Rory is released from the hospital in the early hours of Friday. We all went home when we made sure Rory was completely okay. Only Braden stayed with her, even though he was still very much tired from his trip to Norway that he had to cut short.

He wasn't complaining, though.

They came to my flat, I heard, but I haven't seen them. I was too tired in the afternoon so I just took a nap when I came back from work. I also haven't talked to Aaron much today and I didn't want to think about it too much because then it would start to bother me.

On Saturday, Rory phones me to come by Braden's apartment. No, she demanded I come, otherwise she's going to do something crazy.

And who am I to deny her? I had to get out of my pyjama first, though. Aaron didn't call or text me. I sent him a message before, asking what he's doing today because I wanted to hang out, but he didn't answer.

I arrive in front of Braden's flat complex and when I come to the elevator, I meet Lily, arguing with a man.

"No, my friend lives up there and she called me to visit. What kind of fuckery is this?"

I step to them, a smile on my face. "Josh, hi, she's with me. Let us up," I tell the bodyguard that's only doing his job.

Lily looks at me and then smiles. "Brooke! So nice to see you. Did Rory call you too?"

"Yeah. She said she'll go crazy if I don't come by. My brother left for Norway again and left her all alone." I sigh. Although I can understand that Braden has a very important business to do. He had to drop everything and fly back home when Rory was injured so he has to repair the damage that's been done.

Lily snickers. "Men."

I scoff. "Tell me about it."

We go up and step out into the luxury of Braden's apartment. I'm used to the sight that greets me. Lily, however, is completely taken aback. She looks around, whistling. "I thought the outside of the building is going to throw me on the butt, but nothing could prepare me for this," she says admiringly.

Rory chuckles, coming to greet us. "It really is something," she says.

Lily goes in further and the moment she sees the view from the living room windows, she lets out a loud gasp, her step faltering. "Oh, dear God," she breathes, clutching her chest with her hand. She goes to stand by the windows, looking at the city down below.

"I know, right?" I decide to speak. "I want to take a picture, frame it and hang it on the wall just right when you step through the door so everyone could see it."

Rory smiles at the both of us. "I wouldn't mind seeing this view for the rest of my life," Rory says wistfully.

Lily looks at her over her shoulder and I give Rory a knowing look. "Well, judging by how things are going, your wish might come true ..." I trail off.

Rory looks down and blushes violently.

I grunt. "Oh, don't be modest!" I gush. "Did he say it?"

Rory blushes even harder.

"Say what?" Lily questions, not following us.

"That he loves her," I say.

Lily's eyes widen. "The last time we spoke you told me you two weren't even dating!" she accuses. "What changed?"

Rory sighs. "Oh, Lils ..." She pats the space on the couch beside her. "Sit down. I have a lot of things to tell you that you missed out."

And so Rory tells her everything happening between my brother and her. I add a few things here and there, otherwise I just make faces along the story, thinking about what an idiot my brother can actually be.

In the middle of the story, I go to search for drinks for everyone - non-alcoholic, of course, although I think every one of us would like a glass of wine.

"Don't start crying," Rory says horrifically when Lily starts frantically blinking when the painful story of when Rory decided to admit Braden she loves him hasn't even started yet.

Lily shakes her head, laughing. "You can't just say that to a pregnant woman!"

Rory snorts. "Don't I know it ..." she says sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Lily gets serious and cocks her head to the side. Rory falls silent to and I both watch them, the palpable tension settling in the room. "You do, don't you?" Lily asks absently, her eyes falling down to Rory's stomach, her lips curling up in a smile.

"Uh ..." Rory blushes again, biting her lip. Her eyes flicker to me, staring at both of them with raised eyebrows. "I ... I'm pregnant," Rory tells Lily.

Lily breaks out into a full grin now. "I made that much out. Welcome to the club, sister!" She hugs her. "How did Braden react to the news?" Lily asks her all excited.

A deep sigh, filled with pain leaves Rory's mouth and Lily's expression falls. "My pregnancy was the reason we fought. And the cause that he left me. Along with me admitting that I love him."

"Uh-oh," Lily hums, not exactly happy with this.

Rory tells her everything that went down. It's weird for me to hear about this since he's my brother. But I wouldn't hesitate to slap him for this one. He acted like an asshole and he doesn't have any excuse for it. He should be happy that Rory decided to take him back.

And then Rory tells us how he begged her to take him back and how he apologised and his explanation of just being afraid. I grunt out a, "What a bullshit excuse."

"He was having a nightmare last night," Rory tells us, both of us eagerly listening. I haven't heard this story, either, so I sit quietly, giving Rory my full attention. "I was in the kitchen, drinking a glass of water when I heard him shout out my name and when I came to the bedroom he was ... I've never seen him like that before," she tells us.

"He seemed lost, he was shaking in fear and he was filled with negative energy. He said he thought I left him because I wasn't there when he woke up. He also said a lot of sweet things to me, along with ..." Rory holds her breath, both Lily and I leaning closer to her now, "that he loves me," Rory finishes.

I stand up, throwing my arms up. "Allelujah! Alle-fucking-lujah! Praise the Lord!" I shout dramatically, making Rory chuckle.

