Following Me (42 page)

“Ha!  Yeah,” Devon said with fake
enthusiasm.

“Garrett also told me about what
happened between you two,” Hadley said softly.  “He wanted to clear the slate. 
He said you were pissed at him and wouldn’t forgive him.  I don’t blame you for
that either, Dev.  I’m sorry he did that though.  The, uh…drugs really messed
me up.”

“What happened to you, Hadley?”
Devon asked, wondering if Hadley would finally open up to her.  “I never
thought you would be someone to get caught up in drugs.”

Hadley sighed heavily and tugged
at her ponytail.  “It started casually with some friends.  It wasn’t a big deal,
but then, I was sneaking around everywhere and…it became a bigger deal than I ever
let on.  Then, the stuff with Garrett not knowing and his parents on top of all
the pressure at work…it just spiraled out of control.”  Hadley took a deep
breath before continuing.  “But I’m going to get better, Dev.  That night with
Garrett…I was paranoid, thinking he was cheating.  I was angry all the time. 
When we got into our fight on the Fourth of July, I’d snorted some coke before
the event.  I was always too nervous around his parents.  I shouldn’t have gone
off on him or his dad.  I think my behavior pushed him over the edge.”

“It doesn’t matter, Hadley,”
Devon said, reaching out for her.

Devon hated that her best friend
felt responsible at all for what had happened.  Hadley had been selfish, but
cocaine was addictive for a reason.  It was hard to kick.  Devon was just glad
to see Hadley recovering.

“It does.  My therapist said that
I should try to right the wrongs in my life.  I’m really sorry for not being
there when you needed me…when you came to me for help.  Even if you didn’t ask
for help, I should have known.  And I’m sorry for Garrett’s behavior.  He and I
have a lot to talk about and work out, but I really want to try with him, Dev.”

“I know,” Devon said.

“He said he wanted to talk to you
for just a minute…that is, if you’ll see him,” Hadley said.

“Um…sure.”

“Alright.  Let me go get him,”
Hadley said, standing.  “I’m glad you’re doing better, Dev.”

“Thanks, Hadley.”

When Hadley reached the door, she
turned around and faced Devon with a devilish smile on her face.  “I wish I had
been there when Brennan beat the shit out of Reid.”

Devon laughed and shook her head.

“I think I would have taken his
balls if I knew what he had done to you,” Hadley said.

“I believe you wholeheartedly,
Hadley.”

Hadley laughed and walked through
the door.

A couple minutes later, Garrett
shuffled into the room with a sheepish look on his face.  “Hey, Devon,” he said
tentatively.

Devon sighed and looked out the
window.

“I don’t know if Hadley told you
that I told her,” he said awkwardly.

“She did.”

“Oh, good,” Garrett muttered.  “I
wanted her to know the truth about what I did because it was wrong of me under
any circumstances.  I shouldn’t have kissed you.  I shouldn’t have…cheated on
her.”

Garrett cleared his throat when
she didn’t say anything.  He started again.  “I messed up, Devon.  I was your
friend, and I messed that up.  I know that I’m part of the reason you’re here. 
I’m not even going to ask for your forgiveness because if I were in your
position, I think I’d have a hard time forgiving me.”

Devon sighed and turned to look
at him.  He looked just like Hadley had said, like he hadn’t slept all night. 
She wondered if he had been worried.  Her heart softened some at the thought.

“So, while I don’t expect you to
forgive me, it doesn’t mean I’m not going to try to be better.  All I’m asking
for is the chance to try to earn your trust again.  I don’t think it’s fair to
ask for more than that, but I’ve never been sorrier.  I hate seeing you like
this,” he said, gesturing to the bed.

“Okay,” she said softly.  “It’s
okay.  We’ll, uh…get through it…get past it.”

Garrett beamed like she had just
handed him the keys to a brand-new sports car.  “It’s really good to hear
that.”

“Can I ask just one question?”

“Of course,” he said hesitantly.

“Why would you answer my phone
and tell Reid where I was?”  She looked down at her hands to keep from crying
again.  She was tired of crying.

“I didn’t mean for him to know
where you were.  I’ve replayed that phone call a million times in my head.  I
was so pissed that he was calling you.  You’re my friend, Dev.  I didn’t want
to see you upset.  I just told him to stop calling you, that you were working
at Jenn’s and that Hadley and I were taking care of you.”

“Oh,” she said.  Hearing his
explanation made it so easy to believe him.  He looked too genuine to be
lying.  “I guess that’s how he knew I was in Chicago.”

“Yeah, only because I mentioned
Hadley.  I was stupid.  I didn’t think he’d be so determined to find you,”
Garrett said.  “I hope I can make it up to you.”

The door swung open then, and
Brennan walked in, bringing a big smile to her face.

“They only had cherry.  I hope
that’s alright,” Brennan said, holding Jell-O out in front of him.

“Cherry is my favorite.”  She
took the bowl when he handed it to her.

