"You're really good at looking after Tyler," Brooklyn commented as we waited for our lunch. "I would never be able to look after my little brothers as well as you look after him."
"Thanks," I said with a smile. "I've had a lot of practice at looking after him. Mum and Dad were always working a lot when they were together so it would just be us and then when they split up Mum worked even more for a while." I sipped my drink. "He's my best friend, I tell him everything. I don't know what I would do if I had to lose anybody else. I just hope he gets better soon."
Before he could ask any awkward questions because I had said too much our food arrived. I was about to take a slice of the pizza we were sharing but my phone rang.
"Sorry," I said to Brooklyn. It was Tyler. "Hi, how are you feeling now? Are you on your own or is someone with you?"
"I feel like I'm dying," he said.
"Don't you dare say that," I said quickly. "You will be fine. You need to keep positive. You will get better, I promise you Tyler."
"I'm sorry," he whispered before he started coughing. "Will you pick me up some cookies later?"
"You need to be eating fruit," I said to him. "I will think about it. It depends on how you are. I've got to go. I love you and I will see you later. Go to sleep and rest. Stay in bed, call if you need anything."
I put my phone on the table next to me and looked down at my drink. He had to get better. He was never ill so this was a bad sign. He had to pull through this. I wouldn't be able to cope if he didn't.
"How is he?" Brooklyn asked. "We can go back and look after him if you want to."
"He's bad," I said with a shrug. "But I am certain he will get better. He needs rest and I think Dad is with him. We don't need to go back. I thought you had the whole day planned out anyway."
"I do," he said. "You look worried that's all. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm fine," I said. "I just need to take my mind off it."
--
"Why did you parents divorce?" Brooklyn asked as we strolled down the street. "I'm sorry if that is a rude question. You don't have to answer."
"It's fine," I said after a while. I took a deep breath before continuing, "You know I am really protective over Tyler?" He nodded. "I have another brother. His name is Zac - or was I don't know how to put it really. He was or is Tyler's twin brother. Three years ago there was a car accident. Tyler wasn't hurt that badly but Zac was. He was in a critical condition for months. He caught an infection in the hospital just as he was starting to improve. Two days later he had died." I wiped away the tear that had fallen down my face. "My parents couldn't cope. They argued all of the time and just weren't happy. Obviously that wasn't it. They had problems before but now it was unbearable. Mum blamed herself, she still does because she was driving. Their marriage only lasted six months after Zac died."
"I'm sorry," Brooklyn said. He stopped in the street and hugged me tightly. "I shouldn't have asked."
"It's fine." We carried on walking for a bit. "Nobody brings it up so it is nice to be able to talk about it. I needed to get it off my chance. Anyway, that is why I am so scared of Tyler getting ill."
He grabbed my hand and pulled me across the road, dodging the cars as we went. He carried on running on the sidewalk as we dodged the crowds of people. We stopped suddenly as we turned into a shop.
"Go and sit in the corner." He gestured to the table at the back of the room. "I will be there in a minute."
I sat down and checked my phone but there were no texts from anyone. I took that as a good sign. I looked around the shop and realised it was a frozen yogurt place.
"Frozen yogurt makes everything better," Brooklyn said as he pushed a pot in front of me. "I shouldn't have asked, I am sorry."
"Stop apologising," I said. "Like I said, I find it good to talk about it to someone once in a while. I need to get things off my chest but nobody ever asks. Seriously, I'm grateful that you asked." My phone beeped but it was only Tyler reminding me about the cookies. Someone who worked in the shop walked passed and I quickly stopped her. "Excuse me, where is the nearest place I can buy cookies?"
She wrote down some directions on a napkin for me. "Are you famous?" She looked at Brooklyn for a while as if she was trying to place him. "I recognise you from somewhere."
"I'm not," he said with a shake of his head. "My parents are though, I suppose." He stood up and grabbed my hand as I joined him. "Thanks for the directions." He threw 10 dollars onto the table and we walked out of there.
"Why do you want cookies?" He asked me after a while. We were trying to follow the directions but they were very difficult to understand.
"They're for Tyler." I pulled him around a corner. "I think we need to go this way." We walked down a quieter street for a while before we navigated our way back onto the busier roads. "What time do you have to leave today?"
"I have to be back at our hotel in about two hours," he answered. "We will find these cookies and then go back to yours, yeah? I want to talk to you anyway."
I ignored the last part of the sentence before pulling him into the shop. We had finally reached it. I grabbed the chocolate chip cookies and paid for them before we made our way towards the subway.
We emerged from the subway three blocks away from my father's apartment. In the time it had taken us to cross the city a downpour of rain had started. The crowds hadn't thinned in the slightest so Brooklyn and I ran through them. It was a tricky job but we made it.
"There's someone waiting for you upstairs," the doorman of my father's apartment block told me as I walked through the door. "He arrived about half an hour ago."
"Who was it?" I asked him. I had an idea but I didn't want to jinx it.
"A man by the name of James."
Brooklyn pulled me around to face him. "I will leave you alone to spend time with your family." He pulled me into a hug. "14 days and you will be home. I will Skype you everyday; I promise. Let me know how Tyler is, I hope he gets better." He planted a small kiss on my lips and I felt my cheeks redden knowing there were people in the lobby who were watching us.
"14 more days," I whispered to him. He started to walk away before I remembered what he had said before. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Check your coat pocket," he answered before becoming invisible in the crowds out on the street. I quickly got in the elevator and pressed the button for my floor.
I pulled a folded piece of paper out of my pocket and felt my heart jump as I read it.
I'm too cowardly to ask you face to face so this will have to do. I love spending time with you; you are my best friend. You're an amazing person and you're so strong. So, will you please be my girlfriend? x
PS, that turned out way cheesier than I expected it to.
