"I wish I'd never met him," I said to Evie. "I knew I shouldn't have said yes."
"It will work itself out," she said to me as she hugged me.
We were curled up in my bed eating cold pizza for breakfast while she tried to cheer me up.
"There's someone at the door for you," James said as he came into my room. I stood up and walked out of my room as James followed. "Don't scream at him, listen to what he has to say."
I opened the door and was not pleased to see Brooklyn standing there. "I wanted to give you this." He handed me a bag and a card. "Happy Birthday. Can we please talk?"
"I really need some time to get my head straight," I said as I shook my head. I looked up at him and saw he looked even worse than I did. His hair was sticking up in all the wrong places and his eyes were rimmed red. He had bags underneath them which indicated he hadn't been sleeping much. However, he still made my brain go fuzzy just like the first day I met him. "Look, I will text you and we can meet up or something. I've got stuff I need to do today."
As he walked away without a kiss or a hug or even a goodbye it felt like someone was ripping my heart out. I knew at that moment I was losing my best friend and that couldn't happen.
"Come on," I said to Evie as I reached my bedroom. "Mum is cooking pancakes." I put the bag he gave me in the corner and slipped the card in it. I quickly wiped my eyes before going into the kitchem.
"There she is," Mum said as I came downstairs. "Happy Birthday sweetheart."
I sat down and started eating my pancakes before something in the corner of the room caught my eye. I stood up and went to pull the cloth off it before James picked me up and moved me back to my seat. "You can't open that until tonight."
"Right," I said. I usually opened my presents in the night anyway so it wasn't a big deal.
"I'm so sorry I've got to work," Mum said as she came over to me and kissed me on the head. "I will be home as early as I can. We can arrange something then."
"It's fine," I said with a shrug. "Just go before you're late."
"Don't forget Tyler is out all day," she said. "James you have to pick him up at about five."
She finally left leaving the kitchen to myself, Evie and James.
"I'm off to the gym," he said. "Happy Birthday swot."
"I'm not a swot," I shouted after him. As soon as he had closed the door the house became silent. "Come on." I pulled Evie's hand away from the pancakes and ran up the stairs.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"It was Brooklyn at the door," I told her as I grabbed the bag and sat down on the bed with her. "He gave me this. I need a plan to sort things out. I can't lose him, he's one of my best friends. You need to help me."
"Open the present first," she said. "I said he wouldn't forget."
I ripped the bag open and out fell three presents. They had labels on them to tell me which ones to open first.
The first was a lovely pair of diamond stud earrings. They weren't flashy in the slightest which made them perfect. The second contained the most beautiful trousers I've ever seen along with a top. The third was a small bag.
"These are lovely," I whispered to myself. "Pass me the card." Evie handed it over to me and I opened it slowly. As it opened a note fell out. I put the card to one side and opened the note.
I want you to know what really happened yesterday. Please will you talk to me? I made plans for us, text me and let me know if you want to talk. I am really really sorry. I hope I don't ruin your birthday and that you have a lovely day whatever you are doing. If you want to stick to the plans where/bring everything you got.
Brooklyn x
"Read it and tell me what to do," I said to Evie as I passed her the note. I opened the card and read it slowly. I was unable to stop the tears of happiness when I saw how he ended it. "He said he loves me." I pushed the card in front of Evie. "He said he loves me."
--
"He's in the shed at the bottom of the garden," Mr. Beckham said to me as I stood outside Brooklyn's house. "I will show you the way." I followed him through the hall and into the kitchen where we went through patio doors and ended up in the garden. "He's just in there." He pointed to the building right in front of me. "Happy birthday."
"Thank you," I said with a smile. I took a deep breath and walked towards the door. I couldn't hear anything so I knocked on the door and let myself in.
Brooklyn was sitting on the sofa in the corner of the room with his head in his hands. "You came." He stood up and walked over to me. "Thank you for coming,"
"It's fine," I said. I took a few more deep breaths to calm my nerves. "We need to sort things out."
"Yeah," he said with a nod of his head. He walked over to the sofa again and I followed him. I put my bag down on the table in front of me and turned to face him. "I was meant to go out with my parents yesterday but my sister got ill so I was on my way to your house to see if you wanted to do something when I saw Finn. I was only going to talk to him for a few minutes but he wanted to catch up properly. We got talking about you and he wanted to see if you were worth it or something. I spent twenty minutes trying to stop him from going but he wouldn't. I didn't think you would get Evie to follow him back. I was going to tell you about it so it didn't end up like this. When I saw Evie I panicked and said the first thing that came into my head. I've felt awful about it and I really am sorry. I haven't been able to sleep because I've been too busy thinking about it."
"I believe you," I said with a nod of my head. I truly did. "Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Did you mean what you wrote on my birthday card?"
"Yes," he whispered so quietly I almost thought I had imagined it. He nodded as well.
I broke out into a smile I couldn't control. I was so happy. "I love you," I whispered to him before I kissed him.
"I love you so, so much," he whispered back to me after we had broken apart. "Now, would you like some of this delicious chicken from the wonderful KFC?"
"That is such a stupid question," I said as I took a piece out of the bucket that was on the table. "I'm sorry for getting mad yesterday."
"Don't be," he said as he tucked some of my hair behind my ear and pulled me closer to him. "I would've been ten times worse than you were."
We stuck a DVD on and snuggled on the sofa as we watched it. "I will be back in a minute." He stood up and walked until I couldn't see him anymore. He came back clutching an envelope. "I got you these."
"You really shouldn't have," I said to him as he dropped the envelope onto my lap. I opened it slowly and two tickets fell out.
"I know it's not until the summer but it's something to look forward to," he said as I inspected them. They were tickets to see a group of artists perform at a big concert.
"Thank you," I said to him. I kissed him again quickly before we carried on watching the film and eating our chicken.
I was so glad I had made up with him. I laughed to myself as I realised I had been so stupid I had nearly lost my best friend over something so petty in the grandscheme of life.
