Brendan pulled himself slowly away from the blonde, then turned and shot me a grin over his shoulder. “Hey, Victoria.”
Too drunk to care, let alone process what I was doing I shouted back, “Don’t hey me, you two-timing hussy.”
“Hussy?” Brendan said with a grin, his humor apparent in his tone, which only made me even angrier.
“How dare you cheat on my sister with this woman.” My hands began to shake, I was so furious on my sister’s behalf.
“Victoria,” Abigail tried to get my attention, but I was too angry to listen.
“She’s sweet and fun, and doesn’t deserve the way you’re treating her.”
Brendan turned away from the girl who’d been in his arms and took a step closer to me, his face changing from good-natured to down-right pissed off, and I suddenly realized that he was taller than I’d originally thought.
“I’m not cheating on anyone,” Brendan said through clenched teeth. “Abigail knew the drill before we hooked up.”
I turned to Abigail, who was looking at her shoes, and I suddenly felt the room begin to spin.
“What is going on?” I jerked my head toward Brock’s voice, and noticed two things. One, was that he looked and sounded very angry. And two, that he was standing next to his brother, across from me and my sister, and that his arms were crossed over his chest.
“Just a misunderstanding,” Abigail started to say in my defense.
“Miss Priss here accused Brendan of cheating on her sister with me, calling him a hussy, and breaking into our time.” This came from the blonde who was peeking around Brendan’s shoulder, but all she got for her effort was a glare from all four of us.
“You calling my brother out in the middle of the bar?” Brock asked, his tone and facial expression unlike anything I’d ever seen.
It was so disturbing that I lost my words again, and just stood there, staring at him in shock.
“No big deal, bro,” Brendan said, picking up the vibes coming off of his brother. “As Abigail said, just a misunderstanding. Victoria obviously thought there was more between her sister and I than there was.” This he said with a deliberate look at Abigail, and I saw her flinch next to me.
“Hey,” I said, finding my words again. “That may be the way you treat other girls, but Abigail deserves better…”
“Stop,” Brock said sternly, before I could finish my defense of my sister’s honor. “Look, Victoria, I may think it’s cute when you act all bitchy and righteous with me, but I will not have you speaking to my brothers that way. What Brendan does with the women in his life is his business, not yours, and if your sister got her emotions tangled up and thought there was more there than there was, well, I’m sorry to say, that’s her problem.”
My mouth dropped open, my back stiffened, and suddenly, the tequila that had made me feel so wonderful a few moments ago was threatening to rip a hole in my stomach. I looked around, noticing that Sasha, Shelly, Gaby, and Brady had all joined the party, and were looking at me with faces full of pity, and I suddenly had to get out of there as fast as possible.
“Abigail, take me home?” I asked my sister, who nodded swiftly, then took my hand and led me out of the bar. By the time we reached the parking lot, we were practically running, and it wasn’t until I was belted in to her car, and we were driving away, that I noticed that we were both crying.
Chapter 19 ~ Brock
“What the fuck, bro?” Brady said as he pushed his way through the girls, who were all glaring at me.
“I thought you’d left,” I said absently, everything that had happened in the last five minutes beginning to penetrate.
I lifted my hand to get the bartender’s attention and said, “Maker’s on the rocks,” then turned back to my brother.
“I was going to, then I heard yelling and looked over to see a standoff between you two and your girlfriend,” Brady replied. “Don’t you think you were kind of harsh?”
“Yeah, Brock,” Sasha added, hands on her hips.
I turned from Brady to look at the girls, and felt a slash across my heart at the looks of disappointment on Gaby and Shelly’s faces.
“Brock,” the bartender called, indicating my whiskey was ready. I reached over to grab it, brushing Brendan’s arm as I did.
He caught my wrist before I could pull back, looked me in the eye, and said, “I get that you were pissed on my behalf, but you were hard on her. She was defending her sister, the same way that you were defending me. You need to see that.”
