Closer
Junior year finished and summer started in what seemed to be a blur. Chloe headed home to her mother and two brothers, who had now been joined permanently by Nanabee. Chloe was glad of that because her Nana made it feel more like a home, her mom was even out and about now. She joined a pilates class and occasionally did the groceries. That was a whole lot of progress in comparison to what Chloe remembered her of last summer. Chloe was able to settle back into the house and let it feel like her home again. She was happy and ready to finish college and move on with her life.
Aubrey however was having a hell of a time, in the worst possible sense. She felt like somebody had just flipped a page and now everything was coming to an end, she was the laughing stock of her family, her dad would barely look at her, let alone talk to her. The fun of her college was finishing up, she'd have to enter the 'real' world. The only person she cared about would probably move to the other side of the country and become nothing more than a pen pal, of course she didn't want that to happen, but she felt that Chloe was headed for bigger things than she and not to mention that she was hopelessly in love with a girl that she could never ever be with.
It was safe to say that Aubrey's summer was only bearable because Chloe invited her to stay with her for a while. The blonde had told her all about the problems with her family, so naturally Chloe took it upon herself to be, well, perfect. Typical. Even when they were miles apart Aubrey found herself falling more for her.
The blonde of course, hadn't said a word to her bestfriend about her feelings, she did unfortunately make the mistake of telling her parents. It was a night where they were arguing about something insignificant and her dad had brought up Aubrey's 'incident'. Aubrey blew a fuse and told them the real reason about her 'nervous bile regurgitation'.
Her mum was so shocked she couldn't speak, her expression morphed from shock to apologetic to disgust to agreeing with whatever Aubrey's father was saying. Mr. Posen had plenty to say. The usual rants that Aubrey was very familiar with at this stage. You're a failure, a disgrace, an embarrassment but that time he had taken it to a whole new level.
Aubrey was to move out by the time her college degree was over, her dad would send her money until she had a job but they didn't want to be associated with her. She was effectively dis-communicated from her own family. When Chloe called it had been a no brainer. She made a deal of leaving too, she told her mum and dad that she was leaving and getting out of their hair as soon as possible. She acted like it was nothing and that she was completely okay with it, but she wasn't. Who would be?
The blonde managed to keep herself together until she parked her car in the front of the Beale household. She sat in the car, her hands stuck to the steering wheel and let herself cry. Chloe's family were broken but they still managed to be more together than Aubrey's. The blonde often found herself feeling like she was more a Beale than she was a Posen. Maybe she was a little bit biased but all of the Beale's treated her way kinder than her parents ever had.
She smiled to herself glad that she could spend the rest of the summer with people who loved her and as if on cue the front door of the house flew open and a flash of red hair ran to her car.
It was the first time Aubrey had seen her best friend in months, she had changed so much but she was still the same. It was as if she had never really lost herself at all. The massive grin she usually wore was plastered back onto her face, which made her look younger again. It was as if the sky had been taken off her shoulders. The redhead rapped on the window and smiled apologetically at her best friend. She climbed into the passenger seat and took the blondes hand.
"I'm glad you're here."
"Me too." Aubrey managed smiling at her best friend. Chloe returned the smile with more zest she moved closer to the blonde and Aubrey's breath caught. She panicked as Chloe brought Aubrey's hand around her waist. There faces getting closer, the redhead just smiled and let their cheeks brush together as her own hands climber around Aubrey's neck pulling her closer. Chloe shifted in her seat and held Aubrey in a tight hug.
"You have to get out of the car because your gear stick is where it really shouldn't be." The ginger laughed lightly pulling away from Aubrey.
"Come on." She smiled getting out of the car and opening the trunk. Aubrey loved that about Chloe, for as much as the girl never shut up, she always knew when to say nothing.
The girls unpacked Aubrey's car and moved everything into Chloe's room. There was a guest suite but since Nanabee moved in that had been taken up with her stuff. Not that it mattered Chloe was pretty sure the girls would have stayed in her room even if the guest room was empty. The girls hadn't really slept in separate beds since the start of their junior year.
Once Aubrey was settled in she headed downstairs with Chloe to see Nanabee.
The older woman was delighted that Bree was moving in until college. She had even asked why it hadn't happen sooner because Aubrey's parents were "sucky". This had happened over dinner when Chloe asked would it be alright, there was no objections everyone adored Aubrey. She had come to visit during the holiday's sometimes and everyone got along so well. The boys had even adopted her as a second sister.
"Hi Nanabee!" Aubrey chirped as she walked into the back garden. Mrs. Broderick was lying under an umbrella reading a book. Aubrey's eyebrows shot up when she saw it was in fact 50 Shades, but then she thought how Chlo had been the first to read it and had recommended it to her grandmother. That was way weirder. Chloe's grandmother turned to look at the two girls, a smile playing on her lips. Her hair was short and curly, greying slightly but in an elegant way.
"Hi, who are you?" Nanabee smiled towards the girls acting innocent. It was Chloe's exact smile.
"Nana don't be mean!" Chloe laughed following Aubrey over to the lounge chairs.
