Thick and Thin (New Version)

Chapter Five: Brooke

*Heavy trigger warning for SA and DV

My head is pounding. I try to open my eyes but the light is too bright. Did I sleep with it on all night? It's cold in here. I sit up in bed and squint as I slowly come to my senses. The overhead light is still on, my comforter still lying in a heap on the floor next to my bed. And then I remember. I remember the cops tearing my house apart, my sister being hauled off to jail, my mom...

I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and rub my eyes. They're swollen and sore from crying myself to sleep last night. A glance at the alarm clock on my bedside table tells me it's 9 in the morning. "Ugh," I groan, forcing myself to get up. I stand aimlessly in the middle of my bedroom, wondering what I should do next. It's Saturday and I don't have to be at work until this afternoon. I need to find out what's going on with my mom and sister, but first I need some Tylenol and a gallon of water.

I walk clumsily downstairs and grab a glass from the cabinet, filling it with water from the sink and chugging it in seconds. I fill it back up and drink this one more slowly, turning around to observe the mess left behind from the night before. Where do I even begin? The house is a disaster, I have to call the jail and the hospital, I have to go to work and then finish a book report due on Monday. I'm used to doing everything on my own anyway, but this is the first time it's ever felt overwhelming. I step over the pile of clothes in the hallway and open the medicine cabinet in the downstairs bathroom, shaking out two Tylenol from the bottle and taking them both at the same time. I feel like I have a bad hangover, but I know I didn't drink last night. I wish I had, because then maybe I wouldn't remember anything.

I put the medicine back in the cabinet and observe my reflection in the mirror when I shut the door. My eyes are bright red and puffy with dark rings underneath. My hair is a rat's nest on top of my head. I look like Jimmy now more than ever, standing here in his shirt with skin pale as a sheet and dark brown hair sticking out wildly. Jimmy used to dye his hair raven black, but let it go back to our natural ashy brown color shortly before he died. My crystal blue eyes are nearly an exact match to his, and we even have the same oval faces. We could have passed as siblings rather than cousins.

Looking around the bathroom, I decide it's as good a place as any to start the cleanup process. I grab our extra rolls of toilet paper and cleaning supplies off the floor and put them back underneath the sink, reorganize the medicine cabinet, and fix the cover on the back of the toilet that was left halfway open for some reason. I would have never thought to look in a place like that, but I suppose that's the point.

Back in the hallway, I start picking the dirty clothes up off the floor and shoving them back in the basket when the doorbell rings. I expect that it must be the police, because who else would it be? I try to at least smooth my hair down a little, but it's no use. I don't know why I even care. I sit the clothes basket down and walk into the entryway to open the door. Imagine my surprise when fucking Brent is standing on the other side of it.

The first thought I have is this: what in god's name did I find attractive about this man? He's tall, but that's all he has going for him. His gray eyes are set too far apart from his massive nose and the patchy stubble on his face does nothing to help his butt-chin. His sandy brown hair is a few shades lighter than mine and rests on his forehead in a stupid side fringe straight out of a 2004 boy band. Not to mention the arrogant, my-shit-don't-stink look on his face that seems to always be there, even when he's sleeping.

The second thought I have, which really should have been my first, is what the fuck is he doing here?

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I say aloud.

He scratches the back of his head awkwardly. I have a very strong urge to slap him, but I'd rather not be cell-mates with Erica before the day is done.