My gut clenched as his words soaked in, and I took a sip of my whiskey to try and relieve the burning in my throat.
“Fuck … I was outta line,” I said, trying not to feel like a total shit when every single one of them nodded at me, including the busty blonde Brendan had been pawing at the bar.
I was usually a pretty mellow guy, but nothing got me riled up like someone attacking my family. Verbally or physically. It was a knee-jerk reaction, and I hated that I’d spoken to Victoria that way.
I looked back at Brendan and nodded.
“She was right. You are a hussy,” I said, causing everyone to chuckle, breaking up the mood a bit.
“Go after her,” Brady said. “Explain that you were both coming from the same place. She’ll get it.”
I nodded at Brady, handed my whiskey to Brendan, then took off out back to where my bike was parked.
I figured she’d have Abigail take her to home, so I took off in that direction, hoping she’d at least let me in and hear me out. I knew she understood how important my brothers were to me. I just hoped she didn’t look at it as me taking Brendan’s side over hers. Even though that’s exactly what I’d done.
I was picturing the look of hurt that had settled on Victoria’s face when I’d called her bitchy and righteous, and I was so caught up in feeling the guilt of putting it there, I barely registered the glaring headlights that seemed to come out of nowhere.
As my wheels went out from under me, and I soared through the air, my last thought was of Victoria … then I thought of nothing at all.
Chapter 20 ~ Victoria
I heard my phone ringing, but there was no one that I wanted to talk to in that moment, other than Abigail, and she was lying on the sofa next to me. We’d had a long conversation when we got back to my place, and she explained that Brendan was more of a hook-up, than a boyfriend. He was honest with her from the beginning, and although she’d agreed, she said she hadn’t realized how much she actually liked him, until she saw him hooking up with someone else.
I felt like an idiot. I’d totally overreacted and hadn’t give Brendan, or Abigail, a chance to explain, I’d just went off half-cocked. I knew it was because of the alcohol, and I’d already vowed never to touch tequila again.
I knew I’d have to apologize to Brendan. We’d actually been getting along, and I just hoped I hadn’t messed things up by calling him a hussy.
I couldn’t believe that I’d done that.
Brock was another story. On one hand, I understood where he was coming from. He was defending his brother, just like I was defending my sister. On the other … What he said really hurt. The way he’d looked at me, his tone, and the words he used had physically hurt me. That’s why, at two o’clock in the morning, I was wide awake, staring at my ceiling, and listening to my sister snore loudly.
When my phone starting ringing again, followed by Abigail’s doing the same, my heart began to pound and a sense of foreboding took over me. I swung my legs over Abigail’s, trying to get out as I reached blindly for my phone. It sounded like it was coming from underneath the couch.
I finally grabbed it, checking the screen and seeing an unknown number.
“Hello?” I answered, my voice anxious.
“Victoria?” a male voice asked.
“Yes?”
“This is Brendan … There’s been an accident. It’s Brock.” His voice cracked, making me think he was crying, which, paired with his words, made my blood run cold.
<
br /> “Where are you?” I asked, fighting back the tears that were building in my throat.
“St. John’s. Hurry. Brady’s freaking out. We don’t know what’s going on, just that they’re working on him.”
“We’re on the way,” I assured him, shaking Abigail to wake her up.
Brendan hung up and I shouted at Abigail as I searched frantically for a pair of shoes.
“Abigail, get up. We have to go to the hospital. Brock’s been in an accident.”
Abigail sprung to action, moving faster than I’d ever seen, grabbing her purse and sandals, then shoving a pair of flip-flops at me. “Here, let’s go.”
She sped off toward the hospital, breaking numerous laws as she drove, yet it seemed to take us forever to get there. When she pulled into the parking lot, she’d barely stopped the vehicle when I threw open the door and barreled out. I scarcely registered the breeze hitting my bare legs as I ran across the lot in my pajamas and flip flops.
“Brock O’Malley?” I asked urgently when I got close enough to yell at the lady behind the admittance desk.
