Just Once (Book 1 in the Just Once Series)

Chapter Twelve

Brook’s POV:

Last night had been one mistake after another.

I should never had opened my mouth and called Katie up on her shit, I should never have slipped away from the camp fire, I should never have found Katie and Jack together, but most importantly, I should never have allowed him to get close to me after that, I shouldn’t have kissed him back, shouldn’t have taken it further... and yet I had.

Even with all those mistakes hanging over me all that morning and the long drive back in the coach, I somehow felt... relieved, as if I could breathe again.

I told myself it had nothing to do with the fact Katie was sitting next to one of her friends and not Jack, but I knew I was lying to myself.

Jack sat near me, though Larissa was the one sitting next to me, Jack sat right across the aisle from me, both of us on the end seats, the walk way the only thing separating us.

Although we didn’t speak more than a few words to each other, Jack spoke frequently to Ryan, who sat beside him and Larissa was going on and on about how amazing the short trip had been.

In the end, I was happy to get off the coach. I spoke a little to Jane and Kristy and promised to call them and arranged for us all to meet up sometime through the seven day college break and go shopping, before Nate arrived to drive us home.

“Son, you ok?” Nate said as he slapped Jack on the back with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m cool dad, just tired after the drive back,” Jack said now as I headed over to them.

“Hey, princess, you have a good trip?” Nate asked now as he pulled me into a one armed hug.

“Yeah, it was good, thanks Nate. You and mum been ok?” I asked now and he laughed.

“Well, we managed to survive, you know, didn’t burn down the house while you two here gone,” he joked. I forced a smile onto my face and pretended he hadn’t all but related to Jack and I as the parents and him and my mum as the children.

“Dad, you’re crushing her,” Jack said now, nodding to me; I was all but getting suffocated my Nate’s hug.

“Oops,” Nate grinned, before grabbing my bag and taking it to the boot.

“Thanks,” I murmured awkwardly to Jack, he nodded silently. I wasn’t big on getting hugged and it was harder still to be hugged by Nate. He wanted to be my dad and I knew he tried to step up only to have me rebuff him each and every time.

It wasn’t because I already had a dad and it wasn’t because he wasn’t a great person, because he was, but accepting him as anything other than my step dad, would mean I had to accept Jack as something other than my step brother and as selfish as that was, I couldn’t seem to do it, couldn’t accept losing Jack in that way.

“Right, let’s get going then!” Nate said happily as he clapped his hands together and smiled.

I took the backseat, leaving Jack the passenger seat so he could talk to his dad. I pulled my IPod from my pocket and listened to my music for the whole drive, watching the scenery through the window as it flew by and wondering what it could have been like had Jack not been my step brother.

 I quickly crushed those thoughts though, because they had no place in my head, I wouldn’t allow myself to think about the what ifs, not now, not ever.

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“Oh my baby!” my mum cried happily as soon as I came through the front door fifteen minutes later.