Brooke lay on the floor of Mark's bathroom, the cold tiles feeling good on her face, and the urge to puke almost gone.  Her eyes were shut and her body was pulled into the fetal position, the soaking wet clothes still on her body.  A hand was stroking her head,  and she opened her eyes to see who it was.

    "What the hell are you doing here?" She snapped at David who was knelt at her side.

    "Making sure my fiancee is okay." He said with a bitter tone.  Brooke slid back from him, sitting up on the floor and wiping her mouth off with the back of her hand.  She glared at David with hatred in her eyes, still appalled at what he had said to her.

    "I'm none of your concern David, you piece of shit."  She carefully stood up, leaning against the sink and looking at herself in the mirror. Jesus I look like a crack whore, she thought, splashing some water on her face and wiping off the streaks of mascara that had run down her face.

    "Look, I'm sorry for what I said Brooklyn..."

    "Don't call me Brooklyn, I hate when you do that." She interrupted.

    "I'm sorry okay, how much can I apologize?  Besides I don't hear you saying sorry for what you said." She turned back around slowly,

    "Well I'm not sorry for what I said David.  Dammit I can't believe you called me a slut in a room full of people."  She said shaking her head.

    "I was pissed off, you were having fun, I wasn't.  I lashed out, sorry."

    "You're just sorry I hurt your poor little ego in front of all your friends." She spit out, sitting down on the closed toilet seat and looking up at David with such hurt in her eyes.

    "God here I am trying to apologize and you're being a bitch."

    "Oh so I'm a slut and a bitch.  David, get the fuck out and leave me alone."  She said, " Don't forget your coat."  Brooke gestured to the jacket that sit on the floor.

    "It's not mine." David said, storming out of the room and slamming the door behind him.  Brooke reached down to pick up the coat.  She vaguely remembered being outside, and knew someone had helped her in, but for the life of her couldn't remember who it was.   She sat in the bathroom for a few minutes longer, pondering the coat and what had happened that night, wishing she hadn't drank so much so she could remember more.  She left the bathroom, clutching the coat  and precariously made her way down stairs.  The few people that were left at the house were staring at her, obviously witnesses to the scene she had given earlier.   She glanced out the front door, noticing David's Jeep was gone.

    "Bastard left without me."  She said out loud, not really surprised that he had, and then went to find someone to give her a ride.  No one left at the party was in any condition to drive, but she found Crawford passed out on the couch.  She shook him gently to wake him, a small moan escaping his lips.

    "Crawford, wake up....... Mark!"  She yelled, Crawford shaking his head and looking over at her.

    "Hey Baby!  Where the hell have you been?"

    "Never mind, do you have any money on you?  I'm calling a cab."  He looked at her with drunken haziness, a smile coming over his face.

    "I'll drive you."  He said, attempting to get up.  She pushed him back down.

    "Yeah, I'd prefer NOT to die."  He laughed, and searched for his wallet, pulling out a twenty and handing it to her.

    "I'm deducting that from the bet!"  He said, laying back on the couch.

    "Thanks Crawford.  Hey is this your coat?"  He shook his head, the snoring started as soon as she stood up.  Brooke found a phone and within fifteen minutes was in a cab on her way home.  She stumbled up the stairs to her apartment, locking the door behind her and throwing the coat that had been given to her on the couch with her own.  Brooke changed out of her clothes and crawled into bed, passing out almost immediately.
 
 
 
 
 

        Brooke awoke in the morning with a headache, not that she was surprised, but she was thankful she wasn't feeling sick.  She took some extra strength tylenol and got into the shower, washing off the dirty feeling she had from a night of drinking.  The hot water felt wonderful, and she didn't want to get out, but finally did.  She threw on a pair of tear away pants and a sweatshirt, curling up on her couch and flicking on the television.  She lay there enthralled in an episode of Days of Our Lives and even more thankful she was on vacation until after the new year, her head still aching.  The shrill ring of the phone was like knives to her ears and she reached over the side of the couch picking up the receiver.

    "Hello."  She grumbled.

    "Do you forgive me yet?"  an apologetic David asked.

