The Show Goes On

Once Upon A Time

Brandi didn't need to stay at the hospital overnight. She didn't even need surgery, really. She got ten stitches between the bridge of her nose and her cheek. He made sure she was okay and while the doctor was sewing her up, Jordan stepped outside to call Donnie.
"Donnie. It's Jordan."
"Jordan? What the hell do you want? It's almost 2 in the fuckin' morning."
"It's Brandi, she's in the hospital."
Jordan heard Donnie sit up in bed.
"What? Why is she in the hospital?"
"It was Lenny. That son of a bitch. He hit her."
"What?? That lazy ingrate asshole. Is she okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, she's fine, she's getting sewn up right now."
"Sewn up? My god. Fucking Lenny."
"I'm just gonna watch her for tonight, I don't want her going back to him." Jordan's voice sounded angry.
"Jesus, of course. You're gonna go have a little talk with him, aren't you. Tell Brandi I'll go see her tomorrow."
"Yeah, fine, I'll tell her. You wanna come with me?"
"Good deal. I'll go get dressed." Jordan heard him stand up. "You want her at my place or yours?"
"Donnie?" Jordan heard Hildy stir in bed.
"My place. She'll be okay there, I'll watch her." No one else could hurt her. He wouldn't let it happen.
"Good. I'm gonna go. Come pick me up. See you in a bit."
The line went dead. Jordan walked back inside the hospital.

A few minutes later, Brandi was in Jordan's car and they were driving back to his house.
"Hey, Jordan, where we going?"
"My place," he said, adjusting the mirror. "I'm not letting you go back there."
"Are you sure?" She rubbed her face.
"I'll bet he's cooled off by now, maybe I can-"
"No. No way. Me and Donnie are gonna go take care of him. You stay at my place."
"Mm... Alright. Thank you, so much. For driving me. And I'm sorry I woke you up, I just didn't know who else to call and I was scared Lenny would try something else and-"
Jordan reached out and put his hand on her cheek.
"Not another word," he said quietly. His hand was so warm. Tears stung Brandi's eyes but this time she didn't know why.

Back at Jordan's house, he let her inside and got her settled.
"Go shower, watch tv, eat, go to bed, whatever you want. Just wait for me here and I'll be back soon."
Brandi took a deep breath, and let it out quietly.
"Thank you. For everything."
Jordan nodded. "Don't worry about it. Just make yourself at home."

Brandi went upstairs and took a shower. She didn't know what shampoo to use. Naomi's smelled like vanilla and candy and too many flowers. Jordan's smelled like clean. Like him. That's the one she used. When she was done she inspected her face in the mirror. It hurt pretty bad but at least she didn't look like she'd have permanent damage. Her nose was bandaged and her stitches called attention to the bruise on her face. She washed it and tapped it dry with a hand towel before heading into Jordan's bedroom. Being in there made her blush. There was nothing illicit about it, but thinking about him horizontally made her feel something deep inside her stomach.
She didn't bring any clothes with her so she checked on the floor for anything she could use as pajamas. Brandi found a Black Sabbath t-shirt on the floor and settled for that. She picked it up and sniffed it. It smelled like Jordan. She sat there and breathed it in for a few moments before actually putting it on.

Meanwhile at Brandi's and Lenny's condo, all hell broke loose.
Donnie had rushed in so quickly, the door splintered from how aggressively he'd caved it in.
"Hey, what the fuck, man? You know how much that's gonna cost to fix? What the hell you doing here anyway?" Lenny hissed, walking towards them with a beer can in his hand.
Jordan was furious. He shoved him to the ground. Hard.
He grabbed Lenny by the collar on his shirt and pulled his face near.
"You thought you were gonna get away with it? You fucking prick."
Donnie kicked him in his side and Lenny flinched angrily.
"You think I'm scared of you? I ain't scared of you," Lenny hissed through clenched teeth.
Jordan smashed Lenny's head into the floor and punched him square in the mouth. Donnie kicked him in the side again and this time he heard a crack. Lenny groaned.
Jordan leaned over him so close he could feel him breathe.
"You're going to say away from Brandi for as long as you live or I swear to god I will kill you and burn your corpse in my fireplace," Jordan hissed so viciously he felt Lenny shiver.
"You understand? I want you out of here by tomorrow night, you rat." Donnie stood over him, tapping his foot.
Lenny just nodded desperately, hoping that they would just leave him as he was. Donnie kicked him in the side of the head and blood splashed on his leather loafers. Both men dusted themselves off and strolled out of the door. The outside was cool and empty, so Donnie and Jordan stepped into Jordan's car and started for Donnie's house.

Brandi was sitting criss-cross on Jordan's couch, flipping through infomercials. Late night television never had anything worth watching but Brandi was there just to have something to do. Jordan unlocked the door and walked into the dark.
"Hey, sorry I took a while, I had to go drop Donnie off. How're you feeling?"
"Fine, I showered and uh, I didn't really have any clothes," she said and looked away before she could see his face. Jordan looked at her frame in his Black Sabbath t-shirt and he felt a rush of warmth inside him. Seeing her in his clothes for the first time did something to him. She looked so out of herself.
"It's no problem. So I have a guest bedroom, there's a tv in there too if you wanted to keep watching. I don't know if you're hungry, we can eat something."
"Yeah sure. I could eat," she said and turned to look at him. She wasn't wearing any makeup and seeing her like that almost made him feel like he was seeing her out of her shell. Then Brandi...
She smiled.
And Jordan smiled too.

They sat there watching Top Gun and eating cereal. Jordan noticed that her hands were small and they looked incredibly soft.

Brandi swallowed the left over milk in the bowl of cereal and noticed that Jordan's muscles moved slenderly underneath his button up.

"Well, I'm gonna go to sleep," Brandi said in a warm voice. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, yeah. Goodnight." Jordan looked at her. In the dark, her eyes looked like black crystal balls.
Brandi was lying in bed but couldn't go to sleep. She kept thinking. About Lenny and Donnie and Jordan and whatever the hell they were up to after Jordan dropped her off. She hoped Lenny was hurt. And she was thankful that they helped her.

It was 5 in the morning and they were both half asleep when Brandi crawled out of bed and slid into Jordan's room. She tried to be as quiet as possible and hoped she didn't wake him up, and she slid into the sheets next to him. He was so warm, and so soft. He smelled like himself. And Brandi felt a familiar flutter in her stomach that she had been feeling for a long time. She'd felt it for so long, since the day she started to work for him. And it suddenly made sense to her when she was next to him. She finally understood what it meant.
Then Jordan, half awake, very quietly put his arm around her and wrapped her in his warmth. She turned so that her face was in his chest and he held onto her like he'd never done to anyone before.
Just stay with me, he dreamed into the dark. Just stay with me.

That morning, Brandi crept out of his room quietly, embarrassed that she had hazily wandered into Jordan's bed. She hoped he wouldn't remember it when he woke up.