“I’m sorry, Johnny. I really am,” Brady muttered as he opened the door to Johnny’s hotel room. Brady had personally called Johnny in to resign from the position. Johnny was devastated. They’d never find someone as great as Brady for the position.
“Nick, I really think I should be the one to go,” Isabelle whispered from the other side of the door. She bit her bottom lip and sighed heavily. “I mean, you guys can find another merchandise manager…it’s a lot harder to find another venue…person…” she muttered, not even sure what Brady’s official title was.
“No!” Nick tried to keep his voice down as he put his hands on Isabelle’s waist and pulled her close. “Johnny will find someone. He always does.” Nick shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal. Isabelle still felt really responsible. She was afraid this would ruin everything and Johnny would be upset with her. That was definitely the last thing she wanted.
“I just…I don’t see how any of this is going to work out for the good,” she continued in a hushed voice as she folded her arms over her chest. Nick placed his finger under her chin.
“You and me…that’s the good that’s coming out of this,” he kissed her forehead gently but quickly pulled away as soon as the door opened. Brady and Johnny walked out together, both of them looking mighty unhappy. Brady cleared his throat and kept his eyes focused on Isabelle.
“Isabelle, could I talk to you for a moment?” He asked cordially. Isabelle nodded and followed him into the room him and Johnny had just come out of. She quietly shut the door behind them. “We haven’t really gotten the chance to talk about anything since you made your decision.” He swallowed, not willing to make eye contact with her.
“Listen Brady, I really am sorry about hurting you. I never meant for anything to happen like that,” Isabelle sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Things just didn’t work out the way I thought it would in the long run.” She shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed. Brady sighed and leaned against the dresser.
“How did everything turn out, Isabelle? It seemed like we were really enjoying ourselves. I thought…I thought you were the one,” he sighed and rubbed his temple. His words nearly crushed Isabelle’s heart. She wasn’t the kind of person that went around breaking hearts. Usually she was the one that would end up with her heart broken.
“Nothing was what it seemed, Brady! I thought I was supposed to be the girl I was when I was with you. I was the submissive, silent girlfriend that allowed you to treat me the way you did,” she muttered. Brady’s head shot up, about to defend himself. “I don’t mean that you treated me badly, Brady!” She quickly corrected herself. “I just felt so suffocated. I don’t know if you realized it or not, but you really didn’t let me make my own decisions. I always felt like I was your kid or something.” She muttered sympathetically and stood up to reach out to him. “I found myself these past few weeks when I was hanging out with Nick. He let me be myself.”
“I didn’t realize you weren’t yourself when you were around me,” he shot back. He was pissed. Isabelle didn’t really blame him. “What’s different about him? How can you fall for someone so entirely different than me?”
“Brady, you’re a great guy. I’m not just saying that, either,” Isabelle sighed and touched his shoulder gently. “You’re a gentleman. You’re just not my kind of gentleman. Nick allows me to talk for myself. He asks me questions to try and get to know me. He introduces me to new things, new places.”
“I take you to new places. I brought you to Germany,” he quickly shot back.
“The entire time we’ve been in Germany, you’ve been cooped up in the room or the bus on your phone. Nick took my around Germany to show me new things, Brady,” Isabelle ran her fingers through her long dark hair in frustration. She knew breaking up was hard – it just seemed as though this break up never ended. She had explained her decision to Brady the night before. He hadn’t said anything. In fact, he had simply closed the door in her face, forcing her to sleep in Nick’s room. Nick had been gracious enough to take the couch in the living area; Isabelle wasn’t really in the mood for cuddling up after her rough decision. She had barely gotten any sleep at all.
“That’s because he’s not a business man, Isabelle. I’m sorry I’ve been working my ass off to try and establish some kind of new beginning for us for when we get back to the states,” he spat, completely furious.
The heat was rising in Isabelle’s cheeks. “Are you claiming Nick’s not working his ass off? Because if you are, then you’re being ridiculous. Nick is such a hard worker and if you can’t realize that, then you’re just jealous.”
“Oh please. I’m sure if I was a blonde heartthrob winning over thousands of lovesick teenagers I, too, would be a millionaire,” his temper was beginning to boil, as well. Neither of them had wanted this to end so badly. It just seemed that was the direction it was headed. “I’m beginning to wonder, Isabelle. Is that what you’re after?”
“If you’re referring to money you better watch yourself, Brady,” she spat, tears of anger burning her eyes. “How dare you accuse me of something like that? You really don’t know me at all then.” She muttered as a tear slipped from the corner of her eye.
As soon as Brady saw the tear, he sighed and placed his hand on her wrist. “I’m sorry…” he mumbled and rubbed his temple again. “I-I…I just got so pissed I said some things I didn’t mean.” He mumbled. Isabelle pulled from his grasp and folded her arms across her chest after wiping away her tears. “Please don’t cry.”
“Brady, I don’t know what happened, okay?” Isabelle muttered. “But to be honest? I don’t even know how it all started. We aren’t meant for each other. We just…aren’t.” She shrugged.
“How are you so sure you’re meant for him?” Brady swallowed hard, trying to find some way to win this girl back.
Isabelle glanced down at the carpet. She could think of a million reasons. As she glanced back into Brady’s eyes, she asked, “What’s my favorite color? Or my favorite movie? Or where’s my favorite place to go when I’m sad?” Brady stared back and licked his lips to try and think of the answer. “Just answer one of those questions for me.”
He was completely silent. He had no idea what any of her favorites were. And as he stood there contemplating, he too realized that maybe they weren’t made for each other. “I couldn’t tell you.” He mumbled pathetically.
She nodded; she knew that would be his answer. “You should ask Nick.” She said, not meaning to sound rude, simply wanting to prove her point. “He knows, Brady. That’s what makes him different. He’s interested in me – my personality and who I am. He’s interested in my background and where I come from. You made me wonder if you were interested at all. That’s such an insult and so degrading, Brady.” She sighed. “I’m very sorry everything turned out this way. And I don’t want you to leave your job. So I’m going to give you the option of me leaving instead.” She said softly, just to be sure Nick couldn’t hear her on the opposite side of that door.
Brady swallowed the lump in his throat and sighed. “I could never ask you to do that. Everyone here loves you. You’re what made me so popular around this place.” He tried to be light, but it wasn’t really working. “I need to move on out of here anyway. It’d all be a bad reminder. Don’t worry about work. I’m sure I’ll find something as soon as I get back to LA.” He nodded reassuringly. Isabelle sighed and hugged him tightly to her.
“I really am sorry,” she muttered as she pulled back, not wanting a friendly hug to turn into anything more.
“So am I,” he nodded. As Isabelle pulled away, she spotted the tears in his eyes.
“If you ever need me, I want you to know I’m here, okay?” Isabelle reinstated. She knew she was one of Brady’s only close friends. He had never gone out and hung out with anyone besides her before they started dating.
“Thanks,” he shrugged it off. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” He opened the door for her so she could step outside. “I’m going to go pack. Goodbye, Isabelle.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you for the reviews! They pretty much keep me writing =] Hope you enjoy!! Please review.