    "I don't know David."  She muttered.  "I don't want to talk about this right now I feel like shit."  Brooke quickly said good bye and hung up the phone, knowing she would forgive David because she always did when he acted like an ass to her.  She suddenly remembered she hadn't mailed Annie's Christmas gift to her, and went to retrieve it from her room to wrap.  She sat on the carpeted floor of her living room,  prettily arranging the ribbon on the square box she had just finished wrapping and packing it all into a bigger box, stuffing it with newspaper.    She got up to find the roll of packing tape she had lying around somewhere when her doorbell rang.

    "I am the most sorry person in the world Brooke.  Please forgive me."  David said as he handed her a candy cane, her christmas weakness.

    "Come in. I forgive you I guess." She hesitantly said, knowing it was useless to stress about it anyway.  He smiled happily and gave her a hug, a long hug that made Brooke kind of uncomfortable.  She was still mad at him, and it bothered her that she did forgive him so easily, but something else was bothering her and she didn't know what it was.

        She and David sat in the living room, watching day time TV and not saying very much, both of them still hung over.   Brooke ran through her mind a thousand times some of the things she wanted to say to David but bit her tongue.  It was almost supper time when David finally decided to go, he had work to do.  Brooke nodded, telling him she'd call later.  He kissed her goodbye and went to the door as Brooke went to the kitchen in hunt of something to eat.

    See ya later babe."  He said, as he opened the door.

    "Hey man, what are you doing here?"  Brooke heard David say, her curiosity piqued, she walked out from the kitchen to see who it was.  Kevin stood in her doorway,

    "I came to get my Jacket, Brooke has it." she heard him say, in his unmistakable deep voice, with just a hint of a Kentucky accent.   A trickle of memory came back to her.  She suddenly remembered looking up and seeing Kevin helping her into the house, but that's as far as her memory would take her.

    "Really?"  He questioned rather uncaringly.  "Well anyway, talk to her about it, I was just leaving.  See ya."  David brushed past Kevin and left, closing the door behind him and not realizing that maybe he shouldn't have left.

Brooke stood in front of Kevin, she was tense around him, more than she usually was, all her lost memories from the previous night  making her nervous.  She finally just grabbed Kevin's coat from the chair that was next to her.

    "Here.  Thanks."  She said extending her arm to hand it to him.   He took a step forward, not taking the coat from her hands, but simply staring into her blue eyes.

    "Thanks for what?"  He questioned, Brooke lowering her arm when he didn't take the jacket.

    "For the coat.  All I remember after blowing up at David was being in the snow and you helping me up.  So thanks."  She said in an embarrassed tone, averting her eyes from his.

    "That's all you remember?"

    "Yes.  Why?"  He looked dejected, What had she said, what had she done?  Brooke was at a loss, nothing was coming back to her.

    "Never mind."  He said, reaching out to finally take his coat.  His hand brushed hers lightly and he stopped, running his fingers over her hand again, looking into her sad eyes with his own.    He let the jacket fall to the floor and held onto her hand, reaching out and grabbing the other one too.   His green eyes were full of tears, and just the sight of the outpouring of emotion he was giving sent tears running down her cheek.

    "What do you want me to do Kevin?" She cried, his hands moving to her cheeks, cupping her face and rubbing the tears away from the apples of her cheeks.   He leaned down and rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes as she did.  Brooke's body shook lightly with her tears,

    "Every moment away from you hurts Brooke.  Why can't we just be together?"  He asked almost rhetorically.  She could feel his warm breath on her face and it was tearing her up inside.

    "It hurts when we're near each other too.  You know why we can't be together, It's wrong."  Kevin pulled back from her, the same sadness in his eyes, as he reached down and picked up his coat off the floor, backing  away from her.   He reached behind his back, never taking his eyes from hers, and opened the door.

    "Nothing that feels this way can be wrong Brooke.  Remember I meant every word I said last night!"   He said as he left the apartment, shutting the door and walking away slowly.  Brooke sat down on the floor and cried, wanting to run after him and ask him what he said, but knowing it was something she should probably have forgotten anyway, it just complicated everything.  She buried her head in her hands, this whole situation was tearing her heart apart and this indescribable feeling that she was running out of time with Kevin was creeping up on her, she just didn't know if she wanted that time to lapse or not.
 

Annie was frantically running around her room, trying to pack everything up to go home.

    “Why is it the last week there is so much damn stuff to do?  There is never enough time to do anything,” she squawked at Taylor.

Taylor just rolled her eyes and kept packing her clothes, it’s not like Christmas vacation just snuck up on anyone, she thought as she folded her shirts and placed them in her suitcase.  Annie was throwing clothes in any open bag she possibly could.

