Broken Pieces

Chapter 11

Azalea Garcia

I woke up the next morning with a puffy face and dried tears on my cheeks.

I looked across the room and saw Aster was still asleep so I went and got ready in the bathroom before he woke up.

I got dressed (outfit above) and did my usual morning routine and I was done.

I exited the bathroom and my brother was making the beds."Good m-morning b-bubs" I said quietly.

My brother spun around to face me and gave me a weak smile. I know he was still sad from yesterday and so was I but I was trying to lighten the mood.

"Good morning Azzy" he replied. I stalked over to him and gave him a hug.

I broke apart from the hug a couple minutes later and made my way over to the food my brother had ordered for breakfast.

I bit into a croissant and moaned from the taste. Before I could begin contemplating whether or not I should marry iced coffee or croissants my brother spoke.

"We only have a couple hours before we have to leave so why don't you go around the town for a bit" Aster spoke cautiously knowing that this town was the cause for some of my worse memories.

I nodded my head slowly and made my way out of the hotel room and out of the hotel.

I walked down the busy streets and decided of where I wanted to go first. Even though I only left this town a few months ago my mind was still foggy of directions.

I decided to just walk straight and see where it leads me. 10 minutes of walking and I came across a familiar looking building.

In large bold letters wrote 'cherry on top' on the small shop. I soon remembered the small ice cream parlour that I hadn't been to since I was 12.

Me, my brother, mom and dad used to come here every Friday night for ice cream sundaes. Tears brimmed in my eyes as I remembered how happy of a family we were.

I walked through the glass door and made my way to the counter. So many flavours were lay out in front of me.

I rang the bell on the counter and waited for someone to come out.

I heard some shuffling from the back before an old woman's voice called my name. "Azalea is that you!?" I stood frozen recognising that voice.

How could I forget she worked here. "Janice!?" I said happily before being engulfed into her arms. "Oh Azalea I haven't seen you ever since your mom passed, I'm so sorry honey" she said in a motherly tone.

i stepped away from the hug and gave her a smile.

I am guessing she knew about what my dad did seems as it was the news of the town for months. "N-no need t-to be s-sorry it's n-not your f-fault" I said with a smile.

She sent me over to a booth by the window and said she would be back in a minute.

I watched the busy streets out of the window and smiled sadly to myself.

How I wish things were like how they used to be. I sighed loudly and leaned back in the booth.

Not long after, Janice came back holding a large ice cream sundae exactly how I used to order. I squealed excitedly and she chuckled before I dug into the sweet concoction.

I moaned at the taste and wiped the chocolate sauce from my chin. "I am glad you are enjoying it" Janice said whilst laughing.

I probably looked like a pig but I hadn't tasted this in ages. I nodded my head and she rolled her eyes playfully. "So how are you, I know it was your moms birthday yesterday" she said sympathetically. "y-yes it was tough f-for me and A-aster but I a-am glad I c-came to s-see her, i-it's the least i c-could do" I said sadly.

Janice huffed and looked at me sadly. "Listen honey you need to stop blaming yourself you weren't the one who crashed into your mom and you weren't the reason for your dads anger either. I hate seeing you like this because you deserve all the happiness in the world" She said. Tears brimmed in both of our eyes and I leant across the table to hug her.

We spoke for a bit longer and I was glad that the shop was empty so I could speak to her.

I said my goodbyes and made my way out of the parlour. The sun was warm on my skin and I felt refreshed after my talk with Janice.

I decided to walk around for a bit longer because I didn't want to leave just yet. I walked down a familiar street and instantly stopped.

My blood had ran cold and I instantly knew why. Rows of houses were lined up but one stood out to me the most.

It was my old house.

Where my dad would torture me, where all of my nightmares were set. My hands were shaking and I brought out my phone to ring my brother.

It rang a couple times before he answered. "hello" He said. "A-aster can y-you come and p-pick me u-up" I said with a shaky voice.

Aster must of recognised the nervousness in my voice because I heard a lot of shuffling and a car starting on the phone. "Yes where are you?"He said.

I took a deep breath before replying. "On our old street." I heard him huff and he said he would be here soon.

I kept a tight hold onto my phone and tried to ignore that I was next to the place I hated with all my being.

Thankfully he arrived not long after and I raced to the car like the ground was going to eat me up. My brother started driving and I looked in the back seat and saw all of our bags which indicated we were leaving now.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes to try and calm down.

Throughout the whole journey my brother kept checking on me asking if I was fine and I just replied with a smile and a nod every time.

I knew he wanted me to speak to him but I was too shook up to speak a word. Hours had passed and finally we reached our house.

A deep breath escaped my mouth know knowing I was safe and away from there.

Aster parked the car in our drive and got out with all the bags. I trailed behind him up the lawn to the front door.

I couldn't wait to get to my room and sleep. Today was enough stress for me. I raced up to my room and got into my pyjamas and then jumped into my bed.

I was ready to fall asleep when I heard something being thrown at my window.

I ignored it for a couple of times but then soon got annoyed and I made my way to my window.

I was getting ready to shoo off the bird or whatever was causing the nuisance so I could go back to my nice warm bed.

"C-can't I just s-sleep is it t-too much to as-" I Couldn't finish my sentence because I was in complete shock.

There stood on my lawn was none other than. Jax Anders!?

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🍿there is chapter 11. I'm sorry if this isn't the best. It was kind of rushed because I really wanted give you all an update. I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading 😁😁

Word count:1268