Full Name: Brooks Reed Nickname/Alias: B Title: Mr. Pet Name: None ID Number: None Signature: Basically illegible
Gender: Male Gender Role: Masculine Orientation: Straight Real Age: 30 Age Appearance: Mid to late 20s Birthday: September 16 Birthplace: Hartsville, SC
Owes Updated May 25
I owe you Kameryn Reply May 24 Juniper Reply May 20 Kennedy Reply May 15 Brooke Reply May 9
Brooks Reed was born and raised in Hartsville but the goal was never to become a townie. Brooks always had dreams of getting out to explore the world the way his parents didn’t. He was an only child to two young parents. His parents were high school sweethearts. They had Brooks when they were seniors and got married when they graduated. His father took over the gas station from his father and his mother worked in the convenience store attached to the gas station. That was neither of their dreams. His mother because his biggest support and advocate of getting out of town. Wanting her son to have the life she didn’t get a chance to live.
Brooks had every intention of leaving to go to Nashville in support of his beautiful and incredible high school sweetheart Kennedy Wilkins. That all changed in an instant though. Brooks’ mother was diagnosed with cancer and within 3 months she was dead. His biggest fan and supporter died. It was hard as anyone could have imagined. But while he was grieving the loss of his mother his father fell apart. He had always been a drinker but he picked up a bottle the day Brooks’ mom died and after that no one ever saw him without it. He couldn’t leave when the Stop N Shop had no solid help and the owner was drunk all day every day. At 18 years old he told the love of his life he couldn’t leave home and convinced his father to sign over ownership of the gas station to him. Brooks never left town after that.
Now Brooks is a mechanic and still owns the gas station. Business is doing well. He loves spending time with his dog Milo around town and is also a big fan of going to a local bar whenever he has the opportunity. He stayed in town to take care of his father and that is what he is planning to do until his father passes. He knows it makes him a bad person but he can not wait for the day his father doesn’t wake up again. When times are hard Brooks turns to dealing on the down low to help make ends meet.
After a decade apart the love of his life returned to Hartsville and stepped back into his life. Brooks isn’t sure if he wants to take the dive and try things again or stay bitter and angry about the way she up and left him when he was at his lowest point. Kennedy will always be the love of his life but Brooks isn’t quite sure he can put himself in a place that allows him to be with her again.
* Hello there! I'm looking to expand the story of my character, Grace Eleanor Matthews, and I'm open to new storylines and connections. Grace is a 32-year-old personal assistant to the mayor in Hartsville, South Carolina, and she has a rich backstory and a variety of relationships that I'd love to explore further.
General basics about Grace:
Determined, ethical, and nurturing. Enjoys sketching designs, hiking, gardening, and volunteering for environmental causes. Has a strong bond with her father, a defense attorney, and a more distant relationship with her mother, an art gallery owner.
I'm open to all kinds of connections, such as:
Neighbours, Exes, Colleagues, Childhood Friends, Best Friends, Mentors, Rivals and many more!
If you're interested in developing a storyline/connection, please reach out! Let's collaborate and create some amazing stories together.
Feel free to DM me or comment back if you're interested. Looking forward to writing with you!
Kamryn had always imagined Brooks as someone she could fall in love with straight away, but their romance/friendship ran in cycles. She was aware that they were not the best match, but she hoped that they would always put friendship first. She sensed something was wrong when Brooks invited her to join him at the Kraken; she had no idea what to expect. She entered via the Kraken's double doors and found Brooks at the back. She approached the table,seeing drinks already on the table while he waited for her to show up. She smiled brightly, sat down, and glanced at Brooks. "How are you doing?" she asked.
She smiled at him, placing her purse on the empty chair beside her and her keys to the side. She took the glass in her hand, sipped her drink, and then put it down. I'm happy you called and invited me to meet you here; it's been a long time since we visited the Kraken. So you asked me to meet with you for a reason. What's the reason? If it had anything to do with Kennedy's return to town, she knew it wouldn't be good news.
