You think your dreams are the same as mine
3 years previous…
Blossom trudged up the stairs towards the apartment she shared with her fiancé, Brick Jojo.
She was walking up them, which she normally didn't do, and she was walking pretty slowly, because she'd had to blow him off again. She'd had to go back into work; there'd been an emergency with a patient. And she was dreading having to face him.
The pink puff was an intern at Townsville General Hospital, she was still learning and she couldn't risk not going in all the time, despite practically living there now. But this had meant their dinner date had had to be cancelled.
Probably the fifth time that month this had happened. She knew she was coming home to a pretty unhappy Brick. Unhappy was probably putting it lightly.
When she opened their front door, her predictions were right. He was sitting on the sofa, arms crossed, TV off, looking extremely sulky. Extremely unhappy.
"Brick, look, before anything is said, I just want to say I'm sorry -" She began, but he interrupted.
"You know what? I don't even want to hear it. I don't. It's always the same old story. And I'm bored of it." He snapped.
"Brick, I don't cancel on purpose, it's work - it's my job! What do you want me to do, ignore my beeper, and let someone potentially die? Or I'd get fired. I'm an intern, I'm still learning and this year is really important -"
"No Blossom, I don't want you to do that! I just - I want to see you! I can't remember the last time it was just you and me, doing something simple together, like cuddling up on the sofa or something or, or going out for dinner, going to see a movie - just anything, just seeing you! You're always at work, it's like you live there now. We're supposed to be getting married in 6 months time. Nothing is arranged! You don't even have a dress for fucks sake! The hotel's booked, the rings on your finger, and that's it. That's literally it. Do you even want to marry me?" Brick asked, and her mouth dropped open.
"Of course I do! Don't be ridiculous! I just, I have a lot going on right now, it doesn't mean you mean any less to me! I can't help how much of my life being a doctor consumes. When I decided I wanted to go onto medical school, you were supportive. I warned you how long it would take. I warned you how much of my time it would take. You were supportive. You were." Blossom cried back, getting fed up with the same old discussion every day when she got back from work.
"Blossom I am supportive -"
"No you're not! Telling me I practically live there is not being supportive. Making me feel guilty about the fact that I haven't had the chance to sort anything out for our wedding is not being supportive. You resent my job!" She responded with and he scoffed.
"I don't. I love that you love your job. I just wish you had a normal 9 to 5 or something. I wish you weren't at their beck and call all the time. I wish you didn't prioritise the hospital over us."
"How can you say that I - I have to be at their beck and call! I'm an intern! I need to absorb everything I can from this year so I can be able to practice medicine as a doctor. If I ignore the fact that I am needed there, I lose a life, and my job. Don't you understand that?" She implored.
"I do, I do. It's just that I don't even feel like I have a fiancé anymore. I never see you." He murmured.
"And when you do, you start an argument." She muttered. Anger met his features and he stood up, his fists tight.
"I start the arguments? Last time I checked I'm always home when I say I will be. I'm always here at normal hours. I pick up my fucking phone. I don't disappear in the middle of the night. And when you are here, when they do actually let you come home, you're elbow deep in paperwork. You are the cause of our arguments. You and your ridiculous job. You and that fucking beeper." He growled.
As if on queue, her beeper went off in her pocket. Brick glared at her, almost daring her to check it.
"I have to!" She yelled, taking it from her pocket and examining it. "It's my attending. I've got to go back in." She mumbled, wishing she didn't have to.
"Blossom, if you go now, how are we going to fix this? How are we ever going to fix this if you're not here? Can we even fix this?" Brick said, his voice serious.
"What are you saying?" Blossom asked, her voice a little aghast.
"I'm saying I can't take much more of this. I love you, but - I just can't. Tell them you can't go in right now." His voice had a pleading edge to it.
She sighed, shoving her beeper back into her pocket. "Brick, don't be silly. I've got to go back in, I just explained this to you."
"Blossom if you go back to that fucking hospital, if you put them before me again, you're essentially telling me you don't want to fix this." Brick warned her and she shook her head incredulously.
"You just said that you understand how my job works and how demanding it is right now. But clearly you don't. I have to go, Brick. If you can't understand that, then maybe we can't fix this." With that she turned away and slammed the door behind her.
Blossom sat in the hospital cafeteria, her head slumped onto her arms on the table top. How could he propose they break up over her job? She couldn't believe he was being so immature and unreasonable. She could see where he was coming from, she really could, but why couldn't he see where she was coming from? Why couldn't he understand how difficult it was for her - how difficult everything was for her at the moment?
