Thursday (Sequel to 'From Eden')

five

**IMPORTANT: for the sake of something different...CHLOE pov😌*
🔥TW drug use🔥
- -

It had been only a couple days since I sent Paige the cowardly pen pal letter, but I was so anxious for any type of response from her that I considered reaching out to Brooke once again on some social media where I wasn't blocked to ask her if her sister recieved it. I sat with my legs crossed in my swivel chair by my desk, staring blankly at the phone screen. It would have to be Facebook or email—text was blocked a day after the incident, Snapchat was blocked after a month, Instagram on Paige's birthday, and Tiktok on Thanksgiving.

What hurt the most was Brooke wouldn't even reply back to me; she would just silently block me, and the only way I would find out is if I went to her page to see if she saw my message yet. There was perhaps Kelly I could go to, but I figured she would end up doing the same as her daughter.

There wasn't a day I didn't regret doing what I did to Paige. It was so fucking stupid of me. I swallowed hard, fiddling with my phone. What if she read my name at the top of the paper, and threw it away? What if I made her break down again? Was it cruel of me to send it to her rehabilitation center, knowing she had no access to drugs or alcohol to help her escape me?

I put my phone on the desk and held my head in my hands, about ready to cry again. The moment Paige saw Brooklinn run to kiss me right after I had kissed her ran through my thoughts every single day.

-
My eyes stayed open when Brooklinn pulled me in for the kiss, and I saw Paige's face twist into a look of shock and pure rage. Brooklinn was off me before I could push her, and I stood gaping, unable to speak. What had I done? What the fuck did I do?

"Chloe, that was fucking amazing!" Brooklinn cheered, squeezing my cheek and making a move to bring me into a hug. I just looked past her to Paige, who had every single emotion imaginable crossing her face. And Brooklinn just kept fucking talking, past our stiff body language. "Baby, you're so creative, I loved it. The show was amazing. Is this your friend Paige you were talking about?"

Paige turned to face Brooklinn, and I worried for a moment she was going to explode. She of course had a right to...I was just so fucking freaked out, I couldn't imagine anything worse happening. I felt my mouth move, but no words came out as I shed a tear, and that was when Brooklinn finally noticed something was wrong. She looked between us, and asked what was going on.

I whispered hoarsely, "Yeah. Brooklinn, this is Paige. Paige..." I trailed off weakly, and I felt my heart shatter. Please stay, I screamed in my mind as my eyes fixated on Paige. Please fucking stay.

"I'm Brooklinn, Chloe's girlfriend," Brooklinn said, and I almost threw up at the way she held out her hand to a horrified Paige. "I flew out to support the studio!"

I watched as Paige backed away slowly, tripping over one of the wires on the ground. As if everything in my body could work again, I ran forward to help her up, but she practically pushed me away, hyperventilating. I whimpered, "Paige, please. I know I don't deserve it, but please stay!"

She kept running away, blindly out of the theater. I started to sob, pushing past the crowd to find her. I felt Brooklinn grab my arm, and I stumbled, tears rolling down my face. My girlfriend asked, "What was that about? Chlo, you okay?"

"No! I need..." I gasped, shaking, "I need you to just let me go for a second."

"Why did she act that way?" She pressed, reaching forward to wipe my tears. I stopped her.

"Because I love her, Brooklinn," I choked out, increasingly aware of the crowd growing around us. "I love her, and we need to break up, but I needed to tell you that sooner, and I fucked up!" I cried, tearing away from her shocked face and darting down the hallways.