Somebody Else - (RML fanfic)

Chapter 12

Here I am, finally back in New York. I took a second to look around and savor the feeling of returning to one of my favorite cities.

While sitting in the back of the cab on the way to my parents' place, I had a flashback. Another one from when I was with Rocky. The night we first met:

I sat alone at the corner of the bar even though I wasn't drinking anything. Truthfully, I didn't even want to be there. I was staying in New York for the week again, and I needed to go move around. Eventually, I just went into the nearest club because was freezing outside.

I just stared at my phone, preparing to call a cab to take me back to my parents' place. Then he came up to me and sat next down next to me. After ordering a drink, he turned to me and ordered a second one--for me. A bit of a cliche move. At first, I didn't even realize it was for me. I was slightly dumbfounded when he slid it over next to me. Like an idiot, I kept staring at him, thinking he'd soon notice his mistake. Finally, he clarified, "yes, that's for you."
"Me?" I stuttered, dumbly.
"Yeah. There are about 20 other guys in this club, and maybe 8 of them are here to meet girls. I'm calling dibs on the hottest one before they do."

I let out an awkward chuckle. "Thanks, but I don't do one-nighters."
"What makes you think this'll only last one night?"
Once again, I was stunned. "I'm not from here. I go back to LA the day after tomorrow, and I probably won't ever see you again after that," I explained.
He chuckled. "Must be fate, because I'm from LA too. Go back in three days."
I nearly chocked on my drink. I had to admit, it was a little bit funny. "Well, looks like you have earned yourself a dance." I peered over my shoulder to scan the dance floor.
"Shall we?" He held out his hand and stared into my eyes. They were a beautiful shade of green. I took his hand, staring back. We slid on the floor and moved a little.

"I'm Rocky," he finally told me.
"Brooke," I responded.
"What are you doing in New York?" Rocky asked.
"I grew up here. Came back to see my parents."
"Is Brooke short for Brooklyn?"
"It was supposed to be, but my parents wanted to be original, so no. What about you? What are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "I'm here for work."
"Ooooh, what do you do?" I asked, interested.
"Go on a date with me in LA, and I'll tell you then," he slyly answered.
"Fine. Let's date," I agreed. "Then you can see I'm not as innocent as I seem." It was just a joke of course, but at the time, I felt free and rebellious. Even most days while we were together I had that feeling.

I slowly shot back into reality. With all the flashbacks I've been having, I could've sworn my life was flashing before my eyes. In a way, it was. Rocky was flashing before my eyes.

If I have time, I might go back to that bar to revisit that old memory. I've had about a million good memories in this town, and it's still one of the best.

For now, I've got a family to visit though. This might be another one of these "family reunions" where I just show up briefly so they can't deny that I didn't, then leave.

One thing I loved about having Rocky in my life was his family. I always felt accepted and important-- unlike my own family. I can't do anything without being judged for it. I could save the world from an atomic bomb and my oldest brother, Baylor, would still find a way to say that "I didn't do it the right way".

My other brother, Dallas, never makes fun of me or judges me, but he's always trying to change me. He finds small things about me, then tries to tell me how I could be better. He claims he loves me and thinks I'm perfect, but at the same time, always says that I should act differently. For example, when I was younger, he always told me I could do anything I wanted when I grew up and that I'd always have his support. When I told him I wanted to be a photographer, he cringed and gave me an hour long lecture about why that's a terrible idea, and directly said he didn't think I was smart enough to handle that business.

Both my parents have always favored Baylor and Dallas. Undoubtedly, they're both smarter than me, and Dallas is one of the most athletic people I know. With them, my parents have bragging rights. With me, they have to search for reasons to be proud.

Now comes the time for me to face them. Good luck to me.