Heart Broke (Broken Home Book 1) Read online

  In love!

  Is this what this is? Does Rick feel the same way? The more I ponder it, the more I know that I am most certainly in love with Rick and just as soon as we can find some privacy, I want to sleep with him.

  When I pull into my driveway, I rush into the house and scramble out of my horrible school uniform. There is only a few minutes to decide what outfit to wear as I know Rick will be here any moment. After deliberating for two seconds, I snatch my pink sundress and throw it over my head. It’s floaty and silky and—in Rick’s words—will make me accessible!

  When I skip out the front door, he is waiting with his arm leaning on the side of the car, his sunglasses pushed back on his forehead. He is grinning and leaps out the T-bird and runs around to open the door for me.

  “Mmm, I like this.” He kisses me hard and his fingers drift under the hem of my dress. I have to bat his hand away as I’m terrified the neighbors will see us.

  “Where are we going?” We have headed Downtown and most of the streets around here are unfamiliar to me. Rick pulls outside a dilapidated house. The grass in the tiny yard is waist high and there are two wheelie bins overflowing with trash.

  He takes my hand and his palm is sweaty. “I-I wanted to introduce you to my family.” He looks back at the house and I can see two guys inside. One has blond floppy hair and he appears to be holding a wooden spoon and is dancing around the room in… Jeez, are those his underpants? The other guy is older and he is well built and kind of serious looking. He flicks the other boy with a towel and they start to wrestle.

  Rick’s face falls. “Huh, maybe this isn’t a good idea.”

  I scoot along the bench seat and wrap my arms around his waist. “No, I want to meet your brothers.” Inside, my stomach is squirming and I’m so nervous but Rick must be serious about us if he is bringing me home.

  “Um, they aren’t my real brothers. We all just live with my Ma. It’s kind of complicated, but we’re as close as family.”

  We climb out the car and he reaches for my hand. I smooth my dress down with the other and wish I’d worn something different. “D-do I look okay?”

  He grins. “Seriously?” Then he leans in and whispers, “I have a massive boner, Franny. That is how okay you look.”

  My phone pings and I look down at the message on the screen, a text from a class mate confirming they will be at my party. I close the phone and Rick leads me into the house.

  “Get some fucking pants on Zane. Christ, we have company.” He turns to me, “I’m so sorry, Franny, he’s a moron. I promise he’s not dangerous, only stupid.” Rick glares at Zane and the guy vanishes for a few moments.

  I’m taken through to the kitchen and there is a little kid at the table. He has a pack of saltine crackers he’s munching through. There are crumbs around his feet and he has snot all over his face and a bruise on his cheek. Rick goes to him and kneels in front. He grabs the dish cloth and wipes the boy’s face. “Did your mom’s dealer do this, Jimmy?”

  The kid nods.

  The bigger guy I saw through the window walks in and he grins when he sees me. “You finally brought her to meet us. I was beginning to think you were ashamed of us, Riccardo.” He ruffles Rick’s hair and then sticks out his hand to me. “Francesca, isn’t it?”

  I shake his hand, “Um, yes mister…” I’m not sure how much older this guy is than Rick, he looks young but his manner is kind of fatherly.

  “Teddy.” Rick growls and his arm is around my shoulder as he addresses Teddy. “You see this?” He jabs his thumb at the little kid who has now wiped more snot down his sleeve.

  Teddy put’s a hand on the kid’s shoulder. “I’m dealing with it.”

  Rick seems relieved and he goes to the icebox, opening it. “You want a drink, Franny? Fuck,” Rick slouches, his head falling back. “Who took the soda I bought?”

  He swings around just as a now fully clothed Zane arrives, drinking the dregs from a liter of store brand coke. Rick snatches it from him. “What the fuck? That was mine!” Rick looks apologetically at me. “Huh, sorry, I guess I need to make a run to the store. A-fucking-gain.” He eyeballs Zane.

  I’m worried Rick and Zane will come to blows because they are now in each other’s faces, glaring, their shoulders back.

