Broken World Read Free

tone just really drives me crazy. Deal?” A slow smile crosses his face. He holds out his hand.
    I don’t know why my defenses melt around him, but they always do. He can see right through me, and he’s not running for the hills. I’m not sure what to think about that, either. I shake his hand and offer a quiet, “Deal.”
    “Good. Scram, before your dad calls in the National Guard.”
    I start to smile but force myself to stop, not wanting to give him anymore access past my defenses than he already has. I walk away.
    “Ms. Abbott-Renou,” he calls when I reach the door. “Tell your driver not to park in front of a fire hydrant next time, or I’ll write him a ticket.” He winks. “And I won’t forget to sign it.”
    “You would’ve made a good politician!” I retort.
    “Hey now, that’s low!” He throws his arms open like I’ve wounded him.
    I leave. This time, I do smile. I ignore the paparazzi as they snap pics of me and hurry to the car, followed by a silent Fabio. I climb into the back seat while he gets in the front. The small thrill I feel at the exchange with Dom is gone by the time I reach home.
    I dart into the house, not wanting to give anyone the chance to corner me. I’m ready to make a run for my closet when I notice who’s walking down the hall towards me. My half-brother, Joseph, is dressed casually. He waves for me to wait. The eldest of the three of us, he was out of the house in college by the time I turned five. I barely know him.
    “Mia, c’mere,” he says and motions me out of the foyer.
    We walk into the formal living area. He sits on one of the designer couches Mom imported from Europe. I sit on the other end and wait for him to give me another of Daddy’s speeches. He and Molly are model children with Shea-crafted images. As I stare at my half-brother, I wonder if perfect, confident, Ken-doll Joseph has secrets like Molly.
    “How are you, Mia?” Joseph asks.
    I shrug. We have the same blond hair and blue eyes, which we inherited from Daddy.
    “I’m sorry I didn’t fly in earlier.” Joseph is on a special presidential appointment at the UN. I don’t know what he does, but I remember he’s always been gifted with languages.
    “Why would you?” I ask, crossing my arms.
    “Because I’m your brother, maybe?” He’s got Molly’s arrogant edge.
    I roll my eyes at him.
    “I haven’t seen you in so long. I forgot you’re not the little girl you were when I left for college.”
    “Well I’m not.”
    “Look, Mia, Molly and I have always been very distant from you,” he says, lowering his voice. “You were always the little princess, the spoiled daughter of the woman who replaced our mother. I don’t think either of us ever forgave your mother for that. I also don’t think we ever forgave you for what your mother did.”
    “I know you guys hate me,” I say. “You don’t have to rub it in.”
    “This is what I’m talking about,” he says. “This attitude. You’ve never been interested in the family image or anything outside of yourself.”
    I get up to leave, furious he flew home from Europe to tell me how he and Molly hated me.
    “But, then this … incident came out in the papers. I think that’s the shock it took for me to take a look at how we treated you. I called Chris, and we talked for a bit.”
    “Where are you going with this?” I demand, not sitting but not leaving either.
    “I didn’t know about your mother’s alcohol problem. I didn’t know Daddy wrote you off. I had no idea you were so alone.”
    “It wasn’t like that for you and Molly?” I ask, puzzled.
    “It wasn’t this bad. We lived in Georgia, not DC, so there was a buffer. Our mother wasn’t as interested in the social scene. We never had a normal life, but we had a better one,” he says. “In any case, you’re my sister. It’s time I started acting like your brother.”
    “It’s a little late, don’t you think?”
    “No, I don’t,” he said, the edge in his