Caught Looking (Hot-Lanta Series)

  “Thanks Michael, you’re a good friend. She probably had the worst night of her life because of me and Captain Skinny Dick, George. The things he said to her touched every one of her sensitive spots. She was already so vulnerable and upset when she was driving to my place then she saw me with Laney all of her insecurities probably came flooding back to her.”

  A man in green scrubs came up to Michael and Brady and interrupted them. “Mr. Banks?” Michael and Brady stood up.

  “Yes?” Michael answered.

  “Miss Bradley is doing just fine. We had to put some pins in her foot and ankle, it was smashed by the engine in the accident. She suffered a concussion as well as some pretty nasty scrapes from glass on her arm and leg. We stitched her up pretty well though so we don’t think there will be much scarring. She was pretty lucky. If she swerved any further she would have flown over the guard rail and rolled down the hill. She owes her life to that telephone pole. She should be ready to take visitors in a little bit.”

  They both said thank you and Brady collapsed in his chair. She could have died tonight? He could have lost Jane forever tonight. He was completely at a loss for words. He was so grateful she was going to be ok but he still couldn’t stop thinking about what if he had done something differently? What if he told Jane about the texts from Laney prior to the whore showing up at his house unexpected? What if he didn’t unlock his door and just let Jane use her key? What if he brought his phone out to the pool with him?

  Michael patted his leg and said, “It’s going to be ok man. Try to relax.”

  Yea, that was the last thing he planned on doing right now. He needed to see her. He needed to hold her. “When can we go see her? I can’t take this waiting. I need to see for myself that she is ok.”

  “I will go in and check on her, remember what I said; you’re not seeing her until she is ready. She doesn’t need to be stressed out right now.”

  All Brady could do was nod his head. He didn’t know how he would react if she did not want to see him. Didn’t serious events like this in a person’s life bring them together? Maybe she will want to see him after all. Please god let her want to see him, he thought. He felt like his gut was turning itself inside out. He excused himself to the bathroom and threw up in one of the stalls.

  ***

  Jane knew she was in the hospital from all the beeping sounds that were rolling through her brain but why couldn’t she see anything or remember anything? Was she sleeping? Was she in a coma? She felt strong hands touch her arm. Her throat was really dry but she squeaked out a measly, “Brady?”

  “No Janey bear, its Michael.”

  Michael, why was he here? Where was Brady? Wait, she told the fireman to call Michael. That’s right, Brady didn’t give two shits about her, all he wanted and cared about was Laney Johnson. That stupid bitch.

  Why couldn’t Jane open her eyes? The one side of her face burned badly. Why was it only one side? Her eye felt swollen, oh wait, George. She was attacked in an alley by her ex-fiancé, then she caught her new boyfriend cheating on her with his ex and then she got in a car accident. Fucking fantastic. But Michael was there, as least he cared about her.

  “Brady is here, do you want me to go get him?”

  Jane went rigid. Brady was here? Why the hell was he here? She did not want to see him. She barely opened her eyes. Her one eye wouldn’t open at all. She saw Michael’s brilliant smile and gave him what she thought was a little smile back.

  “No, I don’t want to see him.” She got choked up. “I hate him so much Michael.” She let out a sob. “I hate him so so much but damn me for loving him even more.”

  Michael grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Janey he is hurting out there. He told me what happened and you have to listen to him.”

  “I don’t want to hear his excuses. I was beaten up by George and he was not there for me. Why didn’t he answer his phone? Why wasn’t he there? Why didn’t he tell me about all the texts that bitch sent him?” Jane couldn’t stop crying. “Instead he was with that slut, practically naked in his house.”

  Michael sighed next to her. “Let’s not talk about that right now, you just were in a very bad accident and we don’t need you getting worked up. Are you feeling ok?”

  Jane tried to push Brady out of her mind but that was pretty much impossible. She wanted him to be by her side to hold her, to tell her how much she meant to him but that was not going to happen because right now she could not even stand the sight of him. When she saw Laney hanging all over him her heart broke in half. She would rather have beat her and rape her than see Brady with Laney.

