Misjudged (20 page)

Oh my God. This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening
, “Will he be okay?” I whisper as tears stream down my face once more. “He won’t die? He can’t die!” Shaking my head and squeezing my eyes shut, I feel the nurse gently stroking my hand, as though she’s trying to comfort me.

“We’re going to keep a
very close eye on him. He’s in good hands.” she tries to reassure me but her words don’t help in the slightest. They’re just words. I’ve heard them all before. They’re the exact same words the doctors used when my mom was brought in here, and she never came back out.

“When can I see him?” Blinking a couple of times as I try to take all of this in, I turn to
face her again and see her smiling slightly at me.

“The doctors are in there now and once they’re finished, I’ll check to make sure it’s okay for you sit by him. We st
ill need to contact his parents,” she pats my hand before walking over to her desk.

Neil and Ryan give each other a glare that I’m unable to interpret
, as they follow the nurse over to her desk. They’ll be able to give his parents details because I really don’t know anything about them. Come to think about it, he hasn’t mentioned them to me before, not even once.

It’s almost three in the morning by the time the doctors finally exit from Brandon’s room. They nod to the nurse as they walk away and down th
e corridor. They looked anxious too.

I stand up and walk over to the nurse. She tells me I can go and sit with him, but there’s only one visitor allowed in at a time. When I turn back to Neil, Ryan
, and Alyssa, they all nod for me to go in first.

“Just be prepared. There are a lot of machines
and with the amount of swelling and bruising, he’ll be looking a lot different right now,” she reaches the door handle and opens it up for me. Closing my eyes and taking a breath, I walk in.

Cautiously walking over to his bedside, I feel a sharp pain stabbing through my chest and lower abdomen. My whole body is shaking from seeing him like this.
I think I’m going to be violently sick.

He’s hooked up to at
least three different machines and there are so many wires and tubes everywhere. I reach out to take his hand as I sit beside his bed. The only sounds I can hear are those from the heart monitor, which keeps beeping every other second, and the sound of the machine that’s giving him oxygen. He’s badly bruised,
everywhere.

“Brandon, I know you probably can’t hear me, but, I need to say
this. I need to say it in case …” It hurts too much to even speak. “I love you, Brandon. I … I think I’ve loved you ever since we first met.”

I lean over him and place a light kiss on his forehead. I need him to wake up and be okay. He’s already been through so much hell over the past couple of years. He deserves to be happy
and I want to be the one that makes him happy.

Please stay, please come back to me.

The Declaration.

“Alexis,” Brandon’s voice is still croaky. “You look like shit.” He has such a way with words, it’s no wonder I fell for him as soon as I laid my eyes on him. He’s such a romantic guy. Who wouldn’t be madly and hopelessly in love with him?

“Yeah, well, Brandon,” I answer him with a sarcastic smirk, “You look like fucking shit, too.” He laughs at my reply, although he
really shouldn’t have. He winces from the pain his laughter just caused him, and he’s now holding his ribs with discomfort.

He woke up five days after being brought to the hospital, and I can’t even begin to explain how I felt the moment I saw his eyes open. The first time was only for a couple of seconds, but it was long enough for him to be able to say something. It was only one word, but it meant the world to me. He
said my name.

When I heard the nurse requesting Brandon’s parents’ contact numbers, I’d assumed Neil and Ryan shared their details with her, but they hadn’t.
This is when I learned he doesn’t have any parents, not anymore.

Ryan explained that once Brandon was taken into custody, they’d disowned him and said that he was a disgrace to their entire family. I wanted to cry for him. His own parents abandoned him when he needed their love and support the most. It’s unforgivable.

He’s been out of the coma for a week now, and I’ve spent almost every second by his side. The guys and the medical teams advised that it would be best if I took some time away and rested, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to be here with him the whole time, because I love him, and there really is nowhere else that I’d want to be but by his side. Alyssa and the guys have been stopping by whenever they’ve had the opportunity, bringing clean clothes and toiletries for the both of us in the process. My favorite nurse could see how determined I was not to leave his side, so she brought a cot in for me to sleep on.

“Good morning
you two!” Brandon’s nurse walks cheerily through the door with her clipboard and pencil in hand. “I have some news.”

Well
she seems very happy so I’m guessing the news is going to be good, “Morning,” I greet her as she shines a torch into Brandon’s eyes.

