Brett had to speak up. He felt helpless, so if there was something he could do for Hannah, then he was going to act on it. “Mrs. Mason, could I speak to you please?” Brett asked.
“Of course,” Lorna said as she moved to sit next to him.
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation about Hannah’s audition. It isn’t my place to tell you this, and she’ll be furious with me, but I care too much about her not to.”
“Please call me Lorna, and what is it, darlin’?”
“Hannah wants to sing, not act. She’s always wanted to be a singer and has never told you because she worries it isn’t something you’d want for her.”
“Why in the world would she think that?”
“She said she overheard a conversation you and Todd had about younger, up and coming female artists. She said you were concerned about how they may affect your career. She was afraid if she became famous, you may become resentful. I told her I thought you’d be happy to know she wants to follow in your path, but she didn’t believe me.”
“This is heartbreaking.”
“There’s more. Jim made a pass at her right before you went on tour. I told her to tell you both, but she refused. She said it would ruin Todd and Jim’s friendship.
“I’ve noticed Hannah has a tendency to put everyone else’s needs before her own. I feel so much guilt over her assault because someone, probably Jim, had been following her for a while when she would leave the house, and I couldn’t convince her to tell Hudson.
“I should’ve went around her and told him myself to protect her. That’s why I’m telling you about the singing. I’m speaking up for her because she won’t.”
“That’s a lot to take in after all this, but I’m grateful you told me. I can see how much you love her.”
“It may not be enough when she finds out all I’ve shared with you.”
“You saved her life, darlin’. I think she’ll forgive you for telling me this.”
***
Brett felt as if the day was becoming three as it dragged on. It was evening, and he was becoming restless. He could tell their friends were, too, and he felt guilty, but he knew they’d never leave him there alone.
He saw the same detectives he’d spoken with before enter the waiting room.
“Mr. Adams, Ms. Mason has given a statement on what she remembers from the assault. She told us what Mr. Hatfield’s intentions were, so as we expected, charges are not going to be filed against you.”
“Thank you for not pressing charges,” Brett said after letting out a huge breath of relief.
“The evidence decides that, not us. I know it will not be easy, but try to always remember that you did what you had to do to save both of your lives,” one of the detectives said.
Brett got a lot of hugs, first from his parents and then from his friends. He convinced everyone to go home since he and the Masons would be spending the rest of the evening with Hannah in her room. His parents hugged him goodbye before they left to return to Masonville.
He went back in to see Hannah.
“Hey, baby. Are you OK? The cops said they were in to speak with you.”
She began crying. “They told me he died. I don’t want you to have to live with that and all because of me.”
“It was because of him, Hannah, and it’s worth having on my conscience if it means you don’t have to go through a trial. I don’t want you to ever have to worry he could get out of prison and hurt you again.”
“Mom said the paparazzi are acting horrible. I can’t put you through a life like this. Everything you worried could happen by dating me has come true and then some. I feel responsible because I didn’t tell Hudson like you asked me to.”
“Hannah, this is not your fault, so I don’t want to hear anything like that again. We had no way to know what he was going to do. Remember, I want you, and that means all that comes with you. I don’t give a shit about the cameras.
“We need to focus on getting you well, and I’ll be there with you every step of the way. I love you, shortcake.”
“I love you, Brett. Thank you for saving me.”
“Hannah, I’d give my last breath for you. I love you that much.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Brett was at the hospital early the next morning. He hated leaving her the night before, but she’d insisted. All of their friends came again to show their support.
After he visited with her and saw how much she was improving, he started taking each of their friends back to see her, taking Taylor first.
“Taylor! I’m so happy you’re home,” she said as Taylor gave her a gentle hug and started to cry.
“Don’t cry. I’m going to be OK. Maybe my nose will look even better,” Hannah said jokingly. Brett noticed again how amazing Hannah was, worrying about someone else’s feelings even after what she went through.
His stomach knotted when he thought about how mad she’d soon be. Lorna had promised not to say anything about the singing until Hannah healed some.
“You look like hell. I guess I’m not going to be able to leave you alone,” Taylor said.
“Brett saved my life. He’s protected me from several bad situations for two months now.”
Taylor wiped more tears away and looked at Brett.
“Thank you for all you’ve done for Hannah.”
Maybe she’s only 75% bitch. What a relief.
“I love her more than anything. That’s what you do when you love someone,” he said.
Taylor smiled at Hannah. “You’re right, Hannah Banana. He is great.”
OK, maybe only 50%.
Taylor was crying when she left Hannah’s room.
***
Dylan watched as Taylor sat down next to Chelsea in the waiting room. He hated seeing her crying, and it made him wonder how bad of shape Hannah was in. He decided to give it another shot and talk to her.
There were boxes of tissues in the room on some of the tables, so he picked up a box and sat next to her. She turned to him.
Dylan stuck the box of tissues out to her.
She hesitated a few seconds before she took a few and wiped the tears from her eyes.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Is Hannah OK?” Dylan asked.