“You can join the others in the third floor waiting area,” the woman said kindly.
I waited impatiently for Abigail, then we rode the elevator up to the third floor.
“Don’t freak out until you know what we’re dealing with,” Abigail said quietly.
I didn’t respond. I just waited for the elevator to ding, and the doors to open.
Finally, I rushed out, looking left, then right, glancing at the sign on the wall and following the directions to the waiting room.
When we rounded the corner, I stopped and took in the scene before me. Scott, Gaby, TJ, Sasha, Cal, and Shelly were strewn about the room. Shelly’s head was in Cal’s lap as she stretched across the chairs, her eyes closed. Scott was holding Gaby as she cried softly against his shoulder. And Sasha and TJ were holding hands tightly as they looked up, unseeing, and the television in the corner. Brendan and Brady were sitting in the opposite corner on the floor, backs against the wall. Brendan was speaking to Brady quietly, whose expression of utter fear made my stomach drop to my toes.
Brendan got to his feet when he saw us enter, crossing the room slowly, his eyes full of sadness.
He held his hands out to me and said, “We don’t know anything yet, but the nurse said the doctor should be out soon.” Then he pulled me to him and hugged me tightly. I brought my arms around him, giving comfort as I took it. He was still dressed in his clothes from the bar, and I suddenly became aware of my silky shorts and camisole.
I pulled back, looking down at myself, shocked that I’d left the house in such a hurry, that I hadn’t given one thought to my attire. I was crossing my arms over my chest when Scott approached, catching my attention.
“Here, Victoria, the staff was nice enough to give us some blankets. Why don’t you take this one.”
He held out a small blue blanket, which I accepted with a smile, and wrapped around my shoulders, covering as much of me as possible.
“Thank you.”
Scott returned my smile, gave my shoulder a squeeze, then turned and went back to gather Gaby in his arms.
Brendan walked past me to acknowledge Abigail, so I made my way to where Brady was still sitting on the floor. I slid down the wall, scooching closer until my arm was brushing against his. He was staring off into space, also in the same clothes he’d had on at the bar, hair spiking in every different direction, as if he’d been trying to tear it out.
“Hey,” I said softly, taking his hand in mine.
“It’s been almost ten years since our parents’ accident,” Brady said, his voice rough with pain. I squeezed his hand gently and he continued, “I’ll never forget when they came to the door … I answered it. Then now … tonight, the police called, and once again, I didn’t expect it. I didn’t even look to see who was calling, figured it was one of my brothers, then … Bam. I can’t fucking do this again.”
Brady dropped his chin to his chest, and I could tell he was struggling to keep his emotions in check.
“You don’t know what’s going on yet,” I said, reaching out to smooth his hair, hoping to offer him some sort of comfort. “Don’t assume the worst.”
Brady lifted his head and brought his tortured eyes to mine.
“It’s my fault,” he began. “I told him to go after you … Said he’d been too harsh and he needed to make it right. If I would’ve let him sleep on it and work it out on his own, he wouldn’t have been out there at the same time as that damn semi.”
“No, Brady,” I replied urgently, “don’t do that to yourself.” But at the same time I said it, my heart filled with pain and accusation. If I hadn’t left in a fit, if I’d stayed back and talked to Brock, rather than running away, he never would have went after me.
We sat on the floor, holding hands, but not saying anything, for what felt like forever. Finally, a tall, thin man in navy scrubs came out and asked, “Can I see just the family for now?”
Brady gave my hand one more squeeze, before standing and joining Brendan. Together, they followed the doctor out of the waiting room.
Chapter 21 ~ Brock
I laid there, numb, unable to fathom everything that had happened over the last twelve hours. I remembered riding my bike toward Victoria’s, and the sudden flash of lights, then being airborne. After that … nothing. I guess I was fortunate that I had no memory of what happened.
