I call for an Uber and rush outside, my phone vibrates against my palm, notifying me of a text. It's from Kevin, Brian's team mate. I didn't know what exactly was happening, but Kevin had begged me to hurry up and come to the texted address, as Brian really wasn't okay. I kept hearing sounds of things breaking in the background. At first, I was afraid Kevin was hurt, but he had assured me that was not the case. 786, Oaks street. The text read. I immediately entered the address on Google maps, it said, it was a ten minute drive. I explained the address to the driver. My hands were shivering slightly with all the panic. I hoped Brian was okay. He had always managed to hurt me, but my heart still couldn't bear seeing him in pain. I had received two texts from Beck too. Please keep me updated And if you need any help, do not hesitate before calling me Steph.He'd called me Steph, not Hudson. That showed how concerned he was. Honestly I didn't like leavin
Steph's Pov I pull my hand away from his. It burns where his hand had been. However, we're still sitting quite close to each other on the couch, so close that our knees are touching. “Is there no way for me to fix this?” he says, as his eyebrows scrunch up. I can tell he's trying to stop himself from crying and my heart goes out to him. I wipe his eyes with my thumb, shaking my head. I wish I could answer his question, but neither do I have the answer, nor do I have any energy left in me. I watch him run his long fingers through his hair, in agitation. He then picks up the bottle of alcohol from the centre table and takes another swig from it. How has he not passed out from so much alcohol, I think to myself. A searing pain rushes to my head, maybe I could do with a little alcohol too. So I take, the bottle from his hand and put my mouth to it. When he sees me, he tries to pull it away from me. “So, you're the only one who can get drunk?” I ask him and he slowly
Steph's Pov I rushed down the hospital corridor, a stack of files clutched tightly in my arms. As a nurse, I was no stranger to the chaos of hospital life, but today felt particularly hectic. I had stayed up all night preparing for the Registered Nurse exam and had rushed to the hospital for my long shift on the ward. All night I had been running around, doing errands for the senior nurses, bringing food for them. Then I was also asked to stay up at night and keep an eye for them while they went to bed at eleven and woke up at six in the morning. So, I was looking forward to handing the stack of files at the nursing desk and taking a well deserved break when I felt a sudden pull, and before I knew it, I was being dragged into the storage room. The door slammed shut behind me, and I found myself face to face with the last person I expected to see – Brian. My heart skipped a beat as I stared at him, my mind racing as he held me in his arms. What was h
Steph's Pov “Steffie Bear, you still have time to inform me, if you want something in particular for your twenty-second birthday.” Lucy hugged me and asked while rocking me. “Luce, I swear I hate this name so much and second, no I promise, I do not want anything for my birthday, I don't want y'all, wasting your time, worrying about my birthday gift. We have RN’s to prepare for and hospital duties to perform.” I said to all three of them. As soon as September had rolled in, I knew they were up to something. My birthday was in the second week of September but we also had exams in the first week of December. “Jesus, grandma, live a little, you're turning twenty two, it's supposed to be young and fun.” Sarah said. I wanted to. I wanted to live and enjoy life, but honestly, I had lost the will, I’d busied myself enough to get through the daily mandatory chores, without overthinking. Besides, I knew the girls wouldn't let me sit quietly in the apartm
Steph's Pov I slowly tugged on the golden ribbon of the box to untangle the gift wrap. I found a black velvet box inside. I looked at Brian, unsure, but his eyes encouraged me to open the box. I took in a deep breath and slowly opened the box, as my curiosity piqued. It revealed a beautiful silver necklace with a small, delicate pendant."I wanted to get you something special," Brian said, his voice filled with emotion. "Something that would remind you of...of what we shared.”I narrowed my eyes as confusion etched onto my face. "What do you mean?”Brian scooted closer taking my hand in his, "I went back to the hospital, Steph. I asked them if they still had the records from...from when you were expecting.” The second, he said it, the necklace began to feel very heavy in my hands. Tears began to well up in my eyes, falling into the necklace. "Why would you do that?" I whispered."Because I wanted to honor what we had," Brian replied, his voice cracking. "I wanted to h
Steph's Pov The day of the final match rolled in. I couldn't believe this league was coming to an end. As much of a relief as it was, I probably wouldn't have excuses to stick by Brian anymore. Coincidentally, the final match was between Omega and Inferno. Yet again I did not know which team to root for. All I could do was pray no one got severely injured, although that sounded very hard considering that it was the last day. They'd probably plot on giving their lives up but not losing. As Omega's nurse I had checked each one of them thoroughly, to make sure they were fit enough to live up to their potential today. I had checked their vital signs, evaluated theiruacles, joints and ligaments for any signs of strains, sprains or injury. Not only that, the night before the match I had shown up at Simon's hotel door too, to inspect him. I dropped pain relievers, anti-inflammatory medicines and warm compresses at his place, and made him stretch right in front of