She sighed savagely, not being able to help but think It'd be a different story if he were the one becoming a doctor.
Lifting her head heavily, she took a sip of her coffee. The redhead hadn't even meant half of what she'd said. He wasn't wrong on a lot of what he'd said too, she had been at the hospital an awful lot. She had been neglecting their relationship. They'd been together for 10 years, since they were 16 years old, and had never argued as much as they did at the moment, even with their complex past.
She sighed once more. She needed to fix this.
Blossom retrieved her phone from her pocket and dialled their landline number. But he didn't pick up. She called again, in case he was in the shower or on the toilet or something.
Still nothing.
So she tried his cell, but he still wasn't picking up. Was he ignoring her? His maturity levels really were astounding.
She receded to trying his work phone. Maybe he'd gone down to his office to brood.
Brick sat at his desk, watching his office phone line ringing and ringing. Blossom's name was appearing on the ID.
He sighed. He wasn't ready to speak to her yet. He knew he was being immature, but he needed to blow off some steam, before he said anything else he didn't mean. Why he'd come to work, he didn't know. But his office was quiet, he could get some peace and be on his own.
Although he really was beginning to get fed up of being on his own so much.
Brick Jojo was a highly paid accountant for a major marketing firm in Townsville. It was obviously out of hours right now, but his office was his office; he could come back anytime he wanted.
"What are you doing back?"
Brick looked up as he heard a familiar voice. It was Carla, his assistant. His lips formed a thin line. The last person he needed to see right now was his assistant Carla.
It wasn't that she was problematic, no no. She was a good assistant; Brick valued her help - and from a work perspective she was the best assistant he'd had. It was the fact that she had been the last source of a near break up between Blossom and Brick a few years ago.
Carla could be a little flirty. Brick ignored it. She wasn't solely like it with him. But she was like it with him a lot. But he didn't pay much mind to it. But Blossom, well she obviously didn't like it. At a Christmas do one year, she'd gotten very handsy and Blossom had not liked it one bit. Blossom did not like Carla one bit. Brick had assured her she had nothing to worry about, nothing was going on and he had absolutely zero interest in her, she was a good assistant and that was where it ended. And she'd relented on it eventually. But she could still be an awkward topic of conversation.
"What are you doing here still?" Brick asked her, looking up from his ringing phone.
"I've just been sorting those Jenasson invoices, you know that massive pile that's needed doing for, well, probably years? I'm a bit on an insomniac, I was bored so, I thought I'd crack on with it… What are you doing here? And are you going to get that?" She answered, looking at the phone curiously and noting the caller ID.
She was a tall woman, not as tall as Brick, but a lot taller than Blossom. Long and thin, skinny really - not curvy like Blossom. She had short dark brown hair, dark brown eyes. A pretty smile. She wasn't Blossom though.
"No, I'm not. I've just come in to blow off some steam." Brick said, leaning back in his chair with a long sigh.
Carla arched an eyebrow. "Trouble in paradise?"
He shrugged. "I guess so. Well, yes actually. A lot of fucking trouble. I never get to see her. She's practically paying her work rent these days."
"This is the one training to be a doctor, right?" She asked, placing her hand on her hip.
"Yes, the in-training doctor I've been with for 10 years." He eyed her evenly for a few seconds, deciding whether to confide in her or not. He needed to vent, he felt like he was going to burst. She would have to do. "I just - we're supposed to be getting married in 6 months, but - I don't feel like that's gunna happen, ever. I don't even feel like she even wants that. This job has totally consumed her." He said, inhaling slowly. "We had a massive argument. I don't even know whether we're still together anymore from things we both said." He leant his head in his hand and sighed. "It's so fucking stupid. I don't want that, I just want to feel like I'm in a relationship with her again. Everything has changed since she started all this doctor stuff."
Carla flashed him a sympathetic look, before putting the papers she held down onto the desk. She clogged over to his seat and perched on the edge of his desk. He glanced at her a little warily as she sighed lightly.
"That sounds rough… It's probably not my place, but I've gotta say I have noticed how stressed you've been lately." She said, leaning in just a little bit closer. "You don't seem happy at all."
"I'm not fucking happy that's why." He replied curtly.
