Claimed For Christmas

Chapter 11-Goodbye

Brooklyn

“Brooklyn.” Someone whispered beside me. I rolled my head to the side before fluttering my eyes open.

It was a voice I recognized immediately.

“Jillian?” I mumbled, still trying to wake up.

Before my eyes could even focus, Jillian flung herself on top of me, crushing me into the bed.

“Ow,” I groaned, still sore from the accident.

“Whoops, sorry.” Jillian mumbled sheepishly before pulling back to look at me. “Don’t ever do that to me again though!” She rushed out.

“I can’t believe you drove all the way down here.”

“Of course I did. I told you I would if something happened. Now let me get a good look at you.” Her eyes scanned up and down my body, making me reach up and tuck my hair behind my ear nervously. “What happened? Tyler said he woke up and you were gone.” She asked, and I let out a scoff.

“I’m sure he did.” So he acted like I left for no reason.

“What do you mean?” She met my eyes in confusion.

“Tyler and I broke up.”

“You broke up? Why?!” Jillian blurted.

“Because he’s a jerk.” I whispered, feeling that hurt start to rise up. It wasn’t the kiss that caused the pain this time, it was what Tyler said about me having baggage that left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“Brooklyn, tell me.” Jillian urged softly before sitting on the side of the bed, and taking my hand.

“Everything was fine until I got to the house.” I started. “There was a huge party going on, and when I got inside, I found Tyler.” Ugh…I don’t even want to say this next part. “I walked in on him kissing someone else.”

“WHAT?!” Jillian yelled, before jumping to her feet. “That prick! I knew there was more to the story than he was letting on. What a f*****g scum bag!”

“He said it was some game they were playing. A lot of the other guys there were doing it. But that’s still cheating, right?” I asked, needing to get Jillian’s opinion on this. A small part of me wondered if maybe I was over reacting. This was my first relationship and I had no clue what the rules were…I just knew kissing someone else wasn’t right.

“Uh, yeah, that’s cheating. You guys were exclusive. He shouldn’t even be looking at another girl.”

I let out a deep breath. Her validating my feelings was a huge relief. Tyler trying to act like it was no big deal really threw me off.

“So he told you that I drove off for no reason?” I asked. Wondering what Tyler’s excuse was.

Jillian stiffened.

“What?” I asked, and that’s when a guilty look filled her face.

“Don’t be mad.” She started with, and my stomach immediately dropped. That doesn’t sound good. “I might’ve told him why you were coming here.” She mumbled.

Oh thank god, I thought she was going to tell me something worse.

“Yeah…Tyler mentioned it.” I mumbled, not sure how to feel about that exactly. I trust my friend, but why would she tell him that?

“It wasn’t what you think.” She rushed. “When he told me you just randomly left, I thought it might’ve been because you got cold feet and he pushed you to go through with it or something. So I told him I would cut his balls off if he had.” She muttered, and that’s when relief flooded through me. Tyler made it seem like Jillian was talking about me behind my back.

“Wow, I can’t believe that asshole.” She continued and I nodded my head in agreement. “Brooky, why didn’t you call me?” Jillian asked a few seconds later.

“After the accident, I realized my phone broke…and well…it’s Christmas…I didn’t want to ruin your day.” I confessed.

This was exactly what I didn’t want to happen. I didn’t want her to have to drop all of her plans and rush down here, because that’s the type of friend Jillian is. She’s a girl’s girl, and I’m so lucky to have someone like her in my life…but it’s also a lot to handle sometimes considering I’ve grown used to doing things on my own over the years.

“Honestly, you kind of saved me. Daddy was about to make his ‘big’ announcement, and I was looking for an excuse to bail.” She said before glancing around the room. “Wow, this hospital goes all out for the holidays.”

I nodded my head. “The staff is really nice too.”

Thoughts of Carter flashed through my mind, making heat creep up my neck.

“I’m sure you’re ready to get out of here though. I talked to the doctor on the way in and she said you can be discharged tonight if you want.”

“Oh. Okay.” For some reason, hearing that caused my stomach to drop. I looked towards the door, wondering if Carter was still here. He probably had plans for this evening with friends or family…maybe even a girlfriend. My heart sank.

What is wrong with me? Why am I even reacting this way? I barely know the guy…

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door, making my head whip to the side.

“Is it okay to come in?” Carter’s deep voice filled the room.

“Y-yeah, it’s okay.” I rushed, feeling my heart skip a beat. He was still here.

I sat up a little straighter, realizing Jillian was now staring at me. “Who’s that?” She mouthed, and before I could answer, the door came swinging open.

The second Carter walked into the room, Jillian’s mouth practically dropped to the floor. “God damn.” She blurted, making me shoot her a glare.

I hope he didn’t hear that.

