Chapter Three

Brooke spent the whole week wallowing in misery. She felt dejected. She had no motivation to work or do anything except to eat, drink, and sleep. She had switched off her phone, not caring about anything else going on in the world. She was sure her friends and family must have tried calling her, but she was in no mood to be interactive. Her parents had visited her immediately after the debacle. But she just yelled at them, begging them to leave her alone. Even her childhood friends Beth Gordon and Steve Mannings had attempted to visit her, pounding on the door for more than ten minutes, but Brooke had plainly ignored them, opting to pull the sheets over her head and closing her eyes.

“Come on, open the damn door, Brooke.” Beth shouted from outside. She was worried about her best friend. She tried knocking again but no one opened the door.

“We know you’re hiding, Brooke, but it’s not going to work. We’re not leaving until you open up the door.” Steve followed. 

Brooke ignored both of them. She lay in bed, pillow held over her head, trying to  keep all the voices out. She didn’t care if her friends stood outside in the scorching heat of Texas. They could burn for all she cared. At the moment, the only thing that mattered to her was being alone. She didn’t want anyone’s company. She just wanted to be left alone, because she was ashamed of herself. She was ashamed of the fact that her fiance had cheated on her because she wasn’t enough. Her fiance had found comfort in someone else’s ars because she refused to give herself to him. All because of the stupid notion that sex was something intimate and treasured thing that she wanted to share with her husband. She wanted it to be special. Brooke was convinced that it was her stubborn belief that led to the downfall of her relationship. Fresh tears made their way down her eyes as she thought about Greg. She couldn’t believe that Greg, of all person could hurt her in the worst ways possible. She wanted to be comforted at the same time she was afraid of how people might judge her. Eventually, her fear won and she stayed in bed, ignoring her friends. After some time, she heard Steve speaking. 

“Alright. I understand that you don’t wanna talk right now. But Brooke, please let us help you. Don’t let that bastard win. He wants to see you defeated. He wants to own you. Don’t let him, win, Brooke. Take care of yourself. And if you need anything, we’re just a call away.” Steve said and both him and Beth left after that. 

Brooke wanted to believe her friends. She wanted to believe that this was all Greg’s fault. She wanted to believe in them but how could she when she was at fault? Greg left her because she refused to give in to his demands. Yes, it was true that Greg was the one responsible for the breakdown of her relationship. But she couldn’t help feel like she had contributed to it too. Days went by and she kept thinking and overthinking about everything. 

Brooke’s routine was narrowed down to getting up with a huge hangover, standing in the shower for a long time, ordering take-out, watching sappy, romantic movies, crying her heart out and drinking till she passed out. Rinse and repeat the next day.

Her alone time was cut short though when one day, her door opened with a click and her big brother stepped inside. 

“What the hell?! It stinks in here!” Neil scrunched up his nose.  “What the hell have you been doing, Jensen?” Neil asked the moment he stepped inside his sister’s apartment. He knew he needed to intervene when Steve and Beth had called him to let him know that Brooke was refusing to talk to them. It was rare for Brooke not to open up to Beth and Steve. They were her best friends and Beth always found a way to make Brooke talk. But when they failed, big guns needed to be called in. Which meant it was usually Neil Johnson coming to the rescue of his little sister. Growing up, the siblings had been pretty tight, but eventually drifted apart when Neil went to the University of Texas to become a doctor, and Brooke went to New York to get her degree in architecture. They still talked, and Brooke still needed her brother, but those instances were quite few and far between. Like today, when Brooke had been locked in his apartment for over a week now and refused to come out of her shell after the whole wedding debacle. 

Brooke was asleep on the couch when Neil entered her apartment. She blinked slowly when she heard the door open, ready to pounce on the person who dared to interrupt her alone time.

When he saw it was her brother coming through, she felt like she could breath again. She wasn’t surprised though. After Beth and Steve had stopped by, she’d expected her brother to slam through his door any minute. And now here he was anyway. Brooke groaned as she sat up slowly, her head was killing him. “What are you doing here?” she asked Neil in a displeased voice. 

“Well, someone had to come here and knock some sense into you. Brooke, when was the last time you cleaned up in here?” Neil scrunched up his nose as he took a look around the room. There were bottles lying everywhere and half-eaten take-out boxes littering the coffee table. The newspapers were laying in a haphazard manner on the floor and the empty packets of chips were piled up on the chair. In short, it felt like a hurricane had blown through.  

“That’s none of your business,” Brooke grumbled. 

“When your cell is switched off and you don’t answer your door, you make it my business.” Neil reprimanded her.

“Ugh...shut up.” She groaned.

“I’m here to do the exact opposite of that. Look, everyone knows what an asshole Greg is. It was quite painful to watch your relationship fall apart, practically in front of the whole town, but that doesn’t mean you stop living, Brooke.” Neil reminded her.

“It’s just been a week. At least let me have some alone time to digest the fact that my long-term relationship was in fact never a relationship. The idiot was sleeping with his slut secretary for years. I can’t believe I fell for him. God.” Brooke closed her eyes and held her head in her hands. She knew her brother wouldn’t stop bothering her until  Brooke got a grip on the situation. Besides, now that he was here, there was a possibility that she could share her concerns and fears freely.  “Wait, let me get dressed and we can talk then.” She got up and headed towards the bathroom, stepping right into the shower.

