Scorpio Eyes

Chapter 16: The Aftermath

On the ride back, Brooke blocked Adam's phone number so she would never hear from him again. Sav tried to talk to her about what happened but Brooke didn't want to talk. As soon as they got home, she went to her room, took her costume off and sat on the bed, in just her bra and panties, and stared off into space.

She felt like an idiot but at least she was vindicated. Turns out he was only looking for a quick fuck while his girlfriend wasn't around. Brooke assumed she didn't live with him because she didn't see anything in his house that indicated he was involved with someone. But maybe she missed something. I mean, it's not like she probed him for the details of his life. She just went on instinct and her feelings. She trusted him completely from the beginning.

Being with him felt so right. It felt like they had this deep connection even though they hadn't known each other long. It was unlike anything she'd felt in her life. Falling for him felt as simple as breathing. It didn't require thought or action, it was just automatic.

'Well whatever you felt it wasn't true. It was all based on a lie,' she thought as shook her head, scanning the room for clothes to wear. There were a ton of clothes on the floor that she hadn't hung up when she ran around the room Monday morning trying to get out the door for the meeting that was scheduled. That's the morning that Adam was in her bed. This bed. She looked back at the bed she was sitting on and the memory of that night came flooding back.

His gentle touch. His sweet kiss. He called her "baby" when they made love. It was all so tender and romantic and... and a lie. She felt her eyes fill with tears. She stood up picking up the first pair of shorts she saw. She looked over toward the closet and there was Adam's Knick's shirt, sitting there crumpled on the floor next to the closet door. The tears started to roll down her cheeks. She walked over to it and picked it up. She put it up to her nose and inhaled deeply. It still smelled of both of them, a mix of the soap he uses, tobacco, her favorite body spray, and their natural scent that is unique to only them. She put her whole face into it and let herself really cry. She fell to her knees and just stayed there with his shirt to her face slightly rocking back and forth.

There was a knock at the door and Sav entered not waiting for a response.

"Oh honey..." she said, coming to her and getting on the floor next to her. Sav took her in her arms and rocked her. Sav was her big sister, she was 33 and always felt like a second mother to her. Her own mother was absent a lot during her childhood and Sav was always there looking out for her and taking care of her. It didn't matter that they had different mothers, Sav was her WHOLE sister in every way.

"Can I sleep in your room tonight?" Brooke asked quietly, "I don't want to be alone."

"Of course, absolutely." Sav said, helping Brooke to her feet.

"Thank you." Brooke said finding a plain white tank to put on. She still had Adam's Knicks shirt in her hand.

'I'm tired. I want to go to bed" Brooke said as they walked to the door together.

"Ok" Sav nodded in agreement.

Brooke stopped when they got to the bedroom door and looked at the shirt in her hand. It reminded her of him and the searing heart ache came back instantly. She looked over next to the door and saw the trash can. She went over and shoved the shirt into it. She wanted to forget she ever met Adam Horovitz. Brooke flipped the light off and followed her sister out the door.

The next morning Brooke woke up before Sav. She slipped out of bed and went to get her phone after a quick trip to the bathroom. She had left it in the small purse she carried the night before. It was sitting on the table next to the front door. She had flung it there when they got back last night.

Brooke looked at it and there were five missed calls-- two from a blocked phone number and three from a number she didn't recognize. There was a text from the number she didn't recognize as well. It read:

"It's Adam, I really want to talk to you. I want to try to explain. Please just give me 10 mins. And then if you don't want to ever talk to me again I will leave you alone. Please Brooke. Please."

She deleted the text and all the missed calls. She did NOT want to talk to him. What could he possibly say that she didn't know? Nope, she was done with him. She needed to chalk this up to being young and foolish and move on with her life.

She let out a long sigh. 'What did he need to explain?' she thought. 'What did he want to tell her?' Maybe she should hear him out, at least then she wouldn't always wonder why.

"No" she said out loud to no one. Absolutely not. She needed to ghost him and try to never think of him again. Talking to him, even on the phone would only break her heart and cause more pain.

She looked at her schedule for the day. This was their last day in LA, they were flying back to New York tomorrow morning. A reminder notification popped up just then, saying she needed to go to pick up a gift from Chloe.

'Shit, I completely forgot about that.' Brooke thought to herself.

Chloe had told her before the concert on Friday night that she had a gift for her and forgot to bring it. It was something Chloe had made for her and she was so upset that she'd left it at her dad's house. She made Brooke promise that somehow she would get it to her before she left to go back to New York.

Brooke decided to text Chloe to figure out a time to get it today. Chloe responded immediately. She let her know that she was out of town with her mom and that the gift is at her dad's house. She told Brooke she could pick it up there, just text her dad and let him know. Chloe sent her his number.

Brooke texted Mark and explained the situation. He responded saying he was home now and was waiting for some people to arrive for a meeting, and then he had to leave his house for the rest of the day. He said she was welcome to come and pick it up now. He sent her his address. He lived in the Hollywood Hills just off of Mulholland Dr-- it was only 15 mins away.

Brooke decided to go now and let Sav sleep. She quickly changed her clothes and fixed her hair and make-up. She texted Sav and let her know what she was doing so she wouldn't be worried if she woke up to an empty house. She grabbed the keys and left the house.

Brooke pulled up to Mark's very large estate in the Hollywood Hills 20 minutes later. He had a gate too. It felt like everyone in Los Angeles had gates for security. She rang the intercom and after identifying herself, she was allowed in. She didn't realize that Chloe's dad was this wealthy. She knew he worked in the music industry but didn't know much more than that. But by the looks of his house, he made a shit ton of money.

Brooke parked off to the side of the circular driveway. It was nearest to the front door and she wasn't going to be there long. She walked up to the large entrance and rang the bell. His housekeeper answered the door and invited her in. Brooke was about to tell her who she was and why she was here, but the woman stopped her and told her she knew why she was there. She said she would go get the gift and be right back. The housekeeper left her waiting in the beautiful foyer as she went upstairs and out of sight.

Brooke looked around at the artwork on the walls. It was really pretty, maybe one day she would be able to afford art like this. She stepped back hearing someone approaching, assuming it was the housekeeper coming back. She turned and to her complete shock was face-to-face with Adam.