I noticed her in the town square talking to someone as I passed her on my way to work. She scowled, hoping he wouldn't be as naive as a goldfish this time, but she hesitated to argue with him for the sake of her sanity. Kamryn knew what he was about to tell her. She wanted him to be happy, even if it meant that her sentiments were irrelevant to him or that she had to disregard them. Kamryn sighed and broke the ice, "If you want to stop this so you can go be with Kennedy, it's done. I don't want this to end badly for the two of us, and I believe we can be friends after all." I don't have the time or the patience to fight with you Brooks.
"Thank you." She told him when he said Ellie was adorable. "I didn't think I'd actually have a family, not after everything with your cousin, then Beau just came in out of nowhere.." She smiled at the thought of her husband, that man would never understand how much she loved him. She listened as he talked about Kennedy working in the shop. "Is she? Well, that might bring old sparks back." She said hopefully. She just wanted Brooks happy, he had become a kid brother to her even after the death of his cousin. "Well, when it comes down to it, it's your life, not Brooke's. Unless she's paying your bills, and living your life, she has no say. If Kenz is what makes you happy, then stop at nothing to have a life with her. You two can get back what you once had." She promised him. When the men pulled up and got out, she watched Brooks go on the defense. Aw sh*t, this wasn't good. "Who are they...?" She whispered. After they were given the combination, the man in charge nodded and one of the men went into the back office to look in it. Juniper kept eye her purse, she never left home without her gun, and the man in charge noticed her looking at her. He walked over and grabbed her purse then poured out everything inside.
Seeing the gun, he took it and slipped it his belt at the small of his back. "Cell phones. Now." He told both of them, then took them when they handed them over. He walked over to a bucket of dirty oil from an oil change, and dropped both phones into it.
The man who went to the safe came out, "he's short." He told man in charge.
The one in charge looked at Brooks, "you think you can steal from me??" He said, grabbing him by the sleeve of his shirt.
With the men all focused on Brooks, Juniper grabbed a wrench that was sitting on the bench near her. Swiftly, she swung it hitting the man in the back of the head. He went down, but it didn't knock him out. Juniper grabbed Brooks and pulled him away from the men. "Lets go!" She spoke. The other men were too fast, though, because when they ran towards Juniper's car, the men grabbed both her and Brooks. Juniper froze when she felt the cold tip of the gun as he pressed it to her cheek, while the other man held a gun to Brooks head.
The man in charge glared at her, "that wont happen again, you hear me, girl??" He looked at his men, Load them up, we'll handle business elsewhere." With that, the men zipped tied both Juniper and Brooks hands behind their backs, then walked them towards the SUV. They weren't gentle as they shoved them in the back seat. One man got in with them to keep a gun aimed at them, while the other two men got in the front seats. Juniper's mind raced with ways to get her and Brooks out of here. She needed to make it home. The last thing she wanted was for her daughter to grow up without a mother, and the thought of never seeing Beau again broke her heart. She had to get back to them. Juni knew she would have to fight back every reckless instinct that she had, and play it smart. Juniper didn't recognize where they were going once they got away from the city limits of Hartsville. After a little while of driving, they pulled up to a large warehouse. The men got out and pulled her then Brooks out, and forced them inside the big building.
Brooks’ touch helped Kennedy calm down. His presence had always been a calming one in her life and she was glad that after all these years, he still had that same magic effect. Around him, she felt safe. The rest of the world made her feel so vulnerable and under attack but with Brooks, in his home, she felt safe and secure, like nothing could touch her. That was a feeling she hadn’t felt in a very long time.
Moving her hand, she rested it on top of Brooks’ hand, inhaling deeply to further calm herself down. She shook her head at his words. She didn’t mean her old life in Nashville. Sure, maybe the first few years had been okay and she got the career she had always dreamed of, but it was far from what she ever imagined it would be. “No, I don’t mean that. I don’t mean my life in Nashville.” She shook her head again, a little frantically. “I meant my life here, in Hartsville. Before…everything went to complete sh*t. I wish I never left.”
