It's Never Too Late

Chapter 16

Remember how Brian and Joey said I would need stitches? Yeah, they were right. Good news is I don't have a concussion though. Yay! I just had just got my forehead stitched up and Joey and I were waiting for the nurse to come back with the paperwork we needed to fill out before leaving. The entire time, Joey had stayed by my side. I don't think he moved more than two feet away from me the entire time. With my independent streak, it annoyed just a bit. I knew Joey just cared about me though. 

After a few minutes of sitting around, our nurse came back with the papers. Nae-Nae was a light throughout the entire process. She made my forehead getting stitched up almost bearable.

When she got to Joey and me she gave us a look. "How your forehead get gashed open anyways?" Joey and I exchanged a look before he cleared his throat.

"Violet here was climbing on something she shouldn't have been climbing on. When she was getting down, she fell and hit her head." I gave a Joey a glare. If this is a way of telling me he didn't like me doing the videos with Brian, I got the message loud and clear.

As if Nae-Nae could read the skepticism in my eyes, she clicked her tongue together several times. "You should be more careful then girl." She then turned towards Joey, raising a hand to her hair to brush a lock of her weave back into place. "There's some paperwork I wasn't able to get for you. You can find it up at the front desk."

He glanced between the door and me, trying to decide if he wanted to leave me alone or not. Eventually, Joey sighed as he took a few steps towards me. "I'll be right back." He kissed the bandage on my forehead before taking long strides out of the room.

Once he was gone, Nae-Nae turned towards me. "That boy sure does care about you." 

I found myself sighing as I replied with, "Yeah he does."

"That man didn't do this to you, right? Cause girl you can do so much better than a man that beats a woman." 

"No, Joey didn't hit me. I actually did slip and fall." Before I could say anything else, Brian's form filled the doorway. Once he saw me, he rushed into the room to roughly pull me into a hug.

"I'm so sorry Violet, it was a complete accident." After a few seconds, Brian pulled away to give me some breathing room.

"It's fine, besides it's nothing but a few stitches." I pointed towards the white bandage on my forehead, which drew Brian's attention towards it.

"Well shit, that looks like it hurts."

"Eh, looks worse than it feels." All three of us started laughing slightly.

"Look at you girl, you've not only got one man at your feet, you've got two! I have to say, this one's better looking than the first." As I was busy blushing, Brian took that comment in stride as he laughed.

"Well thank you. Someone finally noticed my efforts." He sent a wink towards Nae-Nae, then me. Despite being with Joey, I could help that the fact that my heart fluttered slightly.

We all started having a conversation together, waiting for Joey to get back with the paperwork. At several points throughout the conversation, Brian's hand would rest against the small of my back. I would move an inch or two, his hand would drop, then a few seconds later it would rest there again. I don't even think Brian knew he was doing it. It was more of a subconscious movement.

After about 15 minutes, Joey had come back striding into the room, a smile on his face. "You would not believe how complicated they made that paper- oh, Brian." Nae-Nae and Brian gave him a small smile as I took a few steps towards him. "Does that mean we're clear to go? Cause you know I can't stand being in hospitals." I leaned up, giving Joey a kiss on the cheek.

He completely by-passed me as he walked forward a few feet towards Brian and Nae-Nae. "What are you doing here?"

"As you recall, I'm the reason Violet gashed her head open. I came to check on her." Nae-Nae gave me a look as if to say, 'What the hell is going on here?'. All I did was mouth 'everything's ok' before turning my attention back on Brian and Joey.

"That's exactly why you shouldn't be here. You've already caused her to get stitches today, I don't think she needs to have any more of an eventful day."

"Last time I checked, it's Violet's decision to make. Not yours." They both turned towards me which made me roll my eyes. Rolling my eyes probably wasn't the best thing to do because a shooting pain went through my head, causing me to wince.

"First off, remind me to not roll my eyes for the next few days. Second, you both need to take the testosterone down a few levels." The two of them sighed before nodding their heads. I knew that me saying something wasn't going to keep them from killing each other, but as long as it stopped while I was in the room, I was ok.

Joey rested a hand on my elbow slightly. "I'll take you home, you need some rest." I wasn't watching, but I'm pretty sure there was a vicious glare sent by Joey to Brian.

"I'll text you later Brian."

"Stay safe, ok? I don't want to be chilling in my hotel room to find out you've landed yourself in the hospital again." Despite the smile Brian gave me, there was a double meaning to that sentence hidden in his eyes.

I looked back at both Nae-Nae and Brian before walking out of the room, Joey close on my heels.

It was almost an hour later when Joey and I pulled up outside my house. There wasn't much a conversation held between the two of us during the car ride. There was still some unresolved tension from what happened at the hospital. 

I had exited the car before Joey had even turned off the engine. As I walked up to my front porch, a gift bag covered in purple glitter sat in the middle of the first step. I could see a small note attached to the handle of the bag as I got closer towards it. For some reason, I wasn't as suspicious as I usually am when it comes to packages/bags.

I lifted the bag off of the step and peeked in. Inside of the bag was the Season 4 set of Prison Break which was the only one I didn't have and a giant bag of Sour Patch Kids. Ok, this is insanely personalized. I hope this is from someone I know otherwise I have a fucking stalker on my hands.

I grasped the note on the handle of the bag and read it.

Figured you could use something to cheer you up since you're most likely getting stitches. I know that you didn't have this season of Prison Break and that you're in love with sour patch kids. I also took care of the blood on the floorboard of your office.

Until we get the chance to hang out again, stay safe Violet :)

Brian

Brian gave this to me? That is so sweet of him! I wonder why he didn't mention anything about this when he came to the hospital?

Just as I picked up the bag, I heard Joey speak up as he got out of the car. "A gift? Who's it from?"

"It's from- Gunner. I guess he heard about what happened through someone at the office." Before Joey got close enough, I tore Brian's note off the bag and stuffed it into my pocket. I know I lied to Joey about who it came from, ok? I don't need him nor do I want him freaking out about Brian giving me something. It's the last thing I need. All I wanted was for my boyfriend and my best friend to get along, IS THAT SO HARD TO ASK?!?!

"That was nice of him." I felt his hand grab at my elbow, turning me so I was now facing him. "Listen, If you're ok with it, I want to stay with you tonight. I just- I need to make sure you're going to be ok."

"It's ok with me." For the first time in a while, I saw a genuine smile light up Joey's face as he stood in front of me. Maybe it was the sunlight reflecting but his eyes started sparkling.

"Good. I'm going to stop by my house, pick up a few things then I'll  be by in a few hours." With a quick kiss, Joey walked off the porch and back towards the car. "I love you, Violet."

"I love you too." I couldn't stop the guilt from knawing at my stomach as I watched him start the car and drive off down the street. Despite the note being a little white lie, I still lied to Joey about it. And I feel terrible.