Burning Confessions

48 - Iris

My cheeks had never blushed so furiously before, heating up my entire face because every time I looked at Shane and Ace, they had the same expression on their faces that meant they were thinking about the scene they'd walked in on not even an hour ago; Nathan seemed indifferent to the looks they were sending our way as we sat side by side on the floor. A small scrunched ball of kitchen paper was nestled in my hand, smeared lightly with ketchup that I'd wiped from the corner of Nathan's mouth; I never thought he could be so careless when eating but apparently even the coldest of people can be broken down enough to become children once more. Brooke had gone up for a shower, but I was beginning to think she'd gotten lost on the way there given she had been gone nearly the whole hour since we'd finished lunch and Shane had clearly thought the same thing at one point because he disappeared up to find her not long after I began to wonder.

As if on cue, my brother stumbled down the stairs, jumping from the third one from the bottom and landing with a 'thump', gaining all eyes on him as he sashayed into the room, humming lightly under his breath. "Where's Brooke?" Justin asked as her prolonged absence seemed to gain more attention and concern the longer it lasted, and Shane merely frowned slightly, dropping back down into his original seat.

"She isn't feeling too good; she's been in the bathroom the whole time." He answered, and my eyebrows rose up. I knew Shane wasn't the best doctor when it came to someone being physically sick but he could at least stay with her, offering to hold her hair or get her settled in bed- even get her a drink but here he was, sitting in the living room as though it was nothing.

"You just left her there?" I asked incredulously, disbelieving of his actions and he seemed to realise how this was perceived but I was already on my feet. "Shane, she's your girlfriend and you left her feeling ill?"

"She didn't want me to stay." He defended weakly.

"Sometimes when a girl says that, she actually wants you to stay," I explained with a huff, grabbing my empty plate and leaving the living room, hearing Shane grumble beneath his breath.

"How is a guy supposed to know which one she means?" He asked helplessly, and I spared him a smirk as I walked backwards to the stairs.

"You're not." His groan followed me up the stairs, along with the chuckles of the others as I vaguely let my feet carry me to where I remembered Matt's old bedroom to be; I found it eventually and found the door slightly ajar, so I poked my head around it only to find the room empty. There was a similar brown door, matching those of every other door in this house, sealed shut and the shuffling behind it alerted me of Brooke's whereabouts so my knuckle lightly rapped the wood.

"Shane, I said I was fine! Please just leave me alone." The sentence trailed off near the end and it hurt me to hear the girl that was always so strong to sound so...vulnerable. I didn't like it.

"It's Iris. Can you let me in?" The shuffling stopped, and I waited a full minute before the door opened slowly to reveal a puffy-eyed Brooklyn, her eyes and nose a little red and her shoulders slumped forward as her dark hazel eyes flicked up to meet mine. My jaw hit the floor at the sight of her; she was absolutely fine an hour ago! "Oh my God, Brooke...what happened?" Her head shook slowly, her eyes closing as tears leaked from them slowly and I made a noise at the back of my throat as I stepped forward and encased her slightly bigger frame in my arms. "Tell me, what's wrong? Is everything alright?"

"I've been throwing up every morning and after almost every meal for the past three days." She revealed quietly, letting her now trembling arms wrap around me as I rocked us from side to side slowly, stroking the back of her head soothingly before gently pulling her towards the double bed. Sitting her down, I wiped away some of the tears falling down her cheeks and she let me, sitting helplessly as I mothered over her until eventually I was done and gripped her hands as they sat clumped on her legs.