“The good news is that we’re able to discharge you today,” she begins while writing a few things down on her forms. “The bad news is
, if you don’t have anyone to keep an eye on you or monitor you over the next three weeks, until your next hospital appointment and scan, then you’re not going anywhere.”

“Then
I guess I‘m not going anywhere,” he sounds disheartened as he gazes out of the window on the opposite side of the room.

After a few moments, he turns back to face the nurse and as I glance between the two of them, it looks like they’re ha
ving a showdown with their eyes, “Stay with me,” I offer, and see him land his gaze over to me with a look of worry evident on his face. “Me and the guys can make sure you’re okay, and it’s better being with us than spending another few weeks in hospital, right?”

His eyes appear to warm a little as he takes hold of my hand, before looking
over to the nurse with a smile, “Where do we get one of those nurse uniforms from?”

“You’re better alright!” She laughs fiercely
, while shaking her head as she passes me a couple of forms to sign. “The main things you’ll need to watch for are the headaches, nausea, and dizziness. If any of those symptoms develop, and remain persistently, we’ll need you to get back over here.”

I learned a lot of things about him while he was lying in that hospital bed. Some things were good, some things were upsetting, and the rest were down
right hilarious. Yes, he snores too, although I haven’t approached him on this matter …
yet
.

***

Supporting some of his body weight as we head through the main door and towards my dorm, I feel both relieved and elated to have him come and stay with us for a while, at least until he’s able to fully manage on his own again.

We make our way into my room, and I place the things we picked up from his place when we arrived back on campus, beside his side of the bed. Yes, his side. On the way over here, he pointed out that because he’s the invalid, he gets to decide which side he lays on. He chose the right side.

When I turn back around to face him, I see his eyes fixated on the bag he had me collect when I was partaking in his little treasure hunt, just before all of this happened. I walk over to him and see sadness in his eyes, and a frown forming deeply over his face.

“Are you okay? Do you need some more pain relief?” I ask while stroking my fingers gently across his cheek.
He shakes his head and swallows, while keeping his eyes firmly focused on the bag.

“I had our whole weekend planned ou
t, Alexis,” his voice is laced with anguish as he takes a seat on the edge of my bed. “After the picnic, I was taking you on a boat ride before dinner, and then to the theatre in the evening.”

My eyes widen as I sit beside him. “To the theatre?” He was going to take me to the theatre?

“The tickets your dad sent. After you left that day, I took them out of the trash and kept hold of them.” He knows how I feel about going to the theatre without my mom. “Would you have gone with me?”

“Yes, I would have,” I answer him
, because I would. I want to do anything and everything with him. “Why did you go alone to meet with them, Brandon?” He shakes his head and sighs deeply as he clasps my hand, squeezing it gently. I’ve been waiting to ask this very question ever since I realized he wasn’t coming home that day.

He turns to face me
and I see regret in his eyes, “I figured if I headed straight there, then I could get back sooner. I wanted to take you out.” He’s hiding something from me. I can always tell because he can’t seem to hold eye contact when he’s being untruthful.

I shake my head. He
could’ve been killed. The doctors had even told him he was lucky. If he hadn’t have been taken to the hospital when he was, he wouldn’t be sitting here with me now. “I shouldn’t have told you to go. I should have made you stay.” My eyes are filling with tears again. It was my fault. “When do you want to go and report it to the cops?”

“Are y
ou kidding?” He’s looking at me and his expression is incredulous. “Alexis, I can’t report it. That would be like giving them the message and telling them I’d given up. I’m not giving up. I’m seeing this through to the end.” He stands himself up and hobbles over to my door.

“You can’t let them get away with this, Brandon!” Is he crazy? “What do you mean you’re seeing this through to the end?” I follow him out into the living area, and can feel what seems like the hundredth knot twisting around in my stomach.

“Alexis, just drop it, please?” He looks agitated as he heads over to sit on the couch.

“Tell me what you meant.
” I anxiously take a seat beside him.

He’s clenching his jaw and glaring at the coffee table. He won’t even look at me. “I’m not letting them get away with this. I’m gonna find out who’s behind all this
… Holly and … what happened to me … They ruined my fucking life, Alexis. They took everything away from me! They almost beat me to death, and you know what was going through my mind the whole time?” He sounds angry and determined.

