Lost in the Game {Brollins}

| Chapter 41 |

The guys sat at a cafeteria table during lunch and Colby filled them in on the doctor's suggestions for Rebecca.

She was told that rest was preferred until they were certain the drugs wore off. They were also advised that her mood and actions could be spontaneous, so she should stick with people she could trust, and those who wouldn't overwhelm her. If she was feeling any other side effects that could've been caused by the drugs, she needed to immediately head back to the hospital for further testing.

It was evident to Colby that Nicholas's actions were done in retaliation to the confrontation he had with Rebecca in the hallways, and Joseph knew that Nicholas would always bug her, yet all three guys didn't know why Brock would have gotten involved.

While all three of them were dealing with a whirl of emotions mainly consisting of worry and complete anger, guilt was eating away at all three of them. They all knew Rebecca didn't want to go to the party, yet they continued to try and convince her to show up, and if she hadn't shown up they would have never been in this whole mess and Rebecca wouldn't have had to go through the traumatic events that ensued.

However, as time passed Colby grew more and more anxious, wondering why it was taking Rebecca so long to get to the cafeteria. When he finally noticed her enter the cafeteria, he watched Rebecca walk towards them after seeing them, and he easily figured out that something was off. 

Joseph and Jonathan looked at Colby when they noticed him staring somewhere behind them for a long period of time, after not talking for a while, and they both noticed Rebecca walking over to them slowly. The closer she got the more the guys realized that she most likely broke every single one of the doctor's orders, they just couldn't tell how.

As soon as she looked towards him and he met her eyes he gazed down at the table, trying not to seethe at the sight of her damaged face, and the constant reminder that he wasn't fast enough.

She sat herself down in the only free seat, next to Colby, and just stared directly at the wall in front of her. The three quickly noticed the redness on her previously clear cheek and looked at each other wearily.

"You okay Irish?" Joseph spoke up before the others.

Rebecca just nodded and remained quiet, and Colby shook his head. "No, you're not."

"Then why ask if you all apparently seem to know the answer?!" She quickly lashed out, and immediately after she said it, the guys could see the regret in her eyes as she looked down at the table in front of her. "Sorry."

All three of them looked at her sympathetically, knowing she didn't mean it. They gave her some time to talk on her own terms, not wanting to rush her and cause further damage.

"What happened?" Jonathan interjected softly, clearly impatient to know, yet dialling down his emotions for her sake.

Rebecca knew there was no way she was going to pull off lying this time, especially due to the fact that she was in pain both physically and mentally. "I obviously thought that one bruised cheek wasn't enough. I wanted to try and match the other one."

They all rolled their eyes at her twisted humour while shaking their heads, and Jonathan knew better than to let Rebecca de-rail from the original question because before they knew it she would have them talking about something completely unrelated in a matter of seconds. "No for real, what happened?"

"Uh, Mercedes asked me to do another deal for her and Thomas started causing trouble." She shrugged.

"Okay, and?" Jonathan pried, catching Rebecca off guard seeing as she wasn't used to so many people caring that much.

She thought for a moment before starting, "Well, long story short he pressed his joint onto my cheek, blew some smoke into my eyes, and called it a day."

The guys sat there astonished, not knowing how she looked like she was taking it lightly.

"Where the hell is he now?" Jonathan began to stand before Joseph pulled him back down.

"Limping to the nearest hospital." She quietly joked before shaking her head, "Don't worry about it."

Rebecca wasn't one to complain, and she hated those who constantly whined, so instead of saying anything, she just gently laid her head on top of her crossed arms, as she rested them on the table. The guys quickly took the hint, but the entire situation ate away at Colby.

He hesitantly, placed his hand on her back, almost jerking it away when he felt her muscles tense up. But when she didn't shrug him away or shoot him a deadly glare, he simply leaned in and whispered to her, "I can drive you home if you want."

She subtly shook her head, and couldn't help but let herself smile in the slightest. She was still trying to be more open with others, and although it wasn't easy and she definitely wasn't the easiest to deal with, Colby going the extra mile to try and take care of her was a constant factor, that was getting increasingly hard to ignore.

After a few minutes, the guys created some small talk, while Rebecca sat quietly, enjoying the chance to listen in and relax for once. 

However, before the group could become too comfortable, a loud voice boomed through the cafeteria, "Mr. Lopez, Miss. Quin, my office now."