Chapter 9

"I'm so glad you're finally home Brie. It has been soooooo boring around here without you," Jeanette told her as they walked down the street from shop to shop.
"I'm sure it hasn't been that bad," Brie replied.
"Of course it has! What do you know, you've been living it up at university! I want to hear all about it and don't leave out any details!"
"Seriously Jeanie, there's nothing really to tell. I go to class, go to practice, and go to the library, that's it. Nothing exciting."
"Don't hold out on me Brie, Tell me about the boys. I bet there are thousands of hot guys just ripe for the picking."
"Jeanette, listen to yourself. You talk about guys like they're pieces of meat; it's disgusting."
"Oh please. Are you telling me that you have not partaken in any of the hunky men that I'm sure were throwing themselves at you."
"First of all, I had no one throw themselves at me. Second of all, even if they did, I don't have time. University is not like highschool. You have to work your ass off if you want to get good grades. That was my focus, not men."
"What? Were none of them hockey players?" Jeanette said snidely.
"Don't go there Jeanette," Brie said tersely.
"Brie, it's been a year. You have to get over him and move on. You weren't even a couple!"
"I don't expect you to understand Jeanette. I have moved on. Me not dating has nothing to do with him. It's my choice. I don't want to date because I'm busy."
"Yeah, busy wallowing over Kri..."
"Don't you dare say his name!"
"See. Not over him."

Jeanette was right. She was not over him; not even close. She had no life at university because she didn't want one. It took her months to get to the point where she wasn't crying herself to sleep every night. She didn't want to meet people; she didn't want to make new friends; she certainly didn't want to date. But it wasn't just a broken heart she was suffering from; it was a broken spirit too. She was in mourning. She was grieving the loss of the love of her life and her best friend. They had shared everything together and it was gone in an instant. She needed to go through the grieving process but couldn't. She was stuck. There would never be any getting over Kristopher for her. He was the one; she knew it and she was convinced that he did too. She felt it in his kiss. She just couldn't figure out why he had denied it. Her heart belonged to one man and one man only.
Brie had travelled many weekends to watch Kristopher play without ever telling anyone. She couldn't help herself. She had spent years supporting him and his dream and she didn't want to miss it. Despite the heartache, she was so proud of him and still loved watching him play.

The sound of his name snapped Brie out of her day dream.
"Kristopher! Wait up."
Brie and Jeanette turned around and saw a blond girl coming out of the sports store and catching up to the boy she was calling after.
He turned around and smiled at the girl and Brie froze. She recognized that smile anywhere. It was him. The girl handed him a bag that he must have forgot in the store. He thanked her and turned around and walked in the opposite direction.
Brie didn't move; just watched him walk away...again.
"Yeah, you're over him all right," Jeanette said while linking her arm with Brie's. "Let's go Brie."
Reluctantly, Brie followed her friend.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Brielle LaRoche. You are looking damn good girl!"
"Thanks Rob," Brie replied dryly.
"Hey Rob!" Jeanette said enthusiastically.
"Hey Jenny," he said.
She giggled and Brie rolled her eyes.
"We should definitely get together soon Brie. I'd love to hear what you've been doing over there in school."
"I don't think so Rob."
"Come on Brie, it'll be a good time."
"Yeah Brie, what else have you got to do?" Jeanette added.
"Thanks, but I don't think so."
"Look Brie, I know I've been kind of an idiot in the past, but everyone changes. I know I have. I'm not the same stupid kid I was in highschool. What'd ya say; give me a second chance?"
Jeanette was looking at her practically pleading with her to say yes, like it would be her going out with him. Brie knew that she would never hear the end of it if she said no.
"Fine, what the hell."
"Seriously?" Jeanette and Rob said at the same time.
"Yes."
"Great! How 'bout I pick you up around seven tomorrow? We can catch a movie then maybe go out for coffee after?"
"Sure. Sounds nice Rob. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye Brie."

Jeanette was so excited she was practically hyperventilating.
"I can't believe you're going out with Rob Taylor you lucky bitch!" she squealed.
"Me either," Brie replied. "Me either."
Brie totally tuned Jeanette out as she rambled on and on about clothes and god knows what else.
'I can't believe I agreed to this. I know I'm going to regret this.'

Chapter 8

"Are you really just going to sit here and let her leave without saying goodbye?" Christianne asked her son.
"Oui maman."
"Kristopher Allan you are being ridiculous! You and Brie have been best friends your whole lives and now when you are both about to embark on these important new journeys, you're going to do it alone? I don't understand Kristopher, what happened with you two?"

Kris hadn't told his mother about what happened; he couldn't. He had already broken Brie's heart, he couldn't stand it if he broke his mother's too. She had never said anything to him, but he knew deep down their mother's had always dreamed they would someday get married and have a dozen little hockey and ballet prodigies for them to dote on. He remembered the first time they heard their mother's talking about it over tea in the LaRoche's kitchen.

