A/N: Hey all! This is the sequel to my first fic "There was always a warmth between us". Hope this one can be as good or better than the first. Thanks for coming back and reading my madness..lol.. To all my new readers, you might wanna read the first one or you'll be totally lost… without further ado (did I even spell that right?? Dude, whatever..) I bring to you…..
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"Why do I feel like we're getting ready for a funeral?" Hunter fixes his messy blonde hair in the bathroom. He'll take way long to get ready. Fix his hair. Fix his clothes. And I bet he'll just come out looking exactly the same.
"What? That's kinda weird…why would you feel that?" I can't help but let out a laugh, crinkling my nose. A funeral? Maybe not… a psycho, maximum security prison where they hold potentially dangerous would be murderers…more like it. I'm speaking to my crimson friend from the comfort of his bottom bunk bed. Hunter and Blake's dorm room seems a bit creepy. I mean, Blake did try to off himself in this very room. Small room. Livable. Messy. And would've never guessed that the rooms color scheme would be navy and crimson… I am kidding of course…
"I dunno… it's just kinda crazy.. it just doesn't feel right visiting him like this." Hunter's voice echoes from the bathroom. I pick up a framed picture of the brothers from Hunters computer desk and study it. Those were the good old days… big, happy smiles…
I sigh, "Don't worry, dude.. he'll be out soon. Everything will be back the way it was. It'll all work out." I can't honestly say I believe it myself. The same as it was? Hard to tell. I mean, lets face it – the dude tried to kill me. For Hunter's sake, on the other hand, going back to normal wont be so hard.
"Yeah, you're right, D." I hear the medicine cabinet close.
"Bro… are you seriously taking this long to mess with your hair?" I glance at the time on my cell phone. I have to pick up Tori from work in a few hours.
Just then tall, blonde and crimson emerges from the bathroom, looking no different. I shake my head and wink up at my friend as he hovers over me. "Nice."
"Whatever. Let's get going before Blake thinks I'm not coming." Hunter grabs for his jacket as I stand up and stretch. I am so worked! But when am I not? My pants fall a little, from the couple of pounds I lost…as if I could really spare any before. I adjust my belt as I pull them up and fix my yellow shirt. Hunter leads the way out of the dorm room, through the hallways of college students grunting with hangovers… and girls leaving their boyfriends rooms to sneak back into their own. We make our way to the parking lot.
"My car, or yours?" I ask, squinting from the sun.
"You drive. I'm lazy." Hunter smirks, walking over to my car.
"Um…alright…" I nod as we get in and drive off. Hunter leads the way from the passengers seat. As we finally pull up to St. Pauls psychiatric hospital, My stomach turns. I don't feel as ok with this as I did 15 minutes ago.
"Dude, park there." Hunter points out an empty space under a nice big tree. I park the car and we both get out.
"This place is way creepy." I stare uneasily at the front doors. I hesitate a little as we walk up to them and walk right in.
"Dude… are you sure you're okay with this?" Hunter asks, "You don't have to come in with me if you don't want to."
I swallow hard, "No… I'm good. It'll be alright." I hope so. Seeing Blake for the first time since all of this happened…. I don't know. But I do know it'll be better if I see him now, locked up, I guess you can say, than outside in a parking lot.
"Excuse me, uh… hi… we are here to see Blake Bradley." Hunter speaks to the older blonde behind the front desk. This place smells of hospital. Like, hardcore.
The woman behind the desk looks up at Hunter. Then at me. " You are his brother, right?" She asks, obviously recognizing him.
"Yes, ma'am." Hunter answers. I nervously twitch and walk back and forth behind my tall, blonde friend.
"And who's he?" She asks, nodding at me.
"He's a good friend. Like family to us." Hunter reaches for me and pulls me next to him, his arm around my shoulders. Yes… and in our family, we stab each other….
The woman looks me up and down.
"Uh.. hey, how are ya?" I randomly blurt. She ignores my gesture, and turns away. What the hell is her deal? I look at Hunter. Hunter looks at me. Bitch… yeah, well, whatever… I guess working in a joint like this can make you just not give a fuck anymore. Or she might just be a plain old bitch…either way…
"Here… sign this and have a seat." The old bag hands Hunter a clipboard with a sign in sheet clipped to it. A pen dangles from a string tied around the metal clip. "Both of you." She throws me a dirty look. Wow… this wench is pissing me off…
I glare at her, hard. As Hunter passes me the clip board, I sign it and drop it in front of her onto the desk. Hunter nudges my arm and we trun away and grab a seat.
"So.." I ask, "What are we waiting for?"
"They go get him and stuff… we see him in a room. We're not allowed to like roam around and chill with him. And it's supervised. So impersonal." Hunter sucks his teeth.
"Dude, this is so like a prison." I say. "And the people here are nasty."
