43. Brooke
43
***Brooke***
I was frustrated when I got home that evening. I was stuck on the mural. I was close to finishing it and like always, I was frozen at the end. I’d stared at the stupid wall for hours and hours, unable to lift my paintbrush a single time. I’d been hoping the curse of not being able to finish anything had lifted. Apparently, it hadn’t.
I walked into the house, expecting to have one of the guys hug me and ask me why I was pouting. Instead, I heard nothing. Their vehicles were all there, though, so I knew they were home. “Hello? Where is everyone?”
“In here.” Logan’s voice was flat. A weird sense of foreboding hit me as I followed the sound to the living room.
The three of them were sitting on one couch, their energy dark. I wanted to make a joke but I didn’t get the impression that they were in a laughing mood. I stood across from them, my nerves skyrocketing. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”
Colt’s eyes were cold as he looked at me. “Were you pregnant ten years ago, Brooke?”
All the wind was sucked out of me. I sank down on the couch across from them and tried to form a coherent thought. My brain wasn’t cooperating, though. It was just screaming danger . We don’t think or talk about that.
“It’s true. You got pregnant that night in the treehouse.” Logan’s voice was devoid of emotion.
I had to say something. I gripped my hands together tight and squeezed them between my knees. “I did.”
Colt shot to his feet and jabbed a finger in my direction. “Why, Brooke? Why the fuck did you hide it? We had a right to know!”
His anger burned even hotter than when I’d first arrived. He hated me. I could feel it choking me, his rage. I licked my lips and forced more words out. “I… I didn’t plan on it.”
“No shit. None of us did.” Logan growled. “That didn’t give you the right to hide it from us!”
Tears burned the back of my eyes but I fought them back. “She was gone before I could figure out what to do. I would’ve told you. I-”
“Fuck off, Brooke. You got rid of our daughter and expect us to believe you had a hard time deciding whether or not to tell us?” Tugging at his hair, Colt stood up and put the couch between us. “You had no right to take that from us.”
I shook my head and jumped to my feet. “Got rid of her? No. I didn’t get rid of her. Never! I lost her. How… How did you know?”
“Your boyfriend swung by and told us.” Noah wouldn’t look at me.
“You hid it from us but you let him know everything. Maybe the two of you were meant to be together after all.” Logan stood up and walked away.
It was all such a shock that I couldn’t stay and face them. I couldn’t fight to prove to them that I loved them when my mind was racing so fast. “I… I can’t do this.”
I ran out of the house and to my car. I nearly took out Logan’s mailbox when I backed out without looking. I had to get away. I needed… I needed my mom.
Aunt Karlene’s car was in front of Mom’s when I slammed to a stop. I didn’t even bother to shut the door as I stumbled out of the car and towards the house. Before I could get to the door, Aunt Karlene opened the door and held out her arms.
“Come here, girl.”
I fell into her arms and she pulled me inside. Sobs wracked my body and I didn’t try to stop them. I’d held onto the pain of losing my daughter for a decade, all alone. Finn only knew because I’d gotten drunk one night and let it slip. When she crossed my mind, it was like a sledgehammer to my chest.
“Good lord, Brooklyn! What’s wrong?” Mom pulled me down on the couch with her and held me tight. She rocked me just like she had when I was a kid.
I couldn’t keep it in anymore. It was time for it to come out. I told them everything. From being scared of my feelings for the guys to finding out I was pregnant in Atlanta. I’d been terrified but it only took a few days for me to accept that I was going to be a mother. I fell in love with the baby growing inside me. I used the little money I had to buy vitamins and I went to the free clinic for every appointment I could get. I was nervous to come back to Beaumont and face the guys but I was hopeful.
I found out she was going to be a girl. I named her. I got ready to come home. And then it was all over. No amount of screaming got me any answers about what happened. No amount of cursing god and every other being in the universe brought her back. Coming home wasn’t an option. I’d lost our baby. All the excitement I’d felt turned to pain.
Ashamed and depressed, I threw away the tiny clothes I’d already bought and I shoved it all deep, deep down. I’d lost everything in one day. My baby, the guys, the future I’d been planning.
I told Mom and Aunt Karlene all the sordid details and then sat back against the couch, exhausted. I didn’t know what to expect. Would they be angry like the guys?
Mom turned on her sister. “You didn’t see any of that?!”
Aunt Karlene blew her nose and flipped her sister off. “Oh, Brooke. I wish you’d come home to us.”
“Now the guys hate me. I don’t know what all Finn told them but they’re so angry that I didn’t tell them. They said I got rid of her. I didn’t get rid of our daughter! She was ripped from me. I would’ve fought the world to keep her.”
“Stupid men.” Mom pulled me back to her chest and stroked my head. “We’re going to get drunk. You need to let those idiots think about their actions and you need to listen to me when I tell you that you’ve suffered enough.”
“Men are idiots, Brooke. We know this. They’ll come to their senses. And then you can all have hot makeup sex.” Aunt Karlene clapped her hands together. “Your mom’s right, though. We need liquor.”
“Can’t you think of anything besides sex? My baby is hurting!” Mom squeezed me tighter. “You’re going to get drunk and let this all out. Okay?”
I pried myself out of her arms. “I should’ve told them.”
“Why? To have them feel the same pain you felt?” Mom shook her head. “No. You did what you had to to survive. If they can’t understand that, I’ll fall out of a tree on their heads.”
“I love them.” I sniffed. “I thought things were going to work out. I love them and I just want to be with them. I want a family. I want a baby. I want all three of them and I was so close to having it all.”
“You love them?” Mom’s eyes were wide. “All three of them? I guess I just assumed you’d fall for one of them more than the other two eventually. This is great. No one gets their feelings hurt.”
“No one listens to me.” Aunt Karlene huffed and walked out of the room.
“I do love them. I want them.” I sat up straighter. “I’m going to get drunk tonight but tomorrow I’m going back to make them understand.”