Steph's Pov “Order away friends, this broke friend of yours brought you to a place that serves delicious meals at cheap prices, so order away, it's my treat.” I had brought Simon, Rita and the girls to Mr Burger, a local fast food restaurant. The girls and I would often come to this place, to celebrate our short wins like, acing Mitchell's quizes, which to be fair weren't that small of a quest. As I placed the order, the girls took Rita, towards the photo booth, to take some cute pictures. “Hey, can we talk?” I heard Simon ask. Uh oh, here we go again. Whenever Simon asked me, before actually asking the question, it always meant trouble. It meant one of us was going to get mad at the other and the day would be ruined. And I didn't want today to be ruined, because it was our last day together. Last family time, until I don't know when we'll get to see each other again like this. I took in a deep breath and braced myself. It's ok Steph, we'll try to remain as calm a
Steph's Pov The previous week had been quite eventful, and now that things had settled down, Simon had left, the volunteer program had ended I was ready to settle down and get back into by routine and study. Studying came like second nature to me. I felt most relaxed and like myself when I studied. I slicked back my hair into a ponytail, pulled on a flannel shirt to class today. The day flew by, and in just one day I had a load of five different assignments to be submitted just this week. I sat at the cafeteria working on some practice questions while the girls went to grab some food. “D'you want something Steffie Bear?” Stella asked. “Yes please a glazed doughnut and some cold coffee would be great.” I returned back to my practice questions immediately, if I needed to stay on top of things, I couldn't afford to waste even a single moment. “Well hello there, with your nose in a book.” I heard a familiar voice and smiled. It
Steph's Pov It was one of the other event of Rita and Simon and to be honest, I had lost count on how many parties they threw for their wedding..pre-wedding, post wedding etc etc I walked over to the buffet table, scanning the offerings. The waiter removed the cover from one dish, wafting the aroma of the succulent shrimp into the air. All of a sudden, my stomach did a flip and a wave of nausea washed over me. My face paled, and my mouth started watering in a bad way."Oh no," I muttered to myself, my hand over my mouth. "Not now."I didn't hesitate, turning and making a quick departure, my hand over my mouth as I hurried to seek out a secluded area in which to compose myself. The pharmacy was compact but well supplied, with rows upon rows of medicine, toiletries, and other necessities. I walked to the family planning area, my heart racing in my chest. I looked at the shelves, my eyes finding a familiar brand of pregnancy tests. I picked one up and quickly headed towards the check
I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, looking at the bright red mark along the nape of my neck. I pressed it tenderly, it didn't hurt as much, but it looked pretty serious. As much as I loved this mark on my neck, I knew I couldn't go out like this. Especially not in front of Simon. Moreover, today Simon and Rita had organized a pool party for everyone, which meant swimsuits, which meant if I went out wearing a hoodie everyone was bound to find out what was happening. I sighed heavily looking at myself in the mirror, then began to fish for a concealer in my makeup pouch. “Is something wrong?” Brian said, walking in, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin along my shoulder. His deeper voice sounded sexier in the morning. I smiled at my half-asleep boyfriend, with his hair ruffled, as his spicy masculine smell hit me. “My very loving boyfriend has left his very own mark on my neck, and now I don't know how to cover it.” I complained to him. “I don't remember he
Steph's PovBrian and I walked into the suite Simon had booked for us and froze the second we entered the room. It had two twin beds. I really had to give it to Simon, he was consistently playing the role of a protective brother really well. I looked at Brian and rolled my eyes and he grinned.“Well, this clearly won't do," he said, locking the door and began to push the two beds close. I wanted to mock Simon saying, “See, ya got nothing on me,” but we were really too old for this so I decided against it. While Brian fixed the beds, I explored the suite. The bedroom was truly beautiful with a gold and white colour combination. Right next to the beds was a massive window down to the length of the floor, overlooking the clean, magnificent blue sea of Hawaii.The bathroom was tiled with wooden floors, with a massive bathtub covered with glass doors. When I saw the shampoo, soap and toothpaste on the shelves, the hoarder in me wanted to grab at it immediately, however I controlle
