I Meant What I Said

Bree got in her car and drove out of his driveway. She hadn't felt this way since he broke up with her. She drove out of Crestview and back into her town. She finally let herself break down. She let herself feel the same emotions she had felt three months earlier.

She pulled her car over into an empty parking lot and turned it off. He said he loved her. Many times. And she loved him, too. It just couldn't happen again. It just couldn't.

She remembered how miserable she had been when he broke up with her. She didn't talk to anyone for two whole days. She didn't even leave her house for a week. It was Sara who took her out and made her realize that she was better without Jamie. Sara had reminded her off all the good times she had before Jamie and she reassured her that she could be happy without him.

She sat in the parking lot for almost half an hour, just letting go of all the emotions she had been holding on to. Seeing him at school almost everyday since they broke up was one of the hardest things she ever had to do. Knowing that she couldn't walk up to him and hug him or kiss him like she used to broke her heart even more. She cried harder as she remembered all of the good times they had together.

After crying until she was exhausted, Bree dragged out her cell phone and texted Sara. “Hey, where are you?”

Sara texted back quickly. “With Max. Spending the night here,” with a winking smiley face after it. Great. She couldn't even go be comforted by her best friend.

She sat there for another minute trying to decide what to do. She couldn't text Tyler, she still felt guilty for calling him to her rescue earlier. Callie was probably still at cheering practice and Lucie was out with her friends doing who knows what, like always.

Finally, she decided to text her brother. Nathaniel had gotten her through some of the most difficult times. They had always been close. They were only 25 months apart and when they were younger, they were inseparable.

She pulled out her phone and scrolled down to his number. She sent him a simple “hey”. He was always busy now that he was in college. He said it was because he could finally do what he wanted now that he was out on his own, but she knew it was just because he was trying to be like all the other college kids. He wasn't the type of guy to serial date or hold a string of one-night stands, even though he tried to make everyone believe he was. She thought he was a really good guy.

He texted back almost instantly. “Hey lil' sis. How are you?”

“Good, yeah, uh, good. Still coming home this weekend?”

“You okay? And go home soon. There's a surprise waiting.”

Bree was curious. She turned her car back on and put it into gear. She drove out on the main road and turned down the road to her house. It was only 5:00. She still had an hour before she had to go get the twins. She pulled into her neighborhood and drove into her driveway. The lights were on at her house. Had she left them on? She didn't remember.

She pulled into the driveway, not bothering to park in the garage. She had to go out soon anyways. She left her bag in the car and grabbed her keys. She walked to the front door, unlocked it, and walked inside. She heard the TV on in the other room. She knew she didn't leave it on. “Hello?” She yelled, getting nervous. She slowly walked into the living room.

“Hey, Bree.” He smiled at her and she was relieved.

“Nate! You're home!” He stood up and she ran over to hug him. “Oh my gosh, it's been so long. You need a haircut!” She looked at him. He was 6'2. A lot taller than she was. He had her same blue eyes but his hair was a little darker.

“Nice surprise, huh?” He smiled at her. “Didn't expect to see me home huh?”

“No! I didn't. Wow, it's so great you're here. I really needed you. Wait, how are you here? I didn't think you were coming until Friday night?”

“Change of plans. I didn't need to be there tomorrow or Friday so I decided to come here.”

“Wow, this is so great.” Bree was overjoyed. Nate was one of her best friends. They had always been so close.

“Yeah. I'm really happy mom and dad left my room alone. I just threw all my bags in there and everything was the same. I'm surprised. Mom always said she was going to turn my room into a sewing room.”

“Mom doesn't sew, Nate.” She laughed. It had always been a joke between them.

Bree felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. It was Alex. “Hey.” That's all it said. She ignored it and put it back in her pocket. She still didn't know how she was going to deal tomorrow.

Nate looked at her. “Everything okay?”

Bree was startled by him. She forgot that he was there with her. “Oh, yeah, uh, just boy trouble.”

“Well, I'm all ears. But let's go get the twins, first. I don't want mom to be mad if we get there late.”

“Okay. I'll drive. We can talk in the car.” Bree held up her keys and started walking towards the door. Nate turned off the TV and the lights and followed her.

Bree climbed into the car and put the keys into the ignition. Nate climbed into the passenger's seat and started playing with her iPod. Within seconds, Jimmy Eat World played through her speakers. Typical.

She drove down the road towards her brothers' school. “So, you ever going to tell me about your boy trouble?”

Bree smiled. It didn't take Nate long to become nosy all over again. She laughed. “Well, you know about me and Jamie, but all of a sudden he comes out with 'I still love you, I want to be with you' and yeah.”

“Oh, wow. I never did like that kid.” Bree pulled into the school parking lot. It was 5:50. The boys wouldn't be done for another ten minutes at least. She turned off the car and faced Nate.

“Yeah, it's just a sucky situation, you know? And I met this really nice kid. His name's Alex and he's so sweet. But then you have Jamie who thinks he can just rush back into my life whenever he feels like it, and it's hard.”

“Wow, yeah, I don't know, Bree. Like, I know where the guy's coming from. Getting over someone you were that in love with is hard, but there comes a point where you just have to let it go.”

Bree heard the back door open and within seconds, Lucas and Jacob were in her car, along with all of their sports stuff.

“Hey Bree!” They said in unison. “What are we having for dinner?”

“Nice to see you, too.” She barely got out another word before they noticed that Nate was in the car.

“Nate! You're home!” They could hardly hide their excitement.

“Hey guys.” Nate smiled at them. Bree put the car into gear and started driving back to her house.

“We're having DiGiorno pizza for dinner. I'll put it in as soon as we get home.” Bree drove up to her neighborhood and into the driveway. She pressed the button for the garage door and drove in. She parked and the boys jumped out, taking all their gross stuff with them. She turned to Nate. “Miss it here yet?”

He smiled at her and got out of the car. Bree grabbed her phone, her bag and her keys and got out of the car. She put her phone onto loud and walked into the kitchen. She put everything down by the door and turned on the oven.

The boys went upstairs and got themselves changed. Nate went into the living room and turned on the TV. The oven beeped and she pulled the pizza out of the freezer, put it on a pan and slid it into the oven.

She was startled when her phone went off. She had forgotten she put it on loud. She walked over to it. ONE NEW TEXT MESSAGE. She flipped open her phone. It was from Alex. “Hey beautiful, you busy tonight?” Bree felt her stomach flood with butterflies.