Broken. - The teaser!

 “Just please let us pray for Michaela’s friends and family in such a difficult time” The guy who barely knew me said to the TV cameras. He didn’t care, that’s why I did this. Nobody cared. The world wouldn’t miss me when I was gone and I was sure of it. “Are you ready to go now? I’ve been waiting for you” a voice from behind asked me holding out their hand. I turned around and locked fingertips with the love of my life. I forgot how perfectly his fingertips interlocked with mine. “Why did you do it?” the person asked me. I looked back and I could see a female crying in a police car. “I love you Mum” I said, forgetting she couldn’t hear me. Nobody alive could, not anymore. I turned back to the love of my life; he still looked the same as he did the night he died. “Well? Don’t tell me you haven’t got the time either, we’re not alive anymore, we have all the time in world” he said. With that I began to tell him where it all went wrong and when I became a broken human being.

Chapter 1 – 4 Years Earlier

“We have a new student with us today, this is Michaela Morley, please make her feel welcome won’t you” the woman said. I was only 14 but this was the sixteenth school I’d been to. “Miss...Can Michaela sit next to me?” a girl asked. “Of course she can, that’s very kind of you, Alana” the teacher said to Alana. “Teachers pet aren’t you Alana!” A girl behind us hissed. Alana looked hurt. “Shut your mouth” I mouthed to the girl whilst I went to sit next to Alana. She looked at me smiling and I tried my hardest to smile back. “What’s the matter?” Alana asked me as we walked to our 1^st lesson. “Nothing” I said sparing her feelings. “Go on...you can tell me, I won’t tell anyone. Thank you for before by the way, those girls don’t like me anymore. Where are you from? You talk funny” she said. I ignored her. “There’s no need to be so rude” she said with a tone in her voice. “I’ve been to 16 schools in the past 9 years...I don’t do friends and I don’t talk funny, I’m from Leeds and why don’t they like you? Cause you’re annoying?!” I snapped back. She looked taken back and didn’t talk to me much for the rest of the day of which I spent drifting through lesson to lesson and listening to my iPod at break times. The final school bell finally rang and I gathered up my stuff. “Michaela, wait” Alana said from behind, running up towards me as I hurried out of the school gates. Was this girl ever going to understand that I didn’t do friends? “MICHAELA!” she shouted. I stopped in my tracks. “Do you have to tell everyone my name? Jeeze” I said to her. “Would you like to come to my house one day? I’m sure my Mum won’t mind” Alana said to me. “Like I said, I probably won’t stay here very long, I’ll move away soon” I replied. “So, you can still make friends whilst your still here, we can keep in touch” Alana replied. I looked at her and realised she really did want to be my friend. “Okay, I’ll think about it” I said to Alana who then smiled whilst trying to keep it cool. A car tooted their horn at me which then broke the awkward silence. “Bye, I’ll see you tomorrow” I said to her. “Your Mums very pretty” she said. “That’s not my Mum...my parents are dead” I snapped back. Alana looked hurt but I didn’t care as I walked over to the car and got in the passenger seat.

 Chapter 2 – A New Life

“How was your day?” Amanda asked me. “Fine thank you” I replied putting my seatbelt on. “That’s good, like your new school?” Amanda asked me. “Yep, fine thanks” I said. “Good, what would you like for tea?” She asked me. “I don’t know for god sake” I snapped. Amanda was just like my previous 15 set of Foster parents, all of them tried TOO hard but I knew it would all end the same. They’d get sick of me, and I’d be sent packing to somewhere else, I was so used to this routine by now to be honest with you, it didn’t bother me anymore. “Sorry” I said. “It’s okay, sweetie” Amanda replied. Amanda and her husband Steve were different so I knew I had to try with them. We got home and I took my school bag up to my room to make a start on my homework. There was a knock at my bedroom door. “Come in” I said. Amanda stood there, smiling at me handing me a plate of cookies and a glass of Strawberry Milkshake. She’d been reading up on my notes of what I liked and what I didn’t like. A few hours passed and I decided to get ready for bed having completed my homework. I’d gotten my bath and put my pyjamas on then decided to go downstairs to watch some telly. “Something smells nice” I said to Amanda. “Your favourite, Sheppard’s Pie with spaghetti hoops” she said smiling at me. Amanda was really trying hard with me. “Would you like me to lay the table?” I asked Amanda. She smiled at me. “Yes please poppet, Steve will be home soon” she replied. With that, Steve came home from work. He was a police officer so it meant he worked long shifts sometimes. “Hello gorgeous” he said smiling at Amanda. “Hello, you!” Amanda said smiling back. “Ahh, hello, Michaela” Steve said smiling at me. I smiled back. “Hey” I replied. We sat down and I had 2 platefuls of dinner, after all it was my favourite meal. Afterwards we watched some telly and I decided to go to bed. I went to my room and lay in my bed. I looked at a picture that I had on my bedside table. “Goodnight Mum and Dad” I said kissing the picture like I did, every night.

