𝐧𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐞, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮
in which the cliché of the star basketball player and captain of the cheer squad becomes a reality
𝐚 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐭𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐜
Brooke's eyes widened in disbelief, her arms dropping to her sides as she processed Emiliana's words.
"Wait, Lucas? As in Lucas Scott?" Brooke asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Emiliana nodded, fresh tears streaming down her face. "I-I don't know why I did it. I was upset after everything with Nathan. It just... happened."
Brooke took a deep breath, moving closer to Emiliana. She wasn't angry, but the shock of it all hung in the air. "I'm glad you're telling me this. But Lucas? Coop, why him?"
"I don't know," Emiliana said, her voice cracking. "I thought... maybe it would make me forget about Nathan, just for a little while. But now I feel even worse."
Brooke sighed, reaching out to pull Emiliana into a hug. "Look, I'm not mad at you. But Em, hooking up with someone, especially Lucas, after a breakup isn't going to make it hurt less. Trust me, I've been there."
"I know," Emiliana mumbled into Brooke's shoulder. "I just feel so lost."
Brooke gently pulled back, looking into her best friend's tear streaked face. "You're not lost. You're just hurting. And I'm here, okay? Forget about Lucas, forget about Nathan for now. You just need to get through this, one day at a time."
Emiliana nodded, sniffling. "Thanks, Brooke. I don't know what I'd do without you."
Brooke gave her a small smile. "Well, you're stuck with me. Now, let's get you cleaned up. We'll figure this out tomorrow."
Emiliana nodded, the tension in her shoulders loosening just a bit as Brooke handed her a tissue. She wiped her face, taking a shaky breath.
"I can't believe I let it get to this point," Emiliana said, her voice still fragile. "Nathan's probably never going to talk to me again, and now I've made everything worse by messing around with Lucas. What if it gets out? What if people start talking?"
Brooke shook her head firmly. "Hey, stop. First of all, nobody's going to hear about this from me. And second, Nathan has his own part in this. You didn't just decide to feel like this overnight."
Emiliana gave her a wary look, hesitating. "But he didn't do anything wrong. It was me. I pushed him away."
"Maybe," Brooke replied, her voice soft but firm, "but relationships are never just one person's fault, Em. Maybe you pushed him away, but if he really cared, he should've noticed something was wrong. You weren't in this alone."
