Regrets | Brannie

7

annie;

   "20 minutes till we leave!" My mom yelled up the stairs. I hurried to pick out an outfit. I decided to wear a lilac purple crop top with high-waisted white shorts, along with some mascara, light face makeup, and a lightly tinted red lipstick.
   "Annie, you ready?" Hayley came into my room, stopping in her tracks when she saw me. "Who are you trying to impress?" "Brennan" I managed to say before we both started giggling. "You kiddos ready?" My mom yelled up the stairs.
"Last one to the car is a rotten egg!"
"You're such a child!" I yelled, grinning as I grabbed my things and raced after Hayley.
   We went to Texas Road House as a relaxer for our upcoming exams, which all of us had no way of getting out of. The Donnelly's were already there, seated in a back corner next to a set of windows. They almost managed to beat us when we all had dinner together, guess we're the rotten eggs here.
"Is that.... Annie Leblanc?!" Katie yelled, jumping out of her seat to come hug me.
"The one and only," We hugged tightly, not seeing each other for a total of three hours was too long. Right before I was about to pull away, I caught Brennan's eyes. They drifted away immediately, almost like they were never on me at all.
   That night was filled with conversation. We discussed everything from politics to recent psat memes while our parents stared at us in confusion. The only thing that was consistent throughout the night were Brennan's eyes on me.
Why are you staring at me? I texted him when I finally got out of a heated discussion about politics.
Because you're so beautiful.
Heat rose to my cheeks, a small smile crept onto my face. I glanced up to see Brennan staring at his phone, playfully biting his lip.
He knew I was staring at him.
Alright, well, if i'm beautiful and you '"love" me, then why can't we give us a try?
That's complicated.
My shoulders dropped, the whole mood changing.
If you really loved me then it wouldn't be this complicated.
"Can I be excused?" I asked, implying I was heading to the bathroom. My parents nodded, while Katie looked at me with scrunched eyebrows.
We'd been coming to this restaurant since we moved to Maryland, so I knew where every door in the place was.
I knew that a back exit was right next to the women's bathroom.
The door was a lot lighter than I remembered it being; the last time I used it I was 7 trying to run away from Caleb who was chasing me around the restaurant to be funny.
  The air was thick with little wisps of rain, stinging my cheeks due to it being mid December. I let my body fall against the side of the building, trying to comprehend what was going on with Brennan. The last thing I wanted to do was cry, but I could feel my eyes starting to water.
Where are you?
My phone dinged as Brennan texted me. I hadn't realized I'd been out here for almost 10 minutes.
Bathroom.
  I jumped when the metal door flew open. Brennan stuck his head around the door, sighing.
"How did you find me?"
"Hayley went into the bathroom on a mission for me, so I did some investigating and found you here.." I nodded, breaking eye contact with him. "Annie, look,"
"I really don't get it, Brennan." I hadn't noticed he had gotten closer to me, I also hadn't noticed that a tear was now streaming down my face.
"I don't get how you can just say
something so big, and not do anything about it. You can't just tell a girl that you love her and say shit like 'it's complicated', you,"
"Shut up," He said softly, putting his hand on the side of my face. I was about to object, but he lightly pressed his lips against mine, leaving them there to linger for a few seconds.
"I do love you, Juliana, I just need time," I nodded as he wiped away my tears, staring deep into my eyes.
  He leaned in again, but this time more aggressively. He lightly pushed me up against the brick wall, exploring my mouth with his.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked suddenly, his hands grasped at my hips.
"What about needing time?"
"If I have to get over that to be with you, then i'll manage," I grinned, quickly pecking at his lips.
"I'd love to be your girlfriend, Brennan Donnelly."
~
    "Are you alright Annie? Were you crying?" Brennan and I came back into the restaurant, my mom bombarding me with questions.
"Yeah, I didn't tell you because I was really upset about it, but Hayden and I broke up the other day, and Brennan was helping me get over it," Katie raised her eyebrows while Hayley cackled.
"My poor baby! Do I need Billy to beat that Hayden boy up?" My Dad punched his hand against his fist, trying to be intimidating, which made our table roar with laughter.
   Our food arrived, and Katie asked me what happened. I whispered to her that it was official, and her face dropped. "What?" I asked. She shook her head, glancing back down at her food.
Brennan's mood was the opposite of Katie's, he was grinning like an idiot the whole night, constantly sending looks in my directions, along with goofy smiles and occasional air kisses when no one was looking.
~
    When we got back to the house, Katie called me.
   "Why did you frown earlier?" I asked her. "Because Annie, he's hiding something." "What's he hiding?" "Im not sure, I'm gonna talk to him about it, I'll tell you if I find out anything." She hung up the phone. I shut my phone off and took out a book and read for a while, waiting for a response from Katie, but one never came. I was almost positive she was over thinking it. Tonight was amazing, and there'd be so much more to come, right?
   brennan;
Katie came storming in my room. "What the hell are you hiding?" She demanded. "What do you mean?" A nervous smile crossed my face. "I know you Brennan, what aren't you telling Annie?" "I have no clue what you're talking about Katie." I looked down at my phone and started scrolling through Instagram. She snatched my phone. "Then looks like I'll have to find out!" Katie yelled. "Katie no! That's private!" I yelled, as she opened up my messages. "brennan..." She whispered. She shook her head back and forth, and threw the phone at me. "You know, Annie doesn't deserve an ass like you. She needs someone better. Now if you don't tell her, then, well, let's just say I know people." Katie sighed and walked out. Knew people? That was a hollow threat.
    I knew what I was doing was wrong, but if I didn't it'd be worse than this.
I did love her, and I was hoping that by dating her everything would blow over and we'd end up happy, like you're supposed to.
I was wrong.