They said I flew off my bike upon impact, but that the semi had caught the bike just right, and it had catapulted after me, landing on top of me in the median. The driver had dozed at the wheel, but had reacted quickly and was able to get help and pull my bike off of me. He’d been arrested, and was currently in a holding cell at the police station.
I’d been confused when I’d come to, but the doctor explained my injuries, including the fact that although I currently had no feeling in my legs, the paralysis was most likely temporary, due to trauma.
All I knew was, I couldn’t move my legs, and I was terrified that it would be permanent.
I tried to keep my cool when Brendan and Brady were ushered into the room. Especially when I saw the state my middle brother was in. He’d taken my parents’ death extremely hard, and I was sure that the thought of losing me, not just his brother, but surrogate father, was taking its toll on him.
So, even though I wanted to rage and scream, I had to keep my shit together … for my brothers.
“Hey,” I muttered, the drugs fogging up my brain, but in a good way.
Instead of responding, Brady rushed to my side and threw his arms around me, laying his face in my chest and struggling not to sob. I could feel him taking deep breaths to try and regain his composure, and my heart broke at the suffering I’d caused him.
“Bro, I’m gonna be fine,” I assured him, trying to will my arms to stay around him, even though they wanted to flop back onto the bed like wet noodles.
“They said you have trouble with your legs,” Brendan said quietly from the other side of me. I turned my head slowly to him, my gut tightening when I saw the pain that he’d also been suffering, all over his face.
“Just temporary,” I replied, hoping I conveyed a confidence that I did not feel. “I’ll be up and climbing ladders again in no time.”
As I said the words, a kind of fog settled over me as I imagined what my life would be like if the paralysis was permanent. I’d never get to paint another house, go mudding with my brothers, or stand on stage and play the guitar. How could I be the protector of my family from a chair?
I laid my head back into the pillow and closed my eyes, urging the thoughts of self-pity away. I had to be strong for my brothers; they were counting on me. I felt myself starting to doze as the drugs worked through my system, then jolted awake when Brady stood up.
“Victoria’s here, you want me to bring her back?” Brady asked, wiping his face and running his hands through his hair.
Victoria. I thought back to how far she’d come o
ver the last few weeks. Finding something to be passionate about, and trying things she never thought she would. I looked down at my body, bandaged and broken, with tubes and lines sticking out of me, and I knew no matter what happened, my road to recovery was not going to be easy. If the paralysis was only temporary, I’d still need time to mend, and probably some sort of physical therapy. If it wasn’t temporary, then my entire life would change, and I would have to learn to deal with it. Not just physically, but emotionally. I knew that Victoria was a strong woman, but no matter how strong, I could never ask her to stick around when there was a chance I’d be in a chair for the rest of my life.
“Uh, yeah, bring her back. It’s better if I let her go now, than drag it out and make her suffer more in the end,” I replied.
‘What the hell are you talking about, bro?” This came from Brendan. “That girl ran over here in her silky pajamas, and has been a rock for us while we waited to find out what was going on with you. She loves you, man … What do you mean let her go?”
“Bren, would you rather I ask her to put her life on hold and take care of me? She’s just getting started in her career, and there’s no way I can ask her to stick around when there’s a chance this shit isn’t temporary,” I spat out, pointing at my legs that were laying there, useless. “I’m not the kind of man that can have a woman coddling me, feeding me, and, what? Holding my dick when I have to go to the bathroom? It won’t work. I’ve got to let her go. Can you get her for me, Brady?”
Brady face was tight, but he nodded and left the room. Brendan shook his head and stated, “I’m not hanging around for this. I’ll be back.” Then he was gone too.
I closed my eyes, listening to the various beeps going off in the small room, trying unsuccessfully to move my toes. I was getting well and truly pissed off at the feelings of helplessness when I felt Victoria enter the room.
I opened my eyes, and worked on keeping my face blank as I took her in. She was wearing her silky shorts and tank, just like Brendan had said, and she had a hospital blanket thrown over her shoulders. Her hair was all over the place, and she looked a total mess.