Episode 22

EPISODE TWENTY-TWO

I’ve been thinking a lot before I went to sleep last night, about Arden and Brooke. I already have strong feelings towards Brooke, I love her, I really do but somehow my feelings for Arden haven’t fully disappeared yet, I’m still not over her. I’ve talked to Jamie about this, I also told her that Arden wants to be friends with me again

“That’s good” Jamie said “she’s making an effort to fix things”

“Yeah, but she also told me she’s still in love with me” I said

“Yeah but the difference is she’s learning to let you go despite the fact that she still loves you, she knows you’re happy with Brooke and she doesn’t want to ruin that and as much as it annoys me sometimes, Brooke isn’t really hesitant about showing her feelings for you”

“I do love Brooke, don’t get me wrong but-”

“You’re still not over Arden”

I nodded “when I’m with her, I just feel so happy and carefree but at the same time, it hurts” I said “damn it!! I have never been this confused in my whole freaking life!!!”

Jamie placed her hand and my shoulder “I think you should go home and think about this, like really think about it” she said “use your common sense! Consult your gut instincts!!“

I giggled a bit and nodded, after that we went home

And that’s exactly what I did when I got home, I changed my clothes, laid on my bed and really think things through and I decided to just commit myself to Brooke completely, I already love her but I know that time heals all wounds and Arden is leaving soon so if I don’t see her anymore it’ll be easier for me to forget my feelings for her, it’ll be hard at first but I’m persistent, Arden and I can still be friends, just distant friends

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I woke up early so I could get things ready. After taking a bath, I prepared some clothes since I’m spending the night at Brooke’s apartment

It’s already 7 am and I still haven’t received the usual “good morning text from Brooke”, I’m sure she’s already awake at this hour, I mean, she called me at 10 last night and told me she’s already home so I’m sure she got enough sleep, maybe she’s in the bathroom

I grabbed my stuff and went out, I didn’t even bother eating breakfast since I know Brooke’s probably have prepared breakfast already.

I decided to stop by the flower shop and buy a bouquet of roses for Brooke, just to make this day a bit special, after that I went to Brooke’s apartment

I walked to the front door and hid the bouquet behind my back and knocked and the door opened

I was about to show the flowers because I thought Brooke was the one who opened the door but it was actually Emily who answered it

“Nicky?! Hey!!” Emily reacted, completely surprise at my presence “what are you doing here so early?”

“Brooke and I scheduled a movie date today” I smiled “and speaking of Brooke, where is she?”

“She’s still asleep” Emily said, fidgeting at the doorway, Emily doesn’t normally act this way, something up, I decided to play along for a bit

“She’s still asleep? That’s funny she’s usually awake at this hour” I said

Emily giggled nervously “yeah, well, she just needs some sleep. Partying all night can take a lot out you”

All night? But she said she was home when she called me at 10 pm, she lied to me??

I looked at Emily with a serious expression “Emily, Brooke called me at 10 pm last night and said she was already home”

“What?” Emily reacted, now she’s even more nervous than before

“Can I come in? I want to talk to Brooke” I said

But Emily blocked the door, “no! the house is still messy, can you just come back later”

Now I know she’s trying to hide something

“Emily, let me in” I said and pushed her out of the way

I entered their apartment and went straight to Brooke’s bedroom. All the while Emily is trying to stop me

I reached but before I opened it I faintly heard someone talking

“…you have to leave…can’t see you….” the voice sounded like Brooke

“…why?...wouldn’t mind…” said the unfamiliar male voice “…your ex-boyfriend came over…”

Ex-boyfriend? She’s with her ex in her bedroom?!

What I heard instantly angered me and I quickly slammed open the door

Brooke was standing by the bed, a bed sheet covering her naked body, on her bed was a guy, naked as well, beer bottles was lying on the floor and an empty pack of condom was on top of her drawer. I dropped the bouquet and I just shut down, I felt numb, it felt like I was hit by a ton of bricks

They had sex. Brooke cheated. She cheated on me.

