Broken

Chapter 2

At home, after showering, Nick left the bathroom with his still-wet hair and went to his bedroom. He threw himself on his bed and took a deep breath. He couldn't stop thinking about Emily. Her face was all over his mind, with her beautiful eyes and catching smile. He felt the luckiest person in the world just by having her by his side.

"I will want some cookies." Nick texted the girl.

"Then you'll have cookies." She answered, making him smile.

Some minutes later, Emily sent a photo of the ingredients she was going to use.

"Best friend EVER!" The boy replied.

As Nick kept thinking about Emily, he remembered that his chances with her were now lower than zero with the new guy around. He just wanted to think of a way to tell her about how he felt without screwing everything up. Before it was too late for him.

The boy got up from bed, went to the dressing mirror he had in his bedroom, and looked at himself; shirtless, his chest a bit wet, with some water drops running down. He stretched his neck backward and closed his eyes. As he did it, he saw a dark place and what seemed to be a wolf's face; its eyes glowed in a vibrant yellow.

"Nick?" Someone knocked on the door, making Nick open his eyes instantly.

"Come in..."

"Sorry for earlier," A man said, as soon as he entered the room, it was his brother. "I just wanted to protect you."

"I don't need you to protect me, Ryan. I never did."

"Okay..." Without insisting, the man walked away and left the room.

When Nick was ten years old, their parents were murdered, and since then, Ryan was responsible for him. They usually got along, but sometimes the older brother was a bit over-protective, making the boy feel suffocated.

Nick immediately regretted it and went after his brother.

"Ryan, wait!"

"What?" The older brother answered with a disappointed look on his face.

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to be a jerk. It's just... there's so much happening."

"It's okay, Nick."

"So... what's for dinner?" The boy asked, trying to make amends.

"Pizza." Ryan smiled gently.

"Wait a second!"

Nick went back to his room and put on a t-shirt.

"So, how was your first day back to school?" Ryan asked Nick as they sat down.

"Not really good... There's a newbie, he's pretty hot, and I think Em's going to hook up with him."

"Why don't you just tell her about how you feel? Before it happens."

"She would probably hate me," Nick smiled wistfully. "I don't want to screw things up."

"You'll never know if you don't give it a try."

"I don't think she sees me that way."

Trying not to think about it anymore, Nick changed the subject. He knew it was going to be a tough year for him and didn't want to torture himself in advance.

"What will we watch today?" He asked.

"Maybe a horror movie. What do you think?"

"Sounds good to me."

Nick took the remote control, turned the TV on, and choose a movie to watch with his brother. They always used to watch something together when Ryan returned from work. It started as a way Ryan found to distract his young brother when their parents died, and with time, it turned into part of their routine.