It had been almost three months since the night she had gone to Kevin's.  She still thought about it everyday, even though she hadn't seen him since.    She sat in her bed, knees curled to her chest, the only light coming from the flicker of candles that were on her bed table,  and the slow haunting music of Sarah Mclachlan sending tears running down her cheeks.
 
 

Her body shuddered with tears, every word in the song ringing true to her.  Brooke still clutched the letter she had received from Kevin almost a month after he left, a letter that made her cry and ache for him every time she read it.  The paper was worn and wrinkled, as if it had been folded and unfolded a thousand times, and it had been.  Brooke laid down on the bed and curled into a ball, pulling the old worn Kentucky Wildcat T-shirt she was wearing over her bare knees.  She brushed her straight brown hair from her face, pieces of it sticking to the moisture on her cheeks.  She stared at the one page letter with puffy blood shot eyes, wanting to sleep from the exhaustion of crying all evening, but not wanting to dream about Kevin, like she never seemed to stop doing.
 
 

Tears soaked the pillow her head lay on, a blank expressionless stare reading the letter over and over again, the same song repeating over and over again, and all the emotions she was feeling washing over her like a throng of waves washing onto the beach.  She had never responded to Kevin's letter, although she had tried.  A book's worth of paper had been wasted on the attempts she had made since the morning his letter arrived.  David had spent the night and had gone downstairs to get her mail in the morning.  He returned with the usual junk mail and bills, but amongst them was an envelope, plain and white, no return address and addressed to Brooklyn Kennedy.  He handed it to her and watched as she curiously ripped ut open, pulling out the one page that was inside and unfolding it.    From the first line of the letter she knew it was from Kevin, and she bit her lip trying to suppress the tears.  In the month since she had seen Kevin she had almost managed to fool herself into thinking she had forgotten about him, almost.  The letter she held in her hand reminded her of the yearning she had to be with him, and as she read deeper and deeper  into the letter it was harder to keep her tears at bay, the last line unleashing them as she sat down on a nearby chair and sobbed.

    "What's wrong Brooke?  Who's the letter from?" a concerned David asked, moving to her side for comfort.  Brooke quickly hid the letters' contents and wiped the tears from her cheek.

    "It's from Annie." She quickly covered, standing up and attempting to compose herself, tucking the letter into her back pocket.

    "Is she okay?  Did something happen to her?" David had never met Annie, but his voice was always so concerned about her, he knew Brooke worried about her, so he in turn did too.

    "No, it's okay, It's just something between us.  Nothing to worry about."  She said, "I'll be right out, I have to use the washroom."  Brooke went in the bathroom, turning on the faucet and sitting down on the closed toilet seat after pulling the letter from her pocket again.  She read it again word for word, a torrent of tears falling from her eyes.  A small cry escaping her lips as she once again read the last line, the tears dropping onto the paper, a flood of regret overtaking her.

I knew I loved you the moment I laid eyes upon you Brooklyn, you will always make the stars shine brighter for me, ALWAYS.
                                                     Kevin
 
 
 

        David knew that letter was more than just the average letter from Annie, he could see it all over her face.  When she read Annie's letters her face had a happy quality to them, but this one simply basked her in sadness, her eyes reflecting hurt and nothing about this seemed like it was from a beloved friend.  He could hear her crying in the bathroom, thinly disguised by the running water, and as much as he wanted to hold and comfort her, she obviously didn't want it.  David sat down on the couch, closing his brown eyes, and leaning back wondering what was up with Brooke.

    "Why has she been so different lately?  What is going on with her?"  He whispered to himself as Brooke came out of the bathroom, trying to disguise the fact she had been crying, her attempts came up short.
 

        Brooke slowly folded the letter up and placed it deep in the back of a dresser drawer, a part of her dying every time she read it.  She returned to her bed, shutting off the music and blowing out the candles; sleep coming easily in her cried out exhaustion, but not a moment of it peaceful.
 

    "Brooke, babe, wake up."  Brooke heard in her dreams, stirring her awake, her dreams still mixing with reality.

    "Ke....." Brooke stopped the word that was coming out of her mouth as she realized what it was, and as she noticed she was sitting face to face with David.

    "Good morning."  He said, setting his hand on top of hers.  He smiled at her with the sweet half smile she adored so much, even the dimple that appeared next to his mouth not making her forget what ws constantly swirling in her mind.

    "Hey." she said rather coldly, but not on purpose, still he picked up on it and flinched.  Things between them had been so strained lately and as much as she tried she couldn't stop it.  She knew David felt the tension, and he had been trying harder to get close to her, but hadn't been that successful.

    "Okay Brooke, what's up with you lately?  I mean I've tired to ignore it, I've tried to get past it but none of it is working.  So just tell me what it is?"  David yelled angrily.  Brooke sat up, sliding over on the bed so she was kneeling in front of David, feeling horrible that she was ruining their relationship.

    "Nothing David, I'm sorry.  I know I've been weird lately, I just can't help it.  It's nothing to do with you, but it's gonna stop, okay!  I promise."  Brooke smiled at David, holding his hand in hers.  She hoped she could keep her promise and hugged David close, she could feel him breath a sigh of relief, and she wished she could breath one of her own.