I Won't Let You Close Enough to Hurt Me

Chapter 16

     When Kelly came out to the car, Brooke was already sitting inside. "Alright, I'm going to drop you off at home, but then I have to come back. It turns out Paige has duet rehearsal until 9 tonight, and she has homework. Abby just works you guys too hard sometimes," Kelly complained.

     Brooke looked at the clock. It was 6:00 now, and Paige and her mom wouldn't be home until at least 9:20. She knew that her mom had said no, but she needed to hang out with Claudia. There had been so much going on in her life lately; she needed to vent. Brooke pulled out her phone and sent Claudia a message saying, "Meet me at the Starbucks in 30 minutes, I have so much to tell you."

     Kelly dropped Brooke off at the house, and then turned around to go straight back to dance. Brooke rushed inside the house to throw on jean shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt from a previous dance competition, and then started her walk to Starbucks.

     When she arrived, Claudia was already standing there waiting for her. Brooke ran and threw her arms around her friend. They had seen each other this morning, but it felt like ages since they had really talked. They both ordered pumpkin spice latte's and picked a table.

     "So, you said you had a lot to tell me?" Claudia asked.

     Brooke took a deep breath. She told Claudia all about her date with Nick, Brandon grabbing her in the hall, having tons of chemistry with Nick in their dance, and rejecting his kiss later on.

     "Why didn't you let Nick kiss you? He's perfect!" Claudia exclaimed.

     "Nick is one of my best friends, I can't lose him. What if we break up and never talk again? I couldn't handle that," Brooke explained.

     "Honestly, Nick is much better for you than Brandon. Everyone sees it. And I know you do too, so why are you so afraid?" Claudia insisted.

      Brooke hesitated, but then opened up to her friend. "I can't get hurt again. When Brandon cheated on me... that was the worst pain I had ever felt in my life. Every time I get close to a guy, they hurt me. And I don't know how much more I can take."

     Claudia gave Brooke a sympathetic look. "I know you're scared, but you're going to have to date again eventually! And who better to date than Nick?"

     Brooke laughed. Claudia was right, she couldn't stay away from guys forever. Nick was amazing, and she didn't want to let him slip by because she was scared.

     "Oh, and are you fighting with Ryan or something? He's acting all weird," Claudia asked.

     Brooke felt like her heart heart had stopped. She completely forgot about her argument with Ryan. Just when she had started to feel better, something else had to bring her down.

     "I completely forgot. I had so much else going on, I didn't even think about Ryan!" Brooke groaned. "One day after school, he told me that he didn't think that I should date Nick or Brandon, and I just told him to stay the hell out of my life. I'm an awful friend."

     "Brooke Hyland you are an amazing friend! Everyone makes mistakes, and Ryan knows that. Just talk to him tomorrow, I'm sure it will be fine. Now, let's do something fun. Let's go shopping!" Claudia suggested.

     Brooke checked the clock on her phone. It was only 7:30, so she had a little over an hour to shop before she had to get home. "Let's go," Brooke smiled.

     Starbucks was in the middle of an outlet mall, so they decided to shop there. Neither of them had much money, so the just went into Rue 21 to look for some cute jewelry. After almost an hour of trying on a bunch of funky necklaces and bracelets, Brooke ended up with a new pair of earrings, and Claudia got an anklet.

     "This was really fun. We have to do it again as soon as possible," Brooke said while hugging her best friend goodbye. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

     Brooke walked home and was there by 8:50, so she assumed that her mother hadn't even left the dance studio yet. But when she walked through the front door, her mom was standing there waiting for her.

     "Brooke Marie Hyland, where were you?" Kelly shouted.

     "I just went shopping with Claudia! I swear," Brooke promised.

     "I thought I told you that you were supposed to stay home and get rest tonight," Kelly scolded.

     "I know, but it wasn't fair! I never get to see my friends out of school, and you didn't even consider it," Brooke complained.

     Kelly sighed. "I should have considered it. I'm sorry, I just thought that you should have a relaxing night after everything that has happened lately. I was wrong. But you still shouldn't have snuck out. That was wrong too."

     "I know. I won't do it again," Brooke told Kelly.

     She knew that her mom was letting her off without a punishment because of all the Nick and Brandon drama, and she appreciated it. It was nice to know that her mom would always be there to make her feel better.

     Brooke ran up the stairs and jumped onto her bed. She pulled out her phone and noticed that she had a message.

Brandon: So I heard that you rejected Nick's kiss today? Trouble in paradise? I hope it wasn't something I said! ;)

     Brooke felt like her heart had fallen into her stomach. Brandon had said all of those things to mess with her and Nick, and it worked. What if Nick never forgave her?