"Well, sounds to me like she's not in a place to be in a relationship right now. Seems like she should have just cut you loose and focussed on her career if thats what she really wants. Rather than stringing you along for years on end... I mean, thats so unfair on you." Carla said in a soft, almost assuring voice.
Brick frowned at her words. He felt like she was right, and he didn't like it. Because he didn't want to not be with Blossom. But it sure didn't feel like she wanted to be with him right now. And it hadn't for a very long time.
"So you've no idea if you're even together anymore?" She asked him.
He looked at her again, raising and lowering his shoulders. "No idea. I told her if she walked out the door at the command of her fucking beeper while we were arguing that she was basically telling me she didn't want to fix things. And she said she didn't know if we could fix things and left."
Carla flashed him a sympathetic look. "Brick I'm so sorry. God, to just end things like that after 10 whole years. That's so, heartless."
A consuming emptiness had seeped from the pit of Brick's stomach and was slowly making its way up to his heart as he mulled over Carla's words, his own, even Blossom's. God, it was over, wasn't it?
He glanced up at Carla again, and froze, noting how she'd moved ever so slightly closer to him.
"You must be feeling so sad, and hurt and confused. And lonely. I mean, I know it's not my place but you sure have seemed so lonely for such a long time now." Carla murmured softly, her voice attentive. "You don't deserve that. You're a good guy. You work hard. You don't deserve that." Her stare was intense, there was hidden meaning behind it.
Brick knew the meaning behind it.
"When was the last time she even held you?" She rasped, her voice low and suggestive. "When was the last time she even made you feel loved?"
Brick swallowed uncomfortably at the way she was looking at him. Her lashes were lowered, and there was a seductive glint in her eyes, lusting in the comforting smile playing about her lips. He knew he should have stopped her as he watched her hand reach out touch his upper arm affectionately. He knew he should have done. But she was right. He couldn't even remember the last time Blossom had even touched him, let alone kissed him, or anything else.
He knew he should have asked her to stop when her hand travelled from his arm to his chest, stroking in a downwards motion. He knew he should have stopped her, but he didn't.
Brick didn't know what he was doing. He felt so confused. Blossom had said maybe they couldn't fix things, and he'd told her if she walked out that door at her beepers command he didn't think they could fix things either - he'd told her he couldn't do this anymore. And he'd meant that, he couldn't live like this anymore.
They'd just broken up. She'd told him she didn't want to fix things by walking out the door. She didn't have time for him anymore. Did she even love him? He didn't know. It didn't feel like she did. It didn't feel like she wanted to fix their relationship at all. It didn't feel like there was a relationship to fix.
He did feel lonely, and lost and confused. And Carla was looking at him in a way that Blossom hadn't looked at him like in what felt like forever. He could hardly remember the last time she'd paid him this much attention. He couldn't remember the last time she'd touched him. That was not normal for someone you supposedly wanted to spend the rest of your life with!
Carla's hand had begun to move more, as had she; she was sitting in front of his chair now, and her hand was caressing the side of his face, her own face leaning ever so closer to him.
He swallowed hard as her lips met his, and felt his heart sink low into the pit of his stomach at the realisation of what he'd just done, what he'd just allowed Carla to do.
He raised his hand, and gently pushed her shoulder back. It didn't feel right, her lips on his. It wasn't right.
Carla had gone bright red, and began to burble out an apology. But Brick was barely taking any of her words in as he'd just noticed something; Blossom had stopped calling. The tring of his work phone in the background was gone. She'd stopped calling him.
Why had she stopped calling? What was she now doing instead? Had she just changed her mind? Was it really over? He looked at the silent phone on his desk, his crimson eyes wide. "Just shut up a minute." He mumbled, trying to think, and she did as he said.
She wasn't calling. She didn't want to fix this. It was really over.
His eyes met hers then, and his body started moving before he had a chance to put any thought into his actions. He grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him so she was on his lap, crashing his lips onto hers. She kissed him back hungrily, her arms around his neck and entwining in his hair.
Carla pulled away as she gasped for air. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this. You don't deserve to be treated how she's treating you. You don't deserve to be -"
"Stop talking." Brick said, his hands on her thigh near the hem of her skirt.
"We can't do this here." Carla said, pushing him back slightly. "There's cameras dotted about. And Mark and Katie are across the hall. We can't go to mine. But, we could go to your place? Seeing as there's nobody home..."
"So, do you think I should just go and apologise?" Blossom asked as she wandered the lobby of the apartment building she lived at.
