Are You Hooked? #9

TITLE: Broken Bird

GENRE: YA Suspense

Cole Zabek looked like he was destined to die young and become a 

vengeful spirit. Or maybe he looked like a romantic hero who should have been 

brooding on a windswept moor instead of standing in the doorway of a high 

school cafeteria. Either way, I couldn’t stop staring.

Beside me, Cole’s sister Julia pressed her hands flat against the table. She 

spoke to me, but her eyes were riveted on her older brother. 

“Remember, Callie, do not ask him anything about….”

“Anything. I promise.” Even without Julia’s warnings, I wouldn’t have asked 

questions. I couldn’t think of any that weren’t fatally awkward.

Julia caught Cole’s attention, and, at the tiniest gesture of her fingers, he 

moved across the room toward us. 

“He’s only been home for a week, and he’s still…fragile.”

“I know, Jules. I know.”

In the six months I’d known Julia, she’d talked constantly about her 

brother. He was smart. He was sensitive. He had a poet’s soul. When I asked why 

he didn’t go to our school, she squeezed her jaw tight, and her chin shook.

I had apologized for prying, but she took a shaky breath. “Don’t

apologize, Callie. I’m telling you, it’s just….”

Embarrassing?

Scary?

“Private,” she finished. 

“You don’t have to….”

“I said I want to. I want you to know who I am, and Cole—he’s like a part 

of me.” She set down the napkin and pressed her palms together like she was 

praying. “He’s been in the hospital."