Baggage Claim

Brooke woke up the next morning more exhausted than she had been the day before. She had had a hard time falling asleep and she didn’t stay asleep for very long. She kept waking up during the night, not accustomed to where she was and tossed and turned trying to get comfortable. She looked over at her phone sitting on the bed side table and picked it to check the time. 6:23AM read across her screen when she pressed the home screen and Brooke sighed setting the phone on the bed beside her. She tried rubbing the sleep out of her eyes thinking about whether or not to try and go back to bed but she knew that it was no use at this point. She pulled the covers off of her and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Brooke walked over to the dressed and opened up the drawer that contained her running pants and set off to find her runners in the closet.
…

It was a beautiful morning, and the sun had begun to come up over the house when Brooke had left the house. She had been gone for almost and hour and her legs were starting to become tired. She slowed down and eventually came to a stop trying to slow her labored breathing. When she looked around she noticed that she was in a very nice neighbourhood with houses lining both sides of the street. There were some people out walking their dogs and others leaving for what Brooke presumed was work. She smiled thinking about what life would be like for her once she was done school, and then done her residency. She would be able to hopefully settle down, have a family, get to take her kids to school and still have the career of her dreams. Brooke Turned around to head back in the direction she had come from and looked down the street to see that there was a four way stop and she didn’t remember which way she had come from. She had been so caught up in her run and thinking about the events from the day before as well as about a billion other things that she really hadn’t paid any attention to her surrounds. She made her way to the intersection and tried to recall if she had come straight or if she had turned right. No, she had definitely not turned right. “Shit,” Brooke said putting a hand on her forehead and turning in a circle. She hadn’t bothered to use her running app on her phone when she left Sidney’s so she hadn’t tracked her route. She also had no clue the name of the street Sidney lived on so she couldn’t map directions back to his house. Brooke weighted her options. She could turn down some streets she thought she had been on and hope for the best, hope to find some stranger who knew where he lived which would end terribly or her last option and the only one she could really choose at that point. Brooke pulled out her phone and found Sidney’s contact information, pressing the phone icon. She put the phone up to her ear heard the ringing before she heard some shuffling noise and a groggy voice on the other end.

“Hello?” Sidney asked, obviously still half asleep.

“I’m lost, and I really have no clue how to get back to the house,” Brooke said embarrassingly into her phone.

“What?” Sid asked with a confused tone.

“I went for a run this morning, I didn’t map it, I’m standing on a street corner all gross and sweaty and I just need to know the address of the house,” Brooke said covering her eyes. She hated that she had to call him for help, and she wasn’t really in the ‘talking to Sidney’ kind of mood that early in the morning.

“Where are you, I’ll come get you,” Sid said quite a bit more alert now.

“Sidney, it’s fine, I can run back, I didn’t mean to wake you-”Brooke said before Sidney cut her off.

“Just tell me where you are, it’s fine,” Sidney said, trying not to sound irritated. Brooke gave him the names of the streets she had been standing on and waited for his response.

“I’ll be there in 15 minutes,” Sidney said before hanging up.
…

When Sidney pulled up the address Brooke had given him, he spotted her sitting on the curb with her head resting on her forearms and her knees pulled tightly into her. She looked up as soon as Sidney pulled up and hoped into the truck. She looked angry and embarrassed and Sid really didn’t want to make the situation any worse. He drove forward and made a u-turn, returning the way he had come to get her. They drove in silence until Sid couldn’t stand it anymore. “1007 Straightedge road,” he said breaking the silence.

“Huh?” Brooke said turning to look at him.

“1007 Straightedge road, that my address,” Sid said turning to look at her. She looked tired and out of it and Sid smiled a little bit. “Just so you know, I didn’t tell you yesterday so sorry about that, I just wasn’t really expecting you to leave the house this early in the morning” Sid said turning his attention back to the road.

“Oh, uhm, it’s okay, I should have waited to venture out on my own until I knew the area a little bit better, but thank you for coming and picking me up, and sorry I that I woke you up. I wouldn’t have called if all my other ideas didn’t sound terrible.”

“It’s alright, I was getting up soon anyways,” Sid said chuckling. Brooke smiled at him and they both went back to being silent. Sidney glanced over at her again noticing once more how naturally pretty she looked. He also noticed how fit she had become since the last time he had seen her. Granted that the last time he had been with Brooke for more than twenty minutes, he was twenty and home for the summer and Brooke had just finished her first year of university. Not that Brooke had ever been more than 120lbs, she had just toned the muscles in her body and lost the last of her baby fat. Brooke noticed Sidney looking at her and turned to look at him. They made eye contact and Sidney looked back at the road.

“Why were you looking at me?” Brooke asked, smirking at him. Sid thought of the first thing that came to his mind hoping it would sound truthful.

“I, uhh, like the colour of your shirt, I was just admiring it I guess,” Sid said letting out a little sigh. Brooke looked down at the running top she was wearing and looked back at him.

