Authors: Tanille Edwards
Broken
BROKEN. Copyright ©2006-2014 by Tanille Edwards. All rights reserved. No part of this book maybe reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electrical or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher. For information, address Fire Flies Entertainment LLC 1077 North Avenue, Suite 114 Elizabeth NJ 07201
(212) 561-1654
[email protected]
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, businesses, organizations, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Broken by Tanille is a trademark of Fire Flies Entertainment LLC. Undercover Starlet is a trademark of Fire Flies Entertainment LLC.
Published 2014
Broken: a young adult novel/Tanille Edwards.
Library of Congress Control Number 2006908892
ISBN 978-0-9787302-1-5
1. Young Adult â Fiction & Literature 2. Young Adult â Romance
3. Young Adult â Drama
Contents
Chapter 10
Let the Season Begin
Chapter 12
Flutter By Butterfly
Chapter 14
Never Phone Me Even in an Emergency
Chapter 16
The Real Frenchy, Please Stand Up
Chapter 17
It Rained, It Poured, My Heart Still Adored
Chapter 19
The Boy I Used to Know
Chapter 22
First Day After Holiday Break
Chapter 27
And Then There Were None
Daddy hadn't asked me if I wanted to wait to go to South Hampton (SH) with him in the copter. Instead, his assistant texted at 9 o'clock last night: “A car will be downstairs at 9 to take you to the house.”
Dimitri sent the text to both Daddy and me, saying: “Really hate riding with her. Can take own car.” We were so close we even shared a family rate plan. Texting each other was gratis.
Dimitri was my brother. Six-foot-two, dark brown curly hair, cut in a close fade. Dark brown eyes with dark rims, like he was wearing eyeliner; an earring in his earâfor edge, of course. His smile was perfect. His teeth were even straighter than mine. After two years of braces, he insisted on getting veneers. I don't know if describing him as handsome would be enough for his ego. But for all the perfection on the outside, there was something dark and even rotten on the inside. He used to be fun, and not so mean. Granted, that was when we were preteens and our mother was alive. Lately, he was so far away. He didn't want anything to do with me. We were barely acquaintancesâfelt like we just passed each other by because we shared the same house.
So it was 8:15 a.m. I sat in the car, looking at my pink-and-white Swarovski crystal watch. This was the third one I'd had this year. I dropped one on my way down the stairs at school. My other one, I left at a shoot in Milanâironic. I had left my favorite watch in the city I was named after.
Whenever Daddy upset me, I would think about going back to Milan to get that watch and not telling anyone. It would take him a week before he'd notice I was totally gone. And then another week to even think about checking my jet card.
The driver was loading the car with my summer luggage. Would Dimitri possibly be downstairs before he was done? He was probably arguing with Daddy. See, Daddy replied to his text this morning, forbidding him from driving out to SH since he'd never taken a trip longer than 30 minutes in his own car. Daddy also gave him permission to drive Mama's Ferrari around the island.
I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Not that anyone would ever ask. My best friend, Sierra, would. She took care of me. No one around my house ever asked me how I felt or what I thought. To be fair, Sierra's twin sister, Frenchy, was my best friend too. No one had driven the car since Mama had. That was almost three years ago to the day. We always left for SH on the same day, one day after the last day of school. Daddy was all too happy to ship us away for the summer to our grandparents.
I saw the sunlight enter the back of the limo. Unbeknownst to me, Dimitri was actually climbing in. “Hi,” I said. He gave me a head nod. “I want to stop by the agency before we hit the road.” Dimitri shrugged. The car started to move. I could feel a smile return to my face. “You know, Dimitri, maybe this summer won't be so bad.”
“We can start with you not talking to me,” Dimitri said. “That would improve things tremendously. Then, ditching Gramps and Nana. ⦠I'm trippin'. With the Ferrari, I'm good.”
“Don't have any sleazes in Mama's car!” I said.
“I can have anybody I want in there.” Then he just shook his head. “I don't want to talk about Mom again. ⦠You got it?!” he continued.
“Ever?” I asked.
“If you remembered Mom so much, you wouldn't pretend you are not deaf. You would sign. You would be you. God forbid Edna tries to sign to you or Dad's assistant. Mom would think you're the biggest poser of all. Me using the Ferrari would be nothing in comparison. There's nothing more to say,” Dimitri signed.
Was it really that simple for him?
“I'm not a poser! I'm just tired of being on the outside,” I said.
“You are a liar. You are on magazine covers and lying. How about you stop pretending to be a fake supermodel,” Dimitri said.
“Fine. Call me a liar, but I'm not changing because you said so,” I said. “This is the most you've said to me in the past six months combined. Why don't you stop pretending you're not my brother!”
I did love Mama. Thoughts of her presented a certain cruelty at times. I remembered who I used to be. She was part of me, like the threads of a Chanel suit. You couldn't make the suit without it. It is the backbone of the darn thing.
