Broken (The Charade Trilogy)

Chapter 2

Broken

We worked for hours, stacking books and putting them in alphabetical order on their proper shelves.

Only once in a while a kid would walk in to return a book and then leave. Oh how I wish I could just walk out of here like that.

The library had no air conditioning and even though it wasn't that hot, it was pretty warm and there were windows all over, letting in the hot sunlight.

The outdoors sounded so good. Students rode their bikes around campus, making small talk with each other, so peacefully.

I will never be considered a normal student on campus. I'll always be the girl that threw snow balls at drunk kids. The girl that tagged along with Harry Styles in finding Celine Michaels, the slut that willingly went to that man's house to have sex with him. The girl that got shot in the shoulder and had to miss classes for months on end because I wasn't able to lift my arm. I was the bitch, the stupid girl, and the drama queen. And the worst part, everyone knew who I was.

Who am I kidding? Everyone on campus knows who all of us are; me, Celine, Harry and Niall. There's no escaping this nasty world that we have to live in for the next three years.

I mean, I could escape it but that would mean dropping out of my dream school, and that's not happening.

Niall mentioned that if we do one more stupid thing, we will for sure get kicked out of Grant. He said, "they're cutting us slack because they need us".

Niall got a full ride scholarship to here and another really good school in Florida. He chose this school because he thought it was the best fit for him.

I'm in the top five students of all my writing classes, passing them with outstanding grades and writing stories that could be mistaken for a professional. Niall was right, they do need us. We are the ones that reflect Grant, along with all the others.

Harry and Celine are still here because if they expelled them and not us, it wouldn't be fair to them or their families. They have nothing special to offer to Grant. Only two best friends that are saving their butts by being as successful as we are.

Harry and Celine are considered lucky.

I finally finished putting a cart of books away when I saw Harry and Celine kissing again. This time, they were in a corner, hidden by tall shelves and stacks of books.

Shaking my head, I whispered to them. "Save that for your bed. We are in a library, working for our punishments."

They stopped and looked at me, Celine giggling.

Harry pushed himself away from Celine and began to follow me. He wasn't far.

As much as I love Harry, and as much of best friends that we are, I hate watching him kiss Celine like that. It's disturbing and inappropriate.

Harry grabbed my arm and whipped me around. "I'm sorry Sky." He whispered. "This won't last much longer, I promise."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I scolded. "You make out whenever and wherever you want. You never think about it. How long is it going to take for you to realize how bad that is?"

He grabbed my hands and looked into my eyes, "Celine is finally showing her love for me."

"Tell her to stop showing it in public." I walked a couple steps forward but turned around immediately. "I love both of you, which is why I'm acting this way." I turned around again and made my way towards Ms. Coleman, the librarian.

She caught a glance of my empty cart and smiled. "Skylar Peterson, the fastest book stacker I know!" She shared a warm laugh and I found myself smiling, something I don't usually do very often anymore.

I jokingly took a bow and tried not to laugh but failed miserably when I saw Ms. Coleman snickering her usual snicker, covering her mouth with her tiny hands.

Still smiling, she placed two books on the counter top. "I want you to read these Miss Peterson."

I nodded my head rapidly and held them tightly in my arms. "Of course."

"I'll see you tomorrow." Her smile was warm and meaningful, like always.

I made my way to the doors, looking around the library for Niall.

When I couldn't find him, I continued outside. Once I smelt the fresh air I found myself smiling.

"Is that a smile I see?" I heard a voice ask, laughing.

"Very funny Niall." I chuckled along with him.

We walked down the path from the library, silently.

"Harry and Celine are going to be a while. Would you like to get some lunch with me?" Niall asked, squinting at the sun, holding his hand over his eyes like a visor.

I nodded and we continued to walk down the sidewalk, talking about how hungry we were.