Lily has tears in her eyes again. "My God," she says, clutching her chest.

I suddenly stop showing my happiness and look at them warily, eyeing them carefully. "I swear if you two both start crying now, I'm going to have to leave."

Rory laughs at me. "Oh, no, please don't stop with jumping around with happiness for our sake," she tells me sarcastically.

I shove my tongue out at her. "You're so damn funny, Rory, really. I can clearly see what Braden sees in you," I mock her dryly, my eyes shining in amusement.

Rory crosses her arms over her chest and jokingly glares at me. "Look at you, acting so mature. Who would've thought you're 27 years old? I'd give you 6, tops."

Funny, my brother would give me 5. Rory grins at me when my mouth falls open. We stare at each other for long seconds before we both burst out laughing, clutching our chests.

When we get serious, Rory gives us a pointed look. "I didn't call you two here to talk about myself -"

"Please," I huff. "Like you don't love talking about yourself."

Rory pointedly looks at me, understanding my joke. There are not hard feelings between us. She understands what I mean and I understand what she means.

"But I want to hear from both of you, too."

I clamp my mouth shut at that.

"And don't think you're getting away with it, because you're telling me everything that's going on with you and Aaron."

◊

I shared the story with Rory, telling her how things are standing between Aaron and me. I told her the truth about our relationship. Truthfully, yes, I was holding back, too, but I still liked him. It's not as deep as it was with Damien, which is actually pretty funny and also frustrating because I've been with Aaron longer than I've been with Damien.

It also puts me off that I haven't heard anything from him. He dropped me in front of the store when we came back from the hospital so I picked my car up. I haven't heard from him since then and it's weird because he always texts so fast.

It concerns me but it also ... puts me off. Because if he's doing this to play any games with me and he's intentionally ignoring me, then it's not cool. It's really not cool. Seriously, why do guys do that? Why do people do that? It doesn't make you attractive. Answering the text - now that's the kink.

I don't text him anymore or send him multiple texts, asking where he is. I don't even sit by the phone and wait for him to give me some attention. I've learned my mistake in the past. I'm not going to be chasing him, not this time around.

I like him but not enough to put myself down and make my self-worth low for him. No guy is worth that.

When I arrive at home at late hours, I find Aaron sitting on the stairs with a bottle in his hands. A bottle that's almost empty. And judging by the strong smell, it must be something strong in there. He's definitely not drinking to keep himself hydrated.

My step falters a bit when I see him, all tired with rumpled clothes, his hair dishevelled. But I go past him with a scowl on my face and a rapid heart pace. I can't be completely indifferent with him. We've been sleeping together for a long time now, having this weird kind of friendship, or Aaron's definiton of a relationship.

And I accepted it. I'm 27 years old and I can't find myself a guy that's going to love me. Maybe that's just my fate.

Let's go buy 20 cats now and live happily ever after! Although cats are cute and I wouldn't mind owning at least one - single or in a relationship.

"Brooke," Aaron says hoarsely.

I close my eyes, shaking my head to myself. I'm dealing with the keys. The damn thing just won't unlock the door! "Do you need any help with that?" Aaron slurs.

Something in me snaps. "In all honesty, Aaron, why are you here? And also drunk out of your mind?" I want to know, exasperated now. I'm getting really tired of this.

It can get pretty exhausting when you don't know where you stand in someone's life and how much you mean to them. You don't know when it's going to come a day that they'll wake up and decide to toss you away like a dirt.

"Can't I see my girl?" Aaron asks with a cheeky grin. His eyes are read, half closed. He must've drunk a lot.

"Glad to know you still acknowledge my existence. Since you've been ignoring my text and all that. And don't even try to tell me you were busy." I give the bottle in his hands a dirty look. Maybe I need a swig of that, too. Or two.

Aaron looks down at the bottle and smiles at it. "This can't keep me warm like you do," he thinks out loud.

I roll my eyes and finally manage to unlock the damn door. "Go home and get sober. You can come find me then," I tell him.

Aaron stands up after a few tries, his legs unsteady. "I don't think I'll be able to drive ..."

I sigh and lean my head against the door. "Get in," I tell him before I can change my mind. This is honestly some strong deja-vu I'm experiencing.

Aaron stumbles into my flat with a big grin displayed on his face. I take the bottle out of his hands when he passes me. Aaron pouts a bit, but continues walking without any further comments. He goes straight to my room, throwing himself on the bed with his face down.

I sigh to myself, eyeing the bottle. I really have the urge to drink it to the bottom, but I change my mind then. I'm not doing that because of that man.

I empty the bottle into the sink and then throw it away.

I check up on Aaron then to see he's already asleep, spread over my whole bed. I sigh and go to the bathroom to take a shower. I decide to sleep on the couch tonight. I don't have any space on the bed anyway. I undress Aaron and cover him up and then soundlessly leave the room.

I turn on the TV in the living room and watch it until I'm too tired to even keep my eyes open.

When I wake up in the morning, Aaron is already gone. 

I sense some déjà-vu going on here ... Also, just a little bit longer, sweeties. All I'm going to say is you won't expect it coming.