My eyes darted to Carter, watching as he came striding through the room. I swear every time I see him he somehow gets even hotter. Seriously…what is wrong with me?!

“Hey,” Carter’s smooth voice wrapped around me as I watched his perfect lips tilt into the dreamest smile I’d ever seen.

“Hey.” Both Jillian and I said at the same time, snapping me out of this trance I seemed to be in.

Now that Jillian’s here, she’s probably going to charm the hell out of him.

Why did the thought of it make me feel sick though?

I looked away, feeling stupid for even being affected like this when I had no right to be feeling this way in the first place.

“How are you feeling?” Carter asked.

“Oh, she’s doing great. It seems like she’s been in good hands…good, strong, muscular hands.” Jillian began to ramble and I shot her another glare. What the hell is wrong with her? She never gets weird like this.

“What do you think, Brooklyn? Have you been in good hands?” Carter asked me, causing my eyes to widen. I looked up at him, meeting those gorgeous brown eyes as I felt my body start to warm.

“Y-yes.” I breathed, feeling that weird tension crackling between us. I had to be the only one feeling it, right?

Carter just stared at me, his gaze rooting me in place as the room filled with silence. It was almost like everything else was slipping away.

“But I’m sure she’s ready to go back home now. I mean, she can’t stay here forever, right Brooky?”

“Why can’t she?” Carter asked, snapping me back to reality. The look on his face was dead serious before he cracked a smile and let out a smooth laugh.

That made both Jillian and I laugh too.

“So, you’re ready to go?” Carter asked, the smile on his face still there, but the look in his eyes was more serious than before.

“Yeah. I have work on Monday, so I should probably get back tonight.” I looked down at my hands, feeling sad for some reason.

“What about your car?” Jillian asked, and I had completely forgotten about my car. Dammit…what am I going to do?

“I…I’ll have to get it towed back.”

Who knows how much that will cost…

“We’ll figure it out when you get back. You can always borrow my car in the meantime.” Jillian offered.

“I can’t do that.” Her car costs way too much. There’s no way I’m driving that and risking damaging it. Clearly I can’t be trusted after crashing into a ditch. The faith Jillian has in me is wild.

“Don’t worry about it.” Jillian waved me off when another knock came at the door.

“I’ve got a special delivery here.” A deep voice said, and in walked a blonde guy holding some type of cage.

“Can’t forget this little guy when you go.” He added, and that’s when I realized it was the Santa from before.

“What kind of hospital is this?!” Jillian whispered into my ear, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

“Thank you.” I watched as the blonde guy placed Chester’s cage down on the table next to me. Peeking inside, I saw the adorable hamster staring back at me as I couldn’t help but smile.

I can’t believe they’re really letting me keep him.

“Wait, that thing isn’t coming into the car with us, is it?” Jillian asked.

“It’s not a thing. His name is Chester…and yes, he’s coming with us.”

This was one thing I was willing to fight for…because not only was Chester adorable, but he was something that would remind me of today…well, of the good parts of today.

I glanced back up at Carter, realizing he was staring at me when Jillian began talking to the other guy.

Carter walked to the other side of the bed, and I turned to look at him.

“You never told me how you were feeling.” He said quietly, his hand reaching out as I watched his fingers brush my hair to the side. “How are you feeling Brooklyn?”

A shiver trembled through me. The intensity of his gaze caused butterflies to flood through my stomach. I swallowed hard, trying to find the right words to say.

“I feel good. I mean, good enough.” I replied, the tremble in my voice giving away the fact that Carter clearly had some type of effect on me. He seemed to catch it to by the way his lips tilted into a knowing smile.

“I wanted to say thank you,” I blurted. “For everything. Even with all of that other stuff, today really was the best Christmas I’ve ever had.” I confessed.

“Do you want to know a secret?” Carter asked, surprising me.

I nodded my head, watching as he bent down closer. The smell of him wrapped around me as this weird familiarity rose up inside of me. It was like the ocean breeze and leather.

“This was the best Christmas I’ve ever had too.” He whispered, his warm breath fanning against my ear. “But next year, I know for a fact that one will be even better.” He declared before taking a step back.

“See you later Brooklyn.” Carter said one last thing, making my brow furrow as he and his friend turned and left the room.

The urge to get up and run after him had my legs moving, but the moment I stood, a hand reached out and wrapped around my arm.

“Hey, where are you going?” Jillian asked, making me blink my eyes rapidly as I realized what I was just about to do.

“Nowhere.” I whispered, pushing back that insane idea of chasing after a guy I’ve barely even known for a day. “Sorry, I guess I’m just ready to get out of here.” I laughed softly, playing it off.

Even though I’ll probably never see Carter again…today really was the best Christmas I’ve ever had, and I have him to thank for it.

Thank you Carter...maybe one day we'll meet again, and I can repay you.