Denying the Inevitable

Two Months Later

I walked through the airport, dragging my suitcase lazily behind me. I wasn’t looking forward to this Christmas. I had been excited for it up until last night because last night mywonderful fiancé informed me that he was not coming home with me for Christmas. Honestly...who stands their fiancé up at Christmas and tells her the night before that he has to stay in Toronto for work? Now I was in Saskatoon...by myself and left to explain this to my family...by myself. I stepped outside and pushed my hands into my gloves as I waited for a cab. I whirled around when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. “BRAY!” I shouted as I threw myself at him. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

“I came to get you and the fiancé.” He said with a grin as he glanced around the near vicinity. “Where's Nathan?”

“Uh...he’s in Toronto.” I told him.

“Woah. What?”

“Yah. He has to work.”

“But your mom said that you were both coming home for Christmas.”

“That's what I thought. Last night he found out he had to stay.”

“Oh. I'm sorry, B.” Brayden told me sympathetically.

“Is it a bad sign that he backed out of this Christmas of Christmases? I mean...we’re getting married in five months. This was going to be the last time we were going to see my family before the wedding and he didn't come. Is that a bad sign?” I asked him. I had thought about what exactly this meant for my relationship a lot on the flight and I couldn't come up with anything good to think about Nathan’s decision. I would never chose to work when he was so looking forward to going home.

“No.” He told me. “No, not at all. He’s one of those guys that is very serious about his work. That's not bad. That's a good thing, Brooke.” I nodded and slipped my hand into his as we walked towards the parking lot. I guess he was right. Nathan being so into his work was admirable. It’s just going to take some getting used to on my part.
---
I excused myself from the table after dinner and made my way up the hardwood stairs. I smiled to myself as certain steps creaked just as I remembered them to. I had mastered these stairs. I knew exactly where to step on each one to go up or down undetected; something I had done many times. My feet padded along the pale blue carpet as I walked down the hallway. I stopped outside the third door on the left and grasped the handle. I took a deep breath and turned it. I stepped into the room and the first thing that hit me was the smell. The smell that took me back to high school. The smell that every now and then I thought I smelt again and caused memories to come crashing back to me like a ton of bricks.

I closed the door behind me and glanced around the room. It was exactly the same as it had always been. Trophies and medals still littered the shelves on the walls and a pile of old binders and text books were still piled off to the side. I couldn't help but smile knowing that they had barely ever been used. The pictures were still on the desk in the corner of the room. I walked over and picked up the biggest one. I ran my finger lightly over the glass of the frame that covered the picture of Luke and I at his prom.

“Babe!” Luke called out from the bottom of the stairs. “Come on! We had to leave a half hour ago!”

“Luke! Leave her alone! Don't rush her!” I heard Rita scolding her son. I stood up from the mirror and turned around to face Brayden. I had taken over his room to get ready and he had been sitting back watching me running around with my head cut off for the past two hours.

“How do I look?” I asked nervously.

“You look gorgeous.” He told me as a smile spread across his face. “You looked gorgeous an hour ago.” I smacked him lightly.

“You boys have it so easy.” I told him. “You don't know how lucky you are. But really...how’s my hair? I should fix it, shouldn’t I?” I groaned and turned back towards the mirror. “I knew I should have worn it up.” Brayden grabbed my hands as I raised them to my loose wavy hair.

“Stop!” He ordered. “You look incredible. Now get downstairs before prom is over.” I smiled at him and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Thank you.”

“This is what best friends are for, right?” He told me with a smirk as he kissed my cheek. I made my way out of Brayden’s room and towards the stairs. My hand gripped the rail as I made my way down the stairs. I stepped onto the landing and Luke’s head raised from his cell phone and his eyes set on me. My heart skipped as his eyes landed on mine. He looked amazing. That slightly crooked smile that I loved so much spread across his face sending butterflies through me. When he didn't say anything I fiddled nervously with the bright pink fabric of my dress and made my way down the last few steps. His eyes were filled with lust as he reached out for my hand and pulled me towards him.

“You look stunning.” He whispered into my ear sending chills down my spine. He grinned at me briefly before pushing his lips against mine.

“Luke! Luke!” Rita shouted before pushing between us. “You’re going to mess up her makeup and I need to get pictures.” She told him before turning to face me. My eyes connected with Luke’s over his mother’s shoulder. He mouthed an ‘I love you’ that instantly made me warm inside. ‘I love you too’ I mouthed with a wink.

“He loves that picture.” Rita told me, causing me to jump. “Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you.”

“That's okay!” I told her as I quickly put the picture down. “I uhm...I was just..”

