Free Broken by Travis Thrasher Page A

living.”
    “Dreams are overrated.”
    “Think so?” Kyle asks.
    “I know so.”
    “See. The fascination continues.”
    She shakes her head. “I’ll write you a book, okay? Then you’ll realize I’m not particularly fascinating. You’ll realize the
     sad truth. Ordinary, boring, not at all fascinating.”
    “But do you really look at life like that? Seriously?”
    “I’ve seen ten thousand dreams destroyed. Or so it seems, at least.”
    “Sounds like a country song.”
    Laila smiles. “Could be one. It’d sure be a sad one.”
    “Here’s the way I look at life. My brother was killed when he was ten years old. Some freak accident riding his bike—one of
     those you’d never believe unless it actually happened to your family. It changed everything. For me, for my family. But I’ll
     tell you something crazy. It’s made me appreciate life, even now, almost twenty years later.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    Kyle appears to think for a moment. “And I have no idea why I just told you that. None. Except—well, you mentioned the sad
     bit. Do you know that some days I feel Keith looking over me? Looking out for me?”
    “Maybe he is.”
    “You believe in heaven?”
    “Not anymore.”
    “I believe everything happens for a reason, that Keith watches over me. And so—I say that because this—this right now. I don’t
     think this is random. There’s a reason we’re here.”
    “Yes. It’s because I needed a gun and you were someone that appeared trustworthy.”
    “Yeah, but, sure—I get that.”
    “That’s all. Everything is completely random.”
    “Do you really believe that?”
    “Did my mother’s death have deep profound meaning? No. It just happened. I’ve seen some people who have lived charmed lives.
     People said that about me—how lucky I was. How I had a charmed life. I don’t know if anybody really has a charmed life, to
     be honest. But I think some people are protected more than others. And it comes down to fate and chance. It comes down to
     complete and random luck.”
    “That’s a pessimistic view, I’d say.”
    “You have a right to say whatever you want. I say it’s realistic. I say it’s true. It’s the only truth I know.”
    “Do you believe in miracles?”
    “No. But I bet you sure do.”
    Kyle smiles and looks away and scratches his arm, appearing nervous.
    “Go ahead, tell me one,” she says.
    “No. Maybe some other time.”
    “I believe that crazy things happen every day to everybody. But I just don’t believe there’s a puppet master behind them.”
    “Man, I just—I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t believe. That’s the scary thing. Thinking that all this—this crazy, big
     fat world is just drifting through time and space completely on its own. That would make everything feel so—I don’t know.
     So fragile. So breakable.”
    “But that’s what we all are. We’re all delicate, fragile souls. Every single one of us.”
    For a moment he’s about to say something more, but Laila sits up, stretches, then glances at a nearby clock. “I better get
     to bed.”
    “Look, I didn’t mean to be so deep. So personal.”
    “It’s okay. I went there too. It wasn’t just you. This was nice. Sitting here, talking.”
    “I told you I don’t bite.”
    “No teeth marks yet.” She checks her arms. “But wait until I wake up tomorrow.”
    Laila thinks about what she just said. “I mean—I didn’t mean—”
    He laughs and says, “I know. It’s fine.”
    “It’s late.”
    Kyle stands and takes her glass, bringing both to the kitchen and washing them out. Then he stares at her for a moment.
    “You sure you’re going to be okay?”
    “I’ll be fine.”
    “I don’t need to go. That couch looks very comfortable.”
    “Thank you, but no. I’m fine.”
    “You have my cell, right? And home number?”
    She nods. “Want to give me your blood type too?”
    “You better not need anybody’s blood type, okay?”
    “I won’t.”
    As Kyle stands at