Can You Keep A Secret?

Chapter Seventy-Nine

       

-Andy's POV-

            As an experienced warrior of heartbreak, I volunteered as tribute to go check on Brooklyn when the distinct sound of crying traveled its way up the staircase and into our room. I had found him at the bottom of the stairs, phone still on in his hand, succumbed to tears.

            My mind instantly darted to Stacey as the source of his breakdown, and I found myself stuck between pity for him and anger towards her. If my suspicions were right, I would fucking kill that girl – We had all been through enough. He didn't need a girl to swoop into his life, just to leave it a couple of weeks later, merely adding to the pre-existing heartache.

            When I reached him, I gently pried the phone out of his hands, turning it off and setting it on the floor before stretching my arms around him. I rubbed circles on his back until he had calmed down enough to speak.

            "What happened?" I asked softly, still not letting go of him. He let out a small whimper, and I carefully guided him down to the first step. It was only then that I was able to take in the full extent of his misery – his eyes were red and puffy, hair messed up in a sort of non-uniform that he only ever let it reach when he slept, and an intense feeling of sadness surrounded him.

            I reached out and squeezed his hand, letting him know that I was here for whenever he was ready.

            "She broke up with me," He said at last, staring right ahead at the door as if he expected her to walk in and take it back. "Over the phone." His voice split in the middle of the sentence, and I almost expected him to break into tears again, but he kept going.
             "I waited all day for her and she broke up with me and then couldn't even give me a reason why." Each word was rocky, as if saying it out loud was causing the sharp blade of a knife to stab into him. I waited for a second to be sure that he was finished speaking.

            "I need you to listen to me when I say this, okay?" I started out, watching him closely. "Are you listening?" I asked, and he nodded.

            "You do not need this girl in your life. And before you fight me on this, I'll say it again – You don't. It's okay for it to hurt right now. Trust me, I know better than anyone how awful it feels. But you have so many people who love you. You can get through this. I can give you any number of girls who would be willing to date you – Hell, there's, like, 50 girls on twitter who already claim to be your wife." The joke didn't even cause him to crack the tiniest smile.

            "At the end of the day, she's the one who lost out because she lost somebody who really cared about her, not the other way around. She's missing out on you, and you're one of the most amazing, caring, and loving guys that I know. You're the guy that most girls can only dream of having. And one day, I promise that you're going to find somebody who you love and who loves you back, and you're not even going to remember this moment. But for now, there are a million more important things for you to focus on besides and asshole who doesn't realize what she's missing. You don't need her, okay?" I dealt out the advice that I wished I had the guts to follow myself.

            "If I'm so great, then why'd she leave me?" He asked, trembling. I scooched closer to him, putting my arm around him and pulling him against me. He felt so small, so fragile. I wanted to slap this girl for making him feel this way.

            "I don't know," I said, speaking truthfully. "But that's got nothing to do with you. That's through no fault of your own. Please don't blame yourself for somebody else's shitty decision."         

            "Fuck!" He exploded, startling me. He got up, making as if to stomp on his phone. I quickly pulled him back as he ranted, "She left me. She left me and I don't know what to do and why is the world so mean lately? Why couldn't she love me? Why would she leave me if something isn't wrong with me?" His words came out angry, but they spoke of how sad and confused he was feeling.

            Once he had finished, he deflated against me, beginning to cry again. Carefully, I reached down and grabbed his phone before helping him up the stairs and into the flat. The others instantly abandoned whatever they were doing to embrace him with a hub, not even needing to question it.

            "Stacey broke up with him," I mouthed. Jack shot me a confused look.

            "Hey, she's going to the gym??" I shot him a look that I hope translated as "He's crying, not deaf." As Rye guided him over to his bunk, I put Brooklyn's phone away and took my own out, texting them the news. Jack quickly sent me an "Ohhh" in return.

            I then left Brooklyn a tweet for him to see later – "One of the best people that I know. Stay strong, bud 🌵❤️🙊 - Andy", with an old picture of the two of us attached. A new set of tweets popped up afterwards as the other boys caught on – "Think Brooklyn should marry me bc I love him the most 😉 - Jack" "Let's show Brooklyn some love, he needs it right now ❤️ • Mikey" "Dnt know what I'd do without u. Sending u cyber hugs along with the ones I'm giving u now Brook – Rye".

            I looked up as the notifications started pouring in, watching Liv trying to comfort Brooklyn. I might be able to play a part in helping Brooklyn heal his broken heart, but I had no idea where to even start with my own.