"I was doing the amnesia joke Chlo! I'm old enough to do that now you know?" She winked at Aubrey. It was something that Aubrey was too used to from Chloe and the fact that their winks were so identical made it all seem twice as funny.
"Oh sorry I forgot!" Chloe stuck out her tongue winking at her grandmother who laughed at her.
Mrs. Broderick hopped up from her lounge chair, she may have been an old woman but she was still nimble, she pulled Aubrey into a hug.
"It's so good to have you here Bree! We're going to have the best time!" Nanabee let go of the blonde and held her shoulders, looking into her eyes with purpose.
"And you know that you're welcome here any time? Whenever, okay? We love you here." The older woman smiled. Aubrey nodded understanding, Chloe must have explained to her what was going on. The blonde was grateful for that, she didn't ask Chloe to tell her but it was a given at this stage and Nanabee always gave the best advice. Maybe she could find the time to ask how Chloe was doing since she moved back. She seemed fine now, but it obviously would have been hard for her to come home.
The weeks roll by and Aubrey loves every second of it. Moving in with the Beales was probably one of the best things she could have done for herself that summer. Even if it did make her feelings for her best friend even stronger.
It was as if they were back in college. They hung out together every second, they ate together, they relaxed together, they still slept together.
Aubrey even found herself blissfully daydreaming about the Beale house in fact being the Beale-Posen house and how she could easily do this for the rest of her life.
They were all outside in the back garden, the boys, Dean and Ethan, were in the pool. Nana was on the far side of the pool in the shade, reading a book. Mrs. Beale was sat dangling her legs into the pool watching her sons and Chloe and Aubrey were sunbathing. Well Chloe was reading some magazine and Aubrey was content on watching her however this comfortable atmosphere had made her more lackadaisical about her infatuation with Chloe. This of course went unnoticed by the redhead, but another member of the Beale household picked up on Aubrey's not so subtle longing glances and lingering touches.
Perhaps nana was far too aware for her age or maybe she was really feeling her age and imagining what she was seeing but as she watched the girls go about their daily business the more she found herself convinced of what she was seeing. At first she had tried to ignore it, figuring that the girls would soon find their way together, but as the summer came to an end and the girls finally started packing for their next semester, realised that nothing had progressed between them and that Aubrey was feeling the effects of silent rejection. So nana took it upon herself to make sure Aubrey realised what that it perhaps wasn't rejection.
It was the weekend before the girls planned to return to college. Nana had conveniently suggested that Chloe get some supplies in their local supermarket so the girls wouldn't have to go shopping straight away. So Chloe headed off with her brothers to the shop leaving nana and Aubrey in the kitchen preparing dinner. After a few minutes of comfortable silence nana decided to get to the point, she was sure the sombre blonde wouldn't give up her feelings too easy. So the longer they had to talk about it the better.
"You know Chloe's clueless." The older woman started.
It took Aubrey by surprise, the older woman had some tricks up her sleeve but if she was insinuating what Aubrey thought she was, well... Aubrey was just a bit scared.
"I.. w-what?" The blonde stammered keeping her eyes on the carrot she was peeling.
"Chloe's clueless. She doesn't know how you feel." Nana said blatantly. Her eyes examining the back of Aubrey's head, trying to figure out what was going on inside it.
The blonde dropped the carrot and knife putting her hands on the counter, more so to hold herself up. She should have seen this happening, someone would have figured out eventually and told her it was hopeless. She just wasn't expecting nana and she wasn't ready to try and stop what she was feeling. Not so soon after accepting what it was.
"I can't... stop." She whispered to herself, but nana picked up on it and the young girls uneasiness.
"No that's not what I'm... I don't care. I just don't want you to get upset." Nana slowed down realising she probably should have started this conversation with some context. She continued carefully.
"I know how you feel. I can see it when you're with her. In your eyes and even the way you talk to her but Chloe.. Chloe's clueless. She's always been loving and cuddle-y and I think maybe.. she just thinks you've grown accustomed to it and enjoy it." Nana waited for the blonde to reply but she didn't.
"She doesn't know that you love her in a different way."
That caught Aubrey's attention she fought back the rest of the tears coming to her face and wiped her nose before slowly turning to face Mrs. Broderick, her eyes concentrating on the floor. She tried for an explanation, anything that would make her understand.
"No... she's my.. best friend." Was all she could managed. She heard the old woman sigh and looked up at her. The old woman's eyes were kind and warm, not drastically changed from the norm, but there was something else there that broke Aubrey's calm collected self. However nervous she was. It was pity, Nana was pitying Aubrey and that? That hurt.
The blonde broke down in tears and the older woman surged forward to catch her.
It was a kind of a unrelenting force, the sobbing that is. Aubrey was jerking almost violently tears flowing into Mrs. Broderick.
"I tried..." She could barely talk, but she wanted Nana to know, to understand, even just a little.
"She's important... So..." She shook her head trying to get out of the old womans grasp, but Mrs. Broderick just stayed calm and stroked the blonde's hair. She'd been here before, her own daughter had been in a similar state of distress not a year ago. She was experienced and well able for whatever the young girl had to throw at her. So she waited patiently, until Aubrey was in a fit state to explain.