“She looks really bad, but she’s her sweet self.”
“Yeah, she’s a sweetheart, always thinking about others. She’s always nice to us guys. You need to give us a chance. You’ll see we’re not so bad.”
“Don’t hold your breath. I only spend time with my girlfriends.”
“Morgan failed to tell me you were only into chicks. That’s a damn shame because I could show you a few things guys are good for,” Dylan said, smirking.
Taylor gasped. “I’m not a lesbian. I just don’t have a desire to get to know men who I can tell are trying to turn on the charm, or bullshit as I like to call it, so they can get their next fuck.”
“Damn, sunshine, you’ve got a dirty mouth, and I find it pretty hot. I didn’t know any of Hannah’s friends were mind readers though. Pretty good skill you got there, being able to pick out the bullshitters.
“Did you ever think about putting that bitchy, defensive front of yours on the back burner for a little while? I’d hate for you to miss out on a decent man coming along,” he said pissed. He was frustrated that he found her so damn attractive and annoying all at the same time.
Taylor sneered. “Have you ever thought about putting that sarcastic, bullshitting front on the back burner? Oh wait, it’d have to be a front first.”
Dylan turned in his chair to face Taylor.
“You’re a piece of work, you know that? I’m a nice guy. Ask your friends. I happen to have a sense of humor, but I guess you’d have to have one of those before you could recognize it.”
Jasmine got up and stood in front of them, putting an arm out toward each of them. “OK, break it up you two. The sexual tensions getting to be a little much over here.”
“Jasmine!”
Jasmine tossed some of her long hair over her back.
“I’m just telling it like it is, chick.”
Taylor glared at Jasmine.
“Whatever. All of you have lost your minds, and if you think I’m going to sit and listen to shit like this all the time, so I can hang out with my friends, then I guess I’ll be spending a lot of time alone.”
Dylan jumped up from his seat.
“Fuck this, Taylor. You’re wound so tight that a guy would be doing you a favor if you were his next lay.”
“Dylan, get your ass back on this side of the room before you two get thrown out of here,” Matt said.
Dylan took his ball cap off before pulling it back down onto his head. He walked over and sat next to Cody with clenched fists.
Cody was laughing. “Sorry, buddy, but that shit was funny.”
“Yeah, real fucking funny. She acts like I’ve got a disease or something.”
“I guess she’s going to be a little harder to break than you thought.”
“I don’t know if I want to at this point,” Dylan said, narrowing his eyes at Taylor. He watched her talking to Jasmine.
“You did me a favor, dude. When Jasmine got up to face you two, her ass was facing me, and it’s a fine looking ass, especially today due to those tight shorts she’s wearing,” Cody said.
Dylan watched as Taylor got up to leave the room and saw the tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Shit,” he said, groaning before he got up to follow her out.
“Don’t you dare, Dylan,” Jasmine said.
“Shut up, Jasmine. I’m going to apologize.”
When he got into the hallway, he called out to Taylor.
She continued walking. He caught up to her and took hold of her arm.
“Get off of me.”
“No,” he said softly, turning her around. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that stuff. It was cruel. I don’t think any of us are ourselves right now with Hannah hurt.”
He cupped her face with one hand and wiped her tears away with his thumb. The touch of her skin caused goose bumps to rise on his arm, and he suspected it was going to be next to impossible to stay away from her.
“I’m sorry I hit on you. I think you’re beautiful, so I tried. Don’t leave because of me, OK?”
He saw pain in her eyes that he was certain wasn’t caused by him. Old pain. Hurt someone else caused that he would pay the price for if he couldn’t get through her steel wall.
“I’m sorry, too,” she said in almost a whisper.
Dylan saw her softening and had some hope again. He turned around and went back to the waiting room, smiling when he heard her footsteps behind him.
Chapter Thirty
Hannah convinced her friends to return to their jobs, and since she was healing so quickly, she was released from the hospital three days later. Brett had taken her vehicle to drive her home.
“Hannah, are you sure you’re ready to stay here? I know the guys won’t say anything if you need to stay with me, or you could stay at Chelsea’s,” Brett said as they sat in the Land Rover in her driveway.
“This is my home. I have to deal with it. The first time, no matter when it is, will still be the first time. I know this isn’t going to be easy for you, either.”
“No, but we’re going to do it together. Let’s go,” Brett said.
The floors had been cleaned and the window repaired, so there was no visible evidence of the attack when they walked in, but Hannah didn’t need it. She visualized it over and over again in her mind.
She began sobbing in the foyer. Brett wrapped her inside his arms and held her tight. Lorna and Todd came into the room.
“Sweetheart, we’ve been getting things ready for you. Gloria cleaned your room really good, and she’s making all of your favorite treats. She said she’ll fix whatever you want for dinner this week, too. We’re not going back on tour for a while, so we’ll be here for you,” Lorna said.