  Jane realized she did not answer Michael’s question. “I’m feeling the best I can feel after a car accident. Thank you for coming Michael I really appreciate it but I kind of want to be alone plus don’t you have your season opener tomorrow?”

  “Yea but that’s ok, you are important to me. I want to be here for you.”

  “Thank you but you can go home, it’s late and I’m tired. Tell Brady to go home too. I don’t want to see him, ever.”

  “Ok Janey but please consider letting him see you at some point. I seriously have never seen him like this. He can barely function right now. He loves you so much. You should really listen to him.”

  “Thank you Michael but I don’t want to hear his excuses. Good luck tomorrow.”

  Michael shrugged and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I will visit tomorrow, sleep tight.”

  Jane watched Michael walk out the door leaving her alone. Once he left she broke down and cried. This was by far the worst day of her life. She had hit rock bottom. She couldn’t even talk to Molly or Albert because they were wasted from Molly’s bachelorette party and the one person she needed the most, was the one person who betrayed her and broke her heart.

  Brady was her soul mate, the one person who brought her back from the dead and he was the one person who broke her heart when she needed him the most. She was so stupid for thinking that she could have someone like Brady. George was right; she was trash and would always be trash.

  Chapter 25

  Molly woke up to a beeping in her head. Oh fuck she was in bad shape. She felt big hairy arms wrapped around her waist. Oh Jesus, she felt around and realized she was in bed with Albert, he was always a spooner. She nudged him to get off her. He released her, stretched his body to the length of the bed and said, “Jesus, Mary and Boy George am I in pain. Girl, you sure know how to party and grab a crotch.”

  Molly laughed, “Yea and you are a little too frisky. I think you held onto my tit all night. If you didn’t like the cock so much you could count on Luke beating you up for your groping hands.”

  “And I would have loved every moment of it.”

  Molly slapped his shoulder playfully and called him a pervert. Her phone beeped again, ugh who was texting her this early in the morning? She looked at her phone and noticed it was a message from Brady. Molly opened her phone and nearly threw up from the text message she read.

  Brady: Jane got in an accident last night and is at St. Joseph’s hospital

  She bolted out of bed like a crazed lunatic, threw clothes on her body and tossed her hair up as fast as she could. Albert looked at her with a perplexed facial expression.

  “What is going on?”

  “Jane got in a car accident last night and is at St. Joseph’s.”

  That got Albert out of bed in seconds. He started to grab clothes too. He borrowed a sweatshirt from Luke and they jumped in Molly’s car and took off toward the hospital.

  The whole car ride to the hospital was dead silent. Molly prayed to herself that everything was going to be alright. Jane was her best friend and she could not afford to lose Jane after she had lost so many other important people in her life. When they got to the hospital they saw Brady in the waiting room. Molly ran up to him.

  “How is she doing?”

  Brady looked like shit. He definitely did not sleep at all. His eyes looked like he had aged twenty years and his face
was pale white.

  “I wouldn’t know, she won’t see me.” He sat down and rubbed his eyes. Had he been crying?

  “Brady what’s going on?”

  Brady proceeded to tell her that Jane went to go call him last night during the bachelorette party and when she was outside she ran into George. She heard Albert swear under his breath. Come to find out George beat up Jane and left her in the alley way.

  “Damn, I can’t believe I didn’t remember about Jane and George last night. I was so busy taking care of your drunken ass,” Albert said to Molly.

  Brady glared at Albert, “You knew about George?”

  Nervous by Brady’s tone Albert said calmly, “I came out looking for Jane because she was gone for a while, that is when I found her in the alley lying on the ground crying. I rushed over to her quickly and took care of her best that I could. She said she just wanted to be with you, Brady. So I helped her into her car. Is that when she got into a car accident?”

