Chapter Thirty Six
Brook’s POV
Two Days Later
Today was Friday. Two days since I have talked to Thomas. Three since I have talked to Rodger.
A empty feeling has been sitting in the pit of my stomach ever since Thomas left that day. Even with Tanner there to hang out with and act like everything is okay, I know it’s not.
Without anything to keep my mind busy I have been thinking about everything that has gone wrong in my life. Just thinking about the events makes the feeling in my stomach stronger, making me feel overwhelmed.
Rodger has amnesia. My mother is dead. My father abandoned me, twice.
I need someone to talk to, someone who would understand, someone who would just listen to me fume.
That’s why I have to answer his daily call today. To find out what I need to know.
When I walk through the door at Tanner’s house alone I walk down the hallway slowly. The boys are expecting me back today and I am dreading the moment that I have to walk through the door. But before I do that, I have some business that I have to take care of.
I walk upstairs to the bedroom I have occupied and grab the now empty duffle bag from the corner of the room and load my things inside, waiting for my phone to buzz with the alarm of his call.
As if on cue, my phone buzzes and I pick it up and read the name. As my plan continues I let it ring twice, making him think that I am going to let it ring on as always. That way, my answering will be a surprise.
“Hello.”
“Brooklyn?!”
“Hey Dad.” I say, my voice flat as I play with the edge of my shirt.
“It’s about time you answer your god damned phone! I have been calling for weeks! Why haven’t you answered my calls!? That’s what fucking phones are for!”
“I had other things going on.”
“Like what!? What is so important that you couldn’t answer one of my calls for the past month?!”
“Rodger got into a car accident. If you were a true friend you would have found that out from Steve by now.” I snap. “He had amnesia, he can’t remember anything from the past year. That is what has been more important than your stupid phone calls.”
“Brooklyn-…”
“Listen, I didn’t answer your call so we could play catch up or anything, I called because I wanted to know where mom is buried.” I say, interrupting him so I could get straight to the point.
He is silent for a moment but I hear him take a deep breath.
Another thing that has been on my mind is the fact that I wasn’t able to go to her funeral, nor have I visited her once since she has been gone. The guilt of this has been on my mind ever since I thought of it. It was eating me from the inside to the outside until one day there wouldn’t be anything left.
“You couldn’t get there on your own….”
“Like hell I couldn’t now tell me where she is. You owe it to me.”
“How do I owe it to you?” he asks, his voice sounding breathless.
“Because you didn’t tell me when the funeral was. You weren’t there for her and me both when you left, and you weren’t there for her when she was gone.” I snap.
Silence.
I wait a moment longer. Letting him digest this into his head.
“She is buried in her home town, Bridgeport.”
That’s in California.
“That’s all I needed to know.” I say before hanging up and grabbing my duffle bag from the bed, scribbling a note down on a piece of paper and running downstairs, placing the note on the counter in the kitchen then running out the door.
I run down the sidewalk until I am at the Parker’s house. I sprint across the yard and through the door. Without thinking about who I am about to encounter I run down the hallway and up the stairs.
“Hey! Your back!” Someone yells to me.
“Told you I would be back at the end of the week didn’t I?” I call back to them before reaching the top of the stairs.
“What’s the rush!?” the call, laughter slightly hanging in their words.
“Going on a road trip.” I say before opening the door of my room and stepping inside. I shut it quickly and lock it again before hurrying to the bed and placing the duffle bag down next to Sandy.
She is about the size of my hand now and research says that it is time to let her back into the wild. I run to my laptop and open it, finding it already on and open Google.
I Google how long it is going to take me to reach Bridgeport before Googling directions to the local cemetery. I write down the directions and then jump from the chair and put some things into my duffle bag.
It is going to take two hours to reach Bridgeport so I have decided to leave tomorrow. That way I can spend a little bit of time with the others before leaving again.
With the duffle bag hid in the closet I walk from the room a few hours later. I can hear the TV blaring from downstairs and drag myself towards the sound. As I am passing the kitchen I can see Wendy out of the corner of my eyes and I stop and walk into the kitchen.
“Hey.” I say softly, leaning against the counter.
She jumps slightly and turns away from the stove to face me, her eyes shimmer with something for a moment and she smiles.
“Hey, glad your back.” She says brightly.
“Yea… sorry about that… and that I didn’t tell you….-…”
“Don’t worry about it. I understand this is just as hard for you as it is for us if not harder, you needed a break.” She nods with understanding.
I smile slightly, happy that she understands.
She turns back to the stove quickly when the water in a pot boils over.
“I am going to visit my mom tomorrow.” I say and she turns back to me even faster. “Her grave I mean.”
She opens her mouth to say something but then shuts it again. Then she nods slowly.
“That will be good.” She says softly, her eyes keeping in contact with mine.
We stand in silence for a few more minutes as she cooks something at the stove before I am able to ask her the question that has been egging inside me for so while.
“Is he doing okay?” I ask her slowly and I watch her nod slowly again and then turn back to me before glancing back to the doorway, as if she was making sure no one was listening to our convo.
“He is beginning to remember some things that happened before you came.” She says softly.