  “Water is fine by me, Rick, I’m trying to cut out sodas.” It’s enough to pull Rick out the confrontation and after he pours me a glass of water, he leads me into the living room and we take a seat on the couch.

  I’m so nervous, I am fiddling with my skirt but when Teddy and Zane join us, the guys are all so sweet. They ask me what I’m studying, what music I like, and my favorite TV shows. Soon I feel more relaxed and I’m all snuggled up under Rick’s arm, my feet tucked under me and his fingers running through my hair.

  This place is a far cry from my place. We have dozens of rooms and none of my family ever seem to meet to be in the same one, except for the kitchen at breakfast. My place is immaculate as Mom is a neat freak and Daddy likes his fine things to sparkle. Here, it is homey, the furniture is crammed into the small space and nothing matches. It’s dusty and a quick vacuum could go a long way, but I like it a lot. It looks lived in. It looks like a home.

  All afternoon, my phone is constantly alerting me to texts from people replying to my birthday invites and I don’t even want to think about them, so I switch it to silent and toss it on the rickety coffee table. I excuse myself to go to the bathroom and when I return the three boys are looking at me. I take my seat next to Rick.

  “Ask her,” Zane says and I look at Rick.

  “Ask me what?”

  “Shut the fuck up,” Rick hisses at his non-brother.

  “What’s up?” I ask again.

  Zane has a grin on his face and despite the glare from Rick, he decides to tell me. “We were just wondering if you are inviting Rick to your fancy-ass party.”

  I notice my phone is now face-up on the table and the list of acceptance texts keep flashing up on the screen. Snatching it up, I hide it in my skirt. My cheeks immediately burn and I am mortified. I don’t know what to say because I have deliberately kept this from Rick. Daddy would have a fit if Rick comes and even though Daddy promised to leave me to celebrate in peace, I just know Daddy will find out.

  Not to mention, I am sure Rick will absolutely hate my birthday party. He will hate all the lame people I have been forced to invite, and he will hate my stupid marquee and my catered food. I feel ashamed, not of Rick, but of me and my family. Daddy is spending a fortune on this party to impress his friends and I don’t want Rick to think that any of this matters to me.

  “Of course, I’m inviting Rick.” I turn to him. “I-I was going to give you your invitation when we got back to my place.” Now I’m hoping I will have enough time to run upstairs and quickly write out one of the spares.

  “You were?” He beams at me.

  “You think I wouldn’t want my boyfriend there!” My mouth is running away from me as I try to make up for not having the courage to invite him in the first place. “Um, you guys can come, too.” The words are out of my mouth before I realize what I have said, but there is no going back now as Teddy and Zane are grinning at me.

  “Cool,” says Zane. “I’m definitely going.”

  “That’s very nice of you, Franny. See, Zane, I told you she wouldn’t have forgotten to invite Rick.”

  In the car, Rick squeezes my hand. “You sure about this, Franny? Your dad is gonna have a fit if I turn up… if we all come to your party.”

  I can’t withdraw my invitation now, I saw how hurt Rick looked when he thought I wasn’t asking him. “He’ll never know. Daddy has promised to stay away until one a.m. and I really want to spend my birthday with you Rick.”

  He drapes his arms across my shoulders. “Will you be eighteen on the day of your party?” He has a twinkle in his eye and I know what he is insinuating. He said we wouldn’t sleep together until I turned eighteen. Now, he is done waiting.

  “Yes,” I’
m all breathy again. Maybe my lame party won’t be so lame after all!

  As Rick pulls up in front of my house, my phone slides from my lap and when I retrieve it from the floor, I notice a list of addresses and names of car parts printed on Spin Motors’ headed note paper. At the bottom of the page there is a handwritten note from my father and he starts it with ‘Rick’.

  I snatch up the paper and brandish it at my boyfriend. “What’s this?”

  He grabs it from me and tosses it in the back. “Nothing.”

  But I know it is something and I wish I’d read the note at the bottom before it was taken from me. “Rick, what’s going on?”

  He sighs. “I wasn’t going to tell you, because I knew you’d flip out. The new job is with your father.”

  “Daddy gave you a job?” I’m astounded. There is no way my father would have a Prank working at his company.