Hannah let Brett go and hugged her parents. As she spoke with them, she noticed Brett in a daze, staring at the spot on the floor where she’d been attacked.
She didn’t want to tell Brett because she knew it’d upset him, but guilt was eating her alive. The pain of the assault didn’t compare to the guilt she was feeling over what Brett had been through. She didn’t want to lose him, but she didn’t feel she deserved to be with him. He stayed right by her side that day, lounging in her bedroom, but they barely spoke.
***
For the next two weeks, Brett felt the walls closing in around him. He was trying to hold them up, each representing different areas of his life. His relationship with Hannah, his reputation, school and work and his own mental state.
He couldn’t go out in public without being harassed by paparazzi. He was described as a hero by the media but felt nothing like one. People he didn’t know recognized him and stared since his photo had been on TV and in the paper so much, so he hated going anywhere.
He was waiting to hear if he was going to be expelled from school. Even though he hadn’t been charged for Jim’s death, the university was doing an independent review. When he thought things couldn’t get any worse, he received a letter from the financial firm he was going to have his internship with in the fall, stating he was no longer welcome.
Thankfully, the Masons loved him, so he still had a job, and Jay was being supportive. He was practically living at Hannah’s, trying to be what she needed, but he was struggling himself and could feel the distance widening between them. He didn’t know what to do to fix it.
Another week had passed when Brett was finally told he could return to college. It was only a week before classes started. He was working the next morning when Lorna came out in the yard to see him.
“Brett, everything looks so nice out here. I guess you’re almost finished working for us.”
“Yes, I’m almost done.”
“Listen, Hannah’s healing well, and I can’t wait any longer to speak with her about her desire to sing. I’ll try to get her to understand why you told me. I want her happy, and having that secret out should help her heal even faster.”
Brett wiped the sweat from his forehead and stared at the ground. “I understand, Lorna, but we’re struggling together already, so don’t be surprised if she freaks out.”
“Hannah adores you, Brett. She’ll get past it.”
***
It was only twenty minutes later when he saw Hannah coming toward him with clenched fists.
“How could you? I trusted you with the biggest secret in my life!”
Brett took off his gloves. “I’m sorry, but your happiness is more important to me. You can be mad at me forever if that’s what you choose, and it’d still be worth it to know you’re doing what you love.”
“Oh my gosh. You did this for a way out. You knew this would make me mad. You’re upset again because of this lifestyle. I was right in the hospital when I said that everything you worried about happening and then some had come true.”
“I did this for the right reasons. I want you happy, Hannah. I love you, and I don’t want out of anything,” he said aggravated.
“I don’t believe you. You’re trying to do what you’ve done all the other times. Well, I’ll make it easy for you. I don’t want to see you anymore, Brett,” Hannah said as tears streaked her cheeks.
Brett watched the pent up anger and anguish she felt toward Jim come spilling out of her onto him. He’d somehow expected as much. He cupped her face, wiping tears away with his thumbs. His sorrowed, blue eyes gazed at her pleadingly.
“Please don’t do this, baby.”
“I’m not going to wait for you to hurt me again,” she said.
Brett dropped his head and closed his eyes. “I can’t believe you think I’d do that after everything we’ve been through.” He looked back up at her.
“I love you, Hannah, with all my being
, and no matter what happens in my life, you’ll always be the most special part of it,” he said, kissing her forehead. He walked away and began loading his supplies into the back of his truck.
He felt as if the last bit of life had been sucked from him as he listened to her sob on the way back to her house. He could hardly keep it together on the drive home. When he walked inside, he was relieved not to see any of his friends. He went straight to the shower and felt his tears mix with the water coming down on top of him.
He’d cried more in the last few weeks than he thought he would in his entire life. The outcome he’d feared when he told her secret had come true, but he never imagined his heart could feel that ripped to shreds from it.
Chapter Thirty-One
Brett and Hannah barely left their rooms for the rest of the week. Sleeping and barely eating were all they did, and they wouldn’t speak to their friends.
Both were miserable their first week on campus as everyone stared and whispered around them. They spent as little time there as possible. The Saturday morning after their first week of classes Brett’s phone rang.
“This is Brett.”
“Brett, this is Lorna. Do you have a few minutes?”
“I guess. What do you want?”
“I know this is a strange request, but would you please meet me somewhere?”
“Umm ... to talk?”
“Yes, and I need to show you something.”
“Ok, where?”
“I’ll need to give you an address.”
The more Brett had gotten to know Lorna, the more he realized Hannah had learned her persuasion skills from her mother. He had a suspicion she was up to something, but he had no idea what it could be.
Brett drove to a gated community not far from the Masons’ home. As soon as he told the guard the address, he was let in. The homes were extraordinary with intricate details, each sitting on two acres.
He estimated the price of the homes to be at least half a million dollars. He pulled in the driveway and took some deep breaths before walking to the door.
Brett and Hannah (Soul Mates 101 Series) Page 17