And as if everything went dark, I dragged the guy out of her bed and punched him several times, Brooke pulled me off of him and Emily dragged him out of the room

“Don’t touch me!!” I screamed and harshly pulled away from Brooke

Brooke cried as she spoke “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t want this to happen! He was there, we got drunk and-”

“Shut up!! Just shut up!!” I yelled “you lied to me and you had sex with your ex! your fucking ex!!” I covered my mouth as tears rushed down from my eyes “you cheated”

I saw the bouquet on the floor and kicked it, I pulled off the necklace and threw it at the floor then I stared at Brooke with eyes full of hurtful tears, “we’re done” and I quickly stormed out of the apartment

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I quickly called Jamie and asked her to meet me at the park, I said it was urgent

So now I’m on the park bench, palms covering my face, my eyes are probably red as hell right now but I can’t stop crying, I want to but I can’t

“You broke up, didn’t you?”

I looked up and saw Jamie standing in front of me,

I wiped my tears “yeah, well, I broke it off” I stood and sighed heavily “Brooke cheated dude”

Jamie, without saying a word, gave me a big tight hug

Jamie knows me too well, she knows I don’t need to hear anything all I need is to feel that’s someone’s there for me, thank you Jamie

When we parted, Jamie quickly asked “want to get a drink?”

I smiled a bit and nodded

“Let’s go to my house ‘cause I’m sure all the bars here are closed since it’s only 9 in the morning”

I giggled a bit and off we went to Jamie’s house

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“I only have 6 cans of beer here” Jamie said as she threw me one can and put the other 4 on the table ”let’s have 3 each”

I opened the can and drank “can I just drink all 6 cans

“Uh no, you drink but you’re not a drinker so you’ll probably be drunk as hell after the 4cans

I drank the beer as quickly as I can and opened another can

“I don’t understand why Brooke did this!” I exclaimed “yes, I still have feelings for Arden but I never once thought about leaving her even after Arden confessed her feelings to me because I love and respect her” and I continued drinking while Jamie drinks and listens

After 6 cans of beer, I was tipsy while Jamie looked like she drank water instead of 3 beers. She really knows how to hold down her alcohol

Jamie took me home, before she left, she patted my back and said “get some sleep dude”

I nodded and Jamie left but instead of sleeping, I went and brought 6 more cans of beer and went to my Eden, I always go there when I want to think…or try to forget

When I got there, I quickly sat under my favorite tree and started drinking, I figured, hey if I black out here at least no one will see me

I was drinking my 2nd can when I heard footsteps near the bushes , I carefully stood and looked, I saw a person walk out from the bush. I was already dizzy and my eyesight is getting a bit blurry but I managed to focus my eyes enough to see who that person is

I was surprised when I realized that it was Arden who was standing in front of me

“What are you doing here Arden?” I asked

“I wanted to see if you’re okay” she answered

“Well, I’m not, in fact I feel like shit” I scoffed “can you go now?”

Arden approached me and tried to take the beer can from my hand but I pulled away

“Don’t, just don’t” I said “I wouldn’t even be like this if you just been brave in the first place and told me you love me then I wouldn’t have been in a relationship with Brooke and she wouldn’t have cheated on me with her fucking ex! So, no, I don’t need yo-”

But before I could finish, I felt her body against mine and her arms tightly wrapped around my waist. I couldn’t hold back my tears and I started crying, I hugged Arden and cried my heart out.

When the cries turned into sobs, we sat under the tree. I laid my head on Arden’s lap. All that crying made me even dizzier so I closed my eyes, I felt Arden’s hand stroke my forehead and after a while I fell asleep.

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I woke up in my bedroom the next day with a massive hang-over, I slowly sat and as I scan my room, I saw a plate of honey covered crackers and a glass of orange juice on top of my drawer, it has a note beside it, I took and read it.

“Went to school, I’ll come over later, get some rest and eat the crackers! ♥ Arden”

I smiled a bit, took the plate and started eating the crackers. After eating, I texted Arden, I said thank you and that I need some alone time for a few days

She replied with a “Ok, I understand, just don’t forget to take care of yourself”

“I will, thanks again” I replied then I went back to bed

I hope when I wake up, I’ll be okay again, like nothing bad happened but things aren’t that simple, are they?