I Won't Let You Close Enough to Hurt Me

Chapter 26

     Nick clenched his fists and began breathing heavily. He couldn't believe it; Brandon was right. How could Brooke do this to him? They weren't officially a couple, but still. He thought they had something special, and Brooke had betrayed him.

     As Nick watched all the girls hugging and laughing at the front of the stage, he stood up, walked off, and went back to his hotel room. He couldn't bear to look at Brooke right now.

     After receiving their award, all the girls went and sat down in their spot on the stage. Brooke immediately realized that Nick was missing. "Do you guys know where Nick went?" she asked.

     Everyone looked around and shrugged their shoulders. "Maybe his mom needed him for something," Maddie suggested.

     Brooke nodded, and then began to look for her phone. Maybe Nick texted her and told her where he went. When she found it, they only message she had was one from Ryan stating that they needed to talk. She didn't know exactly what he wanted, so she texted him back.

Brooke: About what?

Ryan: I know you said that you wanted to wait and talk face-to-face about my feelings for you, but I've been hearing some rumors about you and Nick. I just need to know, do I have a chance?

     Brooke took a deep breath. She didn't want to hurt Ryan's feelings, but she knew that it was wrong to lead him on.

Brooke: Listen Ryan, I'm really sorry. Nick and I do kind of have a thing now. The day I told you that I wanted to talk face-to-face, I didn't know where I stood with Nick; but I do now. I hope this doesn't mean that we can't be friends anymore. :(

     Brooke waited about five minutes, but no response came. She should have expected that. When awards ended, everyone from the ALDC headed to the lobby. Brooke assumed that she would find Nick there waiting for her, but instead, she saw the senior company from ALDC.

     Brooke's face lit up as she ran to Nina and John and threw her arms around them. "I'm so happy you guys are here!" Brooke squealed.

     Nina squeezed Brooke until she couldn't breathe. "Me too!" she responded. "And congrats on the competition! Abby texted me the results. I knew that you and Nick would win. Where is he, anyways?"

     "I don't know, but I'll text him and tell him to come to the lobby. He's going to be so happy to see you guys," Brooke said.

     John smiled. "You guys should hang out with us tonight! The senior company is having a party in my suite to celebrate the audition tomorrow. Since my parents let me fly out here without them, I have the room all to myself."

     "That sounds great!" Brooke exclaimed, and then proceeded to text Nick.

Brooke: Where are you?! The senior company is here! They're having a party in John's room tonight, and we're invited. :)

     Nick, who was sitting up in his room by himself, heard his phone vibrate. He picked it up and saw a message from Brooke, but deleted it without reading it. He didn't want to hear anything she had to say.

     Seconds later, Abby, the moms, and Brandon walked into the lobby. "Congrats on the big win everybody! We didn't get the clean sweep that we wanted," Abby paused to glare at Chloe, Kendall, and Paige, "However most of you did a wonderful job. I'm also pleased to see that the senior company made it here safely. I think we should all go out for a celebration dinner," Abby announced.

     All of the moms agreed that this was a good idea. Mackenzie, Maddie, Kendall, Chloe, Nia, and Paige all ran upstairs to start getting ready. However, Brooke and the members of the senior company told their parents that they were too tired from the competition or flight, and they would rather stay at the hotel and rest.