Chapter 9

(Present)

Slowly, her mind started to roll back around; her breathing became lighter as she started to wake up. She shivered slightly and tightened the blanket around her; that's when it became apparent that she was no longer on the couch. Had she gone home last night? Utterly confused, she slowly peeked one eye open to find that she was in Vince's bed, and that his arm was thrown over her waist securely. Turning to face him, she moved slowly and gently so she didn't wake him. By the time she was fully facing him, Vince's eyes were open, staring at her hard.

The air around her felt different. It was one of those things that you couldn't explain; except that today would just be one of those days. Vince didn't look mad in any way; he just looked… normal. As if things were like they used to be. She smiled sleepily and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"I'm sorry; I've been a total dick to you." He whispered. Vince didn't get into things that much, he kept it simple when it came to stuff like this.

"It's okay." She whispered back. "You had a perfectly good reason to be mad at me V. You got to understand though that I never meant to be gone that long. When I saw how angry and hurt you were with me, I just thought that maybe you didn't want me anymore; I got scared. So I just stayed away longer, I settled down for a while to clear my head. The days went by so fast and when I finally stopped to take a breath I realized that two years had gone by. I know it sounds stupid but, I don't know…" She sighed heavily. "I've never wanted anything more than the way I want you."

"I did over react a bit." He frowned slightly. "I knew you were going and that was one of the reasons I fell for you, your dreams were so, so big and when you left, they became real; I could never be mad at you for going out there to do what you do best. I was just pissed off that you came back out of no where and expected me to just fall right into your arms again; like nothing even happened."

"I'm sorry." She whispered; it came from her heart. She was sorry, she never wanted to hurt the man she loves.

Vince tiredly groaned before digging his face into the crook of her neck; cuddling against her side; running his hands under her shirt, he always loved the skin on skin contact. Brooke wrapped her arm around his head and dug her fingers into his hair. This was just like old times.

"How do you feel?" She asked remembering how drunk he was last night.

"I've got the worst hangover ever." He complained like a child.

"That's what you get you big lush." She chuckled; her cheek rested against his forehead.

Leaning onto his elbows, he hovered over her and just looked at her. It seemed like it had been ages since he had the chance to just take in her features. It came to the point where he finally realized that he was madly in love with this girl. No one has ever been this important to him before. Smiling sweetly, he ran the back of his fingers against her smooth cheek; at this moment, he wanted nothing more than for Brooke Connelly to be his again. Dipping his head down, he kissed her urgently, she whimpered before wrapping her arms around him, pulling him on top of her. Changing the pace, he slowed down his kisses, now they were full of love, lust, and passion. God, it had been too long.

A loud crash could be heard coming from upstairs before Dominic and Letty's voice started yelling loudly. It was muffled of course but they knew what was happening and if they were correct then she probably threw a drink at him, a can most likely but a full glass on a bad day. Considering they didn't hear anything break, they figured it must have been a can of soda or maybe a bottle of water. Vince pulled away and stared into Brooke's eyes as they listened to the arguing that was going on upstairs. Vince chuckled which contagiously made her do the same. Rolling onto his back, he sighed happily as Brooke cuddled against him; burying her face into his neck. They would probably have a lot more talking to do before it would be back to normal a hundred percent but right now, nothing was more important than being in each other's arms.

"How could you do this to me again?!" His voice echoed as her eyes shot open. Vince was still hung over this morning so they had fallen back asleep. Only, she had dreamt about leaving him again. Her heart pounded as she looked over at a sleeping Vince, his breathing was heavy, chest rising and falling slowly. Rolling away from him, she stared at the wall.

Her mind was torn, they had just practically gotten back together just a couple hours earlier but, just yesterday, she and Mia had made big summer plans and no way would she have the heart to back out on Mia. That girl had done nothing but take care of this family ever since their father died and it was obvious she needed a break to just be the kid that she was. She'd be out of college within the next four weeks and then what would she do? Brooke concluded she would most likely start working at some local hospital while keeping her day job at the diner. Brooke's face scrunched up in confusion. What was she honestly going to do? No way could she just not tell Vince about this.

Sighing heavily, she crept out of bed and walked up the stairs into the kitchen.

"Well. Look. At. You." Letty's voice could be heard coming from the kitchen table; smug and accusing. She chuckled and watched Brooke as she turned a slight shade of pink. "I knew it was only a matter of time." Letty smiled warmly and tipped the cup of juice that she held.

"I- we," She was stuttering. Why though? Because she was being bashful or because she could very well be leaving him again in just a short amount of time? "We talked but, I don't know…" She said meaning she wasn't sure if they were, in fact back together.

"There you are! I didn't know what happened to you!" Mia came charging in the kitchen with a wide grin on her face. "I found this great place; you have to come check it out!" With that said she was gone again; running towards her laptop. Letty raised her eyebrow curiously and waited for Brooke to spill. Brooke just held up her hand and silently told her to give her a minute before she told the whole story.

Following the path Mia took, she ended up in Mia's room in front of the computer screen.

"Okay, so it's only a few blocks from the beach, it's a small cozy loft close to shopping and stuff." Brooke had to admit the place was perfect but, she was so confused about what she was going to do.

"I'll call about it tomorrow." Brooke said nodding to Mia, who seemed happy with the reply. Walking back into the kitchen she found Letty who hadn't moved from her spot on the chair.

"What were you two fighting about?" Brooke asked quietly as she sat down next to her.

Letty shrugged. "Oh you know, the usual, we never remember what we were actually fighting about anyways." Letty smiled to herself and stared off into the distance. "Anyways, what's going on?" Letty said regaining consciousness.

"Mia and I made summer plans to stay on the East Coast…" Her voice trailed off as she thought about Vince's reaction to hearing the news.

Letty shrugged as if she were confused. "I think it's a good idea."

"Well, Vince and I sort of got back together this morning and he doesn't know. How can I pick up and leave him again without him hating me forever?" Brooke leaned her forehead against her palm. She honestly didn't think they would be getting back together at all let alone just the next day. It seemed she was great at fucking things up.

"That does pose a problem huh? Well," Letty paused to find the right advice. "You should tell him now so he's not surprised later, he'll be less angry. Either way he's going to be pissed but, he'll get over it as long as you know, you come back or at least call." Letty chuckled. Brooke smiled to Letty before standing up and making her way back downstairs.

Opening the door, she found Vince slowly opening his eyes; just waking up. Smiling down at him, she crawled into the bed and sat Indian style while she waited for him to say something. But he didn't, he just pulled her down for a hefty good morning kiss. When they finally pulled away; Brooke couldn't keep the smile off of her face.

"What are you doing baby?" Vince asked sleepily; wondering what she was up too.

This made her remember why she came back down here; frowning, she sighed heavily before she began. "V, I have to tell you something."