"I think you should just go home, go to bed and patch this up in the morning. It's gone midnight, and I gotta take Jay to nursery in the morning. You'll be fine Blossom; Brick's a hothead and you're stubborn - as is he It'll be okay, go home, give him a hug, tell him you're sorry get some sleep." Buttercup said from the other end of the phone.
"You're right, you're right. God, I'm such an idiot... I can't believe that I - Thanks Buttercup, I'll call you in the morning." Blossom murmured.
"Night Blossom."
Blossom hung up her phone, popping it in her purse. She felt better for ringing her sister, even though she had woken her up.
She made her way up to their apartment with a small smile on her face. She'd cuddle up to him and say sorry. She'd make more of an effort to put him first. She'd tell him how he was way more important to her than her job; she just needed to balance things better. It was going to be fine. She knew how to get him out of his trademark dark moods.
She stuck her key in the door, only to realise it was open. She'd assumed he'd gone out as he wasn't picking up. But clearly he was home. And just ignoring her calls.
Blossom pushed the door open, and the sight that she was met with made her blood run cold.
The first thing that had caught her attention were a pair of legs; long, slender legs stuck up in the air, on the sofa. The owner of these legs had short brown hair; she couldn't see her eyes as they were shut, an expression of pleasure on her face. Blossom recognised who it was in an instant. It was Carla. Her skirt was pushed up, her stockings and black heels on the floor.
The scene just got worse, because Carla obviously wasn't alone. There was someone on top of Carla, positioned in between her legs. He had familiar red, shaggy hair; it was mussed up, like fingers had been scraped through it. It was Brick. His pants and underpants were round his ankles. They were having sex. Him and Carla were having sex on their couch. So intently they'd not immediately noticed Blossom walk in.
Blossom felt herself take a step backwards and leant against the door, which made it clatter a bit. She felt all the breath leave her lungs; she couldn't digest what she was seeing.
Brick was having sex with someone else. On their couch. In their apartment. And it was Carla. His fucking assistant Carla.
The noise the door made finally caught both Brick and Carla's attention, and they froze. Carla had gasped loudly at the realisation they'd been caught, and began to curse under her breath asBrick shot up, glancing at Blossom with wide, guilty crimson eyes.
"Blossom! Blossom, oh shit. Fuck!" He cried, reaching down to pull his pants up as rapidly as he could manage.
Blossom's expression was vacant. Everything was going in slow motion. She could hear her heart pounding loud and fast in her ears.
"Oh my god." The pink puff cried, her breathing shallow. She sounded as if she was going to vomit.
Carla had jumped up too, trying to shrink into herself as if to disappear as she retrieved her stockings and underpants from the floor and was scrambling into them.
"I thought she was at work!" Carla hissed as if Blossom couldn't hear her.
"Just, just fucking leave, Carla." Brick snapped, scraping his trembling hands through his hair.
Blossom couldn't fathom what she'd just walked in on. The pink puff just stared at Brick in complete disbelief. She didn't even flinch as Carla brushed past her and slammed their front door shut as she left.
Blossom peered at Brick, her eyes hurt and ultimately betrayed.
"Blossom…" Brick said, taking a step toward her, but she raised her shaking arm to stop him coming any closer to her.
"No. Don't." She said in a hushed, croaky voice. "Don't you dare."
"I, I, I'm so sorry. I don't even know what to - I'm so fucking sorry, I really am Blossom, I. I don't know what I was doing, what I was thinking! I wasn't fucking thinking, I'm sorry, so sorry - I love you! I don't know why I -" Brick babbled desperately, his voice croaky now too. "I didn't mean for this to happen, I wanted to patch things up but, but then you left and I didn't know what that meant! I -" He stopped talking, his head was spinning and none of the words coming out of his mouth made any sense.
Blossom didn't speak, as her eyes filled with tears.
Brick felt another stab at his heart. She was crying. He couldn't stand to see her cry. And it hurt all the more knowing he was the one to blame.
"I think you should leave." She whispered, stepping away from the door so he could exit through it, but not in the direction he stood. She didn't want to be anywhere near him right now.
"Blossom, no. No, I'm not leaving, I want to talk about this. We can't just - I'm sorry, I -" He burbled but she cut him off.
"No please. Just leave. Please." Her voice wasn't angry or risen. It was sad, and wobbling. Like she was using all her energy not to break down in tears. Her voice broke as she spoke again. "Brick please, go."