It was quite strange to think of what could have been and how her life may have been if she hadn’t left Hartsville. She thought about it more often than she’d admit. When days in Nashville were hard, she’d often daydream about what could have been. She imagined that she and Brooks would have gotten married, maybe had a couple of kids by now. Things may have been rough at times but she knew that Brooks never, ever would have hurt in ways Brogan did. If she hadn’t left, she could be living a completely different life and that what ifs and what could have been really would drive her crazy if she let them.
Her breath hitched in her throat as Brooks hand touched her cheek. The sweetest of touches but it made all the hurt, all the panic, all the tears go away. Her focus became only on the way his hand felt against her cheek. It was the only hand she felt comfortable with there. Brogan’s hand had met her cheek many times as well, but his touch was far, far from sweet. A simple touch from Brooks reminded her that not every man was out to hurt her and not every touch would be full of rage. She hadn’t realised until this moment how much she needed to be reminded of that and how much of her vulnerability had been stolen by Brogan.
Tears welled in her eyes again but this time, they weren’t tears of sadness, anger, or fear. They were tears of finally feeling safe, cared for, and loved. For a few moments, she didn’t say anything. She let Brooks’ words sink in, her head nodding softly. Her eyes grew heavier and she took a deep, shaky breath. “Thank you. I know I haven’t proven to you that I was always here but I am now. I don’t want to be anywhere else. This is…it’s home.” A small smile tugged her lips. She could have been talking about Hartsville but she wasn’t. She meant Brooks. Brooks was her home. Her safety net. Her pillar of strength. He proved it time and time again, even when she didn’t deserve it. . She wanted to pull him closer, to remember what he tasted like, to wrap herself up in him…but her head overruled her heart and instead, she slowly pulled away, sighing softly. It was too soon for that but still, she didn’t want to be alone. The idea of even being in a different room from him was enough to instil fear in Kennedy right now. “Will you…stay with me? In your room?” She asked, despite his previous offer of sleeping on the couch and letting her have the bed. “I don’t want to be alone.” She admitted, her voice soft, almost embarrassed. “Please.”
Brooklyn totally understood what Brooks was saying. She had to deal with something similar with her own father, after her mother died. If she had left town when Angela died, Josie would've been left alone with an alcoholic father, herself, and who knows what would've come of her little sister. She got why he stayed. But Brooklyn also felt that Kennedy, at the time, should've understood why he stayed also. Not everything was always about the future. Sometimes things were about the here and now, and Brooks realized that, at the time.
"I mean, I understand that. I do. But people also need to understand that no matter what, no matter the outcome, ultimatums are never the answer." She sighed, shaking her head slightly. When he mentioned that he had dated since Kennedy, Brooke's face beamed. If Brooks wasn't with Kennedy he'd be with Kamryn, Brooke actually liked Kamryn. They were friends because of Brooks. "Speaking of dating.. How is our good friend Kamryn? I heard she's been around lately. She looks really good lately, too." She winked at her brother.
AFTER DOMINIC'S DEATH.
It had been a few weeks since Brooke went to Brooks' shop and hung out with him and allowed him to do the tune up on her car. They caught up and hung out a few more times since then and talked on the phone, texted, etc. Brooke had been keeping extremely busy after Dominic's death. She didn't want to be a bother to anyone, so she pushed most everyone away. Her sister took her daughter to daycare when she couldn't watch her, and make sure that Cecilia was taken care of. The loss of Dominic Shaw was hard on everyone involved.
"B, He was my husband. He was still my husband. I was still his wife. I thought we were divorced." She cried over the phone because she couldn't bare to look at her brother in the face, or anyone for that matter. "All of it. It was all a lie and I can't bring him back to fix any of it now." She sat on the floor of her bedroom, crying to Brooks on the phone. Even when he begged her to let him come over and be there for her, She still said no. She refused visitors.
AFTER THE VEGAS VACATION AND NOW
Brooke couldn't understand how everything transpired. Dominic Shaw wasn't dead. Her husband wasn't dead. The man who she thought wasn't even her husband anymore was alive. She had to talk to someone after everything. She had spent the first couple of days just trying to get her home readjusted to one more human in the house, and make sure that everyone was comfortable. The news of Dominic being alive was slowly making its way around the town now that everyone was back from Las Vegas.
