Back At One - All Bad Sequel

2. Not Over You

If you ask me how I'm doing
I would say I'm doing just fine,
I would lie and say that you're not on my mind....
- Gavin DeGraw
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Brie's POV

"You have a date?" Cassie asked as I applied my red MAC lipstick in the mirror of my ensuite bathroom.

"Yes, a date." I replied, as I smoothed down my black strapless Christian Dior dress and checked to ensure that my hair was perfectly straight. I had colored it to a blondish-brown color and it had grown out so much, it was almost to my lower back. I mostly wore it straight now. I'm not sure if it's because I liked it that way or because leaving it in its natural state reminded me so much of how much Justin liked my curly hair. Maybe, it was a little of both.

"Hm," she said, earning my attention with her non-committal statement. She was leaning against the door, looking at me like I she couldn't believe what I had just told her.

"What?"

"Nothing. You look beautiful," she replied, giving me a once over.

My best friend was there for me after the breakup with Justin. Even though we had started drifting apart for a while when Justin and I were going through what we went through. She spent countless nights with me while I cried my eyes out. She never once passed judgement or said I should get over it because it was my fault he broke up with me in the first place.

So I guess it was a surprise to her that I actually decided to do something normal for a change. For six months I was nothing but a recluse. Just going from work to home and back. My social life had ceased to exist, until now.

After I was all cried out, I politely asked Cassie and my parents never to mention Justin when I was around. I knew it was selfish of me to act this way but it was for self-preservation if anything. They all understood and never said anything as they knew how I felt.

"Just say it, Cassie, you know you want to," I said as I passed her to go sit on the bed to put my heels on. I smirked when she smiled sheepishly at me.

"You haven't been on a date or even mentioned any guys, for that matter, since the....," she trailed off. "Well, since the break-up."

I know she was trying not to mention him and I felt a little bad about it. My gaze fell to my four inch Louboutin heels in my hand, away from her questioning brown eyes.

"I think I'm ready to start moving on," I said, bringing my eyes to hers again. "It's been six months, Cas."

"Really? I'm so proud of you Brie." She smiled, then hugged me tight. "It's about time."

Since Justin left, I haven't been out much. I would only go out when work required it. After six months of being a hermit. I decided it's time to finally let go. Not that I was looking for anything serious. I would never fall in love like that again but it was time I re-joined the human race and started acting like a normal person and not like whatever it is I had become.

I became so consumed with not wanting to fall apart that I threw myself completely into my work. Mariel couldn't have been happier. I was working and traveling so much for the past couple of months that I didn't have time think about him, much. We got so many new clients since people wanted to work with me because I was associated with Justin. The exact opposite of what Mariel had thought would happen. It bothered me a little, ok maybe a lot, that people could be so shallow and that my career was booming because of the relationship I had with Justin and not because of my talent and all the hard work that I do. I wanted to make a name for myself and not gain success because of who I was involved with, but there was nothing I could do about it.