"But Blossom -"
"I don't want to talk to you. I can't, just go." She whispered, her voice fragile, and broken.
Brick didn't utter a word back; with a heavy frown he did as she'd asked.
Neither Brick nor Blossom had slept that night.
Brick ended up heading to his office, too ashamed to head over to either of his brothers' places. How could he explain to them that he couldn't go home because he'd been sleeping with someone else, and Blossom had walked in?!
Blossom had called in sick to work the next day; she felt like she couldn't even look after herself that day let alone other people who needed her care. She'd struggled to even move herself out of bed. And the only reason she'd ended up sat in bed as she couldn't bear to sit on that couch knowing what had occurred on it only hours ago.
Brick let himself into their apartment gingerly, and shamefaced. Blossom was sitting on one of the armchairs, not the couch, still in her work clothes from the shift the day previous. In fact, she looked exactly the same as she had done the night before, besides the redness surrounding her eyes.
"Blossom…" Brick said, letting her know he was there, there to apologise.
"What are you doing back here?" She asked. Her voice didn't sound like her. She sounded cold and distant.
"I've come to try and sort this out." He said, approaching her. "To try and explain, somehow…"
"There's nothing to sort out. And what happened is pretty self explanatory." She replied simply.
He sighed, sitting down on the offending sofa beside the chair she was sitting on. "Blossom I thought we'd broken up. I was angry, and upset and I wasn't thinking straight. I thought I'd lost you and I did something beyond stupid."
"The fact that you thought we had broken up justifies you jumping straight into your assistants panties? In your head we'd split up, so doing that immediately after, in our apartment, on our couch, was okay to you?" Blossom replied flatly. Brick winced at her words. "And Carla, Brick. You know, you're very attractive, younger assistant? The one I've been convinced had a thing for you for years? Carla, of all people. Carla, the one we've argued about before? Well, I bet she's happy this morning. She got what she's wanted for years."
"God, you're right. You're completely right. It doesn't justify it, and I'm so sorry. Really, I fucking am. I wasn't even thinking, I was just upset. And sad and lonely." Brick said, not knowing what to say, he knew no words could make this better.
"You didn't seem too upset; I mean actually, you seemed to be enjoying yourself until I interrupted." She said unfeelingly.
"Don't say shit like that." Brick said, the shame flooding him. "It wasn't fucking like that."
"Then what is it like? Tell me?" Blossom demanded, a bit of fire in her voice now as she finally looked at him.
"It was like someone actually paying me some fucking attention for once." Brick answered, annoyance clear in his voice too. Her rose eyes flashed at him and he tried to reel back his anger. He couldn't be angry at her, not after what she'd caught him doing. "I sat there and realised I can't fucking remember the last time you touched me. And I don't even just mean sex, Blossom. I literally just mean touching. I honestly cannot remember."
She shook her head, as if she couldn't believe he was using this as a defence after what he'd done.
"It doesn't justify it. But tell me you can remember when you held me last? Kissed me? Even just a brush on the arm in passing?" He asked her, and she found she couldn't answer him. A hint of her outrage slipped off her face for a moment.
"Listen Blossom, I would have never slept with her, or anyone for that matter, if I hadn't thought we were broken up. The last thing I said to you was if you walked out the door you were essentially telling me you didn't wanna fix this. And you said you didn't think we could fix this, and you walked out that door. I promise you I thought we were over. This was a stupid misunderstanding, I thought you'd broken up with me. I didn't think you wanted to be with me - it hasn't felt like I'm that important to you for a long, long time now." Brick tried to explain, and Blossom scoffed.
"A misunderstanding? Did you trip and fall into her pants or something? Shove her skirt up by accident?!" She asked acidly.
"Blossom no! I, I didn't -"
Blossom interrupted. Her voice sounded sad now. "I called you. I called the landline. I called your cell, and your work phone. I called and called and called you Brick! I tried to patch things up. You didn't pick up. You ignored my calls because you were with her."
"Blossom no," He jumped off the armchair now, crouching down in front of her. She scooted away from him slightly. "That's not what happened - that's not me, Bloss! I don't cheat, I don't lie! I'd never intentionally hurt you, I fucking love you! I've been in love with you for 10 years, or longer! Surely that's got to mean something?"
"But you have hurt me. Brick, you're just not you anymore. I always used to think of you as someone who would never hurt me. Someone who loved me, and respected me and would never do something like that to me." Her voice began to break with anguish. "When I think of you now I think of her, of you and her together, all I can see is what I walked in on. I can't imagine myself with you anymore. I just don't see it now. I mean, I can't even bear to me near you right now."
