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𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆: 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐞
...🏀...
𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓, 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐋
𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟒
"Brooke, what's wrong?" I asked, rushing towards the bench in the mall where she sat.
I sat beside her as Brooke opened her mouth but then looked past me.
"Peyton?" she said. I turned my head to see Peyton and Haley walking towards us. "I looked all over for you. You didn't get my messages?"
"Really?" Peyton replied. "Oh, no. My phone's been whacked out all day." I furrowed my brows as Haley rolled her eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Not really, no," Brooke sobbed. I placed my hand on her back, trying to soothe her as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Well, I said I wasn't gonna do this, and I said it wasn't worth it, but it is. Lucas broke up with me."
I pulled Brooke into my arms as Peyton said, "I'm sorry."
"I was looking forward to getting a chance to show him how much he means to me," Brooke sobbed. "And he said he just wants to be friends." She sniffed, and I brushed her hair out of her face. "And every idiot knows that that's just code for 'go away.' I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
"Look, if Lucas said he wants to be friends, I'm sure he means it," Peyton said.
I nodded, but Brooke sobbed, "How do you do that with Lucas?"
Peyton widened her eyes and looked at Haley, who cleared her throat. "You just, um...just sort of do everything you've been doing without the sex part."
Brooke scoffed. "Yeah. There's a first time for everything, right?"
I glared as Peyton couldn't meet Brooke's eyes, but I turned my gaze back to Brooke. I let her rest on my shoulder, knowing how much Brooke liked Lucas. I could tell from how she talked about him to how she described her feelings. It was nice seeing Brooke care about a guy, not just for the sex but for who they were.
I glanced at Brooke. "Let's go get some ice cream."
"Okay," Brooke sighed, wiping her tears.
I pulled Brooke up and walked away with her by my side. I felt uneasy about Peyton but couldn't put my finger on it.
Something's up with her.
...🏀...
It's late, and Karen's Café is empty, so I toss a rag behind the counter and glance around the deserted space. The refrigerator's soft hum and the clock's faint ticking are the only sounds breaking the silence. My gaze lands on the piano in the corner, and a familiar tune starts playing in my head.