  Rick frowns. “What, you don’t think I’m capable of getting a decent job?”

  I shake my head. “With my father?”

  “Why are you making this an issue, Franny. I’m just running stock around for him, that’s all. I don’t even deal with him, one of his mechanics is a friend of mine and recommended me.”

  I chew on my lip because I’m wondering what the hell Daddy is up to. Last night, he warned me to stay away from Rick and now he has given Rick work. “Th-that’s great.” I try to sound like I mean it and throw my arms around Rick’s neck to distract him. Plonking a big wet kiss on his mouth does the job and when I wave him off a few minutes later, my outburst is forgotten.

  Chapter 13

  RICK

  Whew, boy! You look nice,” shouts Zane. “Teddy, look at Ricky. Doesn’t he look nice?”

  I’m smiling looking down at my pressed slate-gray shirt plus blue jeans and boots that I hand-washed in the kitchen sink.

  “Hmph,” Teddy grunts, which doesn’t sound like he approves.

  I put my hands out. “What?”

  “You look good but...”

  “But what?”

  “I’ve seen those pants on you before. Turn around.”

  I turn around and twist to spy my back. “What?”

  Zane is laughing. “Dude, you got a hole in your back pocket. You can’t wear that to a Prick party.” He laughs again. “No wonder your girlfriend didn’t want you to attend. You look less like a Prank and more like a punk.”

  “Shut up!” I yell. Franny said she was going to give me my invitation later, which I realize she never did. Checking my ass, I see that I do have a hole in my back pocket right where the bottom of my cig pack rests. “Shit.”

  “Change those pants,” Teddy commands, “but come here first.” He walks towards the bathroom. “Let me help you with your hair.”

  “Oh hell, no,” cries Zane. “You’re not helping Rick with his hair. That’s my job. Do you not see the sexiness that rests atop my head?”

  “That’s not sexy, man,” smirks Teddy. “That’s obnoxious. This,” he points to his beard, “is sexy.”

  “Teddy, you have no idea what sexy is. If you did, you’d be getting laid more. Let me tell you, chicks adore the blond ambition. They love getting their fingers tangled in these golden streaks when they need something to pull on. It helps release the tension while my tongue is grinding. It’s why they keep coming back and, I hate to break it to you, Teddy, but you haven’t brought home a girl in months. You’re losing your touch, man, and I’m not trying to sound mean, but it could be the beard. Makes you look older than twenty.”

  I stand idle for a minute, wondering what alien life forms have taken over Teddy’s and Zane’s bodies.

  “Lover boy!” Zane waves me over. “C’mon!”

  I’m reluctant at first to let them get their hands on my hair, but I figure what the hell. Zane is right about his hair. I see chicks massaging his head all the time and although Teddy has been toying with facial hair, he does seem to know how to keep it trimmed.

  Walking into the bathroom, Zane drops the toilet hood so I can sit down. Both Zane and Teddy take turns messing with my hair. Teddy goes as far as to bust out one of his expensive four-blade razors, to give me a shave, including at the back of my neck as well as my sideburns to above my ears. When they’re both finally in agreement, Zane adjusts my collar before I take a look in the mirror and I’m exasperated with myself. My wavy hair is tamed and I don’t have one rough patch of Prickly stubble, which I always miss at least one spot when I shave myself.

  With this trim, I look clean. In this shirt, I look slick. But overall? I look like a Prick.

  My feelings are ambivalent. Last thing I ever want is to get confused with an Uptowner, but this is Franny’s special day. And, I also have to say Teddy and Zane did a pretty good job. Never have I ever stepped one foot into Uptown without attracting some type of attention. But with this look, I should blend in easy.

  “All right, Cinderella.” Teddy smiles at me, “are you ready to go? We’d better get moving before this party blows up without us.”

  “And we don’t want to miss a good blow.” Zane winks and then he laughs at his own joke.

  Quickly, I change my pants and we all hop into the Thunderbird.

  Boring. That’s what this fucking party is. Boring.

  And it worries me.