Tears spilled onto her cheeks, as she stared ahead. She couldn't look at him, she knew she'd break.
Brick felt a thick knot forming in his throat. "Blossom, Blossom no. No!" His voice was wavering now, as he took her head in his hands, turning her to face him. "I love you, I, I can't lose you. Please."
She blinked, droplets landing on her face. "You already have."
They looked at each other for a few moments, but Blossom turned away and got to her feet so she could step away from him. Brick's hands dropped from her face limply as she did. She groaned lightly. "I can't even look at you. It's over. It's really, truly over."
Brick shook his head in disbelief, and stood up as well. He walked over to her purposefully and grabbed her up in a hug, holding her as close to his body as he could muster. The moment her body had connected with his, she began to gently sob into his chest.
His eyes welled up as he stroked her hair. "I can't, I can't believe it. I can't even begin to imagine my life without you. I mean, I can't live without you. How can I live without you? How can I live without these eyes? And your hair? And your amazing, loving heart?" He asked, his voice cracking as he touched each item he spoke of on her body.
He stroked the tears from her face carefully. "I can't do that Blossom. I need you. I love you." His strong hands cupped her face, slowly and gently placing his lips onto hers. She leant into him for a second, melting against him and his touch, but as soon as she started to lose herself in him, she pulled away.
"No, Brick!" Blossom cried, pushing his arms from around her. "You can't just do that! You can't just, just think you can kiss me, and try and make it all okay! It's not just going to go away!" She said, taking a couple more steps away from him to create some space between them.
He looked down at the ground, wiping the tears from his eyes hurriedly, and nodded guiltily, knowing she was right. She stared at him for a moment before she spoke again. "I'm moving out."
His head shot up. "What?" he asked breathlessly.
"This is your apartment, I moved in here. So I'm moving out. I'll get my own place. As soon as possible. I'll move in with one of my sisters in the meantime. Because, I can't live here with you any longer." She said, her voice shaky but her tone decided.
He approached her once more, placing his arms round her waist. "Blossom no! Please, don't go, please, I'll do anything! I'll do anything to make this okay again."
She carefully pulled him off of her. "There's nothing you can do." She said sadly. "You've ruined it Brick, can't you see that? You've ruined 10 years together. One split decision and that's it."
His red eyes were glassy as he looked at her, the horror of the situation setting in.
"Are we gunna be okay?" He asked in a whisper.
She looked down at her left hand, and slowly pulled her engagement ring off, placing it into his hand and closing it. "No, Brick. We're not."
Back to now...
Blossom pulled the light cardigan she wore over her work clothes tighter around her. Her shift had just ended, and tonight she planned to just go home, stick the TV on and have her dinner.
She wasn't going to go to Butch's. She wasn't going to invite him over. Not tonight, she was just going to head home. It'd do him good not to expect her so much, seeing as he thought he was sitting in the drivers seat.
As she rounded the corner of the hospital exit onto the familiar sidewalk, she felt a presence begin to join in her stride beside her.
When she turned to her left she saw who it was and grimaced.
"Jeremy, what are you doing here?" She asked with a sigh, quickening her pace and getting in front of him.
"I just wanted to talk!" He exclaimed, running a hand through his light brown hair as he tried to keep up with her.
"Well, I'm not answering your text messages, or picking up your calls so, maybe I don't want to talk? I mean god, take the hint Jeremy. I'm fed up with being polite now! Stop calling me and stop following me! I called things off with you because I'm just not interested. I don't want a relationship with you, regardless of what you have to say." She said angrily.
"You just blew me off, with the lamest of explanations!" He spluttered in reply, his eyes wide with disappointment. He was a dancer at the theatre group Bubbles worked with. It had all been set up by Bubbles, and the guy had become pretty infatuated in a small amount of time.
"I don't have to give you an explanation anyhow. I've told you I'm not interested, that should be the end of it." Blossom said simply.
"But, things were going so well!" He cried.
"Maybe for you they were, not for me." She muttered, wishing she'd flown home. She turned to face him sharply then, stopping him short. "Look, I just came out of something really serious, I'm not ready for anything too -"
He interrupted her. "Yeah, you got out of something serious 3 years ago. Bubbles told me about Brick."
Blossom's face screwed up in shock. Why had Bubbles done that? "That is none of your business." She replied flatly.