Chapter 3 – My Past

The week went by very quickly and I began to actually like Alana. “I didn’t mean to offend you the other day by the way, sorry for assuming that lady was your Mum” she said to me. “Its okay” I replied as we walked over to a bench at lunchtime. Alana looked at me and I know she was begging to ask me that question everybody else did. “My parents died protecting me” I said to Alana. Her face dropped. “I’m so sorry” she said hugging me. “It’s okay, you weren’t to know” I replied. I began to tell her the story of what happened to my parents. “We were driving back from Grandma’s and she lived in a rural country area, you know in the middle of nowhere, anyway they were arguing about which way to go and we ended up crashing into a railway line” I said wiping a tear away from my eye. “I remember my Mum screaming at my Dad telling him there was a train coming, I remember Mum telling me to be brave and Dad telling me how much he loved me. The rest is a blur, I just remember this man taking me out of my car seat and helping me to safety and there was a scream, a very loud scream and a crash” I said wiping away my tears. “I’m so sorry, Michaela, I really am” Alana replied. “The next few weeks were a blur, it turned out Mum and Dad were trapped and Dad had a metal pole through his left lung, so when the train hit them it basically killed them” I finished. Alana hugged me. “Your Mum and Dad would be proud of you if they could see you now” she said. I smiled back at her. The final school bell rang and I was going to Alana’s today for a little bit after school. We got to Alana’s and walked into the kitchen area where her Mum was. “Hello!” Her Mum said smiling at me whilst wiping her hands on a tea towel. “I’m Kate, Alana’s Mum, Michaela isn’t it?” Kate said. I nodded. “Yes, erm, hi” I said. This was all new to me; I never had any friends before let alone met their parents. “Mum, we’re going upstairs, okay?” Alana said grabbing my hand and walking me upstairs. We got upstairs and walked into Alana’s room where I spotted a picture of a little girl and a male who was giving her a piggy back. “Aww, is that your Dad?” I asked. Alana looked at me and a stray tear fell down her cheek.

