Confessions Of A Broken Rebel

Recap:Brett grabbed my arm and lead me back to his car. "You want to go to my place?" He asked. I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, thanks. Thanks for everything." He gave my hand a quick squeeze and the once again, opened the car door for me. "And thanks again." I said just before he shut the door. Through the tinted window, I saw him smile. He climbed in and we sat in a comfortable silence all the way to his house, which I discovered was only about two blocks from mine (Brady's). "My parents are on a business trip and won't be back for a little over a week, so feel free to stay as long as you want." He smiled at me as we pulled up. His house was very large and beautiful. He pulled his car up the long driveway and he led me to the front door. He stuck the key in the door and held the door for me. "Thanks once again." I smiled and stepped in. "You can put your bag over here if you want," gesturing toward a little, well-organized closet not far from the door. I smiled and pushed my bag in and shut the door. I took a few second to look around. There was a large spiral staircase about fifteen in front of us and beneath the stairs there was a shallow pool of water with green plants in it. "Follow me." He grabbed my hand, still shooting tingles up my spine. There were two open sections on either side of the stairs, both which led to a nice, large kitchen and we branched off to the right to a large living room with one large couch, two love seats and a couple of lazy boy chairs. A large screen t.v sat across the room, next to a large entertainment system. "Are you hungry or thirsty or anything?" I shook my head. "What do you want to do?" He asked. "It's up to you." I replied. "Well, I want to talk about you a little more." I smiled. "What do you want to know?" "Well...what's your favorite color?" "Blue." "Favorite band?" "Um...I like Rise Against and As I Lay Dying." He nodded. "Well, let me ask you something." "Go ahead." He replied. "What's your story? I mean, you know a lot about me- my parents, Tyler, well, more than I know about you, so..." "Hm." He sighed. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I said quickly. "No, no it's okay. Well...I was born in Canada but we moved to Oregon when I was three. I had a brother named Kristopher. He was five years younger than me. When I was 10, he was five, he died. It wasn't anyone's fault but he had a brain tumor and he had surgery but um, he uh, he didn't make it. I took it really hard and I started getting in trouble. Little things first, back-talking and being disruptive in class, etc. but then it got worse; drug use, multiple fights, ditching school, assault, running away. "I did go to juvie by the way. Just before I went to the camp in Missouri. For assault and battery. I was in there for six months, it was considered a misdemeanor. I went to a juvenile delinquency camp. They would give us one small meal a day- they would make us do strenuous exercises, they beat us, they would keep us in a metal box in the sun with one small slit in the top and we would be in there for at least 24 hours. There were some horrific things there and so I straightened up. We moved here when I was 16, so about four months ago and...got a job, got back into school and here I am." I continued to stare at my lap, trying to process everything. "Are you okay? Look, if you want to leave, I understand." I scooted over to him and hugged him, lightly rubbing his back. I finally pulled back and smiled at him. "I'm sorry for everything that happened." "Don't feel sorry for me, it took all of that to straighten me out, I can only be glad I did though, even after so much." "Brett?" A deep voice asked. "In here George." A man came in dressed in slacks and a nice shirt. "Can I get you anything?" "No, I believe we are okay. Do you want anything Keaira?" I shook my head. "No thank you." "Oh, by the way, this is George, our butler. George this is Keaira." "Pleasure to meet you." I smiled and grasped his cold hand in mine. "Indeed." He smiled. He was probably in his forties, fairly handsome, brown eyes, short dark hair and was around 6'4, with a gentle smile. "You want to watch t.v?" He asked. "Sure." I smiled. We watched Pirates of the Caribbean, and soon, George called us for dinner. Brett grabbed my hand and led me to a large dining room table and sat beside me. A kind, plump lady with a cute face brought out salmon, rice and salad with sparkling cider. "Thanks Margie." She smiled. "Oh, hello dear. My name is Margie." "Keaira. It's nice to meet you." I smiled at her. "I hope you like salmon." I nodded eagerly. "Thanks so much, it looks delicious!" She chuckled. "Yes, thanks Margie." She nodded at Brett and scuffled back into the kitchen. We began to eat, and the food was delicious! It was one of the best meals I'd had in weeks. We finished and Margie brought us out ice cream, which we ate as we watched movies. We talked a little bit throughout the movies. I began to drift off to sleep and next thing I know, my phone began to vibrate in my pocket. I slowly woke up and grabbed my phone out. "Hello?" I asked, my voice breaking a bit from just waking up. "Hey, are you going to be home soon?" Brady asked. "Yeah, I'll be home in about half an hour." I replied. "Alright, be safe. See you soon." "Bye, Brady." "Bye." I hung up and looked up to see Brett looking at me with tired eyes. I realized I had fallen asleep on his chest. