Couples Camp Ch. 17

"Hey baby, I was wondering what was taking you." Brooke happily declared.

"Yeah I bet you were." Brad said with a snarky tone.

"What's wrong babe." Brooke questioned.

"Hey why don't you have a seat Ten." Logan ordered.

"Fuck you Logan, It's Brad you asshole and don't tell me what to do."

"Whoa man relax, were all friends here buddy why don't you have a seat and let's talk about it." Nick chimed in, trying to settle things down.

"Oh sure, you'd say that, wouldn't you, you lucky fastard." Brad shot back slurring his words.

"Baby, relax, what's wrong?" Brooke pleaded.

"Hey man we just wanted to talk to you, I don't know what's got you all pissed off man but obviously you've been drinking." Nick voice was firmly trying to take control and settle the situation, before it got out of hand.

"Yeah so, what the hell do you care? You win so I drink what the hell else I got left. I wasted the last penny I have on this, so now I got nothing." Brad slurred slamming down the velvety gray box on the table.

Brad's head was throbbing as he tried to rub the glue holding his eyes together. The sun's rays seared their way through the room painfully cutting into him as the loud slamming from the bathroom reverberated off the walls landing painfully on his eardrums. He was confused the last thing he remembered stumbling out of the bar after way too many shots of whisky. Now he found him-self in Brooke's room laying in her bed with no clue of how he got there.

"You ok babe?" Brooke's words pinched.

"Uh, I'm not sure." Brad groaned.

"Here drink this it'll help."

Brooke handed Brad a small glass of what looked like seltzer water with a bubbling disk fizzing at the bottom, and turned and walked back to the bathroom. Brad took a sip of the carbonated concoction and slid him-self upright on the edge of the bed, squinting to keep the bright light of the morning sun out of his sensitive eyes. After a minute Brad was ready to attempt the walk to the bathroom to relieve him-self and assess the extent of the damage he had done.

Brooke was in the shower, the glass door steamed up so only the outline of her figure was recognizable as she allowed the water to cleanse her body. Brad was thankful the steam hid him from her view, as he walked past. If he looked as bad as he felt, it must be a dreadful sight. Brooke must have sensed his entrance, because she called out to him.

"Wanna take a shower with me baby?"

Brad considered the prospect of a shower and thought it might help bring him back to life, soaking under the water, sounded great, when he remembered the reason he started drinking in the first place. The sweet thought of her rubbing her smooth wet body against his was contrasted by the sour taste seeing her permanently bequeathed skin would leave in his mouth. The feelings of anger he felt the night before swept over him again but quickly turned to sadness without the added fuel of Jack Daniels.

"Give me a few minutes to wake up. I'll take a shower in a while." Brad called back softly, trying not to make his throbbing headache worse.

Brad did his business going back into the bedroom to sit and collect him-self. There were two Tylenol on the nightstand next to the half empty glass of seltzer, which he promptly swallowed finishing off the bubbly liquid. After a few minutes of calm reflection, Brad heard the water shut off and Brooke exit the shower.

"I was thinking we could go for a little walk later, I already talked to your instructor and you have the day off from exercise, so you can take it easy. "

Brad was surprised at the special accommodation, but also extremely thankful. The idea of running with this headache was unthinkable, but the fear of what kind of punishment he might receive for not showing up was just as scary. As he sat there waiting for the Tylenol and seltzer to do its magic Brad found himself once again considering the idea of just getting in his car and leaving, but once again found himself in a tug of war with his emotions. The fact Brooke had gotten Nick's name on her felt like a decision on her part to give herself fully to Nick, yet here she was with him. Taking care of him with elixirs and making special arrangements for him, sent a mixed message of who she truly cared about.

Brad sat there conflicted about what to do. Should he ignore her artistic decision and ask her to marry him anyway, or should he confront her about her choice and share his pain with her over it? What good would it do to get in an argument about it; after all it was too late to stop her. Then his guilt set in. Was it his fault for not committing to her sooner? Should he have told her how much he wanted to spend his life with her and begged her not to get another man's name on her? Was it his fault for not telling her how he felt about it earlier?

"You feel any better babe? Brooke asked softly walking over to Brad wrapped in a white bath towel.

"Uh, a little yeah." Brad responded still very unsettled.

"Why don't you go take a shower while I get ready, and we can go get a bite at the cantina before we go on our walk." Brooke said in a hushed tone, taking pity on Brad's state as she leaned over softly kissing his cheek, consoling him.

"Ok, give me a minute and I will." Brad pleaded.

A few minutes later Brad forced himself up off the edge of the bed as Brooke sorted through the hangers in her closet looking for something to ware for the day. He went to the bathroom and took a long hot shower, letting the water rinse away some of his emotional pain along with the discomfort of his hangover. Brooke had finished getting dressed and was focused on her hair and makeup as Brad exited the shower toweling off and returning to the room to get some clothes on.

Brad went to see what he could pull from his closet when he panicked. Where were his pants from last night? The ring, what happened to the ring? He rushed over to the bed and there they were lying next to the nightstand bunched up next to his shoes. Franticly he picked them up checking for the ring in the front pocket. Thank god the little box was there and he quickly flicked it open checking to make sure the ring was still safe.

Brad couldn't remember how he got back to the room let alone taking his pants off. He was relieved the ring was still there and he hadn't lost it, but now what was he going to do? Should he tell her about the ring, and his desire to marry her, or forget about it now that she had made her permanent decision about Nick? Somehow he needed to figure it out. Could he see past what she had done and marry her anyway, or was the idea of seeing that name on her every day too much for him to ever get used to? He simple didn't know, but took the box with him, quickly stuffing it in the clean pants he had picked out for the day. He didn't want Brooke to see it until he decided. Should he take it back or should he go through with his proposal?

Brad decided to take his time to think about it. He would go with her to breakfast and go for that walk she wanted. Maybe some food in his stomach and some fresh air could clear his head and help him to choose his path.