“But hasn’t remember anything that happened this past summer yet..?” I whisper.
She places a hand on my arm and gives it a lite squeeze.
“He will soon sweetheart. Give it time.” She whispers back.
But how much more time?
We all only have so much.
I have been sitting in the living room watching Nickelodeon with Lucus, Chris and Kale for what seems like hours when finally Wendy announces dinner is done. The others have been in their rooms, unacknowledged of my presence.
Chris, who had been sitting on my lap looks back to me with a smile on his face at Wendy’s announcement. I lift him up as I stand, I place him on my hip and smile back.
“You hungry?” I ask him.
“Starving!” he exclaims and I laugh.
“Alright then, we better get you to the dining room then.”
I walk out of the living room and into the kitchen, listening to the stamped as they run downstairs and down the hallway. I sit Chris down in his chair and then place Kale in his. When I turn around I am acknowledged that there is no more noise, no more voices, no footsteps.
I curse silently under me breath and prepare myself for what I will find when I turn around. When I have turned around I face them and plaster on a smile, ignoring the blue eyes that look at me, I avoid his gaze and plaster mine on Thomas, his eyes easier to handle.
“Told you I would be back at the end of the week didn’t I?” I tease slightly and Dalton chuckles.
“Yes, yes you did, but I think a punishment is in order.” He says as he steps forward and walks towards me.
Instincts make me take a few steps back until I am pressed against the wall. Chris turns around in his seat and watches me with a grin.
“W-what?” I stutter as he walks towards me.
“You heard me.” he says grinning as I am thrown over his shoulder, my head dangling right in front of his butt.
“No, no, no, no!” I beg as he walks to the door.
Ever though it has been a while since I have had this punishment I know what my future holds. I push myself up to be able to see the others, my face begging as I look into their eyes.
“Help! Help me you guys!” I yell as Lucus steps forward and opens the door for Dalton.
“You’re the one that left Brook.” Thomas shrugs, a playful smile on his face.
“Yea, this will teach you never to leave us again.” Garran says behind him.
Dalton walks out of the house and I can hear their laughter and watch as they follow him outside so they can watch.
Now that I know they aren’t going to help me I begin my own steps at trying to escape. I begin thrashing my body around, trying to make Dalton lose his grip on my body. I pound my fists into his back as I begin to laugh myself when I feel his body shake under me with laughter.
“Please! I’m sorry! I’m sorry okay!?” I call to him laughing.
“It’s too late to be sorry B!” he says.
He has reached the dock now and walks to the edge of it.
“You know, good thing we live in California and it is always warm because I have a feeling that I am going to have to do this pretty often.” He says, dangling my body playfully over the edge of the dock.
Flashes of the events at the beginning of the summer flash through my mind and something stabs into my heart at knowing that that was back when Rodger actually remembered me. Actually knew who I was.
Back when he was beginning to fall in love with me.
“Watch her back!” Thomas calls from the shore, breaking me from my thoughts but his words making the thoughts even more stronger than they had been before.
“You know,” I begin, ignoring the painful throbbing in my chest. “You could have given me a better view if you were planning on milking the whole ‘dangle me over the edge of the dock’ thing.”
I hear Dalton chuckle and he lets go, letting my body unexpectedly fall towards the water and I scream at the unexpected jerk. I feel his hands wrap around my ankles and I look down and see the water reaching up teasingly with its wave. My head and body is still above the surface and I silently curse Dalton for making me scream.
I hear the eruption of laughter and feel my cheeks burn with a little embarrassment, though Dalton is the only one to see it.
“Awe, is little Brooky embarrassed? She’s blushing!” he exclaims, letting everyone else know about my burning cheeks.
“Fuck you.” I mutter and he smiles even bigger.
“What was that?” he asks teasingly.
“You heard me.” I say and he laughs.
“O, I see. You said let go. Well,” he says shrugging. “if you insist.”
And with that his hold leaves my ankles and I plummet towards the water, laughter ringing in my eyes before I plunge underwater.
I quickly tread myself to the surface and breathe in a mouthful of water before choking and spluttering. Then the air is able to reach my lungs and I wipe the water from my eyes. I look up to the dock and find Dalton doubling over with laughter. I look towards the shores and find the same exact thing but with more boys.
Dalton has his back to me as he bends over and clutches his stomach as the laughter gets painful. His butt is again in my view and I smile as I grab a handful of water and throw it as hard as I can at him, making it splash all over the butt of his shorts.
More laughter comes from the shore but the laughter on the dock stops and Dalton turns to face me.
“Like I said before, the view sucks, and it didn’t get much better.” I call to him and he grins slightly.
“O, it’s on!” he exclaims before jumping off the dock and into the water. His body disappears from view and I look around me under the water quickly but I am too late. Hands wrap around my ankles and I am drug under.
I push myself back to the surface and find everyone still laughing. With a smile on my face I drag my arms along the surface of the water, making the water spray itself at them and I laugh at their expressions.
“WATER FIGHT!” Thomas screams and they all run into the water.
I turn away from them and begin attempting to run into the deep end of the water but I am thrown over someone’s shoulder and they carry me into the deep end, my wet body pressed against their once dry t-shirt.
