Cracked by K. M. Walton Page A

his mom and dad, but wants them to stop making it so hard for him to lose weight. I see the Brian who has really pretty green eyes that twinkle when he smiles. I see the Brian who is going to get out of here and tell his parents where to shove their bad food, and the Brian who’s going to live for, like, forever. I swear.”
    Lisa tells Lacey that what she did was very brave, and thanks her for being so honest with Brian. Brian is openly crying and the kid on the other side of him hands him a box of tissues. That’s when I notice that there are boxes of tissues on the table in the middle of the circle. Like, five boxes. I swear.

Bull
    THEY HAVE TO RESTITCH MY EXIT WOUND. THAT’S real fun. After my X-ray and the news that my stupid wrist is broken in two places, they try to put me back in the ER to wait for my cast. But I kinda throw a fit, like a two-year-old with a dirty diaper. I don’t want to go back there. It’s too loud. Too crazy.
    The doctor throws her hands up and shakes her head. As she jogs away, she yells over her shoulder to the new dude wheeling my bed around, “Just take him back up. I’ll send Carl up there when I can.”
    The new dude says to me, “I don’t blame you. This placeis wild. There was a bad car accident, that’s why Dr. Pearse just gave in like that. She’s usually a lot feistier. You lucked out.”
    On the elevator ride back up, I laugh out loud to myself. I actually want to go back to the psych ward, with the psychos. Funny.
    Ellie’s there when the doors slide open, with her arms crossed. “Causing trouble, William?” She smiles.
    I smirk.
    Ellie chuckles. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She excuses the orderly and wheels my bed down the hall. “I’m gone for a few hours and you fall apart on me.”
    “What can I say? Trouble follows me.”
    I see that my room is empty, so I ask Ellie if my mom has called. Or my pop. I don’t know why I care, or why it feels like a kick in the nuts when they haven’t. I’m allowed to call them on the fourth day, though. Which I guess Ellie thinks will make me feel better, but doesn’t. I’m not calling them.
    I ask her to close my curtain; I want nothing to do with Dick toria. Like that? That’s his new name. I can’t believe the dick left me on the floor.
    Well, I can kinda believe it, but I still hate his rich guts.
    I stare at the sun out the window as Dr. Carl puts the cast on my arm. The guy is a man of few words, and I’m thankful, because his breath stinks. Then I’m casted and alone again.
    A snack arrives, and I have trouble not smiling like a clown. It’s a blueberry muffin, chocolate pudding, and Sprite. It’s food. Food that’s delivered on a tray. And I love every bite.
    With my good arm I scrape every single bit of pudding out of the plastic container. Then I start thinking about my dad for some reason. All I know is his name. Steve Gallagher. I don’t know what he looks like, how tall he is, what kind of car he drives. Heck, I don’t even know what he does for a living. All I know is that he wanted me gone before I was born. Get rid of it, was what he wrote on the postcard. I should’ve used the stupid computers in school to look him up online. I could’ve gotten an address or phone number. Something. Maybe I can get online here. Maybe it’ll be easy to find him.
    I roll my eyes.
    He probably won’t want anything to do with me. He might not even know I exist. Knowing my stupid mother, she didn’t even tell him she had me.
    All this makes me want to throw up my muffin.
    Speaking of puke, Dicktoria never comes back to eat.

Victor
    AFTER GROUP ENDS, THE OTHERS WALK ACROSS THE hall to what they call the common room. Lacey calls out to me as I start to head back to my room, “Hey, Victor, come hang out with us.”
    I don’t know why I turn around and walk toward the room, but I do. It is really freaking me out that I do. Maybe I don’t actually want to spend the night sitting three feet away from Bull