“It’s black,” Sidney’s cheeks turned red and that definitely hardly ever happens to him. Brooke began to chuckle and turned to look back out the window. He felt like an idiot and there was really no way of explaining.

Brooke liked that she had caught him staring at her. It gave her butterflies, ones that she immediately tried to get rid of but it was a nice feeling.

They had finally made it back to the house and Sidney pulled up in front of the garage. He took the key out of the ignition and went to open his door when Brooke stopped him. “Can I possibly see my rental,” Brooke said turning to Sid.

“Oh, yeah sure,” he said getting out of the truck and walking over the Garage door. He punched in the code for the door and stood back waiting for it to open. Brooke Stood with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face. When the door was completely up Brooke’s mouth fell open and Sidney rubbed the back of his neck.

In his garage sat a brand new white Audi R8 Coupe. Brooke was expecting a small little BMW or something but nothing this extravagant or expensive.

“Oh my God,” Brooke said turning to look at Sidney. “This is your car right? Like mine still needs to be picked up or something?”

Sidney shook his head, “No, this is what you dad got for you, Nealer wanted to drive it back here but I wouldn’t let him,” Sidney said expecting Brooke to know what he was talking about. When she raised her eyebrows at him Sidney cleared his throat and walked into the garage. “Uhh, the keys are inside if you want to take it out for a drive or what ever, I mean its yours so you can do what ever with it,” Sidney rambled. He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked back at Brooke. She was still standing outside the garage with her arms crossed with a look of utter surprise written across her face.

“There has to be a catch to this,” Brooke said, stalking off to the front door, Sidney following behind her. When they reached the front door, Brooke stepped aside allowing for Sidney to open the door and he let for her to go in first. She ran upstairs taking the stairs two at a time and went straight into the guest room.

Sid knew that she wasn’t going to be thrilled about the car but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Sid walked up the stairs and stood outside of Brookes door. He knocked twice before he heard her talking on her phone. When he opened the door Brooke was standing at the end of the bed in her sports bra and running pants with her phone glued to her ear.

“Brendan, if you don’t go give him the phone right now, I swear I’ll break every bone in your hand and see how well you can throw a baseball after that,” She said turning to look at Sidney as he went to sit on the edge of her bed and Brooke gave him a quizzical look. “What?” She said stopping to look at him. He nodded towards her chest and she looked down and looked back up at him. “You’ve seen me in less clothing than this.” Sidney rolled his eyes and stood up facing her.

“Do you really want to be talking to him right now, it’s probably only going to make things worse,” Sidney said narrowing his eyes down at her.

“Hello Brooke,” Brooke heard her father’s voice come through the phone. She couldn’t remember the last time she talked to her father over the phone but it wasn’t something Brooke enjoyed thoroughly.

“I don’t want the car,” Brooke said as Sidney took a seat back down on her bed.

“Well it’s yours now. I thought you would enjoy driving it there in Pittsburgh and then we can have it sent to you in Baltimore when you go back or you can drive it back yourself, it’s your decision,” Her father said very calmly. He had always been a man to keep his cool during an argument when he wasn’t drinking and Brooke hated him for it. It was almost like he was mocking her in a sense.

“What’s the catch?” Brooke asked, not believing that he just shelled out the cash for the car because he was feeling like a good person for once.

“There’s no catch. Your mother and I decided that we were going to give you a car once you graduated from Medical School and I figured why not give it to you early since you needed a car anyways. Just an early gift,” He explained and Brooke rolled her eyes.

Brooke hung up the phone. She was frustrated. Frustrated with the car, with her dad, with Sidney, with everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. She stood there clenching her phone in her hand and took some deep breaths trying to calm herself down. Sidney Stood up from the bed and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Look, drive the car for now and then-, Sidney said before Brooke cut him off.

“Can you please just leave me alone,” Brooke asked walking to grab some clean clothes off her dresser and headed towards the bathroom. He knew that she was upset and he still felt terrible about what he had said last night. She had been thrown into a situation that she really didn’t want to be in and everything for her just seemed to be getting worse and worse. But at the same time, he was trying to make up for what he had done and help her but she wasn’t letting him and he was mad.

“Yeah, sorry,” Sidney said standing up and storming out of her room behind her heading off in the direction of his own room. “I’m going to work out so you don’t have to worry about me being around for a while,” Sidney said as he walked away. Brooke knew he was pissed and closed the bathroom door with out reply to him. She turned the water on and let it heat up while she stripped out of her sweaty clothes. As she stepped into the shower she let the scalding hot watch pour over her as trying to help loosen her shoulders and she felt herself break down for the first time in five years.

Notes

okay, so I obviously don't know where he lives, so don't kill me if you do know his address (which is sorta, kinda a little creepy) and it's not right but I really hope you're enjoying the story!!!

Thanks so much for voting and commenting it really makes me happy that you're all reading it!!! let me know what you think :)