Chapter 17
Justin and Cheryl slowly entered Brandi's room with blank expressions on
their faces. It was hard to see one of their closests friends lying weak in
a hospital bed. But hell, she was getting better, and everyone knew it.
"Hey there, Slick!" Cheryl said to Brandi, hoping to get her more
energized. It didn't work.
"Justin!" Brandi exclaimed with as much effort as she could find. "You
came to visit!" An immediate smile came to her face as Justin walked over
and have her a great big bear hug.
"So I hear that this thing is getting more serious than just letters from
John Doe," Cheryl said to her cousin.
"Ha ha ha," Brandi retorted back. "Grandma always used to say you were
the smart-ass of the family. After 17 and a half years, I'm actually
starting to believe some of the things that woman used to say."
The three remained in a somewhat steady conversation before Brandi began
to nod off to sleep again.
"I think we should go now," Justin said to Cheryl. On the way out,
Justin gave Brandi's ankle a little soft pat, just to keep him hoping that
she'd be alright.
"How was she?" asked Lance, waiting for a reply on the bench with Katy on
his lap.
"Tired, very tired," Justin answered looking straight down at the ground.
Joyce was still no where to be found.
"Where to now?" Chelsea asked. They could go out to eat somewhere, but
Lynn advised them that it would be best to stay out of the public eye as much
as possible. After talking it through, they had decided to just go back to
the guys' house and maybe cook up some of Joey's world famous spaghetti
sauce. Never the less, Joyce had came in her own car, and would be able to
find them sooner or later.
Brandon opened up the refridgerator to take out the pitcher of lemonade.
He poured himself a glass and walked over to the living room where he turned
on the tv. While flipping through the channels, he heard a knock on the
front door.
Flashing her badge, she said, "Hi, I'm detective Lynn Bradshaw, I was
wondering if I could have a few moments of your time, Mr-"
"Moore, but just call me Brandon. C'mon in."
"Thank you, Brandon. I just have a few questions for you." But before
Lynn could start questioning, Brandon interrupted once again.
"Would you like some lemonade? I just made it fresh this morning!"
Looking a bit scared, Lynn turned down the lemonade for obvious reasons,
although she was very thirsty. "Ok, first question. Did you in anyway know
Brandi Marshall?"
"Why hell yes. Well, not personally if that's what you mean. I see her
on tv when that singing group of hers does television appearances, but that's
about the bulk of our time spent together!"
"Oh," Lynn said. "So are you what you would call a ‘Number One' fan of
the girls?"
"No, I wouldnt' exactly say that. I am a fan, yes, but I follow them
like anyone else follows a pro-sport team."
"Brandon, I also hear that you were in the recording studio when Miss
Marshall fell to the ground.
"What is all this about, anyways?" Brandon asked, not sure of Lynn's
intentions.
"Please answer the question, Mr. Moore," Lynn said with force.
"Yes, I was. Listen, if you think that I have anything to do with what
happened the other day--"
"Geez, don't get so defensive. This is only questioning. I'm asking you
these questions to further my investigation, to incriminate. Well, if you
hear or find out anything, and I mean anything, give me a call," Lynn said as
she handed Brandon a card with her name and number on it. "Have a nice day."
"You too, ma'am," Brandon said as Lynn found her way out of the house.
Lynn slowly tossed the idea of Brandon being the "Number One Fan" in her
head. However, Brandon was only the first suspect on her list. There was
still much work and investigating to be done.
"Mama Mia!" Joey said after giving his homemade spaghetti sauce a taste.
He served everyone spaghetti and sauce at the dining room table. Joyce still
hadn't shown up.
After dinner that night, they all settled in and watched tv for a little
while. Justin sprang up from his place on the sofa and told everyone his
business. "I'm going to the hospital. I'll be back later." Justin seemed
down, he definately didn't have that spunk in him. Everyone wondered why he
was going, but some things are better left unanswered.
Justin pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and walked inside. He
obviously still cared about Brandi. Things with Joyce hadn't been going all
too well, leaving Justin alone with his thoughts of the girl he once cared
about.
When he entered the room, there he saw Brandi sitting up in bed wide
awake. Little did Justin know that she had the same thoughts about him. Not
knowing how one felt about the other, the two began talking friendly, but
soon got more serious.
"I wish I knew for sure how you feel about me," Brandi said.
"Well," Justin started off, "I have no way of proving to you that I'm not
just saying this because of how you're feeling right now. Do you suppose you
could just assume that I'm not lying?" asked Justin.
"I shouldn't assume, hun, not if I want something else to last between
us. There is something that you can do, though, if you're really willing to
prove it," Brandi said.
"I am."
She raised her eyebrows questioningly, and he moved her gaze over to him.
"I want you to give me the hottest kiss you can come up with."