“What?” My voice is low and shaky as I ask.

“You! You were going through my fucking mind, and you wanna know why?” He lifts his gaze so he’s looking straight into my eyes. I nod for him to explain. “Every kick and punch they threw at me, every time they took a swipe, all I could think about was you, and how I might never have the chance to see you again. I thought it was too fucking late to tell you how much I’m in love with you, and too fucking late to taste your sweet lips on mine. Alexis, I fucking fell in love you and—”

He stops talking when we notice Neil and Ryan standin
g in their bedroom doorways, watching us. He fell in love me. He fell in love with me. Although our conversation is a very intense one, I feel my face soften and happiness stretch across my face at his revelation. He loves me. His words have just made my heart rate triple, and if he weren’t so badly bruised, I’d have jumped on him already.

Brandon notices my change of appearance
, and his eyes have also lost some of the angry flare that was present just a second ago. “Well, that was one hell of a romantic way to tell her, bro!” Ryan comes over to join us, with Neil following slowly behind.

“You’re not gonna give up?” Neil
demeanor is all serious while his eyes bounce between both Brandon and I. “Do you really think that’s wise?”

“I’m never gonna give up until those
assholes pay for what they did,” my stomach rolls at his determination. He doesn’t look as though he’s going to budge on his decision right now, but I’m hoping that with a little more time and persuasion, he’ll realize he doesn’t have anything to prove. All the people around him care and love him. I’ll make him come to his senses, I know I will.

Alyssa practically runs through the main door and heads straight
towards us all, “I saw your car in the parking lot! You’re back!” She beams as she rests her arms on the back of the couch.

We all sit together and talk for a little while. Brandon’s holding my hand
, and I can feel his eyes on me as we listen to Alyssa chatting about the music show. “…it’s a shame you won’t be able to perform, though,” she says as she turns in Brandon’s direction.

“There’s
always next year, and this means I get to sit with Alexis and watch you guys kick some ass.” He smiles as he holds my hand with a firmer grip.

“I guess that’s two things to celebrate that day!” Alyssa chimes in again. “We get to star in the main show, and it’s Alex’s birthday!” I’d completely forgotten about my birthday, and now I guess I know how I’ll be spending it. With the people I care about the most.
This makes me extremely happy.

Brandon goes to
stand and I see him whisper something into Alyssa’s ear. She shrugs her shoulders at me, before she and Brandon both head out into the main hallway. They’re up to something, I know it.

***

“You love me,” I tease him, as I lay curled up on the couch with my head in his lap. It’s Saturday night and while the rest of the guys headed out to a gig, we decided we would settle down and watch a movie together. “You love me.”

I look up at Brandon
, and see him shaking his head while wearing a huge grin, “Even though you snore … I still love you.” He laughs as he strokes my hair with his left hand, while resting his right arm on the side of the couch.

I let out a sigh of contentment as I turn myself onto my back
, so I can keep staring at him. “When I first saw you in the hospital, I thought that …” Images of him lying on the hospital bed filter into my mind, and I feel myself getting a little choked up when I remember each and every emotion that went through me that day.

“I know.
I heard you,” he responds as his playful demeanor turns serious. “I knew already though.”

“You did?” I sit myself up, take in his cheeky grin, and
notice the mischievous spark entering into his eyes. “How?” I shoot him a quizzical look.

He leans closer, so close that his lips are brushing mine, and then he whispers, “Because you always kept checking me out. Even when I was in a coma, I knew you couldn’t keep your eyes off of me!” He laughs and leans back, but when he sees I’m not laughing with him, he throws me a look of concern. “What? What is it?”

Letting out a deep breath, I decide I should just tell him what’s on my mind, “For a second there, I thought you were going to kiss me.” My voice screams sadness, while I turn away and sit back against the couch. Pure disappointment is washing over me and I start to wonder if he’s ever going to give all of himself to me.

Sitting himself straighter and turning his body around, so he’s fully facing me, he looks deep in thought
for a couple of seconds, “Alexis, when I kiss you, I want it to be when I make love to you.” He means it. I can tell.

“And when will you be making love to me?” I narrow my eyes on him as I ask. I can’t believe we just declared our love for each other
and he won’t even kiss me.

“I’ll let you know,” h
e winks and pulls me into him again. “Soon, I promise.” It had better be.