  The music is at a barely audible hum, which was a mistake because Zane has taken it upon himself to entertain an audience of teeny boppers with his baritone and Bieber moves. The food is tasteless, which was another mistake because Teddy took it upon himself to cook for his audience of oglers—chicks and eager-to-learn dicks—in the kitchen. Not to mention, I saw no alcohol, which was a bigger mistake since Skinny, who tagged along, decided to make a run home to bring back jars of moonshine that has already disappeared with a small group of people in the backyard where they are all huddled under the marquee.

  But boring is not what I’m worried about. It feels like Franny is ignoring me. She’s floating around like a social butterfly, which she should be—talking and laughing. But she’s avoiding eye contact with me and it’s killing me.

  What’s worse than all of that is Franny looks fucking hot. She’s got on a pink sequined, spaghetti strap fuck-me mini dress with an open back and every time I try to approach her and put my hand on her, she walks in the opposite direction. I can’t tell if she’s genuinely busy as she says she is or if she’s upset about something, though none of those things seem to be the reason she won’t even look at me. A stone rolls in my gut as I’m beginning to get an inkling that there’s something bigger going on in her mind, something worse than my previous suspicions...

  I’m afraid that Franny might be embarrassed of me.

  I decide to head out through the open doors set in an all-glass wall to the back lawn where half the guests have now assembled and are getting rowdy. I dart straight to Skinny, who’s hard to miss even without his flock of followers eager to sample his divine, homemade whiskey at 190 proof. There’s enough alcohol content in his moonshine to power a car. Against Skinny’s argument, I manage to snatch up a smaller jar to keep for myself and take a full swig of the engine fuel.

  Wandering among the growing crowd in the backyard, I find an all-weather Adirondack chair and sit down. Looking up to the moon, I tilt my head back to take one swig after another and wonder what the fuck I’m even doing here. I really thought this was supposed to be our night—mine and Franny’s. I know it’s her birthday and this is her party but I really believed that we’d be hanging all over one another like we always do.

  In truth, I feel lost without her.

  I spy her through the glass door and windows. She’s flying about like a fairy, spreading her magic dust on everyone and everything. She’s seemed perfectly happy all evening, except for when I approach and then she looks like she’s ready to retreat like most Uptowners do, like most Pricks do, eager to get away.

  Boom-ta-ta. Boom-ta-ta.

  Somebody just turned up the music as well as changed the beat and I see Franny g
et frantic. I watch her run towards the booming sounds, towards the room where there is a guy performing atop a coffee table, towards Zane. Chicks are flocking to join him and are beginning to strip, giving a show, which is cracking me up but Franny looks pissed.

  A scream followed by more screams go off and I immediately jump to my feet. But I sit back down when I see the screaming was nothing more than excitement over Teddy’s show of bar tending skills after igniting some moonshine in a few shot glasses.

  Franny has quickly found her way into the kitchen after following the screams. She doesn’t seem happy about Teddy’s show either.

  She’s looks around—her head spinning like she’s lost and I get the feeling she’s finally looking for me. I get up and I’m a little woozy from the moonshine, so I take a breather to collect myself, smacking and rubbing my face with both hands to bring me to my senses.

  But I wished I’d hadn’t. Instead of a few smacks, I wish I’d punched myself to knock myself out, because I can’t believe what I’m seeing! Franny has her forehead buried in that quarterback, Lance Gordon’s, chest and she’s crying as he rubs her back, consoling her.

  What the fuck is she doing?

  My heart is beyond bleeding. It’s fucking breaking!

  Pacing my way across the yard, I stumble over a nerd and come crashing into the thick green grass. I feel sick but I don’t know if it’s from the fall or the moonshine or...

  “Franny!” I call out and manage to get up on my knees then to both feet.

  My boots feel heavy. I’m dragging them, my toes slipping across the stone flooring, as I make my way into the house. But I don’t see Franny anywhere. “Franny!” I call out again. She’s not in the same spot she was in when I last saw her with that baller, which makes my blood boil.

  I swear to God if she went upstairs with that fucking football player...

  “FRANNYYYYYY!” I shout at the top of my lungs and I finally get some attention, except not from the girl I’m looking for.