Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter Seventy-Three

       

-Stacey's POV-

            "So, how did it go?" I asked, feeling only the slightest bit sad that I couldn't make it myself, mostly due to the fact that I could've gone if I'd really wanted to. I'd used the whole, "my mum said no" shtick, when the truth was, my mum didn't give a shit about what I did. That was how I ended up in this situation in the first place.

            I was balancing a treacherous tightrope, not sure of how much emotional baggage I was willing to invest into this on both of our parts, and, like a circus performer, I was also juggling more balls than I could carry because I didn't know what the happy medium was, or how I could get us there.

            "It was great," He said, his voice a little raspy, laden down with sleep. I'd been a little startled by my phone ringing at 2am, but I'd been wide awake and restless with nagging thoughts, and I was happy for the necessary distraction that I needed to calm me down.

            "I wish you could've been there. It was the most magical thing," He said, and I could hear the awe and wonder in his voice. It made my heart clench, and when I said "Me too," I meant it.

            As he explained more details of what had happened, I swung my legs over my bed, flicking the light on and watching as it lit up the room, similar to how Brooklyn did wherever he went. Making the occasional "mmhmm" and comments to show that I was listening, I made my way to the kitchen, not needing a torch because I knew the path by heart. I'd made the trip almost every night since...Well, now wasn't the time to think about it.

            I poured myself a glass of milk, guided solely by the refrigerator light, and was nearly back to my room when Brooklyn commented, "It's late, isn't it?" as if he was only just realizing that fact.

            "Yup," I giggled, feeling myself fall victim to his adorable goofiness yet again.

            "Oh, darn. I hope I didn't wake you up," He stated, genuinely concerned over this.

            "Don't worry, you didn't. I couldn't fall asleep." I reassured him, setting my cup on my nightstand and sliding back into bed. I closed my eyes and thought back to the night I experienced a little bit of euphoria with him here. If I was being honest with myself, I hadn't truly expected it to be that easy. I shouldn't have been surprised that he'd want to turn it into a relationship, though.

            "You okay?" He asked, dragging me back down to the current moment.

            "I'm fine. I just miss you," I lied to both him and myself.

            "Oh. I miss you too! I was wondering, um, if you wanted to meet me on Saturday? I doubt that Blair will let me out again, but we could meet at the park? The one beside the flat, I mean."

            "That sounds great," I said, trying to inflate my words with fake enthusiasm.

            "Nice. I can't wait to see you again. Uh, oof, Blair just honked the horn so I should probably be getting back but byeseeyouiloveyou," he said, his words jumbling into each other at the end before he hung up abruptly.

            My voice hitched in my throat, hanging onto the last words that he had said. I had fallen off of the tightrope, falling into the knife thrower's act at the bottom, and now I was stuck with knives piercing through both my neck and my heart. There would be no easy way out of this one.

            I knew what I had to do now, even if I didn't like it, and I knocked my glass over in a fit of frustration. After watching the white liquid pool over the tabletop and begin to drip over, I sighed and got up to get a cloth to clean up the mess. After all, there was no use crying over spilt milk.