K Darblyne - Unbroken Season 1

“I know, I was just hoping to hear something more at least.”

“Hey, I’ll meet you back at the table if not in here,” Crystal left the front of the line and headed for the open door on the right side of Brooke.

“You got it, Crys,” Sam replied, happy to see the stall two doors left of Crystal’s was now becoming vacant. “I’m right behind you.”

Brooke stood frozen in place as she heard the two familiar voices take up residence in the stalls on either side of hers. She hung her head with guilt and banged it repetitively against the door of her stall. Why me?

Not knowing whether to bolt and run, or wait it out, Brooke was jolted to her senses by the pounding on her door.

“Hey, pregnant lady, you all right in there?” The washroom attendant sounded concerned.

“Fi…” coughing to change her voice to a higher pitch, “Just fine, thanks for asking, I’ll be out in a minute.” She turned around and flushed the commode, then opened the door stepping out into the room. The tall brunette made her way to the sinks on the wall opposite the stalls.

Brooke glanced into the mirror, looking back at the two stalls located on either side of hers. Damn, one of the doors is open. Panic set in as she considered that it might be Sam’s. Okay, hurry up and make like you’re washing your hands.

She bent over to hide her tall form from view. Reaching for the space under the faucet, she was startled to find another pair of hands already there. “Oh, sorry.” She looked to her right to see Crystal standing next to her. Oh, shit.

“That’s okay, I’m just about done. See, all yours now. Help yourself.” She grabbed a towel and called out to her cousin. “Sam, I’ll see you at the table.”

“Okay, I’ll be out in a second.”

The blue–eyed woman looked down to her soap-covered hands and quickly shoved them under the faucet, rubbing them briskly to help the stream of water wash the suds away. She pulled a towel from the dispenser and rubbed it across her palms, then stepped over to the trashcan to discard it. Just then Sam pulled open the door to her stall and stepped out.

“Hey, Brooke. Funny seeing you here.”

“Huh? Ah… yeah, isn’t it.” She stepped back into the room, trying to conceal her slightly wet hands. Not knowing what else to do with them, she shoved them into the front pockets of her jeans.

“So, I guess you’ve been busy this week?” Sam asked, nervously, as she glanced at Brooke’s reflection in the mirror.

“Yeah, I have actually. Ah, Sam?”

“Yeah, Brooke?” Sam turned from the sink and dried her hands off.

“We could still have that talk Saturday night if you’d like. I mean, if you don’t already have something planned.” Brooke shuffled her feet and then kicked at the floor, waiting to hear the young woman’s answer.

Feeling her confidence return, Sam moved over closer to Brooke and turned to make sure they were alone. Satisfied that they were, she ran her hand down the side of the taller woman’s cheek and smiled. “I’d love that.”

Brooke grinned from ear to ear. “Really?”

“Really.”

Okay, dumb ass, you got another shot, don’t blow it. The taller woman leaned into the blonde, kissing her lightly on the lips. “Saturday night then,” Brooke whispered before she turned and walked out into the restaurant.

Sam stood still for a moment, not believing what had just happened before she followed Brooke out.

The washroom attendant slowly opened the door, more than the crack that it was already. Exiting the supply closet, she shook her head not wanting to believe what she had just witnessed. “Poor pregnant woman, kissing that other girl like that. Her hormones have got to be all screwed up.” The woman shook her head. “Damn glad that all mine were girls. She’s got to be having a boy.”

“…You say you’re lonely, well I’ve been lonely too…”

R-R-Ringggggg!

Blue eyes looked up from the book that she was reading and swiftly riveted to the source of the noise coming from across the room. In a split second, the tall woman found herself holding her breath. A quick glance at her watch told Brooke that it was eight on the nose when the phone rang. With that realization, she knew who was calling or at least who it should be. Sam, but I thought…

R-R-Ringggggg!

There it went again, the shrill tone piercing the air like some cry in the night beckoning you to answer it. Brooke took in a breath finally and tried to swallow, but her mouth was so dry that the only thing she could think of was that damn camel, what’s his name, from the cigarette commercials plodding along in the Sahara Desert. Good God. And I’m supposed to talk to her?

R-R-Ringggggg!

