annoyed.

  Who was he to hold a grudge against her when she just cared too much about what his parents were going to do to him when they found out he had impregnated someone? Sicily threw more fuel on the fire instead of keeping her mouth shut, letting it die a natural death. "If it makes you feel better, well, you're the first person I expected to get someone pregnant."

  Bryce's eyes turned dim.

  "What?" Sicily spat. "Are you going to burn me with your glare?"

  "Hey guys!" Zane cut in, trying to placate his two friends. "Cut it out! This is our Valentine’s Day Dance, and we're supposed to enjoy it not fight."

  "I agree, just, everyone…relax." To the whole table's surprise, Lucas decided to speak, and sadly, that angered Bryce even more.

  "No one told you to talk, outsider!"

  Lucas stiffened hearing Bryce's words, but unlike Sicily who couldn't control her mouth, he could, and so he kept quiet which irritated Bryce all the more since he thought the Marina student wasn't taking him seriously.

  "And now you keep quiet, huh?"

  Sicily stepped in to her boyfriend's defense.

  "What? Your date is more of an outsider than mine is," Sicily said through clenched teeth as she eyed Mischa darkly. "She should just drop out of her school since I doubt she'll be able to balance her studies while she’s carrying your baby."

  "Oh, so that's how you're going to be, huh?" asked Bryce. "God damn it, Sicily! You knew me longer than…" And when she thought the insults couldn't get any worse, he just had to say, "You knew me longer than that…than him! Don't you remember? You used to hate him!"

  To prove something Sicily encircled Lucas' waist with her arm and placed a hand on his hip. This enraged Bryce further.

  "I'm surprised you remembered that when you couldn't even remember to use a condom when you guys did it." By the end of her sentence, Sicily smirked and nodded to herself. She knew all-too well that she was a bitch.

  "You're not going to shut up, are you?"

  "You started it, okay," was her annoyed reply.

  And Bryce exhaled exasperatedly. "I just don't want to hear a word come out of…" he pointed to Lucas. "…his mouth. If he can do that, then this night will be the best night of our lives."

  “Again, you started this Bryce. Lucas had nothing to do with your nasty comment to me.” Sicily smirked, she knew she had won this round, and hopefully, it would be the last round. “But if you keep you mouth shut, we all agree to do the same.”

  Bryce nodded his head. "Agreed."

  Sicily didn't bother returning Bryce's gesture since she was still awfully pissed at him, and unfortunately for Mischa, Sicily made it a point not to speak to her the whole night because she was upset with Bryce's actions.

  It didn't really seem bad at all, but Sicily was the life of the party. She could grab the attention of everyone at her table and those at the other tables as well. No one would notice Mischa once Sicily got going. She smiled to herself, and because of that, Lucas leaned his head closer to hers and asked what was up with her.

  "Are you okay?" he asked before placing a kiss on her forehead.

  Sicily nodded and then said, "Mhmm…" and nestling her head on the crook of his neck, she continued, "I'm just glad Bryce isn't blowing this issue out of proportion. God! Can't he just keep his mouth closed?"

  "I'm still here and can hear you, guys."

  Sicily shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Like your presence makes a difference."

  "Hey guys," interjected Mischa, and Sicily knew she just wanted to be forgiven even though she didn't really do anything wrong. "Can we just all be friends and forget about the argument?"

  Sicily smirked. She just couldn't keep her mouth closed.

  "First, you forget to use a contraceptive, and now you want us to forget about a part of what happened at the Valentine’s Day Dance?" Sicily eyed Mischa disbelievingly.

  "The bad part of Dance." Mischa offered a smile, a fake one, but it was still a smile.

  "No," was the last and final word Sicily spoke to Mischa, and the latter couldn't help but frown. She didn't know how stubborn Bryce and Sicily could be, and how each of them was so competitive he or she just made it his or her point to win every argument.

  Lucas decided to play the Good Samaritan for his girlfriend. He was, after all, not in his territory, and he needed to suck it up.

  "It's all good, M," Lucas said, smiling at his fellow classmate who grinned in return. "Don't worry about Sicily here." He then finished, tightening his grip on his girlfriend.

  Mischa brightened up. "Thanks, Luke."

  And because of the two's sudden exchange of words, Sicily eyed Bryce who, in return, was looking back. Had their significant others just shared a genuinely happy conversation?

  It seemed like it.

  And had they been fighting for a lost cause since they started arguing only to defend the two?

  "Shit," Sicily and Bryce said in unison at their realization while Lucas and Mischa grinned at each other even though they rarely interacted with one another at their school.

  Before any more drama could arise at Sicily's table, Lucas asked her for a dance, and she quickly agreed, taking hold of his hand and leading the way to the dance floor. In that instant, the lights turned dimmer and so did their surroundings. It seemed like everything – the luminescent lights, the slowly rotating disco ball, the muffled voices of the students and the couples swaying on the floor – wanted Sicily and Lucas to slow dance, and so they did just that.