They toss me slightly into the deep end but I wrap my legs around the back of their neck and drag them in with me. I feel their body fall under with me and I grab their arm as we both swim to the surface. I burst with laughter when I have reached the surface.
I turn to face them, expecting to find one of the boys glaring playfully at me but instead I find a laughing Rodger.
His blues eyes look into mine as they shine with laughter I haven’t seen in so long, the sound makes my heart pound hard and quick in my chest, as if it was about to burst from it and swim away from us in the water.
“Guys! Come on! Dinner is getting cold!” Wendy calls from the back door and my eyes snaps to her.
Everyone stops and looks to her before slowly making their way back to the shore and to the house. I look back to Rodger before making my own way back and find him looking at him, emotion clear on his face.
“I’m uh-….” I begin but for some odd reason am unable to finish the sentence.
“Yea.” he agrees as he clears his throat and we both swim to the shore and walk to the house in a painful silence.
At eleven thirty we all leave the living room and begin up the stairs. I am the last to climb the stairs and when I have reached the top I am greeted with a yawn.
No one knows about my journey that will take place tomorrow except Wendy. The boys don’t know and can’t know because they will try and stop me from going. Or they will demand that they come along and I know I need this to be just a me trip.
“Night B!” they all call and I plaster on a smile and finally realize that I have stopped walking in the middle of the hall and watch as everyone walks to their rooms.
“Night.” I call back to them and turn away and shut off the light before going back to the edge of the stairs and sit down, placing my elbows on my knees and place my chin in my hands.
Everything has been so hectic around here lately. Between Rodger’s accident, Daniel’s let loose, and me leaving tomorrow, I have had a lot on my plate.
None of this would have ever happened if you had been able to just stay at the apartment by yourself. Everything and everyone would have been fine. You would have been left alone and everyone wouldn’t have had to put up with the burden of having you here, let alone deal with all the trouble you have caused.
“Why are you sitting out here?” he asks making me jump to my feet and he chuckles slightly through the darkness.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” he says still chuckling.
I clear my throat and look away from his blue eyes that I can still see shimmering through the darkness.
“I was thinking.” I say when I have gathered my voice and thoughts. My heart beats slightly fast in my chest at the unexpected visitor.
He is quiet but I can see his head nod through the darkness.
“You know…. I am beginning to remember some things..” he says softly.
“Wendy told me.” I whisper.
I feel his eyes burning into my skin as he watches me from where he stands in front of me. I look away from him and to the floor again though.
“You pop up every once in a while too.” He whispers in return, this making me turn to face him. “I remember the time I tried dangling you over the dock and you hit your back.” He tells me and I feel a smile pull at my cheeks. “I remembered it when Dalton was dangling you over… it just hit me.”
“That’s great.” I hear myself whisper.
“I wanted to try something. I thought if I could remember something by watching someone else do the same, that maybe I could remember something’s if I tried doing them also.” He explains and I watch as he takes a few steps and leans towards me ever so slowly.
“What are you doing?” I whisper, taking a step back.
“Just let me try something.” He says softly, his hand sliding onto my cheek as he takes yet another step forward until I can feel the heat of his body rolling off of him.
He leans forward until our faces as just a inch apart and our breaths mingle. My breathing has began to come out rapidly and my hearts bangs inside my chest.
“Rodger…” I whisper and then his lips are on mine.
His soft lips press against mine and I melt inside. I haven’t felt his lips on mine for so long. I haven’t felt his touch, his lips, him. He kisses me eagerly and I return it, wrapping my arms around his neck and locking my fingers.
This isn’t him. You aren’t kissing YOUR Rodger. You kissing the Rodger that is stuck in the past. The Rodger that doesn’t love you yet, that doesn’t remember you. This kiss won’t help anything! It will make you hurt even more! It will break you inside afterwards to know that you weren’t kissing HIM. And even if you were, it meant NOTHING.
My mind screams this in my head and I try my hardest to ignore it. I press myself harder against him, wanting this to be true, wanting this to be him, wanting me to be kissing the boy I love, and the boy that loves me.
He backs me into the wall, his hand at the small of my back. We both press our lips to each other’s hard.
Him with the wanting to remember something and me with the wanting him to remember me.
Suddenly a door opens and we pull apart quickly, my hand flying to my swollen lips and I shut my eyes tightly as the light of another room aluminates our faces. The heat rushes into my cheeks and I want nothing more but to disappear.
“Um….. sorry to interrupt…. Something?” Dalton says uncomfortably.
“It’s okay, I was just leaving.” I lie before opening my eyes and running down the hallway and to my room. When I am inside I lock the door and throw myself on the bed, endless tears running down my cheeks.
Ugh! Sorry it was so long of a wait and chapter! D: Truth is I had A LOT or trouble getting this chapter off to start and even more trouble getting into it. But I finally did and then got a little carried away! :D Sorry about that!
But thank you soooooooooo much for reading and commenting\voting on the last chapter! Really means alot! :D Please do it again?
Thank you so much for reading and have a wonderful Monday tomorrow!