Hello Brooklyn

The kitchen was darker than usual with the curtains shut and the ceiling light off. Brooklyn grabbed a lighter from her pocket and reached around for the candle she kept on the cedar table. Once she touched the wax with her finger-tips, she used her other fingers to flick the fire on and light the sucker.

“You’re letting go Brook. You said you wouldn’t leave me.” Brookie gasped and spun on her heels to see Alex by the fridge. “I’m still here.” Alex walked closer and ran a hand through his dull hair, while she stayed quiet. “Why are you listening to them?”

“They made me, I swear!” Tears escaped the girl’s eyes as she knelt to the ground, holding her sides in agony. She was disappointed in herself for not being strong enough. “I miss you so much Alex. All the time.”

Gaskarth rolled his eyes and sighed. “Whatever.” He trampled over to the kitchen tool drawer and opened it with a squeak. “You know what has to happen right? You’re making me do this Brooklyn. It’s all your fault,” He spoke as his fingers grasped a shiny object deep within the drawer’s clutches. A knife was pulled out.

“But-“ Her lower lip trembled greatly. She let out a harsh scream-

“Brooklyn! Brookie wake up!” Jack yelled in the girl’s face. She was obviously having a nightmare. “Sweetie, come on…” She jolted up in her bed and started clawing at her chest to look for a wound. She was exasperated to find nothing. A wound meant feeling- meant Alex was still there. Nothing meant she was still going crazy.

“Brook?” She looked up at Jack with pain in her crystal cut eyes.

“He was there! Alex was there, I saw him!” Brooklyn collapsed in Jack’s ready arms and for the first time in days, she cried. She cried at the guilt she felt. She had no right to take those pills and erase Alex’s memory from the world. No one did.

Jack, however, thought that she was having a realization. He figured that the sign of emotion meant she knew what was going on for real. No more fantasy. Boy, was he ever wrong.

Brooklyn continued to sob against his flat chest. She glanced up at him and into his eyes- only his eyes up to the crown of his head. She noticed the familiarity between Jack and Alex… soon convincing herself that it was Alex. Her mind was not in the right place.

So when she kissed Jack, she didn’t realize it wasn’t Alex. When she ran her hands through Jack’s hair, she felt only Alex’s soft locks. And when she said, “I love you,” to the boy in blue, she had no idea what was going on in the real world.

And Jack felt like he was on top of the world.