  "Honestly," Lucas said, encircling Sicily's tiny waist with his toned, strong arms. "You're the last person I expected to like, and slow dancing with you would have been at the bottom of my to-do list just a few months ago. It’s amazing how things have changed."

  Sicily could only smile at her boyfriend as she placed her clasped hands at the back of his neck. They were swaying to the music the live band was playing.

  "I could say the same thing."

  They both shared a grin, and after that, Sicily resting her head on his chest and slowly closed her eyes as she let him lead her—trusting him a hundred percent…

  The slow music e
nded, and a new song, a more upbeat one, radiated from the high-tech sound system of the ballroom, and immediately, Sicily opened her eyes and lifted her head to meet Lucas' light grey eyes.

  "I like my school's dance better," she teased, sticking her tongue out as she jabbed a finger onto Lucas' chest.

  He pulled her closely before whispering, "Don't let the others hear you say that," and then they laughed together.

  Sun Coast’s Valentine's Day dance ended with a blast, and what was even better was the after-party at Sicily's house. Everyone ended up drunk and doing the craziest things because of a few naughty but definitely fun games that had been played. A few of those who came…well, most actually, ended up staying over at Sicily's place for the night, and when morning came, she immediately woke everyone up since she needed to have the whole afternoon to herself in order to prep for Marina's dance.

  * * * * *

  Lucas and Sicily made a hot and perfect couple. Lucas was in the same tux he had on last night, one of the drawbacks of the male species, as far as Sicily was concerned. She had worn a silver metallic sheath dress that fit her like a glove and accented all her best features. In this dress it appeared she had legs that went on for miles, and her butt and boobs looked cute too.

  As predicted, Mallory spent all her time trying to make the night a living hell for Sicily. From the minute the limo picked Sicily up at her front door, all throughout the sit-down dinner, and on to the dance, Mallory just couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Complaining about having to go out of their way for the Sun Coast Slut, was only one of her nasty comments. Lucas, Tanner, and even Zack had told Mallory countless times to, “Shut the Fuck up!”

  When they got to the dance, Lucas pulled Sicily away from all his friends, distancing her from Mallory. They went out on the dance for and just enjoyed each other’s company for a full thirty minutes.

  At the end of one song Sicily excused herself to go to the bathroom. On her way to the restroom, she crossed paths with Mallory. Sicily tried to ignore the Bitch of Marina by simply walking past her, but Mallory kept stepping into Sicily’s path.

  Temper rising, Sicily pushed into the other girls face. "Move," she seethed, still trying to slip past Mallory.

  "Why are you here?"

  "Because I've been trying to go to the restroom but you’re blocking me," was Sicily's smart-ass reply.

  The head cheerleader of Marina rolled her eyes. "Duh. What I meant was why are you at this dance?"

  “That’s a stupid question, because my boyfriend asked me to come." Sicily smirked. "Now, scoot."

  Mallory laughed and Sicily could just shake her head.

  "Lucas? Your boyfriend?" The laughter continued. "Dream on."

  Sicily saw how wrapped up Mallory was with her laughing-fit that she decided to push past her, and finally, she reached the restroom.

  She entered and found several girls standing around Mischa. Mischa was holding her stomach, leaning against the wall, with tears trickling down her cheeks. Several girls where standing around staring at the girl.

  Sicily frowned. "Why are you crying?" Sicily asked without allowing emotion in her voice. She still remembered how Bryce had treated Lucas last night, and she still didn’t trust Mischa due to her friendship with Mallory.

  "The baby," Mischa choked out.

  Sicily's eyes darkened. The baby was precisely the reason why Bryce and she had been having more arguments than usual. She didn't know why, but she disliked talking about the baby, and so she didn’t control the exasperated tone in her voice. "What about it?"

  Almost immediately, Mischa screamed, "IT?"

  Shrugging her shoulders, Sicily took a step nearer to Mischa. "It's not like you know your baby's gender."

  Mischa started crying harder. "Just go away, you're not helping."

  "You didn't ask for any," replied Sicily, her tone still indifferent.

  She was about to open the door and leave, but unfortunately for her, Mischa called out her name. The pregnant woman sounded so desperate that Sicily couldn't help but turn around and go back beside her.

  The Sun Coast High senior sighed deeply. "Bryce is probably waiting for you. We should go now."

  “I don’t think I can Sicily, I’m having cramps, loosing blood. I’ve got blood on my dress,” she said sadly.

  Sicily blinked. Opened her mouth, closed it. Gasped. She was truly in shock, and she now realized why everyone had been staring at Mischa.

  Sicily felt tears escape her eyes. "Do you think…”

  “I think I’m having a miscarriage. I can’t go out there Sicily. I’m afraid to move. I shouldn’t have been dancing.”

  “Don’t talk like that. Dancing had nothing to do with this. We don’t know what’s happening.” She turned to the others in the room and pointed, “You. Do you know Lucas, and Bryce, Mischa’s boyfriend?”

