BROKEN.

9. Mikey and Leo.

Hey guys, here's the new chapter!! I hope you'll enjoy it!! Do comment.

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ELAHEH

The next morning, I was woken by Jenna. She helped me into the bathroom and I brushed my teeth while she filled the tub with hot water. I ignored the knowing smile on her face as she helped me out of the shirt I wore.

My face warmed as she scrubbed me down like you would a child. When I said that I could manage it myself, she shot me a death glare and I promptly shut my mouth. 

Later, I sat in front of the mirror while she dried my hair. I hummed to myself as I tried, and failed not to stare at my reflection. I heard a sad sigh from behind me and looked up to meet Jenna's pained eyes.

"The house was so quiet you know?" She said and I suddenly found it difficult to continue to look at her so I just stared down at my hands.  "There isn't any life in this place when you're not around. This cloud of tension followed us everywhere. For the first time, Kaveh and I were too afraid to voice our fears out loud to each other. We were tip-toeing around the place. It was horrible."

I didn't say anything as she ran a brush through my dull, limp hair.

She made sure I ate all of my breakfast, most of which ended up in the toilet. Once she was finished with my bandages and coddling me, I sat in my window seat to read the book I had left unfinished, The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough.

I read for half an hour, completely engrossed in the book, my heart breaking for Maggie and Father Ralph and loathing the new boyfriend Luke when the door to my room burst open. I turned in shock to see my best friend, Jackie, panting. She stood there, her chest heaving, her hair a tangled mess and her eyes drinking me in.

I resisted the urge to squirm in my seat as the obvious shock and heartbreak played in her large hazel eyes. They raked over my form and filled with tears. "Leo," she said, her voice breaking and I chuckled at the nickname. Even though we had kind of outgrown the ninja turtles phase, our nicknames had stuck, which was one of the reasons I still had the poster.

Jackie rushed to me and I held my hands up, palms facing outward to protect myself from her. "Careful," I said smiling. "I'm still breakable."

Her arms came around me and I'd never felt smaller. I was the taller of the both of us at 5'7 and she was 5'4 and I was even broader. She had always been petite and I made fun of how small she was a lot. It dampened my mood quite a bit to see that she was the one engulfing me in a hug this time around.

She sat on my bed and filled me in on all I had missed. Many of the kids our age had found their mates including a girl called Leslie who was super shy. We had made efforts to talk to her but it was pretty clear that she was more comfortable on her own. We didn't push her but we didn't ignore her either. We would invite her out with us since we figured if she decided she did want to hang out with us, she would accept.

"Her mate Tyler is smoking hot," Jackie said fanning herself and I rolled my eyes.

"Leslie is pretty too," I said and she was, though it seemed like she did her best to hide it behind her big geeky glasses and bangs.

"Speaking of mates.." Jackie said. "What's the deal with being mated to the baddest Alpha in town?" she asked wiggling her eyebrows. I stared at her.

"Yeah, Jenna told me everything to save you the...time." We both stared at the door in silence.

"So is he hot?" She asked just when the silence began to get too heavy.
I laughed ignoring the butterflies that erupted in my stomach at just the thought of him.