The girl from New York

30| Clean

After watching 'Scream' just a few minutes ago, I have to admit that I'm a little paranoid. I sat upright in my bed and instinctively glanced down at where Brooklyn had fallen asleep earlier. She wasn't in the room anymore.

I got out of bed and quietly shuffled down the hall, stepping blindly down the stairs as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. The pale moonlight shone through the window in the front door. I look at my watch and it was 2:47 am.  I glanced back out the window of the front door and that's when I saw it.

There were a silhouette of a girl on the front porch. Her head was hung and she had both of her palms pressed against her face. Cautiously, I walked quietly towards the door. The silhouette was short, so naturally I assumed that it must be Brook. But why would she be outside in such cold weather and at such a late time?

I cringed at the squeak that the front door made as I opened it. So much for the element of surprise. The figure froze, her back stiff as she turned to face me slowly. I was right, it was Brook. A strong wind hit us, making her shiver. She was in nothing, but a t-shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts.

"What are you doing." I asked in a whisper, my voice seeming to surprise the both of us. Silence was the only response my question got, other than Brook's discreet sniffle.

"Nothing." She replied softly. It was like there was unspoken rule among us that said that we must speak quietly. She hastily rubbed he wrist against her eye and forced a yawn. "I-I was about to go inside."

I sat down on the small wooden porch swing and crossed my arms. "Right. Brook, come on. Stop running away from whatever you're running away from. I'm available to talk to, you know." My voice was stricter than I meant it to be. I mentally slapped myself.

She hesitated, before taking a seat next to me. Almost naturally, we turned so our backs rested o each other. "I guess you're right." She sighed giving in. "But don't laugh at me." She was actually going to tell me? I didn't expect it to be so easy.

"Of course not." I promised gently. Her tiny hand found mine squeezed it, causing heat to snake up my neck.

"So, maybe there's this guy-" she started with a defeated exhale of air "-I kind of met him on bad terms. And maybe he isn't the... um, nicest person out there." Uh oh. She's asking me for relationship advice? "But, the thing is-" she stood up suddenly, letting go of my hand in the process "-the thing is that I swore that I thought I hated him." I turned to face her, intrigued. Who in the world is she talking about? "And now he's just this handsome, attractive, piece of crap that I can't help but-Agh! Why am I even telling you this?" Is it weird that I think it's kind of cute when she's an over dramatic dork?

She sat back down again and leaned back, until her head was resting on my lap. My heartbeat picked up, but I tried not to let it show. She looked up at me with glossy eyes.

"And what if I passed him everyday, had classes with him, chances to tell him how I felt-" she threw her hands up in exaggeration "-but decided to ignore him instead? Because that's what I've done."

"Then I think you should apologize to him the next chance you get." I answered, finally speaking again. She nodded calmly. "Now it my turn to rant." I announced.

"Go ahead."

"Okay, So there's this girl, an adorable klutz who can't walk three feet without falling, who I think I'm falling for. Pun intended." I said, glad to get it off my chest. I looked back down at Brook to see her stormy hazel eyes. She seemed a little upset by my words, but I continued "and maybe I kind of messed up. I ignored her to push her away from me...and then realized how much damage that did to both of us." She nodded, taking in my words without a clue of who I was talking about.

"So she's mad at you, I presume?" Brook asked at last. I nodded, biting my lip.

"Yeah, and I can't seem to make it up to her. I just stopped trying, accepting my fate. But...I don't really want to accept it." I stood up, causing Brook to hit her head on the soft wood of the swing. "Sorry. Anyways, yeah. I want to figure out how to make it up to her and at least be friends again." As if we were friends.

"Then go apologize to her the next chance you get." She said, turning my own advice onto me. She doesn't understand, but I can't risk telling her now.

"I mean, it's not that simple. Sure, we have classes together, but she won't listen." I said with a disappointed sigh. "She ignores me. Like I said, I gave up. She doesn't know, but maybe I should tell her why I pushed her away."

"And why is that?" Brook asked, sitting up and holding a hand to the back of her head with a bridge of my nose.

"It's not an easy thing to admit." I said quietly. I wanted to come clean, but what would she think? "My mom...my mom is only 16 years older than me." I hope I was inaudible. I wanted to take it back, to keep the secret private. But now I've started and wanted to go on. "My dad is a terrible person, even if I don't know who he is." Brook bit her lip, and I saw the tears that brimmed her worried eyes. I sighed, upset with myself that I just made her cry.

"W-What about your brother?" She asked in a chocked voice. I blinked.

"I don't have a brother?" The answer sounded more like a question. "Oh, my mom must have made that up on the spot. She's embarrassed that she's only just now finishing up university, she wants to get her bachelor's." God, I'm just coming clean of a lot of things today.

"I'm sorry." Brook said quietly. She quietly laid herself on me so she was hugging me. I leaned my head back on one of the arms of the swing and held her close. We must have already been outside in the cold for about and hour, but we were fine out here. There was a silent agreement to just stay out here for the rest of the night.

I was fine with that.
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"How the hell did you get the tomato soup to explode all over the stove?"

-Alex