Break Through by Amber Garza Read Free Book Online

solution.” He paused, and I could hear his smile through the phone. “That way I can have beautiful flowers in my yard without all the hassle.”
    “Beautiful?” I snorted. “Fake flowers are not beautiful. They’re hideous.” My body practically shuddered at the thought.
    “The real flowers in my yard are hideous too. They’re pathetic and shriveled looking. Not beautiful at all, I can assure you.”
    “Didn’t I say I’d help with that?”
    “Well, I need your help fast. I’m in a flower crisis over here.”
    My entire body warmed at his words.
    “What about tomorrow?” he asked.
    I froze, listening to Mom and Dad moving around downstairs. It was fine when we were talking more in hypothetical terms, but now it all seemed too real.
    “Aspen?” his voice was soft.
    “Um…” I scratched my arm until red lines appeared on my flesh. “I don’t know.”
    “If you don’t want to….” His words trailed off, making me feel like shit.
    He was the first person who’d reached out to me in years. Why was I pushing him away? What the hell was wrong with me?
    “No, I do. I really do,” I said honestly.
    “Great. I can pick you up in the morning. Does ten work?”
    My heart arrested. “Um…yeah. Ok.”
    “See you then.” The phone went dead before I could respond.
    I stared at the phone in my hand, perplexed.
    “Aspen?” Mom stood at the bottom of the stairs, a questioning look on her face. “What did he want?”
    Grabbing onto the bannister , I pulled myself to a standing position. My legs felt wobbly, my whole body electrified. Even though I was afraid to tell Mom, I lifted my head high. “I’m gonna go to his house tomorrow.”
    “You’re what?” Mom’s face paled.
    My stomach knotted, knowing what she was thinking. I sighed. “To help him with his plants, Mom.”
    Dad stepped into the room, his gaze darting between the two of us. “What’s going on?”
    “Aspen is going over to Carter’s tomorrow to help him with his plants.” Mom spoke through gritted teeth.
    “Good for her.” Dad nodded. “It’s about time she got out of the house and did something.”
    “Are you serious?” By the daggers in her eyes, my guess was that Mom was not expecting this response from Dad.
    “Yeah.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Caroline, it’s time for you to loosen the reigns. She’s twenty-three.”
    I smiled. He was right. I was twenty-three, and it was time for me to start acting like it.

SIX
    I dreamt of Kurt . Of his brown hair, dark eyes and large smile. Of his calloused hands and flannel shirts he always wore. He was everywhere. I couldn’t escape him no matter how hard I tried. When I ran away, attempting to go outside, I found myself in the room he kept me. The bars on the window taunted me. The dolls and stuffed animals mocked me with their crudely stitched-on smiles that made them appear as if they were constantly laughing. My chest tightened, and it was hard to catch my breath. That’s how I felt in captivity. Like I could never catch my breath. As if I was always drowning.
    I awoke with a gasp. My heart beat erratically in my chest, and my fists held tightly to my comforter. So tightly that it hurt when I released my death grip. The scent of dust and sour milk lingered in my memory. It was the scent of his house. Like something was rotten. I used to imagine it was his heart I was smelling. It was the very essence of his soul seeping out. As if evil had a scent.
    Breathing deeply, I took in my surroundings – my simple purple bedspread with no frills at all, the plants hanging from the hooks in the ceiling and the skylight above me with the early morning sun shining on my face. The comforts of home soothed me, and pretty soon my heart slowed. It beat softly as if keeping time with a melody. The years I spent at Kurt’s, my heartbeat was fast and manic, like it had taken up drumming for a rock band. There were days I wondered if a child could die of a heart attack, because