Chapter 13 - Passed Out
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I walked into the office hesitantly. Brandon hadn't said a word to me since the gala two weeks ago and I was still nervous. I was nervous to the point where my hands were shaking insanely. I wasn't aware that I had done anything wrong or to hurt him indirectly.
I sat at my desk and began to arrange all of the meetings for him to attend when the door to my office slammed open causing me to jump with fright and terror. I swear that I thought the building was getting raided or something of that degree. So you could imagine the shock I felt when I saw Brandon walk in through the door.
"Ashley," Brandon slurred as he walked in barely keeping his balance.
"Brandon?" I asked looking at him.
"Why don't you love me, Ashely? I'm dying to get your love but that good-for-nothing..." He trailed off before regaining his train of thought, "Melanie's brother has the thing I want most," Brandon slurred as he approached me his eyes red.
"What do you mean?" I breathed out as I studied him.
"Don't you get it! Damn it! Why are you so dense all the time?" He said as he began to yell his hands were clenched into fists.
"What don't I get?" I asked trying to calm myself down.
"I love you! I love you Ashley Hayes yet you don't return those feelings," He slurred as he fell onto the ground hitting the floor with a loud thump.
"Oh my goodness!" I said and ran to him shaking his muscular body.
"Brandon!" I asked worriedly.
"Brandon!" I shook his limp body again as I hurriedly grabbed my phone and dialed Lissa. She came running in a few moments later her face turning pale when she saw her brother's unconscious body on the floor and began fumbling with her phone in an attempt to dial 911 while I carried on shaking him like there was no tomorrow.
I let the tears that I was holding in roll out of my eyes and they dripped onto Brandon's handsome face as harsh images of my mother and father hit me like a truck at top speed.
My breathing became erratic.
"No, no, no!" I cried as I looked at Brandon feeling like the six-year-old once more.
Vulnerable and helpless.
"Ashley! Calm down!" Lissa said as she came and hugged me tightly.
"Ashley breathe," She said and rubbed soothing circles on my back, "He'll be okay, I promise you," She whispered.
I shook my head, "That's what the redhead said and then they weren't okay," I sniffed.
"Look, Brandon is unconscious from the amount of alcohol he stupidly consumed," Lissa informed me trying to be gentle.
"He could die of alcohol poisoning!" I screeched.
"He won't. The ambulance is on their way over here," She told me, and feeling numb I nodded.
The ambulance ride was intense. All the employees looked in horror as they carried Brandon's body out on a stretcher. The paramedics were all checking his pulse before they allowed Lissa and me to get in and they drove like maniacs to the hospital. I was working to count from one to a hundred whilst Lissa drew soothing circles on my hand to calm me down.
"He'll be fine." The paramedic that was monitoring Brandon said, "I doubt he will have to have his stomach pumped. I think he passed out from exhaustion."
I just chose to silently nod. I did, however, feel much better. At least he wasn't going to need surgery to get better. When we reached the hospital, Brandon was unloaded from the ambulance in a stretcher and was taken inside to the emergency room.
Lissa and I took a seat in the waiting room. I noticed that she retained her color and she was tapping her foot anxiously on the floor. Approximately six hours passed before a nurse came out to call us.
"He woke up now and he's fine." She told us whilst Lissa and I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Did they have his stomach pumped?"
"We can't disclose that information to anyone but family Miss."
"I am his sister!" She said, "This is his fiancee so I believe she should know too."
She sighed, "We didn't have to. I was not on duty and the team that was isn't available as they are attending to another critical patient. I apologize for that."
"Can we see him?" I asked timidly.
"Of course. Follow me!" She said and began walking towards the patient rooms. Lissa and I followed her.
"I hate you!" I yelled the minute I walked through the door to his cubicle.
"That's one way to wake someone up,"
"I still hate you," I said and looked down at a grinning Brandon whom I was ready to slap.
