FATE

30. The Woman At The Door

JONAH

I slip the shirt on and take on last look at my reflection in the mirror. Sighing deeply, I walk out of the bathroom. Hailee is on the bed, laying on her stomach, her legs crossed behind her as she fiddles with her phone.

"Are you going to stay here?", I ask as I grab a jacket hanging over the chair.

"Yeah, my mom has friends over and one of them has a kid our age. I'll shoot myself if I go there and she tries to matchmake us", she says without looking up at me.

I snort, "she can't do that"

She looks up at me, "is she your mom or mine?"

I pick my phone up from the desk and slip it into my pocket, "sure you don't want to come?", I ask one last time.

"No, I'm good. I'll just watch a movie later with Francis if I get bored. Besides, you and Brooke need to be alone right now. Tell her I said hey though"

"Alright then"

I walk towards the door and stare at her before walking out, "Thanks for the car, I love you"

"Love you too, now run along", she looks up to give me the widest grin before turning back to her phone.

---

The drive to Brooke's apartment building seems longer than it should be. My mind runs through so many things on the way. A week ago, she came to school in tears. It was the day after I asked her to be my girlfriend. Her Dad had been hospitalized. I can't help but feel like I had bad timing then.

Her brother, Blake had to leave town. Their father stays in Vancouver and he needs family around. Brooke isn't allowed to go because she can't miss school. She cried about that for days as well. Seeing her cry makes me feel powerless and it's almost as if I can feel her fear and pain. Ever since Blake left, I can't be away from her for too long. I go to her apartment as often as I can after school just to make sure I'm around her if she starts hurting again. I know what it's like to be alone when you're hurt and what it's like to lose a parent even though she hasn't actually lost her parent.

I park the car in front of the apartment building and pull the keys out of the ignition, shoving them into my Jean pockets. I get out and walk towards the building, my hands shoved into the side pockets in my jacket. The night is chilly. I hope Brooke doesn't have the air condition on like she always does. She's obsessed with cold.

When I walk into the building, the guy at the lobby nods his head at me.  Last night, he told me his name was Frank and I tried so hard not to forget because I'm so bad with names. Frank knows me well enough now to ask any questions about who I'm looking for. I make my way towards the elevator that'll take me upstairs where Brooke's apartment is.

I don't knock for too long before she opens the door. Her hair is wrapped in a towel and she's wearing a grey sweatshirt and Jean shorts.

"Hey", she lets me in.

"How are you?", I ask as soon as she closes the door and turns to face me.

"I've had better days", she forces a smile. I pull her close and kiss her on her cheek, hugging her and inhaling her scent. She smells like mint and lavender.

I always have this need to be this close to Brooke, it's unreal.

"I missed you", she says softly.

"You saw me in school today Collins", I scoff.

"Yeah, but still..."

"Did you eat?", I ask.

"Yes, I cooked pasta", she releases me, "and I left some for you so you can taste it"