You Were Meant For Me

Brooks awoke the next morning to the smell of pancakes. He was afraid, so he put it off like he usually would but he knew he had to do it today. "Good morning." He said walking out into the kitchen fully clothed & ready to leave for practice.

"Good morning.." Brittany said hesitantly, it wasn't like him to get up & get dressed so quickly. "What are you up to?"

"Practice." He said before getting his things together to leave.

"I thought it was optional.." She trailed off.

"It is, but you know coach likes when we decide to show up. Shows him we're dedicated this season." He explained before grabbing an apple & biting into it.

"Hey I'm making pancakes." she said playfully yelling at him for eating an apple.

"Yeah, about that. I think I'm going to head out. I want to be there early.." He explained.

"You sure?" She asked, Brittany could tell something was up. He never skipped her breakfasts, especially for optional practices. Better yet he usually skipped optional practices to spend time with her. Brooks nodded his head before picking up his bag & making his way towards her. Brooks placed both of his hands on the sides of her face as he looked into her eyes. He could see the worried look in her green eyes. Holding back his tears he kissed her long & hard, almost like a last kiss. It was different, something he hadn't done before, out of character almost.

"See ya." He said before opening the door. Brooks heard a faint 'I love you' come out of her mouth before he shut the door behind him. He knew he couldn't say it back, not now. As he made his way to his car a single tear slid down his face.

Upstairs Brittany turned off the stove throwing away every ounce of pancake that she had made. She had lost her appetite, her mind had gotten lost in the strange events of today & what they were leading up to. Gently sliding down the cabinets she sat on the floor in the kitchen just thinking, there was nothing else she could do.

About 15 minutes after Brooks had left he was back, deep down he knew he wasn't going to open practice. He drove to the arena & back, he had to do it now before he changed his mind & risked her career that he was sure she loved more than anything. He knocked on the door instead of using the key she had given him.

"Wha.." She began to talk before Brooks cut her off.

"I think we should take a break." He said bluntly not showing any emotion in his face.

"What? Why?" She asked trying not to get worked up.

"I just do, I need to focus on hockey right now." He stated, still standing in the door way.

"Come in, lets just talk about this." Brittany pleaded.

"No." He said shaking his head. "Maybe were just not right for each other."

"Don't say that." She replied quickly. "We can work this out, I love you." She continued to talk as she looked directly at his eyes that were looking past her. It was the only way he could keep from crying, cause he knew what he had to say next would hurt her even more.

"Well maybe, I don't love you." He said calmly, she was fighting every word he was saying. He hadn't expected it to go this far, but it had to be done. He wanted to make it as easy on both of them as possible. Phoebe never said they couldn't be friends.

"you're lying." She said in a whisper as she choked back tears that were filling her eyes making her vision blurry.

"No, I'm not." He said staring at her with a straight face, making her believe. In one swift motion Brittany pulled her right hand back slapping him across the face. She was mad & hurt, all she wanted to do was cry.

"GET OUT!!" She screamed, he was going to apologize but before he could get out one word she screamed again. "I SAID GET OUT!" & she let the tears fall as he walked out of her apartment door & out of her life.