  Brady shook his head and continued his story. Apparently he was swimming when Laney let herself in his house and tried to get Brady into bed with her. Brady wanted nothing to do with it and tried to push her out the door when Jane walked in. Brady became really quiet as his voice faded in and out from holding back tears. Molly could tell he was in an extreme amount of pain. He tried to stop Jane but she drove off.

  Brady ended his story and looked like he would lose his cookies. Molly sat next to him and held his hand.

  “I believe you Brady. I know you would never do anything to hurt Jane. You love her so much.”

  Brady choked on his words. “I do…I don’t know what I would have done if I lost her. I can barely function right now and I have a game tonight. I don’t think I’m going to play. I wouldn’t be any good for the team right now.”

  Molly squeezed his hand and said, “Let me see what I can do. Come on Albert.”

  They left Brady slouched over in his chair. Her heart was broken for him. She could not imagine being in his place. The love of his life was in the hospital and she refused to see him. Molly wondered how Jane was doing. Was she just refusing to see him because she was so hurt or because she was being stubborn?

  Molly and Albert walked into her room. Jane was watching some TV when they saw her. She looked over and her eyes welled up with tears instantly. She looked terrible, Molly tried to put on a brave face for her friend but her lip started to quiver. Jane’s eye was almost swollen shut, she had little cuts everywhere. There were some bandages in places and her foot was all wrapped up.

  Molly flung herself at her friend and began to cry, she couldn’t help it.

  “Oh Jane, I’m so sorry this happened to you and I was not there. I feel so terrible.” Jane squeezed her arms around her and Albert joined in on the group hug.

  “I’m so glad you guys are here. I get to go home today and I was hoping you guys would take me.”

  “Of course, we will do whatever you need.” Molly said. “I just can’t believe this happened. We talked to Brady outside and he told us everything.”

  Jane went stiff, “Brady is still here?”

  Molly stroked her friend’s hair. “Yes Janey. He has been here all night, he looks like pure shit and is as pale as a ghost. He has a game tonight and I think he is calling his manager to tell him he can’t start tonight. I don’t really know how that works. You need to talk to him, Janey.”

  Albert chimed in, “Yes you do. Did you listen to him at all?”

  “No and I don’t need to, I know what I saw. He broke my heart right in front of me when I needed him most. I can never forgive him for that. I don’t want to talk about this. Will you please send him away and take me home. I need to get out of this bed.”

  Molly nodded and told Albert to watch over Jane while she talked to the nurse to find out any specifics of taking care of Jane. When she left the room she saw Brady stand up and look at her with hope. God, she needed to help him somehow.

  She walked over to him and said, “She still wants nothing to do with you. I’m sorry Brady. She won’t even talk about it.”

  Brady looked defeated. He sank back in his chair and put his head between his hands. “Molly I don’t know what to do. I’m losing myself here. If I don’t see her soon I might go crazy. I have to see her, I have to hold her and make sure everything is alright. Please help me.”

  Molly looked at Brady as her heart dropped for the poor guy. She believed him and knew he deserved to see her, he did nothing wrong and deserved a chance to explain himself. She pulled him to his feet and told him to go with her. They talked to the attending nurse together and found out the specifics of Jane’s care and what prescriptions to fill out.

  Molly turned to Brady and told him she had a plan. “I want you to be able to talk to Jane so we are going to make sure that happens. Albert and I are going to take her home. I want you to fill her prescription while we take her back to her place and get her settled in. When you get the prescription and come back to her apartment, Albert and I will act like we are going to go fill the prescription and we will let you in her apartment. That will give you a chance to talk to her and no one will be around to interrupt you two.”

  Brady wrapped his arms around Molly and spun her around. “Thank you so much Molly. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

  “Hey, I know you would do the same for me. You two deserve each other. You just need a little help from the outside.”

  Brady squeezed her hand and took off to go to the pharmacy. Molly went to go grab Jane and fill Albert in on the switch-a-roo.

