Each Past

Each Lonely Life

Brooke woke up with a scream. Sweat lingered on her temple and fresh tears stuck to her now pale cheeks.

Aveline quickly scuttled to Brooke. "Are you okay?" She questioned, her irises scanning over Brooke's fearful ones.

The blonde's breaths were labored; her penetrating green eyes frantically scanning the area. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a small scare," she answered distractedly.

"Didn't sound very small," she retorted somewhat snarkily in Brooke's opinion. "Take slow breaths," Aveline eventually advised.

Brooke followed Aveline's instructions until she had enough oxygen in her lungs to satisfy herself. "It really was. I just scare easily," Brooke lied, her voice hoarse from the scream.

Deep footsteps barged into the room just as she finished her sentence and rushed down the stairs. "What happened?" A males voice asked in front of them. Brooke looked down at her shaky hands.

"What happened?" Jett's voice echoed through the musty basement.

Brooke kept her head down as she spoke. Anyone listening would have to strain their ears to hear each word she said. "It was nothing. Just a rat," she answered swiftly, ignoring the looks Aveline was giving her.

"We're okay," Aveline replied shakily.

Jett looked between the two skeptically before nodding and heading up the stairs. They creaked under his thunderous step.

The brunette let a whoosh of breath escape her lips. "I'm surprised he even cared." Aveline's voice was full on confused and the expression on her face matched it.

"Yeah," Brooke mumbled, drawing patterns against the cold cement floor. She arched her back in a stretch. Carefully, she placed her back against the floor and rested her hands on her stomach, eyes looking up into the empty ceiling.

"Seriously, though. Are you okay?" Aveline repeated her question from before.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Brooke growled defensifely, snapping her head to Aveline with a scowl before returning to her previous position.

"Mkay, sorry," Aveline grumbled. Brooke peeked a look to see Aveline looking down on her feet, a sad expression painted on her face.

Brooke sighed, her tone guilty. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped when you don't know anything."

Aveline smiled softly at the girl with the broken heart. Brooke felt a pang of guilt rush through her again. "It's okay. I shouldn't have kept bothering you. Sorry about that."

"You're just curious. It's alright," she replied. She hesitated. "I've just had a really bad background."

The blue eyed beauty nodded her head. "I know someone kinda like that," she replied. "Besides, I'm a bit to curious. That's part of the reason I ended up here."

Brooke snorted unintentionally and blurted out a snarky remark. "I'm not surprised. How about we make a compromise? I'll tell you a little about my life and you tell me a little about yours?" She bit her lip nervously.

The other girl nodded again. "Fair enough. My life is pretty lame, though," she retorted with a slightly bittersweet laugh.

"Mine is..." She trailed not knowing the exact word to use for her life situation. "I don't really know what it is." Brooke decided to say.

Aveline smiled at Brooke. "Do you want me to go first?"

"Sure. Why not?" Brooke responded.

"Okay," Aveline said, taking a deep breath. "Back home, I was that quiet one who didn't really talk to anyone. I liked reading a lot, which was typical. I have one friend, his name is Dorian. He was pretty outgoing. After all, his home life was pretty rough. My parents are very...determined. They want me to become a lawyer. It's all they ever talk about. This is going to sound stupid, but it aggravates me how they never asked about my day, or how I was doing.