Chapter 4 – I’m Just Like You

“I’m sorry” I said hastily. Alana looked at me. “He went missing the day after that photo was taken, I was only five....3 months later they’d found his body but nobody had been charged with his murder as they hadn’t left any traces of DNA or anything” Alana said before sitting down on the chair in her room. I went and hugged her, I don’t know why I hugged her, but I did. “Why didn’t you say?” I asked her. “I’ve still got my Mum, I didn’t want it to seem like I wasn’t bothered about your parents or anything, I meant to put it away before you came, but I’m so used to it being there, that I forgot to move it” Alana replied. I hugged her even tighter and wiped her tears with my jumper sleeve. She eventually stopped crying and went to go and wash her face in her bathroom. I got my school books out and made a start on my Science coursework. Alana came back in and started to slyly copy my homework. “Bitch, do your own homework!” I said to Alana. “Be quiet! I’ll let you copy my Maths if you let me copy your Science?” Alana replied. I nodded. “Okay, deal!” I said. Kate came to check on us. “Aww! This is what I like to see, young girls doing their homework...here I brought you some treats” she said putting a tray laden with a plate of cookies, a bowl of crisps, some sweets and two glasses of juice. “Thank you, Kate” I said smiling. “Thanks Mum” Alana said. “It’s okay, nice to have some of Alana’s friends round” Kate said smiling. Friend...did she just call me Alana’s friend? I liked the term friend. Alana looked at me uneasily and I was guessing she was remembering that I said I didn’t “do friends” on the 1^st day I met her. I smiled at Kate and with that she left the room again. “Sorry” Alana managed sometime after. “For what, Alana?” I asked her. “My Mum...calling you my friend...I hope it didn’t upset you” she continued. “It’s fine...we are friends aren’t we?” I asked her. “Of course we are!” Alana said smiling. “Do you remember on my 1^st day?” I started. “Yes...” Alana replied whilst taking a big gulp of her drink. “You said those girls didn’t like you, why don’t they like you?” I asked. Alana almost choked on her drink before swallowing it. “I don’t want to talk about it right now” Alana said. “But why?” I carried on whilst putting a crisp in my mouth. “I don’t okay, because I don’t” Alana spat back. “Okay, I was only asking” I said. “Well don’t, you don’t have to ask” Alana shouted back. I grabbed my books and shoved them into my backpack. “I’m sorry, okay, I’m sorry” Alana said beginning to cry. I didn’t even look at her. I put my hoodie on and then put my backpack over my shoulder all without saying a word or looking at her. I then opened her door, went downstairs and put my shoes on. “Leaving so soon?” Kate asked me. “Yeah, it was nice meeting you” I replied. “Has something happened?” Kate asked me. “No...I just need to go” I said. “Want me to drop you home sweetheart?” Kate asked me. “No, I’m fine thanks, bye” I said. I could feel myself welling up and it was a race to get out of there before I began to cry. I walked down the road a little before I began to cry. Then it dawned on me, I had no idea where I was and how I was going to get home. I went to the bus stop and began to cry even more. “Are you okay?” A voice asked me.

Chapter 5 – Teenage Love Affair

I looked up at the male standing in front of me. “Michaela isn’t it?” he asked. I wiped away my tears. “Yeah...” I said. Then it dawned on me that he was in my year and in most of my lessons. “My names Elliot” he said. I smiled at him. “Hi, Elliot, sorry I have to get home” I said. “Let me walk you? I need to make sure you’re okay” he replied. It was finally time to come clean. “The thing is...I don’t know how to get to where I live from here” I said. He laughed. “Well what’s your address?” he asked me. “133 Roman Drive” I replied. “Oh, that’s across the field” he said beginning to walk. We were back into a place that I actually recognised when Elliot looked at me. “Isn’t 133 where that copper lives?” he asked me. “Steve Sullivan?” I asked. He nodded. “Yeah, him” he said. “Yep, he’s my Foster Dad” I replied. Out of the corner of my eye I saw his eyebrows rise slightly. “Oh” he said. We finally got to my front door. “Well, this is it” I said. Amanda caught sight of us outside and opened the door before rushing out to us. “Who’s this? I thought you were going to Alana’s after school?” she asked. “I didn’t know where to go so Elliot walked me back...he goes to my school” I continued. Amanda looked Elliot up and down. “Okay, well thank you, she’s home now...so I guess that will be all” Amanda said to Elliot whilst ushering me inside. “Thanks Elliot, bye!” I shouted back to him. “Bye” he said before turning off to walk in the direction we’d just walked. We got inside and Amanda went back to watching TV. I took my shoes off and went to join her. As we were watching TV she looked at me. “You do like it here don’t you?” Amanda asked. “Yes...why?” I replied. “Just wondering” Amanda replied. I knew there was a meaning behind every ‘just wondering’ but I couldn’t be bothered to have a discussion about her reasons. I went upstairs to get ready for bed and just before I went to bed there was a knock at the door. “Goodnight sweetie” Amanda said. I decided to ask her what she was talking about earlier. “It’s just because, your social worker might not approve of you seeing boys, you know with before?” she said. “Oh” I said. “I won’t see him again...” I said to Amanda. She kissed me goodnight and then I went to sleep thinking about the monster who took away my innocence when I was just 11. I had a terrible dream that night.

What did Michaela dream about? Who was this Monster? Would Michaela and Elliot become an item? What was the reason behind those girls despising Alana? Would Michaela and Alana ever make up?