    “Crap, Tay, remind me before I leave I need to drop Nick’s gift off at his room, if he hasn’t left yet,” Annie said a little annoyed.  She didn’t really want to go home and spend time with her family. Ever since she had broken up with Paul her mom had began giving her the cold shoulder.“He was such a nice young man Annabelle, you two could have made something of your lives together,” her mother always told her.

Annie had never told anyone about Paul beating her up that day, or any of the days after that; no one except Brooke.

    “Damn, I nearly forgot to mail Brooke’s package off,” Annie said.  “Well, the campus post office is still open and close to Nick’s, so I’ll do it then.”  She began to dash around her room even more, time was definitely running out.

    “Well,” said a singsong voice, “I’m ready.  Have a great Christmas and I’ll see ya in the year 2000,” said Taylor.  She was really ready to be done with Annie, for a while anyway.

    “Later,” was all Annie could muster out.   Taylor took all of her stuff and left the room;  Annie was still flustered, and glanced at her watch,

    “Shit, I gotta get going and drop this package off at Nick’s place.”  Annie grabbed all of belongings and put them in her car.  She drove to Nick’s dormitory.  She looked at the package sitting next to her in the car seat.  Annie ran her hands over the magazine ad wrapping paper.  She hated real wrapping paper, and she thought Nick would get a kick out of the suntan lotion ad she had wrapped his package in.  She smiled and then got out of the car, grabbing the package.  She walked into the hall and found Nick’s room number.  She knocked on his door, hoping Nick would be there.  The door opened and Nick’s roommate, Ryan answered.

    “Hey, Annie! What’s up? Nick’s not here,” he said.

    “OH, it’s cool Ryan, he hasn’t left for break has he?” Annie asked, hopeful he hadn’t left.

    “No, he just went to get something to eat, he’ll be back in a few.  Wanna come inside?” Ryan asked.  Annie’s heart began to race and she started to break out into a sweat,

    “Ummm, no Ryan, that’s cool.  Could you just give this to Nick?” she stuttered out.

    “Yeah, no problem girl!” Annie gave the package to Ryan,

    “Merry Christmas” she said and left, darting quickly to the post office.
 

    “Shit, I have to write a letter to Brookey to go in the package.  Do I have enough time?” she wondered aloud. Annie was standing in the campus post office, about 12 people away from the desk.  She’d be there a while, that was for sure.  Annie looked around, and decided she did have enough time to write a little something to Brooke.  She had some paper in her backpack she’d been carrying and dug out a pen.  She rested her stuff on the desk she was standing by and began to write,
 

Dear Brookey,
Hey babe! Merry Christmas!  Things are chaotic right now, in fact I’m supposed to be leaving  right now to head back to the hell that is home.  Sometimes I wonder what would be easier, living here with Taylor or going home to Momma so I can hear her bitch at me about Paul and all my other mistakes.  So, how’s it going with you?  You still having problems with the whole Kevin/David issue?  Brookey, really…maybe I should see a picture of this stud of a horseman if he is like invading your thoughts on a daily basis!  David was a pretty studly guy, so you know…just gotta emember what this Kevin guy looks like.  Really Brookey, I hope everything is okay with you.  Things seems to be alright with Nick and myself.  We are getting along fairly well, haven’t screamed bloody murder with him again, yet.  I hope you two get to meet, he’s really sweet and funny.  I think you’d like him.  Well, look at the time, I’d better go.  They’re gonna throw me outta here if I don’t leave on good terms!  Heehee!
Take care Brookey.  Have a great Christmas.  I wish I was with you.  I love you.

           Anns
 

        She finished the letter and noticed it was her turn at the desk.  She plopped her package down in front of him.

    “Goin’ to Kentucky?” asked the man behind the counter.

    “Yep, sure is.  Priority mail, please,” said Annie happily.  The postman stamped her package and Annie paid her $6.50 postage for the package.

    “Merry Christmas,” bellowed the postman.  Annie smiled at him,

    “Merry Christmas to you too,” and Annie walked out of the post office. All of the sudden the realization that she was going home hit her; her  whole body sank and her feet drug.

    “Oh well, go and do it, get it over  with,” she said aloud.  She walked out of the building and got in her car and  pulled out into the street heading home.