Read Online Broken by Travis Thrasher - Free Book Online Page A

something leak out of his nose.
    “You said you had something for me.”
    “I just said that—look, she’s my sister. Laila is my sister, and I’m looking for her.”
    The man has a big hand, and that hand finds his face. He grips his forehead and twists like one might do to an orange when
     juicing it. Lex coils back and tries to push the man off him.
    When he’s finally let go, Lex rubs his forehead and tries to gain his vision back.
    “You’re looking for Laila?”
    “Yeah.”
    “You look like her.”
    “Yeah, I know.”
    “If you didn’t I seriously might throw you in the lake somewhere.”
    “She’s my older sister.”
    “Didn’t know she had any family.”
    “I didn’t mean anything calling. I don’t have any leads, and I’m just concerned.”
    “Are you, Lex? That’s interesting because so are we.”
    They are on some highway somewhere, driving with few cars around, the world passing by in a blur.
    “And you haven’t spoken with her recently, have you?”
    “Not at all. Not for years. That’s why I called you.”
    “You don’t look like a liar, Lex.”
    “Why would I lie?”
    “Most people lie,” the crack of his mouth says, his eyes like the windows of a tank. “Everybody lies, in fact. But you better
     not be lying.”
    “I’m not.”
    “Why are you looking for her?”
    “Because I think—because I know—she’s in trouble.”
    “Really?” The man laughs. “And why would that be?”
    “Because people are looking for her.”
    “I bet they are. So you decided to join the crowd, did you?”
    Lex nods.
    “Here’s a bit of advice. I would leave your sister alone. I would go back to whatever home you have and leave things be. She’ll
     be found. But not by you.”
    “What do you want with her?”
    “What do I want? Nothing. Nothing at all. Just two or three years of my life back. But that’s all. Nothing else.”
    The air blowing out of the vent above him is cold and causes Lex to shiver. He is still groggy from the blow to the head.
    “You’re not a part of this, so my advice to you is to leave. Leave Chicago today. This is not your problem, and Laila is not
     yours. You seem like a good kid so stay that way. You have family, Lex?”
    He nods.
    “Then go back home to them. I don’t ever want to see your face again. I don’t ever want to get another call from you. And
     hear me when I say this. If, in some miraculous bit of blind, stupid luck, you do find your sister, you tell her to come back
     home to Rodney. Because if she doesn’t I will not only hunt her down, but I’ll add you to the mix. You got it?”
    “Yeah.”
    “That’s good. Hey, Dan. We’re all done here.”
    The car slows down as it pulls off to the side of the freeway. “Get out.”
    “Here?” Lex opens the door and hears a blast of sound coming from a passing semi.
    “You’ve wasted enough of my time and energy for one night. That’s all it’s going to be too. You forget about that skank of
     a sister, and you go back home.”
    Lex watches the car drive off, and then he stares off in the distance, the Chicago skyline beautiful and bright.
    He stares at the heavens above it and wonders if this was all a mistake.
    “Lord, please help me. Help me find her.”
    Then he starts walking, continuing to pray, continuing to try and beg God to let him find Laila.
    Especially now.

7
    There was a time, as brief as a blink, when I thought things were going to work out. When I thought the busyness had brought
     me to this place in my life, this place of meaning. I began to believe that I could let go and live. But that all crumbled
     before me, and I realized how foolish I was to believe in the first place.
    Hope is a dangerous thing. Because when it is pulled from underneath your feet, you find you have a long way to fall.
    The drop is always painful.
    So many things break even though you have to get back up on your feet and try walking again. Even if you have no idea where
     to go.
    T he young man,