The dark-haired woman closed her eyes and tried to calm her mind. She’d need a minute to settle her racing heart and catch her breath. Gosh, I never got this way before a gig. Slowly she rose out of the chair and found herself standing next to the obnoxiously noisy device.

R-R-Ringggggg!

She couldn’t believe how nervous she felt as she reached out an unsteady hand to answer the phone. Brooke stared down at the industrial-gray looking piece of everyday necessity, loathing the way it was making her feel. Damn it anyhow. She’s just a person. She’s only C.C.’s roommie. She’s….

R-R-Ringggggg!

Half-startled, the woman jumped at the noise, muttering to herself, “Oh, this is insane.” Brooke rolled her eyes and gulped one final time before she clutched the cordless phone up into her powerful hand, raising it to her ear.

“Hel…Hello,” she croaked out nervously.

R-R-Ringggggg!

She pulled the phone away, very much annoyed and nearly deaf from the loud ringing directly in her ear. Quickly focusing her attention to the buttons on it, Brooke angrily push the one marked ‘Phone’ with her finger, then switched hands as she raised it to her good ear.

“Brooke Gordon, Brownstone Records…” she got out in her best C.E.O. voice before she realized that she wasn’t at work. “Ah… I mean, Hello, Brooke speaking, may I help you?” Shit. That sounded like you don’t even know where you are. Now, pay attention and try to not look like an idiot, she mentally chastised herself as she waited to hear the voice on the other end.

The sound of soft laughter floated on the air as a smile graced the young woman’s face. “Hello, Brooke. It’s me, Sam.”

There was silence for a moment as Brooke stood in awe, letting the lilting voice sink in. “Ah… Hi, Sam,” she finally spoke. “I thought… I thought I was going to be the one calling you.”

Sam shifted her cell phone from one hand to the other before speaking as she settled into the fluffy comforter on her bed. “Well, that would’ve been alright too, but I never gave you my number.”

“Oh,” Brooke ran her free hand through her long, dark hair and sighed. Damn it, Brooke. You’re so out of practice with this sort of thing. You forgot to get her number. “Well, I…” her mind searched for an alternative. “Well, you did say chat room. I was going to try to get you online.”

“And if that didn’t work?” The blonde teased, wondering just how far the older woman would have gone to contact her.

“I…I would have called C.C.’s cell phone number.” Brooke nodded, proud of herself as she walked over to the steps leading to the second floor. In her mind she could hear the familiar sound of ‘Good answer, good answer’ that was indelibly written there from many years of watching the TV show, ‘Hollywood Squares’ during her childhood.

“Well, that might have gotten you C.C. but it wouldn’t have gotten you me,” Sam paused for effect, hearing dead silence on the other end. “She went out earlier on a date and I know she won’t be paying any mind to that stupid melody she has set for a ringer.”

“Yeah,” Brooke sighed. “I don’t think that a rousing rendition of ‘Ode to Joy’ would have her breaking any lip locks.”

Sam smiled as she thought about her roommate’s intensity of concentration when boys were in her close proximity. “You got that one right.”

There was laughter on both ends now as Brooke began feeling more comfortable with the younger woman, letting C.C. be their common ground. “So tell me about you, Sam. Where are you from and why haven’t I met you before?” The older woman asked out of the blue, surprising even herself.

The heat of a blush rushing up Sam’s neck made her drop back down onto her pillow, her free hand covering her eyes. Gosh, where to start? The blonde quickly gathered her thoughts and answered, “I’m born and raised a Virginian.”

“Well, that’s good, I mean…you didn’t sound like you had an accent or anything,” Brooke teased her. “So where have you been hiding at all this time?”

“Growing up, mostly with my parent’s and sister. That is until the last couple of years,” Sam’s voice grew distant on the last few words.

“So what’s so different about the last few years, besides your going to school?”

“I…ah…I’ve been living with my aunt and her family,” she slowly said, then perked up with the start of her next sentence. “But this year, I’m on my own here with your sister at the dorm.”

“So, you commuted then?”

“Yeah, I’d either ride the bus or I’d be bumming a ride with my Aunt Sandy or my cousin Crystal on their way into the hospital when our schedules would work out,” Sam mused. “It made for some pretty hectic years. That’s why I decided to live on campus this last year. I didn’t want to miss out on having a life this last time around. With all the studying, I figured that the time I spent on the bus could be put to better use.”