Broken

Chapter 22

Zane

"...or I'll make you wish you were never born," I say and hang up the phone.

I try to calm myself as I drive. If she ever tries something like this then I'll kill her and Richard too. Ethan may be a pain in the neck and really unbearable but he's still my brother. I lost both my parents. I'm not gonna lose him too.

Yes, even a shallow person like me cares about his family. My Aunt Barbara, Uncle Max and Ethan. I care deeply about them. They're all I have.

As I stop at a traffic, the sound of engines, car horns and even the crowd outside can be heard. I place my hands in front of the car heater and warm-up. The rain last night really made the roads slippery.

I look towards the phone on top of the passenger seat.

I already told Lydia to tell Richard that his phone will be at the lost and found section. Just hope Ethan isn't there when he comes to get it. It's such a relief he gave the phone to me AND that Richard had a password lock on his phone.

Richard...

He's a very mysterious guy. I only saw a glimpse of him through the car window. A young man with sharp eyes. All I know about him is that he is a hitman and Lydia's childhood friend. His father was a hitman too. They share the same goal of exacting revenge on Morgan. You know, if I didn't know any better I'd say they're more than friends but hey, that's just me.

I sigh as I stare out the window at a nearby bakery.

Oh, to be so young, huh?

The signal turns green and all the cars start moving. I place my hands back on the staring wheel and start to slowly drive the car forward.

I don't know why but I suddenly remembered how I was like when I was young. Still am in my late 20s but I'm talking about way younger. As in when I was a kid. Ha! I was nothing like how I am now.

Ever since I was a kid, I've always deeply hated this phrase

    "Work hard and you will succeed"

I was a straight-A student. Honest, hardworking, reliable and a model student. My parents and teachers both were very proud of me and had high expectations. I had friends. I had it all as a kid.

But I hated working hard. And exerting myself never really made me happy even after getting good results.

I would look at the other kids playing around as I studied hard for some test. I would always think why aren't they working hard too? Why aren't they exerting themselves like me? I envy them. They look like they're having fun. Why is hard work the only way we can ever be successful or achieve anything? It's not like parents are forcing me or anything, no, they are very supportive. It's just deep down, the thought of hitting rock bottom in life and being unsuccessful always scared me.

I would get so frustrated when I, who worked hard and honestly attempted a test would get an A while others who cheated or those really 'lucky' ones would also get the same grade. Being on the same level as me. Successful without any hard work.

But when I got into middle school, the environment was different. The bar of bad students was higher this time. I would see them secretly smoking, skipping classes, cheating etc and I would think, aren't they afraid to be caught? How will they reach anywhere in life with that attitude?

That is...until one day I found a cigarette in my backpack at school. It must have been the boy who had secretly brought a pack from home and had accidentally dropped all of them near my bag. One must have gotten in. Just holding it for the first time was enough to make my heart race. I was tempted into trying it out. See what's so good about it that they enjoy it so much. So when I got home, before taking a shower, I snuck into the kitchen and took the lighter from the drawer. Then ran out into the backyard. Luckily no one was around.