A Penny For The Girl

Chapter 24

Tates POV

The charity ball was tonight and to say I was nervous would be an understatement. It was getting harder and harder to keep my facade up when we were alone, turning cold towards her as soon as we left an event and seeing the hurt in her eyes was devastating. It was for the best though, I couldn't give her the broken shards I had left of my heart and expect her to be satisfied. She deserved to be loved with a whole heart and and whole soul and I had neither anymore. Keeping my distance was the best option, when all of this is over she can move on and find someone who can give her the world.

I put my suit on but decided the jacket was too restrictive and threw it on the bed, I didn't even bother with a tie as I was already frustrated enough without the suffocating feeling of something around my neck. I left the top buttons undone as I was hot and bothered anyway.

Talia had been so angry with me yesterday, she just didn't understand why I was so distant to Brooke, she hated the way I treated her. She genuinely loved Brooke and she'd only known her for a day or two. How was I supposed to explain to her that I was doing this for Brooke, that she deserved better than me? They still don't understand what Mya did to me, yes it was painful and it broke my heart and hurt more than I thought possible but I can get over that, it's a risk you take when you love someone. When you give someone your heart it will never be the same again, it's been touched by them, their fingerprints are all over it so to speak and they have changed it in ways to fit their hands, but you can move on from that, you can give your heart to someone else who will erase those marks and cover it with their own, someone who will heal the cracks and smooth over the bumps with their love and it will be better than it ever was.

Mya fooled me though, I believed her about everything, I trusted her fully and she made a fool out of me, she didn't just break my heart she crumbled it completely and left a rock in its place. I could never trust anyone again, never believe anyone when they say they love me after the way she played me. I will always doubt their intentions, I would never believe it was real and that's what I can't get over, that's why I can't give Brooke any part of me because it would never be everything, I'd always be holding something back and that girl deserves so much more.

I explained as best I could to Talia and she kind of understood but she did say that I should tell Brooke about Mya so that she didn't think she was to blame and she was right. Brooke had clearly been thinking it was something wrong with her and I didn't want her to think that. I went straight to my well Brookes bedroom to talk to her and explain everything but she was already asleep.

I came downstairs to find my dad on his own. "Still waiting for the girls?" I joked with him as we knew it would be a while. My dads face suddenly turned semi serious and I knew he was going to say something slightly uncomfortable. "Mya fooled a lot of people Tate, she was good at what she did. It's not your fault." Before I could think of a response he carried on. "You will heal if you let yourself, don't let her control your happiness, don't let her taint the rest of your life because then she truly did take your heart, did she actually have it in the first place?" I opened my mouth to say something, I'm not sure what, whether it was to defend myself or prove him right but again he kept talking. "I don't want an answer Tate, I just want you to think about it. Did you really love her or just the idea of what you could have? We are all human, we all make mistakes but we can't let them dictate every other decision we make. You are my son and I love you Tate, your happiness means the world to me but you are sabotaging it because of your pride. You may think you are doing this for Brooke but your fear of being played again has nothing to do with her." I was angry at what my dad had said. He didn't have a clue, of course I was doing this for Brooke, wasn't I?

I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of the girls laughter coming into the room. My mum walked in first looking very sophisticated and effortlessly beautiful as she always did. I saw the smile grow on my dads face as he looked at her. I watched my dad compliment my mum and it warmed my heart to see the love still between them. It made me wonder whether I'd ever be able to have what they have. Was my dad right? Was I sabotaging my own happiness because I was too proud to be wrong again? Had I just caged my heart and blamed Mya for everything? I was once again taken from my thoughts by a bright pink bundle that had entered the room. I grinned at my sister and she grinned back and I knew we were OK.