Brooke pushed herself up to her feet unsteadily.“I am, too.” She pulled Nate into a hug.“I’m so glad you invited me to this.”
“I’m so glad you came.” He pulled back to stare at Brooke, his eyes still threatening to overflow with emotion.“It’s unfair, you know? How they treat you. It’s unfair.”
Brooke’s eyes watered then. She knew it, deep down in her heart she knew it.“Anna pretty much told Mother to fuck off tonight.”
Nate guffawed.“You’re joking?”
Brooke shook her head, unable to stop the smile that lit up her whole face.“Not even a little bit.”
“God, please keep her.” Nate shook his head.“I would have paid money to see that.” He sighed.“You were my hero growing up. You never stopped being my hero. I just want you to know that. I never once agreed with them.”
Brooke couldn’t stop her tears from falling then.“I’ve missed you, Nate. So, so much. I can’t fix it. The time we’ve lost. But I can make sure we don’t lose any more.”
He nodded.“Can we agree to see each other at least once a year from now on?”
“That sounds perfect,” Brooke said, happily.
“I”m sorry I’ve kept you out so late. I also probably owe Anna an apology. I told her I would have you back after just a few beers.”
Brooke shrugged.“She’s pretty cool. I don’t think she’ll hold it against you.”
“She is really cool. I’m just so happy you have her.”
“That’s how I feel about Mel,” Brooke said, probably louder than necessary.
Nate let out a happy little hum.“These have just been the best couple of days.”
Brooke pulled him into another shorter, less emotional hug.“They really have been. But, we’ve agreed they’re just the start.”
Nate held his pinky out.“Promise?”
She looped her pinky around his.“Promise.” She hadn’t pinky-promised anyone other than Nate in her entire life. The weight of that wasn’t lost on her.
“Okay, I should get to bed or Mel will be after us both.” Nate snuck one more hug in before he headed off towards his bedroom.
Brooke wiped the tears from her eyes and took a steadying breath. She didn’t expect Anna to still be awake, but she was still so incredibly thankful at just the thought of having someone to go to right now. No matter what capacity it was.
She stopped off at the lavatory to wash her face and brush her teeth. She was too drunk to manage any more than that. She hoped that she didn’t smell like a dive bar when she tried to silently make it into the bedroom.
Brooke froze in the doorway. Anna had fallen asleep reading the book that Brooke had gotten her. She was all propped up on her pillow with the lamp still lit on her bedside table. The blankets were all a mess around her. Simply put, she was stunning. Brooke sighed as she closed the door, forgetting to twist the handle as she did, causing the door to close with a dull thud. She dropped her jacket while turning to try and silence the door.
Anna stirred.“B?” She mumbled, though her voice was so thick, Brooke was fairly certain she was still sleeping.
“Sorry. Sorry, Anna. Go back to sleep,” Brooke whispered.
Instead, Anna’s arms pulled up, over her head in a stretch and her eyes fluttered open.“You’re home,” she whispered.
All the air left Brooke’s lungs. She felt like she was home. More than she had ever felt in her apartment, more than she had ever felt in her life. Here in this little room in Nate and Mel’s flat, with Anna, she finally felt like she was home. She just nodded and stumbled towards the bed.
Anna let out a laugh.“Honey, are you drunk?”
Brooke felt her whole face heat up.“I mean… yeah.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to lean forward to get her suitcase to open. She leaned forward so far, she nearly fell off the bed.
Anna let out a surprised laugh.“Oh, you’re likedrunkdrunk. Like worse than when you asked me to come on this trip.”
“I swear I don’t drink this much,” Brooke muttered, more to herself than to Anna. She was still trying, and failing to get her suitcase to come open.“Do you know how this thing works?”
Anna let out another, softer laugh.“I know you don’t drink this often, Honey-B. It’s been a weird couple of weeks.”
