Heart Breaking and Entering

1. k is for karma

The first time Declan broke my heart, I was utterly inconsolable.

He'd spilled his root beer float down the front of my favorite dress, ensuing a complete meltdown in front of our entire first grade class. I'd never experienced such shock or horror in my five years of life, and I have to say, it cut me pretty deep.

From the get-go, it was a troubled relationship.

The second time was a little different. With a brace face and a slew of pimples on my cheeks, I wasn't exactly at my peak. I was twelve, and he'd just turned thirteen, when the beloved beginnings of puberty were blossoming new thoughts and ideas about not only other's attractiveness, but our own.

Sitting side by side at his parents' dinner party, I'd reached for his hand underneath the table only to have him brush it away, casting a repulsed scowl over his shoulder.

I cried in the bathroom for the rest of the night.

At fifteen, he'd passed me a note in class asking if I'd be willing to go on a date. Out of spite, I'd given him a strong maybe, only to scribble it out and replace it with a yes. He treated me to an ice cream at my favorite parlor, the evening passing delightfully with giggles and racing hearts.

When it came time to say goodbye, he kissed my cheek, and it was almost perfect. Almost. As his lips brushed against the edge of my ear, he whispered the amount of money his father had promised him for taking me out.

Two thousand dollars.  As if I was some kind of prize.

We didn't speak for weeks. Even still, I couldn't shake him from my mind. He was a stray puppy that kept showing up at my doorstep, and every time I promised I wouldn't feed him, I always seemed to give in to his magnetic green eyes eventually.

That was, until we met Macie Murphy.

She'd transferred to Klein Academy our junior year, shortly after Declan and I had another one of our falling outs. It was the most perfectly timed ice-breaker for both of us, seeing as she soon became the most important person in our lives.

My best friend, and his new love interest.

She was a breath of fresh air. With her shiny blue eyes and flowy golden hair, Macie was soon adopted into my girl squad while the majority of the male population pined after her dazzling smile and irresistible charm.

It was just my luck she only had eyes for him.

Her presence was a bit of a double edged sword. When she and Declan began dating, she provided a stable barrier between he and I, keeping him close enough for regular interactions, but distant enough to keep him from hurting me.  In a way, it was a win-win for everyone involved.  As long as Macie was in his life, he couldn't break my heart again.

What I hadn't accounted for--the possibility of him breaking hers instead.

The glare of the strobe lights reflected off the crystal streams trickling from her eyes.  I'd never seen my best friend look so broken, mascara smeared across her cheeks in faint black smudges, her once shiny, curled hair now frizzy and unkempt, pink lipstick worn around the edges of her lips.

All I could do was wrap my arms around her small frame, sensing a fallen tear glide across my collarbones as she embraced me, letting out a quiet sob.

"Oh, my God. What happened?" I asked, rubbing her back.  She wiped her nose, blue eyes misty and bloodshot as they trailed up to mine, her entire face holding back tears.

"It's Declan," she said, sniffling. "We, um--" She looked around, licking her lips. "We kind of just broke up."

I blinked at her, shaking my head. "W-What? Are you serious?"