Oli wants me to move in with him...
The words bounced around inside of my head as I sat at the kitchen table. Jake sat next to me, drinking coffee. James was cooking me breakfast. He set a waffle on my plate and handed me the butter and syrup. I smiled my thanks.
"So, are you going to tell us what's up?" James asked, sitting in front of me. My eyes shot up.
"What do you mean?" I asked, looking away.
"Come on, Brod. We know you. Something's up." Jake said. I sighed and rested my head in my hands. They were right. Hiding things from them was impossible.
"It's Marci.." I whispered. Lee and Sam came in and sat down, listening intently.
"How's she doing?" Sam asked, grabbing a bowl for some cereal.
"Is she doing better?" Jake asked. I shook my head.
"She's not?" Lee asked. I looked up at him sadly.
"What's happening, Brod?" Sam asked.
"She's getting worse. The tumors are growing larger, causing more and more damage. She's going to die within the week.." I whispered. I felt Jake's arms wrap around me. I sunk into his chest.
"But- she- I thought-" Lee stammered. I nodded.
"I don't know why, but it's- it's killing her faster.." I said. Tears spilled down my face. Jake stroked my hair.
"Brod, baby, I'n so sorry.." he whispered into my hair. I nodded, but there was nothing really that could be done. She was dying either way, and nothing was going to be able to stop it.
I got up from the table. I didn't want to be around everyone anymore. I left the room. despite their protests. I started up the stairs, but Ben stopped me.
"Brodie," he said with a smile. I tried to return the smile, but I knew I was failing. He reached out and grabbed my shoulders.
"Brodie? What's wrong?" he asked. I couldn't hold it anymore. I sank down to the stairs, crying hard. I felt Ben's arms scoop me up and cradle me to his chest.
"Brodie? Babe? Come on, tell me what's wrong? Is it you and Oli? Did you guys have another fight? Talk to me. beautiful," he pleaded. I tried to control my sobs, but I couldn't. I only cried harder. I felt him lift me up and carry me back up the stairs. He brought me into the closest bedroom and he set me on the bed.
"It's- it's not O-Oli," I stammered. He handed me a box of tissues. I looked up at him gratefully and blew my nose, trying to calm down. He sat next to me on the bed, rubbing my back slightly. I couldn't stop crying. This was the first time I really had cried since I found out about Marci's even more sudden death.
"Brod, talk to me. You're scaring me," he whispered. I leaned against his chest. He hugged me tight. He was such a good friend to me. I was glad it was his chest I was bawling into.
"It's not O-Oli. It's M-Marci.." I sobbed. He clutched me closer. I heard the door open and footsteps come running into the room.
"Ben, what's wrong with her?" Jona asked, his voice coated with worry.
"It's Marci," Ben whispered. I felt the bed sink with weight as Jona say down on the other side of me, his arms wrapping around Ben and I.
"Her cancer, it-it's spreading, and she's going to d-die faster than t-they thought," I said. I heard Jona gasp slightly. Their arms wrapped tighter around me.
"Oh, Brodie, baby, I'm so sorry," Jona whispered. I nodded.
"It's okay, there's nothing t-to be done," I said, giving a final sniffle. I stopped crying. My best friends were here, which made me feel ten times better.
"Is there anything we can do?" Jona asked as i sat up from their tangle of arms.
"No, I think I'm just going to go to bed. I'm tired," I said. That was a lie. I wasn't actually tied, I just wanted to be away from everyone. As much as I loved my best friends, I just wanted to be alone. I got up from the bed and walked out the door, leaving Jona and Ben dumbfounded.
I found my way back up to Oli's room. I still hadn't actually explored the house, so finding my way back was a little harder than I thought it was going to be. But I found the main stairs and up to his room. He was gone, out with Danny repaying the hospital damaged he caused. I crawled under the covers and pulled them up over my head. I felt bad about leaving my friends, but their comfort didn't help. It wasn't going to stop Marci from dying...
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"Brodie? Brodie, baby? Babe wake up," Oli called softly. he shook my shoulders gently. I groaned. "Come on babe, I have a surprise for you. Come on, wake up," he called. I pulled the pillow over my head. He chuckled softly. I felt his hands grasp the pillow, pulling it away from me. I tried to hold on, but he was stronger than I was, easily taking it from my hands. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to flip back over so he couldn't see me. His hands wrapped around my body, pulling me to him.
"Mmmm," I groaned. he laughed again.
"Come on. I have a surprise for you," he whispered. He kissed the top of my head softly. I felt myself relax. I coulnd't help it. As sad as I was, I love him, and his gentle mannerism with me made me feel so much better. I peaked open one eye. He was smiling down at me. Jona and Ben were also in the room, smiling as well.
"What's going on?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
"Come on, we have a surprise for you," he said. He handed me some clean clothes. I sighed and grabbed them. All three of the boys broke into even bigger smiles. Ben and Jona left the room so I could get dressed. I climbed out of my cocoon of blankets. He turned his back so I could get changed. I coulnd't help but smile. He was so polite.