I smiled. I was so good at that. I just reminded myself: What did I have to be sad about? I had the life every girl dreamed of. At least, that's what my shrink kept telling me. Until I stopped seeing her. Now she didn't tell me anything. Once, Lisa, my agent, described me as charismatic. That word was on my mind for a week. Was that who I was? I felt like I didn't know who I was supposed to be. Was I pretty, was I charismatic, was I smart, was I funny, was I still Milan? I don't know why Dimitri did this. Of course I was Milan.
The car stopped. We were here. Twenty-First Street, right off Park. There were so many stores downtown. I hadn't realized that the new apartments across the street had my favorite coffee shop in the lobby. I made a mental note to grab a cup before heading back to the car.
“Ms. Milan.” The driver opened my door.
“Thank you.”
The air was crisp. The day was starting off a little difficult. I couldn't believe he called me a liar. He never even talked to me anymore. And I wasn't a liar. I never told anybody I could hear. I just didn't say I couldn't. Oh, whatever. I noticed Dimitri put his iPod earplugs in when I got out of the car. I walked into the building as quick as possible.
The last week of school had been brutal! Finals crammed into two days because of the four shoots Lisa squeezed in. I was taking these commercial classes since I was scheduled to shoot a commercial for lip gloss in the fall. If I kept my head focused on my calendar, I could forget about Dimitri. I got off the elevator on the fifth floor.
I walked through the heavy metal door to enter the congested, traffic-laden agency. The all-white exposed-brick interior of the agency was fresh. No matter the scene, the agency had become my second home. Lisa was like my family. No one could ever replace Mama, though. Sometimes it felt like Lisa was looking out for me.
“Hey, Milan, baby,” Raul said.
“Hello.” I waved coyly.
“Booking set up two jobs for you today, and it's only noon, babe! Nothing but couture for you from now on. We were waiting to hear back on something for that
Undercover Starlet beauty deal now. We can't forget where we came from. Still Milan from the block?”
“The East side, that is,” I said.
“East side! All right now,” Raul snapped his fingers.
“You are so silly,” I laughed. “Is Lisa available?”
“For you, always!” Raul buzzed Lisa. “Doll baby is here to see you,” he said over the intercom.
Lisa walked out of her office over to me with open arms. I gave her a big bear hug, the kind you get at family holiday dinners or something. “How are you?” she asked.
“Cool. Just stopping by on my way to the country,” I said.
“I'll be out with Stewart this weekend. You two should meet,” she said.
“Yeah. Maybe we'll do lunch?”
“Sure, sweetie. Let me check the schedule.” Lisa scrolled through her phone. I made myself comfortable in the loveseat at the back of her minimalist office. I threw my legs over the armchair like I had no place to be. Wishful thinking. I needed a break from Dimitri. He was going way too Dr. Phil on me. He was probably in the midst of textin' one of his groupies anyway.
“Why don't we do lunch on Sunday?” Lisa asked.
“Yeah.”
“Come over to the house. Stew can lunch with us too,” she said.
“I guess.”
“Is everything okay?” Lisa brushed a loose hair away from my face.
“I have to share a car with my brother for three hours. He says about three words to me a week. Then today he goes off on this tangent about stuff.”
“Oh, sweetie. Tell him I said hi. Get some R & R, sweetheart. Next week we have a major on Thursday. We need you fresh,” she said. I felt lazy, but I got up to my feet. “Do you want Raul to make you a latte, honey?”
“No, I have my eyes on the spot across the street.”
“I think our lattes are better,” she said.
“Another time. I need strong stuff to deal with Dimitri.”
“Before I forget,” Lisa walked back over to her desk. “There are two ⦠no, no ⦠three groups we're in talks with for you to do like a PSA-type campaign for young deaf girls across the country like you.”
“Like me?”
“This is such an image builder,” she said.
“What do you think people will think about that?”
“They will think ⦔ She paused for a moment. Then she scanned my face in an odd manner. I was almost uncomfortable. “They'll think you have everything. That opportunity in this world is for everyone. Being deaf doesn't stop you from being fabulous. They'll say you're cool, which you are.”
“No, they'll change their minds about me,” I replied. “They're going to think I'm weird. They're going to say I sound funny. Only after they know I'm deaf. I don't want to do it. It's going to change things.” I didn't care what Lisa thought. I wasn't going back to people feeling sorry for me. Lisa held my hand. It startled me. My peripheral vision wasn't always what I thought it was.
“I have never looked like you,” she said. “Authentic, unique, mysterious, yet cheerful in a calming way. Even on my best day with my best makeup, I never looked like you. But I would never not show my face! This is part of who I am. I have my mother's ears, my father's nose, my grandfather's eyes, and my own smile. I feel pretty. That is all that counts. You are deaf. You are not the only one. Anything you need to make your life possible is possible. Other people didn't have these opportunities. Don't hide who you are. Make other girls like you proud.”