Misjudged

by Sarah Elizabeth

  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 having 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 out, 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 you 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 standing 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,” he winks and pulls me into him again. “Soon, I promise.” It had better be.

  17.

  The Ultimate Betrayal.

  It’s the week before Neil, Ryan, and Alyssa are supposed to perform for the college’s annual music show, and while they’re all out practicing, I’m stuck at home with a blazing migraine.

  I haven’t suffered with one this bad for at least a year, and I think I must have vomited at least three times in the past six hours alone. Brandon went to the local drug store and picked up the medication that my doctor had prescribed, before heading to the class he was already running late for. He seems to be getting better each day and his headaches are decreasing as more time passes by.

  He offered to stay with me but I could tell he wasn’t too thrilled by the idea. When I told him there wasn’t any need, and that if I needed him to come back then I would call or message him, I saw instant relief flash through his eyes. I guess this could be due to him missing out on so many classes as of late and needing to catch up.

  Although he’s been staying here for the last couple of weeks, and will be until next week, when his monitoring period is up, I feel as though we’re starting to drift apart. I know this sounds crazy considering we’re practically living together, but he’s been spending a lot of time out of the dorm and coming home later and later each night, as each week has progressed.

  When I asked him where he’s been going and what he’s been doing, he tensed up and told me he was just hanging out with a couple of friends at the bar. He isn’t due to return back to work until he’s fully better, and he told me he’s trying to make the most of his time off.

  The only reason I’ve doubted his explanation is because each night he climbs into bed beside me, he doesn’t smell of any alcohol. Even though he hasn’t been drinking, under the strict orders of his doctor, I would have thought there would still be a smell of alcohol on him or his clothes.

  I’m really hoping that whatever it is that he’s been doing, it has nothing to do with what happened to him and that he’s not trying to find out who did this and seek revenge. He should have reported it to the cops and let them handle it.

  My cellphone springs to life on the pillow beside me, telling me I have one new message.

  I can’t get hold of Brandon, Is he with you? Rye.

  He can’t get a hold of him? He should be in class with him.

  I called Brandon’s cell as soon as I’d read the message from Ryan. He eventually answered after I tried calling for the third time. He sounded distant. No ‘I love you’ when we ended the call, and when I asked him where he was, he told me he was in the middle of class. I was relieved when he answered because it set my mind to rest that he hadn’t collapsed or anything, but at the same time, he sounded strange. The nausea I’ve been suffering from ever since my migraine decided to take full action against my body doesn’t even compare to what I’m feeling now. He lied. If he wasn’t doing anything wrong, he would have no reason to lie. I really don’t like where my mind is heading with this.

  Glancing over at my alarm clock, I notice it’s time to take another pill, so I climb off of my bed and go to grab them from the living area. It’s pretty obvious from looking around the dorm that Alyssa and I haven’t been doing a lot of cleaning over the past couple of days. The place is a mess.

  Picking up what looks like a month old newspaper from the coffee table, my eyes land on Brandon’s open wallet. I go to close it and take it back to my room, when a few pieces of paper fall on to the floor.

  Scooping them up off of the carpet, I still when I see a receipt. Now I definitely think I’m gonna throw up. He wouldn’t cheat on me. No, he wouldn’t.

  Fuck.

  According to this he dined at The Majestic Hotel only two nights ago. Judging by what was ordered, he didn’t eat alone. Two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts, all accompanied by a bottle of very expensive champagne. Fuck. I feel like my heart has just been ripped out and shredded into tiny pieces all over the floor.

  Yep, I’m definitely gonna throw up.

  ***

  After emptying the contents of my stomach again, I grab a blanket from my room and cocoon it around me as I lay down on the couch. Is this why he won’t kiss me yet? Maybe he’s changed his mind and doesn’t know how to tell me. There’s only one way to find out and that’s to ask him when he gets back, although God only knows when that’ll be.

  The music class finished over an hour ago and I know that if our roles were reversed, I would have at least checked back to see if he was feeling any better, but then, he didn’t go to class.

  Having taken some pain relievers along with my prescribed medication, my migraine finally seems to be weakening and I even think I’ll be able to manage something to eat.

  The main door swings open, and when I glance over the back of the couch, I think that perhaps my appetite didn’t quite make it back after all.

  Brandon pauses when he sees me and gives me a tiny smile, while placing his keys down on the breakfast bar. He shrugs out of his jacket and goes to hang it up, before walking over to where I’m sitting.

  Okay. This is going to go one of two ways. Do I test him, or do I question him outright?

  “Hey, how are you feeling?” He kneels down on the flo
or beside me and places his hand lightly over my forehead. “Have you been sick anymore?”

  I nod at him and feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Please have a good explanation, please prove me wrong.

  “Do you need me to get you anything?” He asks, while moving over to sit on the coffee table, before facing me.

  I shake my head in reply. I don’t know how best to approach this. I never imagined I’d doubt his feelings towards me again. Ever. “No, I’m good. How was class?” Okay, I’m going with that route.

  His shoulders tense and he pulls his eyes away from mine. Oh hell. As he stands back up, he sees his wallet sitting on the coffee table and I notice him quickly glancing over at me, before picking it up and shoving it into his pocket.

  “Just the same as usual, you know …” He gives me another small smile, but I can see a trace of guilt all over his face as he heads towards my room.

  “Will you be going out again tonight?” I sit myself up and see him pause, before slowly pivoting around to face me again. “I thought that maybe we could spend some time together.”

  He lets out a deep sigh and looks slightly conflicted, “I already said I’d pop by the bar for a couple of hours. I’m sorry, Alex.”

  I can’t believe he just called me Alex. Since when did he start calling me fucking Alex? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. I’ve already lost him. Clenching my eyes shut, I take a couple of deep breaths and hope I’m imagining things. Using my full name was his quirky little thing, and come to think of it, I can’t even remember the last time he called me beautiful.

  He heads into my room and when I go to follow him in there, I stop right outside when I hear him chatting on his cell.

  “No it’s fine … I think she’s getting suspicious though … No, I’m not telling her, not yet … Listen I gotta go. Meet me at eight o’clock … Five zero seven … I can’t wait either.”