  ***

  Brady grabbed Jane’s medication, some flowers, her favorite chocolates, drinks and magazines he thought she might like. He was nervous as hell but no matter what he wouldn’t leave her side no matter what she said. He talked to his manager and he was not happy at all but knew Brady would be useless tonight anyway so his manager made up some story about Brady having a tight hamstring. Brady didn’t give a damn what his manager said as long as he got a chance to win Jane back.

  He sent Molly a text saying he was outside the door and ready to come in. A couple of minutes later, she popped out of Jane’s apartment, gave him a hug and whispered good luck. Brady walked into Jane’s apartment and almost broke down. Just the smell of her apartment made his knees weak. He missed her so much he could barely stand. He placed the bags of pharmacy items he got on her counters and quietly walked to Jane’s bedroom. He poked his head in and saw her sleeping on her bed.

  The instant he saw her he rushed to her bedside and started to cry. He didn’t care if she saw him cry for he was full of a mixture of emotions, happy to see her, angry about the abuse from George, and incredibly heartbroken to see the love of his life in her bed completely helpless. He gently grabbed her hand, laid his head next to her and cried.

  Jane stirred next to him. “Brady?” She jerked her hand away. “What are you doing here?”

  ***

  Jane was shocked to see Brady at her bedside and even more shocked to see his blood shot eyes as he cried. She was torn in two, she loved him but was so heartbroken she could barely look at him.

  “Jane, please I beg you, please let me talk to you.”

  “Brady I don’t want to see you, I thought I made that clear earlier. Don’t you have a game to go to?”

  “I called my manager and told him I couldn’t play tonight, I need to be with you.”

  Brady wouldn’t miss his game because of her? Lord if the fans knew he missed the season opener because of her she would be tarred and feathered by everyone in Atlanta. He was by far one of the favorites on the team and he was idolized in Atlanta.

  “Well, go call him back because you are not staying here. Go home Brady. I have nothing to say to you.”

  Brady looked so pathetic she had to turn away. If she looked at him any longer she was going to give in and hold him. She couldn’t though, he was with Laney.

  “Jane, you need to listen to me, please.” He cried some more, his voice
was tight and full of sorrow. She could not even listen to him it made her heart hurt so bad. She couldn’t say anything because her throat was tight as well. He continued.

  “I will never forgive myself for what happened to you. I’ve been beating myself up about it.”

  Jane let out a little sob. “Oh so you do actually care about me, I thought you just liked to go around breaking my heart.”

  Brady cringed at her nasty tone. “Baby, I care about you more than anything, you have to know that.”

  “Do NOT call me baby. I’m not your baby, we are done here Brady. You know how I feel about cheaters. If you do not get out of here in the next five minutes I’m going to call the cops.”

  “Jane don’t do this us, please let’s just have a conversation about this.”

  Jane flashed a death look at Brady and gritted her teeth, “There is no more us, Brady. The sooner you recognize that the better.”

  Jane lifted herself out of her bed, grabbed her crutches and headed toward the kitchen. She noticed a bunch of bags on the counter from the pharmacy. She swore Molly’s name and cursed her out for putting Jane in this position with Brady. She opened her front door in the most awkward way possible thanks to her crutches, grabbed the bags of “sorry items” Brady got her and threw them in the hallway.

  She turned to Brady, pointed one crutch out the door and said, “Get the fuck out of here and stay the fuck out of my life.”

  Brady bowed his head in disappointment and walked out. She slammed the door shut and then she fell to the ground and sobbed. She just kicked the man she loved out of her life. She hated that she still loved him. Why did she still have to love him? It was not fair to still have feelings, strong feelings, for someone who ripped your heart. She wished she could just turn her feelings toward Brady off, life would be much simpler then.

  Chapter 26

  Brady played in his opening game and the opening series. He was present and in the lineup but his head was nowhere close to being in the game. Jane had not answered any of his phone calls, text messages, e-mails and she did not open her door when he came by her apartment. He tried talking to Molly and Albert but they said they needed to respect Jane’s wishes even though they believed him. Michael was the same way. Brady felt lost, alone and didn’t know what to do.