Stacey Williams had always loved Axel Teller.
But he had paid her no mind. She wanted more than the meaningless flings they had. She wanted her love to be returned. She wanted to be loved back.
She did everything to get his a...
People always seem to notice the person that looks broken.
They can somehow see it by what they wear, how they smile and the look in their eyes.
But it's the ones that don't look broken that people miss. Slide their eyes past them after deciding that they are ordinary. No obvious signs.
Stacey was broken.
Even if she realized it or not – she was broken in one of the most painful ways of all. She had given up all hope in herself and perhaps she had never had any hope to begin with.
But there was one thing that seemed so perfect and concrete in her life. Her parents. They were safe because they would always be together in her head. They were the ideal couple. Everyone was jealous of them. Wanted to be them.
And that was now ruined – tarnished.
The one thing Stacey had thought was concrete and grounded, was now destroyed.
It felt like she had been lied to and betrayed. But Stacey still didn't know what to do. Did her dad even know? She guessed that he didn't but what if he had? What if he had been living with this burden for months...years?
What if he was cheating too?
Stacey stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair had been chopped off to the tops of her shoulders and the cut was jagged and uneven. Thick blonde curls lay on the ground by her feet and Stacey dropped the scissors down onto the countertop.
She looked broken.
So like any other broken person, she grabbed a dustpan and brush and began sweeping away her mess.
***
"New hairstyle, huh?" Scottie grinned as he walked into the girl's bathroom during school.
Stacey's mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide. "You can't be in here!"
"Yeah, you told me that last time with spaghetti all over your face," Scottie made large, random hand gestures and Stacey sighed, glancing at her hair in the mirror.
The bright lights that the school had was making her handy-work even more apparent.
"You know, you could just go to the hairdressers," Scottie pointed out and Stacey glared at him.
"Yes, I'm aware thank you."
The bathroom door opened up and Stacey tensed but then relaxed when Kim walked in, stopping mid-step when she saw Stacey.
"New hairstyle, huh?" Kim raised her eyebrows and Stacey sighed, turning back to the mirror.
Kim looked over at Scottie and frowned. "Um..."
"He just comes and goes as he pleases," Stacey explained and Kim slowly nodded.
"Right well...would you mind leaving?" Kim asked.
"I thought we were bonding," Scottie scoffed.
"Yeah sure," Kim said. "But I kind of need to pee so..."
Scottie cleared his throat awkwardly and pushed off from the wall. "Right, yeah, of course. I'll uh, I'll see you around Stacey."
Scottie quickly left and Kim's eyes followed him as he left. "New friend?"
Stacey looked over and smiled. "Something like that."
***
"Alright, what's up?" Kim asked as Stacey finished her last class for the morning and was about to head out for lunch.
"Nothing," Stacey frowned but Kim just gave her a look.
"You've been down all day and you come to school with a do-it-yourself haircut," Kim said. "I know something's wrong."
"It's nothing." Stacey sighed and then bit her lip, looking at Kim. "Okay maybe something is up."
Kim smiled softly and pulled her friend to the side so they were stood beside some unused lockers. "What it is?"
"What...what would you do if you had a secret?" Stacey asked. "A secret that you know but you're not sure if you should tell the person it involves...if that makes any sense."
"Sort of," Kim said. "What kind of secret?"
Stacey looked at Kim and then licked her lips nervously, looking around briefly before turning back to Kim. "My mom's cheating on my dad."
"Jesus..." Kim muttered. "How did you find out?"
"Well, I saw her with another guy. They came home and everything. I told my mom about it yesterday and..." Stacey stopped herself from continuing and looked down at the ground.
Her mom had told her she was a slut.
"...And she didn't take it too well." Stacey finished and Kim gave her a concerned look.
"It'll be okay," Kim said, placing a hand on Stacey's shoulder. "But, you mean you're not sure if you should tell your dad?"
Stacey nodded.
"I mean it could help them but..." Stacey trailed off. "What if it ruins them? What if it completely destroys them and before I know it I'm deciding who I want to live with."
"Stacey you shouldn't have to carry a burden like this," Kim said. "It isn't your fault that your mom's being unfaithful."
And that's only because he's been worrying about his job and you whoring around all the time.
Stacey gulped as her mom's words rang round in her head. Was she so sure that this wasn't her fault? She knew that her parents had been stressed over her lowering grades and trashy way of life but...they never did anything to help her.
They had never confronted her.
So was Stacey partially to blame for this?
"But what if I tell them," Stacey said quietly, her voice almost a whisper, "and their marriage falls apart? Then who would be to blame?"
Kim didn't have an answer.
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