The One Who Left

Chapter Thirteen

Brooke's POV

I felt weightless.

"You memorized it?" My voice was barely a whisper.

"Brooke, look at me," Brady hadn't let go of my hands, "The lines have been burned into my brain the moment I wrote them." My heart seemed to be going twice it's normal speed.

I hated how everything I had ever felt towards Brady had began rushing out from the locked part of my heart. It was like warm sunlight after a cold morning.

"I want to show you something," Brady started to stand which caused me to rise as well.

•••

"Trust me," Brady's hands were covering my eyes, "I want to show you something, but it's a surprise."

"Brady," I knew Brady could see my over dramatic pout, "Just tell me."

"Give me one more minute," Brady was silent and then slowly lifted his hands, "Congratulations."

I was at a loss of words.

My tiny room was now filled with lit candles and flowers which appeared to be gold. On the bed sat a sign with a number seven written on it. It was a dark beautiful gold that contrasted to the black background of the poster. Next to the poster sat two identical jerseys, one large and the other marginally smaller. Both had the same gold "7" with it with my last name above the number.

"You did it," Brady looked at me with such an intense gaze I felt myself getting weak, "Varsity. You made it."

I think I stopped breathing. The world around me seemed to be spinning. I had made varsity. I was a sophomore on varsity soccer. That never happens.

"I didn't know if you would like this, but your mom seemed to like the idea. And I'm sorry if you hate it. I just thought I had to do some-" Brady's rambling stopped as I launched my self onto him.

As I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his stomach, I closed my eyes and whispered, "I love it."

Brady just wrapped his arms in a way to support me better. He's breathing had gone uneven and I swear I could feel his heart beating faster with each passing second. But that could've been my heart. I slowly moved my head away from his body, I looked up to see him looking at me.

I loved him. I always had. I was this close. There were only centimeters between us. Without breaking eye contact, I felt myself moving forward. Slowly. So slowly. Time itself seemed to slow down.

I loved him. Maybe he felt the same. But that was the first and only time I considered the possibility, because when my mom ran into the room excitedly I was back on the ground. We never talked about what almost happened that day.

I almost showed my true feelings. But that day I vowed never to let myself do it again. I loved Brady, and I knew I would always love him. But i needed my best friend. And I would take just that.

A best friend.

•••

Where were we going? I had followed Brady blindly, his hand burning around my own.

"Almost there," Brady's voice was raspy. And then we stopped.

We were in front of any average classroom. I squinted, trying to read the sign on the door.

"This was our freshmen homeroom," I breathed out the sentence finally recognizing the classroom in front of me.

"Yes," Brady dropped my hand and I felt a chill fly through me. His warmth had spread around my entire body, and once again I was reminded what it was like without him.

He walked in after messing with the lock for a few moments and flipped on the light. It flickered for a second as the howls of a beginning snow storm filled the empty room.

"We were Romeo and Juliet," I found myself talking, my eyes once agin starting to water, "How ironic."

Brady looked at me pained and seemed surprised to see me smiling. Smiling sincerely.

"So I guess I should be thankful that neither of us are dead." Brady had begun to laugh and I was joined in without meaning too.

"But what did you want to show me?" I finally asked after our laughing had died down.

"This," Brady smiled and pointed to a desk to his left.

"Is that what I think it is?" I stepped closer to the desk and knelt down, "Oh my gosh."

There carved in the wood was a small "B+B", old and faded, but it seemed to glow with a new light.

I silently backed away and turned around. Finally I saw what I was looking for, a pair of scissors. I grabbed them and silently made my way back to the desk.

Without breaking eye contact I inscribed under the original line a simple "4EVER".

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Guys. Um so I'm actually updating not months or years later. I literally deserve an award.

No I'm just kidding! I'm trying to update more consistently because I finally know where I want this story to go.

Thank you so much for the love and support for this book. It's such a crazy feeling that I've been able to reach over 3,000 people through this story.

My emotions and personal experiences shine through the words in this story, and I hope you are able to connect to each of them.

love you all sm,
izzy