"Blossom, you really need to move on. 3 years is long enough to cry for a broken relationship. I can help you do that." Jeremy said, trying to sound caring and kind, but he didn't get the reaction he had hoped for.
"You know what? I don't need some guy I've known for all of five minutes telling me how to fix my life. I can fix my own damn life without your help. And don't you dare tell me about moving on, okay - because I have moved on!" She hollered, the anger rising in her.
"Blossom, you clearly haven't, and that's okay!" He said softly.
"Yes, I have!"
"How exactly? When you're still using your ex as an excuse not to date." Jeremy came back with, and he looked so smug and like he knew what she was all about, it infuriated her.
"I've been seeing someone for a year, okay? That's how I've moved on. And that's one of the reasons I'm not interested in you." She cried, instantly regretting it the moment it had come out of her mouth.
"Seeing someone? Like, dating? While you were seeing me?" He asked, stunned. "But, Bubbles said you were single!"
"Yes Jeremy. So, so how's that for moving on? Now please just leave me alone." With that she left him standing on the sidewalk, jetting into the sky in a haze of pink.
"And then I told him I'd been seeing someone for a year, just to shut him up I guess." Blossom sniffled, wiping the tears from her face with a tissue Butch had passed to her. He'd never been good at dealing with crying girls, but he'd seen Blossom crying so often in the past year that he no longer felt uncomfortable around it. He was good at hugging, put it that way.
"Seeing someone?" Butch asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You. That's how desperate I've become. Making out I'm seeing my, my - whatever you are. My friend with benefits. My ex fiancé's brother. And what if he tells Bubbles what I said? What is she going to think? I'm such an idiot!" She said, more tears falling.
"It was kinda stupid. But, you're not an idiot. If Bubbles asks just say you lied to get him to back off." Butch said as Blossom wiped at her eyes.
"What if she doesn't believe that? You know what makes it so much worse? Jeremy is probably right. I mean, what's wrong with me? Why can't I just get over it? Why can't I just move on? Brick seems to have. I mean, I never see him looking happy but, why would he when he's around me? It's always painfully awkward now when we're together, that wouldn't make anyone seem happy. Boomer's always saying how well he's doing. Why aren't I? What is wrong with me?" Blossom questioned in despair.
Butch just hugged her closely to his side. "Look, don't sweat it. You were together a long time, it's hard. I get it. But I'm sure things'll get better at some point. And Boomer's bullshitting a little. Brick's a miserable bastard. Even when you were together."
"It's been 3 years Butch, and I don't feel any differently." She said, holding back a sob. "I still see them. In this room. Over there, where the sofa used to be." She said, pointing across the room.
When Blossom had moved out, Butch had eventually moved in, and made Brick re-arrange the room.
She had so many memories in this apartment. Maybe that was why she'd tried to erase them by making memories with his brother. Not that it had worked.
Just then Brick walked into the apartment. He looked over at the scene on the sofa. Butch with his arm around a mournful looking Blossom. A familiar, uneasy feeling swept over him at seeing them together, sitting so close so comfortably. Blossom slowly shrugged Butch's arm from around her.
"Err, what's up?" Brick asked, placing his work bag down by the door. Blossom looked up at him, and felt her heart pounding harder in her chest. When would seeing him not do that to her? He must have just got home from work, he was still in his smart office wear. She blinked, and a few telltale tears fell down her face upon his arrival; she hastily wiped them away.
"Just some jerk that she was seeing bothering her." Butch said, passing her another tissue.
Brick felt his chest tighten at the thought of some guy hounding her. Was it that, or the fact she had gone to Butch for reassurance? "And you came to Butch to talk about that?" He asked, confused.
"Yeah - that okay with you?" Butch replied quickly, an aggressive edge to his voice.
Brick raised his hands in defence. "None of my business, clearly." He said, his own voice getting a little pissy. "Just didn't realise you two were so close."
There was a jealous edge to his voice that both Blossom and Butch couldn't help but pick up on. It made the pink puff feel nauseous.
Blossom sniffed and got to her feet. "I just needed to talk to someone, that's all. And I didn't want to go to my sisters because they've been pushing me to keep seeing this guy so.. They probably wouldn't have been very understanding.. I'm okay, I'll go home now. Thanks Butch. See you later." She said briskly grabbing her purse and leaving the apartment, making sure not to look Brick in the eye as she passed him.
r&r (: