“Does Rye know about all of this? Is he on it too?” He ignores my question and keeps his eyes fully focused toward the door. “What did we do, huh? Why Holly? Why Alexis? Why me? How did we deserve any of this?” I hear the chair he was sitting on scrape across the floor as he stands, and in the next moment, the room becomes a little lighter. He sits back in his seat, holding an oil lamp in his lap, his eyes dark, and his mouth twisted at the sides.
“Not. Yet.” he grinds his jaw and abruptly stands. “Or maybe sooner than I thought.” He says as he takes a peek out of the small window, and then he walks over to me, placing the lamp on a ledge just ahead. He kneels down, and when he ruffles my hair, I wince from the pain. “It’s show time!” He whispers, and then slaps me hard around the face twice before heading over to the darkest part of the room.
“Brandon?” She … she’s here. I cough when I try to speak. I need to warn her about what’s going on. “Brandon!” She runs straight over when she sees me, but I can’t open my mouth to find the words. I clench my eyes closed, and summon the words to come out of my mouth, but, nothing. He’s gonna hurt her, and I’m not gonna be able to stop him.
I see him slowly approaching us, his smile is wider than I’ve ever seen it before, “No, go! Get the hell outta—” I close my eyes with defeat when I hear the door close, the light fade, and I see her turn around.
“It’s nice of you to finally show your face, Alex!”
“What the hell did you do to him?” she shouts, and I see her stand before charging right at him. “What did you fucking do?”
The room gets brighter when he lights another lamp, and him doing this only shows just how sadistic he really is. His face shows nothing but the evilness that’s within him, “Don’t be turning all of this around on me, Alex,” he spits out with a harsh laugh, and I see him grabbing a hold of her arm. He’s dragging her right over toward me. I wanna yell at him to let go of her, to keep his hands off of her, but I can’t. Every time I try, a stronger pain cripples me, and I’m finding it increasingly hard to focus on anything. “Let’s start with … HIM!” My eyes snap open, and I see him pointing directly at me. Me? I shake my head. There’s no way I’m gonna let him try and poison her against me. What did I do to him? What did I ever do than be a good friend? “Always getting the girl!”
“This … this is what all of this is about?” This is about a girl? What the hell is he talking about? What girl? I try and push myself forward, but the intense pain shoots through my skull, stopping me from being able to help her get away from him. I close my eyes and try to block the pain, the mind numbing pain that’s making it impossible for me to think straight.
“But there was one girl that you didn’t manage to get, and one that I did, isn’t that right, Alex?”
“What is he talking about?” I ask, glancing between the two of them now. I don’t like the way her face fell when he said what he just said.
“Oh, don’t worry, Brandon, it wasn’t this girl. I don’t class just a kiss as getting what I want.”
She kissed him? No. No, she wouldn’t. She knows how serious—“What is he talking about?” I spit through my teeth, clenching my jaw tight. I see him wink at her, his smile growing as her eyes widen. Neil and Alexis kissed?
“No! No, he kissed me and I pushed him away, that’s all, I promise. Ask Zach! Ask him. He was there … He—”
“When?” I growl out, and focus all of my anger right over on Neil. Nobody kisses my fucking girlfriend. Nobody gets to experience those lips. They’re mine. My chest tightens knowing that he tried. He went after my girlfriend?
He laughs, and I see him take a step closer, kneeling down beside her and reaching over to grab a hold of her arm. She pushes him away, but he snarls before gripping her tight, and pulling her back onto her feet.
“Let’s save that for another day,” he waves his hand around nonchalantly, like this isn’t important. As though what he’s doing is completely normal. He’s not normal. He’s deranged. “How about we talk about Holly?”
Alexis tries to step out of the hold he has on her, and I see a deep frown forming over her lips while a pleading look crossing into her eyes, “You leave her out of this! Don’t you think you’ve done enough already?”
“I did her alright!” He smirks. What did he just say?
“You’re sick!” Alexis hisses in his face, but she’s just playing right into his hands. This is the reaction he’s been looking for. The one he’s been craving.
He said this was about a girl. He … he’s the one who … Holly slept with Neil? No, he’s delusional. Holly was mine. She was all mine, and she would never have betrayed me. I knew her. She worried that I’d be the one to stray, but I proved to her that I wouldn’t. I showed her., She wouldn’t have been the way she was when we first started dating if she was ever gonna cheat on me herself. Holly had morals. No. He’s lying. “You’re lying. Holly would never …” I was sure he was, but now I’m seeing the look over Alexis’ face, and watch her as she lowers her head. Now? Well, I’m not so sure what to believe anymore.
“I have proof, don’t I, Alex? You’ve read it, you’ve seen it with your own eyes!” What is he talking about? Proof—the diary. He’s had it all along. That’s why he—oh God, he’s good. He’s really fucking good.
“I hate you! You’re a—”
“Enough! Let’s play a little game of chicken, shall we?”
“Alex, I challenge you to break Brandon’s heart all over again, just like he did with mine when he not only took one girl away from me, but he took you away from me, too.” She wasn’t his. She was mine. Why doesn’t he understand this?
“No! No fucking way! Go to hell!” Alexis spits at him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like this before. Ever.
“Fine, have it your way,” Neil says, raising his hands up in front of him, shrugging his shoulders. “You’re loss.” He comes right at me, and I squeeze my eyes closed when he stamps on my leg. I refuse to let him hear just how much that fucking hurt. But, you wanna know something? It doesn’t hurt as much as this. Finding out that one of my best friends was responsible for all of this is the worst pain imaginable. I didn’t see this. I didn’t see him for what he really is.
“Read it, or say goodnight to Brandon and watch him fade away, just like he watched Holly,” he snarls, and sits down on the ground beside me, just out of reach. Does he really think that I’m gonna be able to do anything to him? I’m having a hard enough time keeping my eyes open. “I warned you, right at the start! Right at the beginning when you first met him, Alex. I warned you and guaranteed that you’d get hurt if you ever got involved with him. Do you remember that conversation? I tried warning you both again with the flowers that were delivered for your birthday, everyone knows they’re funeral flowers, and then there was the whole ordeal of poor Brandon being beaten so badly that he ended up in a coma, and that, that still wasn’t a good enough warning for you both to keep the fuck out of it!” It was all him.
“And my mom?” No. No don’t give him the satisfaction, beautiful. Don’t let him see how much this is destroying you inside.
“You take after her in so many ways, Alex, it’s sickening!”
“I despise you!” She screams at him, and I lift my head up just enough to see her wiping her tears away. I shouldn’t have brought her into any of this. I should’ve listened to my instincts. I should never have let her get close to me. I’ve ruined her life, just like he’s ruined mine.
“Read the fucking diary or I’ll do it!” He’s scowling now, and I see him reach over to her. I try to move. I need to get him away from her, but I can’t. There’s nothing I can do to stop him; to stop any of this. He takes something from out of her pocket. I narrow my eyes and blink a couple of times, trying to focus. The diary. It’s here.
I take a breath, and then try and clear my throat, “Do what he says Alexis, please? I promised you forever, and I swore I would never break that promise. It’s okay. Just read it, please?” I’m
trying my hardest to smile, but all I wanna do is cry. I can’t let her see what he’s doing to me. We need to stay strong. We need to show him that he’s not gonna get what he wants. She drops head and opens the pink book. I have a feeling that she already knows what’s on the inside. I can see it in her eyes. Whatever’s in there is gonna break me, I can sense that it is.
I close my eyes as soon as Alexis starts to read the words out loud. After all this time, I’m gonna know exactly what was going through Holly’s mind.
Back at Alexis’ father’s place, I wanted to know what Holly had written on the inside. I wanted to know that she was in love with me just as much as I was in love with her. But, she wasn’t. She didn’t love me at all. She slept with my best friend, and she wrote about all the times I let her down. She said that I always put my music before her. I let her down, and she turned to my fucking best friend for comfort. She slept with Neil. She betrayed me, and it was all my own fault.
I can feel the tears running down my face, but I don’t care anymore. All I ever cared about was her. That’s why she was so distant with me the week before she died. She pushed me away, because she didn’t want me anymore. Holls didn’t want me anymore.
“Are you happy now, Neil? Now that you’ve made whatever point you were trying to make before you left town?” I hear Alexis’ voice faintly, but I don’t look up. I can’t. I feel numb. All this time. Everything’s been a lie.
“Actually, there is one more thing …” His voice is close, and the back of my head smashes against the wall when he punches me hard in the face again. I don’t have any fight left in me. He took everything away from me, apart from her. Apart from my beautiful Alexis. I hear him laugh some more, and see Alexis fall backward and down to the ground.
“NO!!!!” I hear her scream, and I fight to keep my eyes open.
There’s a sharp pain pulsating through my neck, but then everything fades. The sound, the lighting in the room, the pain. It’s leaving. The pain’s finally going away.
He’s gone. He’s left. It’s over.
After all this time, he’s finally managed to get what he wanted. Alexis crawls over until she’s right beside me, and I feel her wrapping her arms around me. My gaze lands on her hand, and that’s when I see it. He did it. She did what he wanted her to do, but he decided to take me away from her anyway, “Brandon, Brandon where’s your cell phone?” She sounds so desperate.
“Neil took it. I’m so sorry, Alexis.” I tell her, my vision becoming unclear. Calling someone isn’t gonna help. Not now.
“No, don’t close your eyes! Keep them open and I’ll go and get help!” It’s too late, beautiful. It’s too late.
“No, d-d-on’t leave … It was … It was full, he hit me good …” I manage to choke out. I need her to stay with me, I need her to be with me. I’m scared. I don’t wanna go. I don’t wanna leave her behind. She’s my light. She’s my everything.
“What? What does that mean? Brandon, open your eyes! Please?” My eyes are becoming heavy, and I’m trying my hardest to see her. I need to see her face just one more time. “Brandon!” It’s time for me to go. It’s time for me to say goodbye. I’m trying, I’m trying to hold on. I need her to know how much I love her. That she’ll always be the one, but I’m struggling to breathe. Everything’s closing in. Her face is being replaced by the darkness, and I know that once I close my eyes, I’m never gonna see her beautiful face again.
“Forever,” I whisper, my breaths shallow.
“You can’t leave me, you can’t leave me here on my own! Brandon, stay with me! We’re having a baby! You have to stay! You have to!”
Goodbye my beautiful girl. I’ll love you forever.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Dance with me … You felt it, too, didn’t you? …
I need to kiss you. Right here. Right now…
I love you, Brandon … Forever …
My eyes snap open, and all I can see in front of me is pure, bright light. I’m gasping for air, and my heart’s pounding hard in my chest. Sweat beads are forming over my brow, and my throat feels tight. But, then the darkness sets back in. Though, this time it’s different. Instead of a deadly silence, a beeping sound remains, humming in the background, keeping me from plummeting back into the absolute darkness that almost felt safe.
“Brandon?” I hear a familiar soft voice in the distance. “Brandon, can you hear me?” I squeeze my eyes firmly closed. I’d never imagined for one single moment that I could ever feel so much pain from hearing the sound of her sweet, angelic voice.
Sharp pains shoot through my chest, and a dull ache makes its way through my entire body, ultimately making me clench my fists firmly together by my sides.
And, then … silence.
***
I love you, Brandon … Just a kiss …
Alexis, when I kiss you, I want it to be when I make love to you …
Don’t close your eyes … Open your eyes … You can’t leave me …
Please stay with me …
My whole body jolts, and sharp pains shoot through my left arm and upper body. The images are becoming clearer every time they race through my mind. I’m struggling to breathe, and my mouth is becoming dry. The room is much darker than I remember, but I still hear the beeping sound in the background. As soon as I catch my breath, I rest my head back against the cold pillow underneath me.
“Nurse. Nurse, he’s awake,” I hear her voice again, this time it’s calmer … softer. My eyes dart around, searching for her, but the excruciating pains in my skull are way too intense that I can’t move my head to find her. “Brandon?”
I squeeze my eyes closed for a few seconds, and this seems to help my vision become a little clearer when I reopen them. And, that’s when I see her, leaning over me with tears rolling down both of her cheeks. If I could summon up enough energy to wipe them away then I would. But, I caused them. Me. I did this to her. I should’ve stayed away. All of my instincts told me to keep pushing her away, but I didn’t listen. I put myself before her safety. I was selfish.
“It’s over now. It’s all over,” her voice is unsteady, her eyes filled with warmth. She’s nodding reassuringly, and a slight smile etches over her beautiful face before her lips start to tremble. “You stayed.”
I thought my time was up and it was over. I didn’t think I was ever gonna wake up again. All of my last thoughts were of Alexis. I didn’t think that I’d ever be able to see, hear, or touch her again. My stomach rolls, and I start to heave when all the memories begin to race around my mind again.
“What’s wrong with him?” I hear her ask when I lurch forward. “Is he okay?” She sounds anxious.
“It’s perfectly normal, especially after what his body has endured,” I hear a woman’s voice over to the left side of the bed, while I hurl in the bowl that’s been placed under my chin. “You were extremely lucky young man.” I manage to lift my head, and that’s when I see a nurse standing to the side of me. She’s dabbing an ice cold cloth over my face, and she’s wearing a smile. “Extremely lucky.” She thinks I’m lucky? Yeah, well, I might still have the air in my lungs, but I feel anything but lucky at this particular moment in time.
For the past twenty months, I’ve been living a lie. I wanted to know who did all of this. I refused to give up until I found out who took Holly’s life, and who ruined mine. But, finally knowing the truth? Well, it hurts more than I ever imagined it would. A part of me wishes that I was still in the darkness. A part of me is wishing that I never woke back up at all because now I have to live the rest of my life knowing the answers. The answers I was so desperate to know. The answers I’m so desperate to forget.
All of this time. It was him. My best friend. The guy I saw as family. One of the people I trusted the most. One person caused all of this. One. He took her life, and he sabotaged mine.
“How are you feeling?” I turn to face her when she asks me the million dollar question, and she squeezes my hand tighter. I really don’t think you w
anna know.
How am l feeling? Let’s begin with humiliated. Yeah, I think that’s a good place to start. I trusted him. He offered to help me find things out, but all the while, he was hiding things from me to save his own ass. I left, thinking that I was doing the right thing and protecting Alexis, but all I did was play right into his hands. I left her with him because I thought she would be safe, but all I did was leave her within dangers reach.
Betrayed. That’s another way to describe how I feel. He did the worst thing a best friend could ever do. But, you know what hurts the most? What Holly did, and what she did with him. All the times I denied myself happiness because I felt like I was betraying her. I vowed to never forget her or feel the things I did with her for anybody else. I bet they were both laughing at me the whole time. The whole motherfucking time.
“Brandon?” I shake my head, and try to fight back the bile that’s threatening to choke me. The warmth of her hand leaves mine, and I feel the bed shift before she brushes her fingers lightly across my cheek, wiping away a tear that must’ve escaped.
“I loved her,” I whisper, and she leans over me, sadness seeping into her eyes. “I fucking loved her more than life itself.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The detectives left a few minutes ago after spending almost four hours questioning me over everything. When I say everything, I mean every goddamn fucking detail. They wanted to know how I’ve been feeling, they asked me all about my relationship with Holly, Holly’s relationship with Neil, and if I knew the guys who beat the shit outta me back at the cabin. Yeah, needless to say, I kept my feelings well and truly hidden, because if I’d have told them what thoughts have been constantly running through my mind, they would’ve thrown me in a cell alongside him.
Four days ago at this time, I was looking forward to Alexis coming over to stay with me at the cabin for the weekend. Three days and twenty hours ago, my heart stopped beating and according to what I’ve been told, I almost didn’t wake back up.
Misguided Truths: Part Two (Misjudged #4) Page 27