"What did I tell you?" Lissa asked peeping in through the door before she walked in and ruffled Brandon's hair as he rolled his eyes and groaned.
"That he'd be okay," I said in a low voice so that she wouldn't hear me, sadly she actually did.
"See! No need to freak out!" She said and I felt like crawling under a bridge. She doesn't know. She doesn't know. I repeated to myself those words so that I could attempt to calm myself down.
"Melissa," Brandon said in a warning tone.
Lissa stopped and for that I was grateful.
"I'll step out for a bit while you two siblings talk and everything," I said.
"Ashley stay, please," Brandon said.
"I don't want to intrude on your conversation," I spoke meekly whilst he rolled his eyes at me.
"Melissa will be leaving," He told me and she rolled her eyes and walked out the room.
"Ah, some alone time with my girlfriend," He announced.
"Oh so now I'm your girlfriend?" I asked him bitterly.
"You've always been, baby," He told me and pinched my cheek.
I slapped his hand away.
"Brandon no. I think we should just break up," I told him truthfully my heart shattering right as I spoke the words.
"What?" He asked.
I nodded, "We need to break up,"
"Why?" He asked.
"I... I'm not really up for being your 'toy' and I feel as though we may have rushed into this relationship a bit too fast," I answered.
"What do you mean my 'toy'?" Brandon spat.
"You know, you push me away for two weeks and then you want me to be all 'lovie dovie' with you but I'm sorry I'm not that type of girl and I can't do this much further, I do hope you understand," I told him trying to keep my tears at bay.
"Look I'm sorry I pushed you away I wasn't in a good state of mind. I didn't want to hurt you," He whispered.
"Brandon you hurt me by pushing me away," I said back to him and looked away from his mesmerizing face and eyes that had attracted me to him in the first place.
"I'm sorry, I won't do it again," He told me truthfully.
"Why?" I asked him my voice low.
In my mind I wanted - no - needed to know why he had been ignoring me for a whole damn week but I was afraid that the answer he would give me wouldn't be satisfactory... what if that question is what's going to break me and Brandon up?
"I've been stressed out with work and my father has been all over me with the fact that I'm supposedly slacking with the company and that I wasn't making the best choices and all..." He trailed off, "My dad spent it 'teaching' is what he thinks while I think he just spent it criticizing me and I did not like that at all!" He finished.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," I said as I had nothing better to say to him or to help sort out his dilemma"I was.
"It's fine," He waved it off.
"I guess," I meekly agreed and decided to hold his outstretched hand.
"To be fully truthful, I also thought you had feelings for Melanie's brother because she said so to you."
"Did she tell you this?" I asked raising my eyebrows.
"No, I overheard."
"Why would you not approach me with that concern? Why bottle it up? I would have explained to you why she said that." I said and crossed my arms.
"I was scared of your answer."
"Why?"
"What if you loved him? I have spent these last two weeks thinking about that scenario."
"I don't love him!" I protested, "He has always been there as a friend and a brother. He is a brother to me just as much as he is a brother to Melanie." I stated.
He looked away and then looked at me again, "I am so sorry."
"I will forgive you on one condition."
"What is that?"
"That you always talk to me first before shutting me out."
"I promise you that I will always come to you first, no matter what." He said.
"You still have to work and make it up to me so that you can hear the words 'I forgive you' leave my mouth."
"Thank you, Ash. I will make it up to you, I swear I will." He whispered.
Brandon enveloped my tiny, cold hand with his large hand while I smiled. It felt like a good moment where I was content, where I wasn't thinking of all the negative things that could possibly happen in the span of the next twenty-four hours or even twenty-four minutes.
"Ashley?" Brandon spoke.
"Yes, Brandon?" I said and gave him a small smile.
"Can you get me a glass of water?" He asked.
"Way to mess up a moment, Brandon!" I told him and went to fetch him a glass of water.
Hey Guys!
I hope that you are enjoying the book so far... Leave a vote and comment your thoughts on the side!
Xoxo
Perla