She also was pregnant on top of that with Dominic's baby, which she found out about right before the Vegas trip was even happening. Leave it to her to get knocked up before a trip she was super excited about going and having a good time at. Always a Brooke thing to do for her. Sighing at the thought of calling the person she considered a brother, Brooke decided to text him instead. "Hey wanna meet me for lunch? I have something I need to talk to you about. I also wanna catch up since Vegas." She hit send and waited for a response, while she sat on her couch comfier than ever.
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As hard as it was to speak about what had happened, Kennedy also felt like a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She was no longer carrying a huge secret around and trying to deal with it all on her own. She did feel bad, as if she had burdened Brooks with this news, but knowing she had support now…it felt good. And if anyone was going to be able to handle it and help and support her in the way she needed, it was going to be Brooks. He could have easily told her to leave the day she showed up again, he could have told her this was too much, and not his problem. After everything she did to him, he still offered her a safe space, a shoulder to cry on, and forgiveness she didn’t deserve. It was no wonder she was still in love with him.
“Yeah, he really hurt me and I just…snapped. I can hardly even remember most of that night, honestly.” She was glad most of that night was a blur, but it didn’t stop that nightmares and flashbacks that happened sometimes, her subconscious piecing things together. Moving her body closer to Brooks, Kennedy rested her head on his shoulder. She felt weak - emotionally and physical - but his touch made her feel safe and protected. “Thank you…for letting me stay and making me feel safe. I know a lot of people will probably tell you that you’re an idiot for helping me but…I really don’t know what I’d do without you, Brooks.” Kennedy spoke softly, wiping a few more of her tears with the sleeve of her sweater.
Kennedy hated that she had potentially put Brooks in danger by telling him about Brogan but this was the first time in months that she had felt safe and protected, and she needed that more than she knew. “What if he finds out I’m here and tries to hurt you? I…I can’t let that happen.” Panic started to take over again and Kennedy sat up straight, looking at Brooks. “He’s…capable of terrible things and if he knows I’ve told you…I don’t know what he’d do.” Kennedy’s vision blurred as tears filled her eyes again. She looked down, shaking her head. “I just need him to leave me alone and f*** off back to Nashville. Find someone else to play with. I just want…normal. I want my old life back.”
Once upon a time, Kennedy’s career had been everything to her. Hell, she’d given up Brooks for the sake of her career and he meant the whole world to her. Now, she’d give up her career and everything that came with it ten times over if it meant she could feel safe in her own town and live a normal life. Now more than ever, she regretted the day she left Hartsville and couldn’t help but wonder how different her life could have been. She knew she had to try and move forward but how could she do that when Brogan kept showing up, still wielding his power over her?
Taking a deep breath, Kennedy focused on Brooks and his voice. Somehow, he could soothe her quite easily, even if in her scariest moments. He may have come off as grumpy sometimes and could seem heartless to those who didn’t know him…but Brooks cared. He had a big heart. He was compassionate and empathetic and had always been Kennedy’s rock and her pillar of support. For everything that was going wrong, she was so thankful Brooks was still her knight in shining armour.
Her heart felt like it skipped a few beats as she heard his words. He had missed her, just like she had missed him. For the first time since she’d returned home, Kennedy felt like maybe…maybe things would be okay. Sure, her crazy ex had tracked her down and her career was done for but…she had Brooks. And that made everything feel a little more okay. Looking up at him through her tear filled eyes, Kennedy nodded her head gently. “I missed you too. God, I missed you every day, Brooks. And I’m so sorry I had to drag you into this mess but…it means everything to me that you’re here. I don’t deserve you…I never did but I…” She stopped speaking, pressing her lips together. I love you is what she wanted to say but instead, she forced a small smile on her lips. It felt too soon, too raw, perhaps the wrong time but the words lingered on the tip of her tongue before she found new ones. “I need you. Always have, always will.”
