Broken (The Charade Trilogy)

Chapter 9

Broken

I spent my Saturday inside. The storms were still going on and Principal Westing wanted everyone inside their rooms and not on the streets, in case something bad happened.

The weather forecast said that it was supposed to be getting worse, with tornado warnings and heavier rain showers into the night. Winds were supposed to pick up and hopefully they weren't going to be strong enough to knock down trees. There's a huge tree right outside mine and Celine's room. I'm praying that I won't fall.

The thought finally occurred to me that my parents are probably flipping out for my safety. How tragic would it be if I died in a tornado after I got home from living with a bunch of criminals my whole life and hadn't had a chance to get to know my real parents? Pretty tragic.

I sat on my bed, staring outside at the pouring rain when Celine tapped my shoulder, which scared me.

My head adjusted to her height and I looked up at her, sharing a friendly smile. "Hey there!"

She grinned back at me before speaking. "I'm going out."

I immediately stood up from my bed as soon as I heard the words stream out of her mouth. Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought she was finally done with getting into trouble. You'd think she'd learn her lesson from what happened before.

Maybe she just wanted fresh air -- but I shouldn't be so sure.

I held her hands tightly in mine. "Celine." I began my lecture. "If you get your ass into more trouble, I want you to know that I won't come looking for you again. Times are different now and we should be more mature. Besides, isn't stacking books enough punishment already?" My last sentence was more of a whine than a demand.

She shook her head, her eyebrows furrowing. "I'm just going to see Harry. Calm down."

I let out a relieved breath and took a seat back on my bed, continuing to look out the wet window. I liked watching ran drops drip from the roof.

She left me alone without saying goodbye.

It was a couple hours later and the rain was getting lighter. The thunder was quiet and the lightning stopped.

Celine had been gone the whole afternoon and I haven't heard from her or Harry. Not even Niall. Fear was beginning to take over.

My phone was sitting beside me on my nightstand. I grabbed it and immediately dialed Harry's number.

I know that he's with Celine, and I probably shouldn't interfere with their date but I was scared and Harry's the only normal one left.

When he answered, I was completely caught off guard. It sounded like he had just woken up. The boy sleeps more than anyone else I know.

"Harry?" I clarified, making sure I dialed the right number.

If Celine's over, then why is he just waking up? Did they take a nap together?

He coughed before saying anything. "What's up?"

"Are you alone?" I tested him, before jumping to conclusions.

"Yeah. Why?"

I shook my head while looking out my window at the wet ground. "Because Celine told me she was going to your place about two hours ago. . ."

I could tell he was panicking. "She never came over and she hasn't called or texted me."

"What the hell is going on with her?"

"I don't know but we have to find her."

I rolled my eyes and hung up the phone, chucking it at the wall. Why does Celine have to be such a drama queen? She left again, expecting us to go after her. What does she think this is, a tv show? I have a life of my own and now it feels like I'm reliving the past, going on another hunt for her.

If this is all just to get attention from Harry, or anyone at that, I will make sure that I confront her and tell her that I'm done playing her games. Right now, she is nothing but an enemy to me. Again.

I got ahold of my rain jacket and slipped on my rain boots. Before walking out the door, I grabbed my phone and all it's parts that were lying on the ground.

As I walked, I put it back together.

I'm not even 100% sure we can go outside yet. Though the weather did lighten up, it could get worse again. I don't want to risk getting in anymore trouble.

I met up with Harry and we walked together, discussing where Celine could be.

"Niall's." I demanded. "She's probably at Niall's."

He stopped in his tracks. "That's the last time I ever trust a blonde kid."

I shook my head, laughing at his childish joke.

We took off together, taking back routes and paths so we don't get caught by any authority that may be patrolling.

I waited until the moment Harry would give up and say forget it. But he was persistent on finding her, just like how he was the first time.

I stayed strong and comforted him when he began to get upset. Someone had to be the bigger person. It appeared to be me.

We sat on a bench, taking a break from all the walking. My feet were damp and cold from the rain but I ignored it.

While sitting on the bench, I remembered the day Celine moved in with me. When I looked through her photo album and saw the picture of her and Niall kissing on the bench in the entrance of Grant.

They had a past together and now all the pieces are coming together.

Niall and Celine were talking about "the truth" the other day. . . Could this possibly be the truth that they were talking about? Maybe it was that they used to love each other. But why would they be telling us now? If it was so long ago. . .

I debated whether or not I should tell Harry.

After a couple of minutes, I decided to remain quiet about the whole situation.