Page 1 of Broken

Nova

There had been a storm that night. Wind whipping through the trees and lightning darting across the darkened sky. Rain was falling so heavy and hard, that from where I was in bed, it looked like tiny rivers running down the windowpane.

I hadn't been afraid, though. My teddy bear had been tucked against my chest, protecting me from any and all harm that might have threatened me. His brown fur, matted from years of love, had grown warm from my own body heat. I snuggled into him, wondering what time my mother would be home; she worked the late shift at a diner that wasn't too far away.

Out of nowhere, the dull sound of knocking filled my room. Then there were voices that were loud.

Screaming and yelling.

And then, a very loud bang!

My heart was thumping so loud inside of my chest; I was sure that it could be heard a mile away. My eyes had grown wide as I got out of bed and eased to my bedroom door. The hallway was dark and quiet. There was no one talking or whispering, only the sound of the storm from outside. I could feel the air from outside surrounding my body.

Easing forward and further out into the hallway, I found my father laying in a pool of his own blood. I tried to wake him, but he never budged.

That was the first time I realized that death could walk into your life and shatter your entire world. The neighbors in the apartment next door had called the cops, who found me sitting beside my dad, holding his hand staring blankly off into space.

They never solved my father's murder.

The cops said it was a gangster that killed him; he'd been a heavy drug user, but I'd never known the difference.

I made a few promises to myself as I grew up: no drugs, and no gangsters.

They always say if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plan. So far, I've managed to stay away from both. I'm too busy taking care of real world responsibilities because I couldn't let my family fall apart.

I won't let anything break me...