Broken

Chapter 3

Taylor's family was huge. There were seven kids total including him. The second I walked into the house you could feel the love and respect they all had for each other. Being an only child in a very broken home, it was like walking into a foreign country.
Taylor's mom hugged me the second she met me.
"Were you able to get a hold of your family dear?" she asked. "Are they on their way?"
"I don't have any family Mrs. Hanson," I said, softly.
"Diana, please," she said. "No family huh? Poor thing. You're staying at the motel?"
I nodded.
"That's why were here mom," Taylor said. "She's got a job at the diner across the street from the motel, but she needs to go to school too, so I thought maybe you could teach her too."
"I could probably do that," she smiled. "But I would need documentation from you and we'd have to fill out paperwork to get your records to find out where you'd be placed academically."
"Documentation?" I asked, swallowing hard.
"Yes, like your birth certificate, your social security card," she said.
"I don't have any of that," I lied, shaking my head. I had it stuffed in my backpack but I couldn't leave a paper trail, I couldn't let Mitch find me.
"That's okay you can obtain copies from the state you lived in before," she said. "I can get you the appropriate forms and we can mail them off. In the mean time you can start your lessons with Taylor, Isaac, and Zac tomorrow morning. I do their lessons in the morning and the younger kids in the afternoon."
"Okay," I said, smiling. "I'll come over right after work, I get off at 7."
"In the morning?" she asked.
"Yes," I said.
"Poor, poor child," she said, gently rubbing my cheek. "Having to grow up so fast."
"Too fast," I muttered.
"We usually start the boys' lessons at 8 so I'll save you a plate for breakfast," she said, then rifled through some books on her shelf. She picked out a couple and handed them to me. "You'll need this. Read as much of this book as you can before you come over tomorrow so that you can try and keep up."
I glanced down at the book, it was Huckleberry Finn, I smiled, "I've actually read this book."
"Your old school taught it?" she asked.
I shook my head, "No, I read it for fun."
She smiled proudly, "Well look at that someone who likes to read!"
"I like to read!" Taylor said defensively. "Just not when I'm forced to."
I laughed.
"Well Tay," Diana said. "You get her back to her motel room and then come home. You guys have work to do on the next album, the clock is ticking."
"Album?" I asked curiously.
"Yeah, my brothers and I are kind of a band," Taylor said, blushing.
"Kind of?" Diana chuckled.
"Well, we are a band," he said. "We're kind of famous too."
My eyes widened, "Famous?"
"You've never heard of Hanson?" Taylor's dad, Walker, said coming in the room.
I shook my head.
"You may be the only teenage girl on the planet who hasn't," he chuckled.
"I wasn't allowed to listen to the radio or watch TV," I said, embarrassed.
"Don't mind my husband," Diana said, waving him off. "They're just regular boys who happen to have made a career out of something they love."
This was overwhelming. I couldn't be seen with someone famous. For one i wasn't anybody. I was nothing. For two if Taylor was famous that meant there was even more of a chance of Mitch finding me.
"Yeah, I should probably go," I told Taylor. "I gotta try and get some sleep before work tonight."
He nodded. I thanked Diana and we left. I didn't say anything the whole ride back to the motel.
"I guess I'll see you in the morning?" he said, when we reached the motel.
"Um yeah," I lied, jumping out of the truck. "See you later."
I had no plans to return to their house in the morning.
He gave me a strange look then followed me to my door.
"Hey you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah I'm fine," I lied. "I swear."
"Hmm," he said. "Okay. Well call me if you need anything okay?"
I nodded, "Yeah I will but I'll be fine. Just gonna sleep then go to work."
He nodded, "Okay well just in case."
"Okay thanks," I said and went inside and quickly shut the door.
I tried to sleep but I couldn't. I had too much on my mind, of course the one person who I thought I could be friends with was someone who I couldn't be friends with if I wanted to stay hidden. I knew I had to distance myself from him and it broke my heart.
At least work kept me busy so I couldn't think about my problems or sleep, but as soon as my shift ended I went to the office paid for another night using my tip money and went back to my room and fell on the bed, falling immediately to sleep.
I woke up several hours later to a pounding on my door.
I was still in my uniform and still groggy as I answered the door.
"Taylor?" I said, suddenly awake. "What are you doing here?"
"You didn't show up this morning," he said, forcing himself into the room. I shut the door and sat back on the bed.
"Sorry I was really tired," I said. "I forgot."
"I was so worried," he said.
"Why?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "I'm fine."
"You've been weird since you left my house yesterday," he said.
"You don't even know me Taylor," I said. "I told you I'm not a sociable person."
"Just stop," he said. "What's going on? I get that it's a little weird that I'm famous but that doesn't change who I am or how I feel about you."
I gave him a strange look, "Taylor I can't be around someone who is famous. I'm not anyone. I can't have someone taking a picture of me with you. I can't have your mom teach me because I can't get my records. Okay? I just can't. I'm working to get enough money so I can leave again. I have to get further away from my past."
"What are you running from?" he asked. "What happened to you?"
"Just forget it," I cried. "Just leave me alone. I'm grateful for all you've done but you need to just forget about me. Just leave and never come back."
I turned to walk toward the bathroom.
"No I won't," he said, grabbing my arm. "I like you Amelia. Just talk to me, please. I know you're hiding something."
"Leave me alone!" I cried, trying to pull my arm away but he didn't release it.
"Not until you tell me what I want to know," is what he said. What I heard was "Not until you give me what I want."
Flashes of my past abuse flooded my mind and tears streamed down my cheeks, "Fine then you'll leave me alone?"
I started unbuttoning my uniform top and he looked confused. He released my arm.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
"Giving you what you want," I cried, and pulled my top down.
"Stop," he said, pulling my top back over my shoulders. "I didn't tell you to do that."
"You didn't have to," I sobbed, tossing my top off to the floor. "I know what happens next so it's fine."
I unzipped my skirt.
"Amelia, stop," he cried, grabbing my hands and pulling them away from my skirt. "I swear this isn't what I want. Not like this. I just wanted you to tell me what happened to you, tell me about your past and why you are running, but I think I have an idea now. I don't want to force you to have sex."
I sobbed harder and sank to the floor, he sat down and pulled me into his arms and I cried into his chest for the longest time.
"I'm a little screwed up Taylor," I finally said.
"Ya think?" he teased gently, brushing my hair out of my face.
I laughed, "I guess a little is an understatement."
"Just tell me what happened," he said, softly pulling me up to face him.
I avoided his eyes, "It's a long story."
"I have plenty of time," he said.
I swallowed hard and told him about my father leaving, and my mother becoming an alcoholic, and marrying Mitch. And how shortly after I turned 12 he would sneak into my room at night. I told him about my pregnancy at 13 and how when Mitch found out he pushed me down the stairs causing a miscarriage. I told him about my mother blaming me for Mitch's abuse. I told him about how I had no friends and wasn't allowed to do anything but go to school. I told him about my mother drinking herself to death and how the abuse got worse after she was gone. Then I told him how I planned my escape.
"And that's how I ended up at that truck stop," I finished my story. "And that's why I can't have anyone finding out where I am. He'll come after me, if he isn't already."