Brooke took her time cleaning himself. The hot shower did wonders to clear up the fog in her head. Once she was fresh and dressed in clean clothes, she padded towards the living room only to see her brother had cleaned up after her. Shefelt a little guilty. Brooke was somewhat OCD when it came to keeping her place neat and clean. It was a running joke within her friend circle that Brooke couldn’t call herself OCD. He’d have to call herself  CDO because the latter was in an incorrect alphabetic order. Brooke would always retort by saying that it just goes to say that among them all, she was the only grown-up. So when she saw her brother cleaning his apartment, it triggered her senses and she immediately scrambled to help Neil clean up the remaining mess. 

When they were done, they each took a can of soda and sat down on the couch in the living room, side by side. Neil pulled his sister in a side hug as he slipped his hand on Brooke’s shoulder and pulled him towards his side. He noticed that Brooke immediately snuggled into him, like she always did when she was feeling a little insecure. It reminded him of his little sister so much. Neil kissed her forehead lovingly and spoke. 

“Brooke, I’m sorry for what happened at your wedding. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must have been for you. But, damn girl, hiding in this apartment and not looking after yourself isn’t going to take the pain away. Nor is it going to solve your problems,” Neil spoke softly.

“I know, Neil. But I feel so helpless. I was so stupid to think that everything would fall into place eventually. I never thought that being a sappy romantic could ruin my life.I was stubborn for no reason. Had I just given in and let him be intimate with me, then…I ruined my life, Neil.” She softly spoke out her fears. Her heart was beating painfully against her chest and she felt like breaking down in front of brother. He’s always been her safe haven after all. It was her judgment free zone. 

“Hey now. Don’t say that,” Nel admonished his little sister. “Brooke, look at me.” When his sister looked up at him, finally, Neil spoke again, “Your life is not ruined, you understand me? Saying that is like letting that bastard win. Greg was a prick. He’s a loser. He couldn’t see just how lucky he was to have a wonderful man like you as his better half.” 

Brooke smiled softly at her brother’s words. Neil always knew how to make the best out of the worst situations. It was one of the reasons why Brooke admired her brother. He was an optimist. 

Neil was glad to see the small smile on Brooke’s face. “And Brooke, please don’t change. It’s the sappy romantic in you that makes you innately Brooke. It’s your unique identity. If that son of a bitch couldn’t understand you, then he wasn’t the one. He wasn’t the one you’ve been looking for all your life. He’s not suited for you, Brooke. Your one true love is out there somewhere. Trust me, you’ll find him.”

“Thanks, Neil.” She said in a trembling voice, ever so grateful for her brother’s support.

“You’re welcome. Now get out of here and start living your life. Go to work, meet your friends, have dinner with us. Mom is worried about you, you know. Get yourself busy. The more you socialize, the more you’ll start to realize that throwing away even a minute of your life for that piece of shit is not worth it. Your time is valuable, Brooke. You’re made for greater things than that slimy bastard.”

Brooke took every word her brother said to her heart and vowed that she wouldn’t let Greg drag her down. But the doubts were still there playing in her mind. 

“I was at fault too, Neil. I should have…”

“You should have, what?” Neil challenged her. He knew where his sister was going. “Explain to me, you should have done what? Given in to his demands of getting in bed with him? Brooke, let me tell you, men like him? They are professional liars. They crave control and get joy out of it. He’d still have cheated on you. If a man can’t keep it in his pants, no matter what the reason be, he’s not worth your time. Men like him are trash. A true gentleman never tries to control his woman. Instead, he treats her as his equal.” Neil said.

Brooke thought about it and realized that her brother was right. There were times in their relationship that Greg demanded things from her, things that she was uncomfortable with. Like, dressing up in clothes that were provocative, always going to the restaurants that Greg liked, watching movies that were of Greg’s choice and she never once stopped to think that she gave in to all his demands without thinking of herself. She remembered when one time, she asked him to accompany her to a painting exhibition and he had refused to go with her, claiming he had an urgent meeting. She had later found out that he was hanging out with his friends. Greg, being his charming self, had immediately apologized and told her that his meeting ended early and Brooke, like the love sick fool that she was, had trusted him easily. At that time, she didn’t think Greg would be lying to her. But now, she was sure he'd been playing her the whole time. 

“I was so supid.” She whispered as realization struc. “God, I was so blind…how could I not see this?” 

“Hey, no. You’re not gonna beat yourself up over this. You were in love, Brooke. You loved him. How were you supposed to know? He betrayed your love, he broke your trust and your heart. It’s on him, Brooke. He’s the one to blame. Not you. The only thing you’re at fault with is trying to make the best out of the situation. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But it feels like it.” 

“I know. And you’ll continue to feel like it for sometime. You’ve been wounded, little sister. Let time heal your heart and everything will be alright once again. In time you’ll realize that probably there was a lesson to learn from this fiasco. One day you’ll think about this incident and laugh. You’ll see.”

Brooke just smiled at her brother. “Thank you.”

“For what?” 

“For helping me get my head out of my ass.” 

Neil laughed loudly, “Anytime, little sister. Anytime.”  

The siblings spent some time together just talking about their family, remembering the happy times. In the end, Brooke promised to look after herself and visit them soon. Neil was thankful that Brooke hadn’t let her stubbornness eat her alive. It was in these times that Neil felt grateful that he shared a tight bond with his sister.