“I’m going to find Hadley,”
Garrett said, nodding his head toward the door.  “I hope you feel better,
Devon.  I really do.”

When their eyes met, unspoken
words passed between them.  She smiled slightly at him, and he returned the
gesture.

“Thanks,” Devon said just before Garrett
walked out.

Brennan lounged
and kicked his feet back in the uncomfortable hospital chair as Devon ate her Jell-O. 
As everything was with Brennan, their time together in the hospital was
effortless.  He occupied her time while she waited for the doctor to discharge
her.  He told her stories about following his dad around the hospital when he
was growing up.  She told him about her parents’ music, how her mom and dad worked
together to shape and flow the song, how they had tested them out on her when
she was younger.  That was before she had decided to take another turn with her
life.

BEFORE SHE KNEW it, the doctor was
there, checking her vitals and prescribing her more painkillers.  Then, he sent
her on her way.  The medicine really worked, and she was laughing by the time
they reached Brennan’s Jetta.

“Let’s get you back to bed.  I
think you could use another twenty hours of sleep.”  He shook his head as he
helped her into the car, and then he shut the door.

When he sat down in the driver’s
seat, she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Sleep sounds nice,” she said. 
“Will you sleep with me?”

He laughed.  “Is that an
invitation?”

“Open invitation.”

“Oh man, I’m going to keep those
painkillers around.”

“You don’t need them,” she said,
sliding her hand down the front of his shorts.

He rested his hand over hers and
moved it to his thigh.  “I’ll take you up on that when you can think clearly
again.”

“I’m thinking very clear right
now,” she said through giggles.

Brennan shook his head and laced
their fingers.  “I’ll believe that when you can walk unaided.”

“Fine.  Your loss.”

“I’m not losing anything.”

She smiled.  “That’s true.”

“Your mom called while you were
in the hospital.”

“She did?” she asked, confused.

“On your cell.  I saw it light
up.  Are you going to talk to her?”

Devon sighed and nodded her
head.  “Yeah, I am.  But maybe after I’ve slept.”

“That sounds
like a good idea,” he said, squeezing her hand.

BRENNAN DROVE THEM to his apartment
and helped Devon up the stairs.  As soon as they walked through the door, he
picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.  Sleep was pulling her under by
then, and she let him help her into more comfortable clothes.  They both
crawled into bed, and he held her tight against his chest.

“Brennan,” she whispered, feeling
sleep drawing closer.

“Yeah?” he asked, kissing her
shoulder.

“You’re going to be here, right? 
You know, after this?” she asked.

“Belle, I’m going to be here for
everything.”

Brennan held Devon until she fell
fast asleep.

Devon dreamed only of Brennan’s face
and the way he looked at her the first night they had spent together on the
boat.

It was the first night she
remembered what happiness felt like.

“I’m so proud of you,” Brennan
said.

Leaning down, he kissed Devon on
the mouth.  She returned his kiss full-on, wrapping her arms around his neck. 
He lifted her off her feet and spun her around until she threw her head back
and started laughing.  He buried his head into her shoulder and kissed her
there.

When he finally put her back on
her feet, Devon said, “I can’t believe I did it.”

“I can.”

“Three months ago, I
never
would have gone through with this,” she told him.  “Gah!  Three weeks ago, I
wasn’t sure I could do this.”

“I knew you could do it.  I’m
glad you proved it to yourself though,” he said, pressing his lips to hers
again.

She closed her eyes and sighed. 
“Me, too.  It feels pretty awesome.”

Devon pulled out the little piece
of paper that showed her permanent restraining order against Reid.  They had
just finished their hearing in court.  Reid had showed his face.  His daddy had
gotten him a good lawyer, but when she brought out all the pictures of the
physical damage that had been done to her body, the medical records, and the
surveillance video from Jenn’s, it was pretty clear what would happen.

Devon wasn’t looking forward to
the trial.  But in the end, she had to think about everything he had done to
her.  This could ruin his life, but he had brought this upon himself. 
Reid was facing up to a year in prison if convicted of domestic battery.  Devon
expected he would get probation if his lawyer got what he wanted.  Though, if Reid
ever stepped foot near her again, he might end up in prison anyway.  Devon was
just tired of all the negativity.  She wanted to be rid of Reid, and now,
she was.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,”
she said, slinging her arm around Brennan’s waist.

Brennan guided her back to his
car.  She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.  She had won. 
She had beat Reid.  It wasn’t even just that.  She had proven to herself that
she was strong.  She had proven that she was better than her old life with Reid. 
It felt good.  She never knew how strong she was until it was all she had.

“Mind if we take a detour?”
Brennan asked.

“I don’t have anything to do
today,” she said, leaning her head back against the seat.

Life post-Reid was way better
than she had ever thought it could be.  She had to attribute a lot of that to Brennan,
but she liked to give herself the credit, too.  She knew though that without his
help, it might have taken her longer to get her act together.