----------------flashback----------------------

"I can just see them twenty years from now: he'll be in the NHL and Brie will be a doctor. We'll be the one's planning the wedding because neither of them will have time."
"Nor the inclination," Margot added. "Could you see Brielle trying to plan a wedding?" she laughed.
"They'd be getting married in sweatpants and having a barbeque in the backyard!"
"There's no way in hell you're ever going to get Brie in a wedding dress, you know that right Margot?"
"I know, I know."
"How many grandchildren do you think they'd give us?"
"I need at least half a dozen; three little hockey players and three little ballerinas."

"Eew gross!" he exclaimed when they ran outside to the swing in the tall oak tree. Brie climbed on and Kris gave her a push.
"They want us to get married!" a seven year old Kris proffessed to his friend. "That means we'd have to kiss and stuff!"
"Yuck! I'm not kissing you," Brie said.
"Well, I'm not kissing you either," Kris retorted.
They sat in easy silence for a while. Her swinging and him pushing her.
"I'm never getting married," she finally said.
"Never?"
"Nope, never. Boys are bossy and I don't want some boy thinking he can tell me what to do all the time."
"Not all boys are bossy Brie. I don't tell you what to do."
"Yeah, but you're not like a real boy, you're my best friend. That's different."
"Oh."
"Besides, if you get married then you have to do all that yucky love stuff. Gross!"
"Yeah, gross," Kris agreed.
"Well if you're never getting married, then I'm never getting married either," he stated.
"Yeah, we'll just be best friends forever. We can grow up and go to school and be rich and live together and we won't need anybody else right Kris?"
"Right."

-------------------End flashback-------------------------

"We just had a fight maman."
"Must have been some fight; you've been moping around here for weeks. Just apologize for pete sakes and get on with it.
"It's not that easy; I can't just apologize and have everything be okay again."
"Well you better figure it out and soon," she said looking out the window and seeing the last of the boxes being put in the U-Haul. "If you let her leave without saying goodbye, you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

It had been three weeks since he had broken his best friend's heart. They had never gone this long without talking; never been in a fight of this magnitude. He had called her everyday for the first week; hell he'd even gone over to beg for her forgivness. It took a lot of convincing to get Margot to let him in, but she had. He sat on the floor outside her locked bedroom door for three hours trying to get her to talk to him. He got no response. He had said everything he could possibly think of to say, yet she never uttered a word. God she could be so damn stubborn! One of the qualitites he usually loved about her was now driving him crazy.

Kris all but gave up on Brie that day. Sure he still hoped against hope that she would come to her senses and show up at his door begging him to be her best friend again, but he knew that wasn't going to happen.

He pulled the curtains back and saw Brie out on the sidewalk with a bunch of her friends from school hugging and saying their goodbyes. Someone happened to notice they were being watched.
"It's kind of creepy that he's just up there watching you," Jeanette said.
"Who?"
"Kris," she motioned towards the window he was standing in.
"Oh," she replied without looking.
"Are you really going to leave without saying goodbye to him?" Jeanette questioned.
"Yep."
"Wow! I don't know what's up with the new Brie but I like her!"
"Nothing's up. I just want to leave the past in the past and get a new start with new people. Kris is in the past. As a matter of fact, Kristopher Letang is dead to me."
"Ready to go honey?" Margot yelled to her daughter.
"Sure am. Let's go."
Brie waved to her friends one last time before getting in the car with her mother.
"See you guys at Christmas," she called as she slid into the passenger seat.
"Have fun," they all yelled back.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Jeanette called.
Brie smiled and shut the car door.
"Are you ready for this honey?"
"I'm ready mom."
But Margot didn't start the car.
"Brie, are you sure you want to leave without saying goodbye to Kr..."
Brie stoppedd her mother from finishing.
"I have nothing to say to him mom. It's time to move on. And please, I really don't ever want to hear his name again. End of discussion."
Margot shook her head in disagreement, but said no more. She knew it was pointless. The boy next door had broken her daughter's heart; she just hoped it wasn't broken beyond repair.


She was just about ready to get in the car.
'Come on Brie, come on. Just look up. Please just look up at me' he urged silently.
When the car door shut and he hadn't seen those beautiful blue eyes, his heart sank; but when the car failed to move, his heart began beating just a little faster.
'I knew she couldn't do it. She can't leave without saying goodbye. Come on baby; please don't leave me without saying goodbye.'
His hope quickly faded to heartache as he watched the car finally start to drive away dragging part of his heart with it.
Hot tears stung his cheeks as he tried to process what what happening.
She did it. She actually left without saying goodbye, and he had no one to blame but himself. He had the chance to stop it and he didn't. He loved her. He loved her more than he thought it was possible to love another person and that's why he let her go. He could never forgive himself if she threw her future away for him. But he never expected it to hurt this much.

He made his way down the stairs and out to the old familiar oak tree, but this time it was him taking a seat on the swing. He needed to feel close to her and this was the only place that could do that. He sat, swinging slowly and let the tears fall freely.
"I'm so sorry," he sobbed out loud. "I'm so, so sorry. I will always love you Brie. No one will ever take your place."
It was the first time he had ever said those words out loud. Too bad it was too late.