FSE

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As expected, Brooke got not a minute of sleep that night. It felt like one that lasted forever, spent with the TV on to try and take her mind off of it. She'd shielded Luma from its light so that she could get proper rest, at least.

It was eight in the morning, and Brooke finally got up after creating an anti-sun wall with the blanket in front of Luma to use the restroom and look at a mess in the mirror. Her hair was frazzled, and her eyes were puffy and hurt slightly. She'd try taking a nap, but since she usually woke up feeling worse than before them, that was out of the picture.

Brooke heard her phone vibrating and stepped out of the restroom to see that Luma had rolled over onto it. She was sprawled on her back with her paws outstretched. Cute, but inconvenient. "Luma... Come on." She didn't want to wake her, but Brooke needed to take that call. She leaned over and slid her hand under Luma's back, grabbing her phone and pulling it out with caution. She stirred, but Brooke had completed the mission without waking her.

She looked at the screen and saw Parker's name, holding her breath while answering and bringing the phone to her ear. She shouldn't be this anxious. Whatever happened, happened, but Brooke would rather not have to start over with someone else and likely wouldn't for a year or longer.

She sat on the edge. "Hello?"

"Hey." Parker hadn't gotten much sleep either. He was up weighing the pros and cons of both decisions, and it was far from easy. "Mind has been spinning all night, and I think I've finally made it up."

Brooke couldn't say a word. She was scared, beyond sleepy, and just wanted him to resolve it so they could go about what came next.

"...I want to move with you, wherever that might be." He didn't think the day would come where he'd have to choose between his girlfriend and Malie, but you can't have your cake and eat it too, and Parker didn't like the idea of letting Brooke go.

"Really?" She grinned. She was so happy to hear that. "Are you sure?" But Brooke didn't want to pressure him. She'd feel awful if it ever came out that she had manipulated his decision. She never wanted to be a controlling partner.

He could hear her grin, which caused him to as well. "I am. I'm committed to us. You mean a lot more to me than a city at the end of it. I shouldn't even have second-guessed."

"No, Malie obviously means a lot more to you than I thought. I should have asked a long time ago instead of assuming..." She was relieved to still have Parker, though, and wanted to see him. "You wanna grab a coffee today?"

"I'm in, but I need to get some more sleep first, and I feel like you do too." Not only did she sound beat, but it had to be a rough night for them both.

"Maybe... I'll send a message when I'm up, and we'll go from there, okay? I love you."

"Alright. I love you too."

Brooke hung up and set her phone aside. She could breathe again. The heaviness left her chest and mind instantly, and she lay back beside Luma, shutting her eyes.

For now, one predicament was out of the way, as there was a possibility it could return in the future, but another still existed that Brooke needed to end. Vix was an issue and would continue being a major one. She'd never forgive him for what he did to her that morning, and she could not take that filthy relationship to a fresh start, let alone keep it going for another day. It was a massive strain on her mental health, and he just didn't deserve her as is.

However, it was never something Brooke could break to Parker. Even if he somehow forgave her and released Vix, she didn't want him to know about it and lose trust in her after discovering what she was capable of, although she'd never do it again. Something had to happen, but this would be extremely difficult.

Brooke turned onto her side and hugged Luma, slowly pulling her to her stomach so she didn't wake her. Brooke could finally start catching up on sleep, at least, and she needed some now since she was going out later. She'd bring Luma to tag along as well since her poor vulpix had been in this room more than she hasn't recently.