broken home ~m.c.~

13

"Brooky, Brooky, Brooky!" I laughed as I was tackled onto the couch and Sammy finally got off of me, standing in front of me. "Who ya textin?" She asked and I felt a smile creep up onto my face. "Sending more naughty pictures to Mr. Clifford?"

"No," I laughed, shoving her shoulder. "Hey, Owen." He waved, his mouth full with a cookie, and sat down across from us. "Why are y'all so smiley?"

"Nothing." They said at the same time and I cocked an eyebrow, tucking a leg up under my butt.

I shook my head at their mysterious behavior and grabbed my guitar from the floor, plucking a few strings. Cara came in and started singing in a fake country accent so I played the guitar like a banjo, joking along with her. We finished with a laugh and my phone rang so I got up and left the room.

"Hey, babe." Michael said once I answered and I smiled, roaming the hallway. "Whatcha doin?" He asked.

"Just getting ready for the show. How's the new place?" I leaned against the wall and ran a hand through my hair.

"Really good. I think you'll really like it when you get back from tour." I smiled and toyed with the string on my sweater.

"What's that noise?" I heard a woman talking in the background and furrowed my eyebrows.

"What noise?" I knew Michael was lying by the way he spoke and my face fell. "Listen, I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Michael hung up before I could say anything and I frowned. He didn't say 'I love you.' He never hangs up without saying that. I shut my phone off and went back to the dressing room, sitting on the couch. Annie gave me a look and I shook my head.

"You okay?" Annie asked and I hesitated.

"I think Michael is cheating on me." I said and Cara gasped.

"Why would you think that?" She wondered.

"I was just on the phone and there was a woman's voice in the background. When I asked what it was, he just hung up." I frowned and they shared a look. "Do you guys know something that I don't?"

"No, of course not." Annie quickly said and I finally looked away, not wanting to talk about this.

"Show time, guys." Sammy said and we all stood up, going to the underneath of the stage.

I put on my guitar and we did our little pre show ritual before going on stage. I couldn't shake the thought of Michael cheating from my head and I knew the girls could tell. After one of our songs, they announced that they needed everyone to quiet down in the crowd. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked over at Cara only to see her smile at me.

"Alright, so we have a special little surprise for Brooklyn." Sammy said, coming around to stand with us. "So, we all have noticed how much you miss a certain Australian boy, so he is here tonight. Now, Brooklyn here thought that Michael was cheating but in reality, he was talking to me outside."

I felt a smile creep onto my face and I looked to my left to see Michael backstage with a huge smile on his face. He walked onto stage and walked over, pulling me into a big hug. I gripped the back of his t-shirt and buried my face in his chest, inhaling the familiar scent of him. Tears filled my eyes and he looked down at me with a small frown.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" I asked after pulling away.

"They said you'd been in a funk so I came to surprise you." He smiled and I sniffled, trying not to cry. "I'll see you after the show?"

I nodded and Michael left the stage. I looked over at the girls and they all smiled at me. We continued with the show and soon enough, it was over. We ran off the stage and I handed out sound guy my guitar and ear pieces, just wanting to go find Michael. I walked down the corridors of the venue and to my dressing room, hoping he would be in there.

I pushed the door open and noticed Michael inside, looking at the food table. I quickly walked over and wrapped my arms around him, resting my head on his back. Michael jumped and turned around, wrapping his arms around my body. Before I knew it, tears were freely falling down my face, staining his gray shirt. Michael rubbed up and down my back and pressed a kiss to my forehead, trying to calm me down. I sobbed into his chest and Michael just continued to comfort me.

"Hey, why are you crying?" He pulled back and brushed his thumbs across my cheeks. "What's the matter?"

"I can't do this anymore." I hiccuped.

"Do what? The tour?"

"Us." I finally said and Michael's face fell. "I mean, when I'm on tour, you're at home and when I'm home, you're on tour. We never get to see each other."

"What are you saying?" He said, his voice breaking.

"Michael when was the last time we went on a date or had twenty minutes to just hang out. We only see each other on Facetime or on a phone call. It's so exhausting trying to do this whole long distance thing. And don't tell me you aren't having trouble with it, either." I explained and Michael frowned, pulling back from me.

"So you're saying you want to break up because of distance?" He said as if he was trying to understand me.

"I don't want to, but it's so hard to do this." I struggled to get out because I was getting so choked up. "Mikey," My voice faltered as he began to walk out of the room.

"You know, Brooklyn, it has been so fucking hard on me to be in that apartment by myself but I never doubted this. Just because your whole family practically abandoned you doesn't me that I will. You don't just give up on someone you love." Michael humorlessly laughed. "Here. I hope you're happy."

Michael sat a small box on the table by the door and finally left after giving me one last look. More tears fell down my face and I walked over to the table, picking up the box. I opened it and brought a hand to my mouth at what was inside. A diamond ring. He was going to propose.

"Brooklyn? Why is Michael leav-" I looked up as Sammy walked into the room and her face fell at the state I was in. "Oh my god, did he propose?"

"No, we broke up." I whispered, shoving the box in my pocket. "I'm so stupid."

I numbly sat down on the couch and stared down at the ring, putting a hand to my forehead. What did I do?