“Brooklyn you don't need to some up with a story for me.” She told me. My eyes diverted to the floor. Rita had always been able to read me. I was like an open book to her. She and I had always had a connection on a different level. A level that I had never been able to connect to my own mother on. “I just wanted to check on you.” She told me. “You excused yourself so fast I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I'm great.” I told her even though I wasn’t. My mom and I had been invited to dinner with Rita, Jeff and Brayden tonight and it had me a little uneasy. It was the first time in years that I had been in this house and it was just full of memories of the past.

“You know you can always talk to me, right?” She asked, taking both of my hands in hers. I nodded wildly trying so hard to keep the tears in that I suddenly felt trying to escape. “I love you, Brooklyn. I am here for you no matter what.” She told me. She pulled me into a tight hug and kissed me on the forehead. “I've always thought of you like a daughter. You know that. I just miss you so much. I'm not the only one that misses you.”

“I know. I miss you too.” I told her with a smile. “And I miss Brayden too.” I told her as a tear rolled down my cheek that she quickly wiped away for me.

“Brayden misses you, yes, but he was not who I was referring to.” She told me. “I should get back down there. You take your time.” She told me before leaving the room closing the door behind her. I took a deep breath and collapsed onto Luke’s bed.

Luke’s POV

I walked through the front door of the house I had grown up in and heard laughter coming from the living room. I kicked off my boots and made my way towards it. As I stepped through the archway mom was the first to see me. “LUKE?!” She exclaimed as she jumped from her seat and ran towards me. “Oh my goodness!” She shouted.

“Hi mom.”

“What are you doing here?! You're not supposed to be here until tomorrow!”

“Would you like me to leave and come back tomorrow?” I asked sarcastically.

“Absolutely not!” She replied. “Sit down! I’ll fix you something to eat.” She got out as she hurried out of the room. I said my hellos to my dad and Brayden and then my eyes set on Brooklyn’s mom. If she was here that meant Brooklyn was here. After forcing some small talk I left the living room and went to the kitchen. I saw the huge plate of food that mom was putting together and I couldn't help but laugh.

“I'm not that hungry mom.” I walked towards the dining room and glanced in, looking for Brooklyn.

“She's upstairs.” I turned to look at my mother who had not looked up from what she was doing. She had always been overly perceptive. “That fiancé of hers didn't come with her. She's in your room.” I nodded and quickly left the kitchen. I hurried up the stairs two at a time and stood outside of my old bedroom door.

In the past two months Brooklyn and I have had a complicated relationship. I know that she still has feelings for me. The way she looks at me, the way she smiles at me...she still loves me. That's all I needed to know. I opened the door and found Brooklyn laying on my bed on her side. She had one of my old notebooks opened and was looking through it. I smiled knowing exactly what one it was. I closed the door and that's when she noticed me there. To my surprise she didn't try to hide that she was taking a little trip down memory lane. She just smiled lightly and looked back down at the paper. I sat down next to her and read the paper.

When we get married are you going to be Brooklyn Schenn or Brooklyn Daniels Schenn?

Brooklyn Schenn.

That's got a nice ring to it, eh?

Mrs. Luke Schenn? Hell yah it does.

Brooklyn and I had taken a senior art class in high school and wound up in the same class. We never did any work; we just passed this book back and forth all period. I felt a twinge of sadness in my stomach. I still couldn't believe things had gotten to this. Brooklyn has been the only woman I have ever loved. I have been in love with her my whole life but I royally screwed everything up. I made so many mistakes that sorry just couldn't fix but I had been trying to show her that I was different. That I wouldn't make those mistakes again. “That was a long time ago.” She said, breaking the silence.

“Yah.” I replied. “I still think that sounds pretty damn amazing though.” I told her. She laughed and leaned on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close. I never got sick of feeling her next to me and it didn't happen very often so when it did I took advantage of it. “Where’s Nathan?” I asked. I didn't really care where the hell that guy was but I was hoping that they were fighting.

“In Toronto. He’s working.” The sadness in her voice let me know that it was last minute.

“I'm sorry.” I told her.

“It’s okay.” She mumbled.

“Well...look on the bright side. Now I get you all to myself.” Brooklyn sat up and at glared at me.

“Unbelievable.” She muttered as she shook her head and got to her feet.

“Brooklyn! Wait!” I exclaimed as I too got to my feet. I reached out and grasped her elbow.

“I tell you that we are just friends but every time I see you you do something like this! You're always making some sort of comment about us being together or..”

“Can you blame me?! I don't want to be your friend, Brooklyn! I want to be so much more than that! You and I should be what you and Nathan are!” I shouted before I had a chance to stop myself. I had always held everything in that I had been feeling around her and something just changed inside of me.

“You don't want to be my friend? Well fine. You got your wish. You're not my friend. You're nothing to me.” She spat as she stormed out of the room leaving me speechless.
What the fuck just happened here?