Broken (The Outsiders Series) Read Online Free PDF

“I’m loyal to you first. So, what’s up? Why you so quiet?”
    Ryan kicks the soft dirt as we step outside. He shoves his hands in his pockets and shrugs before taking a deep breath. “Turns out that Todd’s lassie is Katie. I found out after lunch. I guess I should’ve known it. Todd kinda stopped being my friend, and Katie wouldn’t really do nothing with me anymore and stuff. Turns out she was getting some from my friend.”
    Wow. This is like my old school. I can’t believe the amount of drama that surrounds the popular people, and I almost want to tell him this, but I keep it inside. This isn’t what Ryan wants to hear right now. Ryan needs a good guy talk, and I need to be there for him. What can I say? I get raised by parents who don’t care, so it makes me care that much more. I don’t want to hurt people the way I’ve been hurt. And if he’s the guy I choose to be my friend, I’ve got to be myself – more or less – with him.
    “Ryan,” I say after a few seconds, “why don’ t you walk home with me now? My parents got me an apartment nearby. And you can get someone to pick you up later. You shouldn’t ride the bus with them.”
    Ryan’s eyes grow large. “Your parents got you an apartment?” he asks seriously. “What? They didn’t want your parties to ruin their house or something?” He laughs and claps my back. “Dude, you are awesome!”
    I laugh with him, pretending that it is true, that I was lucky enough to have parents that were this lenient. Inside, though, I know that I’d take crazy, overprotective parents any day. It would be better than what I’ve got.
    “So where’s your car?” Ryan asks as we walk past the parking lot.
    I scratch my head. “Got in a crash a while ago and they haven’t bought me a new one yet. Something about trust issues.”
    “Yeah,” Ryan says as we stop at the crosswalk. “My dad won’t give me one till I’m eighteen.”
    I nod, and we walk without talking for a few minutes.
    “Carter,” Ryan says as we pass the gas station near my apartment, “I think you’ll be my new best friend.” He claps my back again and laughs. Maybe I was wrong about the touchy-feely stuff. Maybe they’re all like that here. I guess I’ve got to get used to it or something.
    “ Man, I want a drink,” he adds a second later. “Bet your parents don’t want you drinking, though. No parent is that awesome. Besides, we don’t drink much in this town. We go to church and pray and all that worship stuff.”
    “ Don’t get me thinking I’m in the middle of Footloose, man.”
    Ryan laughs. “Hey, that girl was pretty hot – in the new one, I mean. I’d take her home, for sure.” After he finishes that statement, he gets quiet again. I let him think about it for a while.
    “You know,” he says after a couple minutes. “I think the worst part is that Todd’s my friend and all. I didn’t think it was her.”
    “He wasn’t your friend, Ryan. You know that he wasn’t. And you should be angry at both of them for keeping it from you. How did you find out, anyway?”
    “Katie and I usually sneak off during fourth. She’s got PE and I’ve got Art. I got a text from her, telling me to meet her out by the lockers. I think she sent it to the wrong person, because they were both surprised to see me.” He shrugs.
    “Ouch, man. What’d you do?” I ask.
    “I just walked away, Carter. I couldn’t let them see me blow up, and I couldn’t let them see me cry.”
    I nod and look over at Ryan. He’s kind of like me, with dark hair and dark eyes. He wears his in a faux hawk, though. It doesn’t really match his collared shirt, but it works for him. He seems to have a lot in common with me, even though our problems aren’t really of the same magnitude. But it’s still the same principle. Betrayal by someone you care about. In his case, two. It might even be worse to have it that way. Hell, if Jack had been my real father, I would have been worse off.
    “Not