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." "It's okay." "I should probably head home." I smiled at him. "I'll drive you." "I only live like two blocks away it's no big deal." "Then I'll walk you." He suggested. "If you're sure." He nodded. We walked to the front door, I grabbed my backpack out of the closet and followed Brett out the door. We walked in silence until we were about half way there. "So, what school do you go to?" I asked him. "Blue Cypress High but I think I'm going to change schools because we don't like the school and my mom wants me to go to a private school, so I might go to yours." I smiled. "That would be awesome!" He smiled back at me. We finally came to my house and he walked me to the door. "Thank you so much, for everything. I really really appreciate it." I gave him a tight hug. "No problem. It was fun hanging out with you." He smiled at me and I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight." "Night." I gently closed the door behind me. "So where were you?" Brady asked. "I was hanging out with Brett." "Why weren't you in English?" I "um"-ed and tried to think of a reason. "Quit the crap Keaira. Where were you?!" "I got in a fight with Tyler so I left." I started walking up the stairs toward my bedroom. "What did he say?" Brady followed me, not even a foot behind me. "It's nothing Brady. Don't worry about it." I brushed off his question like it didn't bother me. I kind of wanted to tell him but I also knew my friends would kill Tyler and I just wanted for all of it to end. "Tell me! You are so d*** annoying! Can you just tell me already?!" "He told me I was feeling sorry for myself because my dad beat me! That's what he said. Alright? Are you happy now?!" I screamed at him. I let my lungs sear with pain. "Keaira!" Brady yelled as I stormed up the steps. "This was a mistake." I spat at myself. "What was?" Brady asked, his voice no longer so harsh. "It was a mistake moving here! It was a mistake letting your mom talk me into getting help for my dad! So do me a favor and don't help me anymore." I spat. I wanted to hurt him. I didn't want to stay there anymore. I would rather be anywhere. So I ran up to my room. The only thing I heard was Brady yelling, pleading as I grabbed my cell phone, my iPod, and warm jacket. I didn't say anything as I blasted music through my headphones and ran down the spiraling stairs. Brady grabbed my arm when we reached the floor and whirled me around, whipping out my headphones. "Just wait a minute!" He snapped. "It's best I take my leave." I retorted and jogged to the door, slamming it tightly behind me. I jogged down the street and past where Brett lived (but had conveniently forgotten) and to the park. The park, for some odd reason, was extremely comforting. There were two swings at the far left. They sat a few feet from a medium sized jungle gym with several slides, a fire pole, monkey bars, and a little bridge. One of the little spin-ey rides sat a few feet behind the jungle gym. Everything sat in the sand box. There were tennis courts farther left than the swings. Another, much smaller jungle gym sat in another small sandy area. It was rather nice and behind everything was a forest and if you knew where to go, a large field lay in the middle of it and also a river a few miles away. During the day time, the leaves glowed a brilliant lime green and in the spring, the field was filled with sweet smelling blooms of wildflowers, all shades of colors that filled the warm grasses. I sat in the swing (it was my favorite). As bad as I wanted Brett somebody to show up and tell me that my efforts to save my dad weren't wasted. Somebody just to hug me and say "I'm proud of you," someone just to give me a hug and not let go. But the longer I waited, the more I realized, no one is going to come. No one ever did. The cold air stung my lungs but I didn't show it or really mind it. It simply was. I continued to swing until my legs got tired and I let the swing slowly fade into a stop, at which point, I sat on top of the monkey bars and listened to my music. It was almost three thirty in the morning and I began to yawn. I tried to stifle it, unsuccessfully but I couldn't deny it-I was tired. I heard a car and flipped off the monkey bars. The car looked familiar and someone jumped out quickly and jogged over to me. "What are you doing here?" A hoarse voice asked. I continued staring at him as he came closer to me. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" Heath slowed to a walk as he neared me. He hugged me tightly and his face looked splotchy and red like he was crying. "Are you okay?" I asked him. "Am I okay?! F*** KEAIRA! All of us have been out looking for you since about one when Brady called us in hysterics telling us you took off in a rage around eleven and you still hadn't come back!!" "Us? We?" I asked in confusion. "Yes Keaira! Us! Sabrina, Connor, Hunter, Brady, everyone! We've been driving around forever! We were about ready to call the cops because we couldn't find you!" His voice was hoarse and shaky. Anger nearly masked his concern but I could still see the sincerity to his words. "I'm sorry." Some of the anger faded from Heath's expression and he hugged me tightly again. "Can I maybe stay with you tonight?" I asked hopefully. His eyes were soft and warm as he smiled down at me. "Course love bug." He kissed my forehead and rested his head on mine as he pulled me closer.