Steph's Pov I was curled up around Brian, with his arms around my body. This had been more intimate. Back then I was young and cautious, I didn't know what to do. Today, I was sure with Brian, I knew he loved me, and I wanted to prove it to him that I loved him more. I wanted to touch him; I wanted to be weird, and I was not ashamed of it because I knew he would not judge me for it. “I've had sex after a very long time. I'm glad it was with you. I wouldn't have it any other way.” I said to him as he played with our fingers. It was this that I had wanted. The care after the sex. The assurance that I was not only wanted for this. That nothing had changed; if anything, this had only brought us closer. We ordered pizza. When he went to pick it up, I wore his shirt and looked at myself in the mirror. It looked better on me than it did on him. It smelled just like him. Man, I could bathe in his scent. I was immersed in these thoughts when he came back in. Seeing me in his shirt, his f
Beck's POV: Each time I came into this room, there was a new challenge, a new obstacle waiting to be cleared. Today, however, was different. Today, I had the most vicious man I'd ever had the misfortune to meet - Richard Rivers staring right back at me. Thankfully, things were looking in our favour. Whatever amount of money Richard had paid Tony Martinez evidently wasn't enough, he was wasn't prepared, totally. He was seated in the front row, his face having a smug look, playing dumb, playing the bereaved husband. We all knew, however, his dirty little secret. I knew he was guilty of Lyla's murder, of the atrocities she had been subjected to at his hands. I sucked in a deep breath, bracing myself for what lay ahead. It was time to put a stop to Richard's game. It was time to play my strongest card. I addressed the judge, speaking firmly. "Your honor, I'd like to have Miss Stephanie Hudson take the stand." Stephanie got up, looking me straight in the eye, and walked toward
Stephs POV: The courtroom was filled with hushed conversations and the occasional sound of papers rustling. I took in the room, my eyes finding the familiar form of Brian, his shoulders set and his jaw clenched.But I was able to get to him before I could, as a frazzled-looking reporter blocked my path. He was a rumpled sight, wearing a tattered hoodie and jeans, his eyes puffy from lack of sleep. He looked like he'd been running around for days picking up leads.".......and welcome back to NBS News," he declared, his voice echoing through the courtroom. "I'm reporting live from the courthouse, where the much-awaited doping case against NBA star Brian Lockwood is about to be played out. The public has been waiting for answers, and today, they'll finally have their opportunity to witness justice being served."He took a moment, his eyes sparkling with a blend of enthusiasm and fatigue."Lockwood, the golden boy of basketball, stands accused of taking performance-enhancing drugs to get
Steph's POV: I sat on the couch, watching as Cirril paced back and forth across the hotel room. It had been a week since we'd received the devastating news of Lyla's death, and the days that followed had been a blur of lawyers, meetings, and media scrutiny. I still shuddered, when I thought of her death. She'd been driven to insanity, and the only escape she found was in death. Unfortunately, she took her child with her. Brian had been released from the hospital, but his health was still fragile. The dark circles under his eyes seemed to be deepening, his eyes sunken and hollow. He looked exhausted, both physically and mentally. Cirril was on a video call, arguing with yet another lawyer who was refusing to take on Brian's case. "You're asking for five times the normal price? That's ridiculous!" she exclaimed. I watched as Brian tried to calm her down, his voice soft and soothing. "It's okay, Cirril. We'll find someone else." But Cirril was having none of it. "No, we won't! They'
Brian's POV; I groggily reached for my phone, wincing as I sat up. Cirril's name flashed on the screen. "Cirril," I answered, trying to sound more alert than I felt. "Brian, where are you?" she demanded, her voice shrill with worry. "Do you realize the kind of mess you're in?" I rubbed my temples, trying to ward off the impending headache. "I'm at the hospital, Cirril." There was a pause on the other end of the line. "What? How are you at the hospital?" I sighed, not wanting to get into the details over the phone. "I'll explain everything when you get here. Can you please just come?" Cirril's voice was laced with frustration. "Obviously, I'm coming. Is that even a question?" I hung up the phone, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. Cirril would know how to handle this mess. As I waited for Cirril to arrive, I glanced over at Stephanie, who was sitting in the corner, watching me with concerned eyes. I smiled weakly at her, trying to reassure her. Cirril burst into the room
Steph's POV: I stayed at the hospital. I couldn't leave him. I didn't want to leave him. I am not going to leave you alone ever again Brian. The nurse in me kept checking his vital signs. The entire night I could not sleep. The nurse had given Brian a sleeping pill and a painkiller, to soothe his pain and allow him to rest. I kept walking around, tucked him in, but I could not put myself to sleep. There was this constant fear that something was about to happen. In moments when I did drift off to sleep, I would wake up, with a jerk with a sudden feeling that I was running away from something. At about three in the morning, I saw Brian's eyes flicker open. I immediately went up to him. “What is it? Does it hurt somewhere? Do you need something?” I asked him in fear. He slowly put his hand up and beckoned at me, then patted on his mattress beside him. He was asking me to lie down beside him on the bed. Tears began to stream down my face again, looking at Brian's condition. This