Broken

Chapter 19

    I wake up on Monday morning to Danny stroking my hair. “Hi,” I say.

    “Good morning. Are you mad?”

    I chuckle. “Why would I be mad?”

    “Because I’m waking you up an hour early,” Danny says.

    “What?” I sit up and look over at the clock and it’s six thirty, the normal time I get up. “Danny! You’re such a jerk!” I smile. “Maybe one day you’ll learn to not freak people out like that.”

    Danny laughs. “I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?” He laughs again.

    “I know of one way.” I lean forward and kiss him. “That’s better. Now get out so I can change.”

    “If you say so. I’ll be outside.” Danny smiles and walks out. When I leave my room, Danny’s leaning against the wall. “Isn’t it amazing that school is over in two weeks? No more getting up in the mornings, no more homework. I can almost taste it.”

    “Summer. It’s sounds like paradise. Sounds like escape.” I hold onto Danny’s hand. “Hungry?” He nods. “I’m afraid all I have is cereal and milk.”

    “My favorite,” Danny says. I roll my eyes.

    We eat breakfast and Danny drives us to school. When we enter school, I smell it. Eagerness. Summer. Freedom. I smile. Danny’s right. It’s almost here. “Ten more days, then we can do whatever we want.”

    “Now, don’t get too carried away. Ten days is still a long time. Let’s take it one day at a time,” Danny says. I nod my head. One at a time.

    The next week and a half slowly trickle by. The last day of school arrives and most of the kids don’t come to school. When the final bell rings, the halls quickly empty and the doors are locked.

    “What do you want to do now?” Danny asks.

    “Burn my homework. It’s something… Something Alex and I always did.” I sigh. Alex and Dad are living in Orlando now. Annie and Jackson are living with them for the summer. I remember the first year we burnt all our school stuff. We put it in the oven and set it on fire. The memory brings a smile to my face. That was five years ago.

    “You’ll see Alex again soon enough. He said he’d visit you.” Danny rubs my arm. “Let’s get you home.” We make our way out to his car and he opens my door for me and I get in.

    When Danny gets in I say, "After we burn everything, we should go to a movie. Or do something to celebrate." He starts the car.

    "We could just watch a movie downstairs again. It may not be a special something, but it's always nice." Danny pulls out of the parking spot. I smile. It's interesting how we say watch a movie, but really it means take a nap.

    "That sounds nice. Tomorrow we should go visit your horses." We haven't gone there since our date.

    "Don't plan anything too exciting next week. I've made plans for us."

    "What kinds of plans?" They must be something big to take up the whole week.

    Danny looks over at me longer than he should, since he's driving. "You'll have to wait and see."

    "You know I hate surprises. Can you give me a hint? Anything?"

    "It involves traveling."

    "But we can't leave the state."

    "Maybe I've planned around that. Just leave everything up to me." The remainder of the ride is silent, but my head is exploring every place Danny could be taking me. The zoo? For a whole week? No. The ocean? That seems like the most reasonable thing. We pull in front of my house. Danny gets out of the car and tries to open my door for me, but I open it before he can. "That's not the point of me being nice, Lucy. You're supposed to let me open the door for you."