  At the girl’s not Sicily shooed her out of the bathroom, “Go find them. Tell them Sicily needs them now; have them get the limo out front.” She looked at the others, “Go with her, fan out, and find the guys. Now!”

  Sicily couldn’t believe how she felt, that the sudden possibility of a miscarriage would affect her so much. It was as if a bomb had been dropped on her. She felt heavy, weighted down with sorry.

  She saw the distraught look on Mischa's face, and instinctively, she felt the woman’s pain even stronger. She couldn't imagine how Mischa was feeling at the moment. "I'm so, so sorry…"

  The tears welled in her eyes. The room suddenly turned eerily silent, and Sicily let the pain and sorrow turn to guilt. She believed she was partly to blame. After all, she was the one who wanted Bryce to agree to an abortion. She bit down hard on her sobs, knowing that wouldn’t help Mischa. She wrapped her arms comfortingly around the girl.

  In that moment, the bathroom door flew open and in walked Bryce with Lucas, Zack, and Tanner. Mallory and Adriana followed closely behind.

  "What the hell is going on?" Bryce roared, taking giant strides to where Mischa and Sicily stood. The Sun Coast cheerleader relinquished the crying girl into his arms.

  “We need to take Mischa to the hospital, Bryce.” She looked at Lucas, and saw that he understood at least some of what was happening.

  “The limo driver is bringing the Hummer around to the front,” he told her.

  She walked over to Lucas, and clung to him, still in disbelief that Mischa could be losing the baby.

  "We should get her to the car," said Sicily as she tugged on Lucas' tuxedo shirt.

  Lucas nodded in agreement, and the two of them guided Bryce and Mischa to the car. The rest of the group chose to stay at the dance.

  Sicily and Lucas sat as far from Bryce and Mischa as they could in the big vehicle. They wanted to give the couple as much privacy as possible.

  "Have you been crying?" Lucas whispered to her.

  He turned in the seat and pulled her back against his chest, settling her as close to him as he could get. She turned into him so they could talk quietly and not be overheard.

  She smiled at how protected she felt with Lucas' arms around her body. "Thank you," she spoke softly, and in response, Lucas planted a kiss on her mop of hair.

  "Tell me why you’ve been crying."

  Sicily sighed. "I wanted Bryce and Mischa to get an abortion. I counseled him to do that, which is why we’ve been fighting lately,” she said, the tears once again escaping her eyes. "I was a heartless bitch I didn't even care when I saw Mischa crying in front of me."

  Lucas' arms tightened around Sicily. "Why the change of heart?"

  "I’m not sure. I only know that Mischa doesn’t think of the baby as an it. She is completely broken up by this, by the possibility that she might…you know."

  Lucas let go of his hold on his girlfriend and he made her turn and face him so they could look each other in the eye. He cupped Sicily's face in his good hand. "You have nothing to feel bad about, Sici-"

  "But you don't understand! I fought with Bryce a lot of times because I though they
should abort the baby, and now…"

  Sicily tried to wipe the tears away from her face and in the process smudged her eyeliner.

  Lucas gently stroked her cheek with his thumb, trying to erase the black tear trails.

  She smiled at his tender touch.

  "Now, listen to me." He looked serious. "Your belief that Bryce was too young to be a father, didn’t affect this child. Your council that he should consider abortion doesn’t meant that you could wish Mischa to miscarry. This is not your fault. Did you do anything to endanger the baby's health?"

  Sicily shook her head from side to side.

  "See, it's not your fault," Lucas said in such a comforting tone she impulsively grinned as he softly pulled her head closer to his chest and let it rest there. "Don't cry. Don't feel bad."

  "I'm just worried about Mischa…and Bryce."

  Lucas laughed softly before saying, "You know, you're the last person I expected to care so much," and with that, Sicily quietly snickered, and she couldn't believe how easily Lucas was able to lift up her spirits. "Bryce said the exact same thing to me last night."

  He grinned at her. "You aren't the apathetic, shallow, and materialistic bitch I thought you were after all."

  Sicily smirked and tilted her head upwards to be able to stare at Lucas' face. Amidst all the drama and commotion, she had the courage and the energy to pull Lucas' head down for a mind-blowing kiss. They pulled away and gazed into each other’s eyes.

  "Mallory doesn't believe that you're my boyfriend," said Sicily, as she smirked. “Maybe we should rent one of those flashing, portable billboard sign thingy’s and put it in her yard.”

  Lucas chortled with laughter, then calmed and looked at Sicily seriously.

  When he started to squirm in his seat, she frowned at him.

  He opened his mouth but what came out were 'Uhm's and 'Uh's.

  "Spit it out, Luke." Sicily grinned.

  Lucas nodded hesitantly. Even though he knew this wasn't the right time to do so, he wanted to say what he wanted to say, since it had been screwing up his brain for days. Weeks. Hell. He just needed to calm down and do it. "Iloveyou," he said, his voice stuttering and barely comprehensible.