I slid out of Oli's over sized shirt and his basket ball shorts. I put my new tank on and my other pair of jeans. My flats was right where I left them last night. I slipped them on.
"Eh, I'm ready," I said quietly. He turned to face me, big smile planted on his face. He got up off the bed and walked over to me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled my in for a hug. I pressed my face into his neck, softly kissing it. He chuckled.
"Save that for later," he whispered. I giggled.
"Okay, fine," I said. I reached up to kiss him. He smiled and kissed me back. Then he pulled away. "Where are we going?" I asked. He only smiled.
"You'll see," he whispered, I looked up at him. His eyes were sparkling. I gave him a curious look, but he only smiled bigger. He lead my out the door. Ben and Jona were standing there. They both smiled.
"Where are you guys taking me?" I asked.
"You'll see," Jona whispered. I sighed. No one was going to give in. They lead me down stairs. The rest of the gang was there. They all smiled and gave me thumbs up, saying they loved me. Looked like everyone was on it. I wave goodbye to my friends.
Oli, Jona and Ben lead me to a large, black truck i had never seen it before. I turned to look at Oli. He smiled sheepishly.
"It's mine," he said. I laughed.
"Where have you been hiding this?" I asked, walking up to the massive thing. It was the biggest truck I had ever seen.
"My garage, silly," he said. He opened the door for me. Even though there was step up bars, I still had to have him help me up.
Once we were on the road, I turned to Oli. He looked over at me, smile now gone. Jona's and Ben's smiles were also gone.
"Do you trust me?" he asked quietly. I got a sick feeling in my stomach.
"What do you mean?" I asked. I flipped around and looked at the guys, but they had the same, solemn looks on their faces.
"Do you trust me?" he asked again.
"What is going on, Oli? Guys?" I asked, almost panicking.
"Babe, please, you have to tryst me on this," he said. He pulled up in front of a tattoo shop. I let out a little squeak.
"Oliver Scott, you tell me what is going on," I demanded. He only laughed. Ben and Jona did as well. I was getting mad. I was scared.
"Come on, Brod, where's the brave, ass kicking Brodie I know?" Ben asked, leaping down from the massive truck. Jona offered his hand to help me down. I took it and slid out. We walked up to the doors of the parlor. I clutched Oli's hand. He gave me a reassuring squeeze.
"It's going to be fine," he said. I tried to nod, but I was still scared. I hadn't gotten another tattoo since my rose, and I really didn't want anymore.
"How can I help you lads," the man behind the counter asked. He was large, and his entire body was covered in tattoos. He even had them in his ears and on his eye lids. I cringed slightly. I didn't know how he could stand that.
"We need a small cover up done, I called in, for Brodie Lynn Bryant," Oli said. I looked up at him sharply.
"Right this way, miss," he said. I gave Oli another terrified look. He just smiled and took my hand, leading me back towards where the artist went.
"Are you ready, my lady?" he asked. I sunk into the tattoo chair. I shrugged, looking at Oli. He gestured for me to turn over. I shook my head.
"Oli, it's to big. I've told you this," I said.
"Brodie, just trust me," he said, gesturing for me to turn over again. I sighed, complying to his wishes. I felt the artist lift up my shirt, revealing my rose tattoo. He gasped and I grimaced.
"Wow, Brodie, this is truly beautiful. You drew this?" he asked, slightly tracing the rose and vines.
"Yes," I said quietly.
"It's wonderful, even better than what Oli had described to me," he said. I sighed. I wished I had felt better about it..
"How long is this going to take?" I asked
"About half an hour," he said simply. My head jerked up.
"But it took six hours to do the first time!" I squeaked. Oli and Ben laughed. Jona reached out and held my hand.
"Trust us," he whispered. I tried to look reassuring, but I knew I wasn't doing a very good job. I adjusted myself so that I was laying face down on the chair. Oli held my shirt up for me. I could hear the artist getting the ink ready and the gun.
"Are you ready?" he asked, leaning close to my back. I nodded and squeezed Jona's hand. I wished I could as least see what he was doing. "This is going to hurt a little more than the first time, since we have to go a little deeper to cover it up," he said. I nodded again, and he pressed the gun into my skin.
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"Are you ready to see it?" the artist asked. I nodded. He was right, it had only taken about half an hour, and it did hurt like a bitch. I think I might have broken Jona's hand.
"Come here baby," Oli said, taking my hand and leading me over to the floor length mirror. I took in a deep breath as he lifted my shirt back up and turned around.
As first, I didn't notice anything. The flower was still the same, the vines were all there.
"What did y-" I stopped. I sucked in a huge breath. The small letters that spelled out the word MOMMY were not different. Instead, they spelled MARCI. Tears welled in my eyes, streaming down my face.
"Oli.. I- it's- I don't ev-" I sobbed. I fell back into his arms.
"Do you like it?" he whispered. all I could do was nod. It was perfect...