"Yeah, it sucks. I wish I could get him outta here." Hunter reaches over the table and rummages through the neat pile of magazines, "Dude, even the mags blow!" He laughs.
"I don't know what to say if he brings up Tori." I say, staring at the weird painting on the wall.
Hunter looks at me, "He will. Trust me."
"Anyone here for Blake Bradley?" A young brunette woman appears from behind the door.
Me and Hunter stand up, "Yes. We are." Hunter says pointing to the both of us.
"Follow me." The woman says. We follow her through a long, bright hallway. Oh.. the damn eerie smell of hospital!! I feel so uneasy and nauseous right now. And with every step, it gets worse.. and worse.. Dude, I don't even know if I can look Blake in the eye. What do I say if he asks about her? Why do I feel like everything he asks me will be, like, trick questions? I'm thinking way too deep into this.. relax…
"Right in here." She smiles as she opens the door and lets us into a big bright white walled room with a couple of long tables and chairs. There, in the far left corner is Blake, sitting down all alone.
"Brother." Blake stands up, "I thought you might not have made it." He speaks nonchalantly. Hunter and Blake walk towards each other and meet for a hug.
"Dude… you know me better than that. How are ya?" Hunter pats his brother on the back.
"Not bad, not bad." Blake answers. He's wearing gray pajamas. Or at least that's what it looks like. He looks over at me, a little unsure of myself at the moment. Hunter gestures for me to walk in and relax. Blake seems just as nervous as I am. " Hey…" he says.
"hey.." I say back. I step forward, walking up to the brothers.
"You made it." Blake says with a smile. He pulls me in for a hug. Bold move on his part. "I was hoping you'd make it." He says, gripping me tight. Oh man… kinda scared….
"Yeah… I did." I say as we part, "So..how are things?"
"As good as can be expected. You know… getting better." He says nodding at me.
"That's great, dude." I say. This isn't so bad, I guess.
Hunter looks at the both of us uneasily as we attempt to start over. Attempt to put the past behind us. Attempt to ignore the huge, nasty scar on my right arm…
"Oh… dude.." Blake looks uncomfortable as he points to my arm… my scar..But a part of me gets the feeling that he's being sarcastic.
"Yeah.." I say. What else is there to possibly say to that?? I could say, 'Yeah you mother fucker! You piece of shit, you'll get yours!!!' but I won't of course.
"Look, Dustin.. I wish every single day that I can take it all back. Every day. Truth is, I can't. I can only tell you how sorry and ashamed I am for it. And that, I truly am." Blake looks at me with glassy eyes. Hunter looks on with his 'uh-oh' face. Awkward moment? Yeah… I think so…
I nod. He's right. Whats done is done. Unbelievable crazy, but done.. over. And I can just accept it and move on. Accept his apology. I pause. Still nodding. I let out a slight giggle, running a hand through my hair. "You're right.. we all make mistakes.. yours was on the verge of insanity.." I pause. Hunters eyes pop from his head. "But a mistake all the same. Its in the past."
"So… are we cool?" Blake asks.
"We're cool." I smirk. Blake nods, holding out his hand for a handshake to seal the deal. I meet him halfway and I hear Hunter sigh with relief.
"Alright! Now lets have a seat and chill out bro!" Hunter happily says pulling up a chair. Blake sits on the opposite end of the table facing me and Hunter. This place is like an over grown interrogation chamber. Maybe that's a little farfetched… The young brunette sits on the other end of the room with a book and a cup of coffee. Hunter was right, way impersonal. On the upside, at least she's not an ugly old bitch…she's kinda cute, actually…
"Yo, how's the moto going?" Blake grins.
"Dude, you gotta see Dustin tearin' it up! He's gotten way fast!" Hunter gloats.
"Well, it's not that serious, but, yeah…. My lap times have been pretty sick, bro!" I slap palms with my blonde friend.
"Wow.. I wish I could see that, dude!" Blake exclaims. And I can't tell if he's sincere or not.
"I dunno about freestyle anymore. Maybe it's not my thing." I say.
"Maybe.." Blake says, "But you were always good at racing.. you shouldn't throw that away."
"Totally." Hunter agrees.
"And you!" Blake points a finger at Hunter, "You better hit the track more often, bro!!!! I told ya about keepin', it up!"
"I know.. there's just .. no time dude… it's hard." Hunter sighs.
"Make time. " Blake insists. Dude's got a point. Hunter knows it. Blake pauses, holding his hand over his mouth. He licks his lips a little and swallows hard. He looks away, "How is she?" He blurts. Oh boy.. I'm not gonna lie. I'm not gonna hold back. Tori is my live-in girlfriend now and Blake knows it. He has to accept it.
"She's doing great. Working hard. Making time to hit the waves." I say.
Blake looks down. Then straight at me, "How are you two?" He asks.
I sigh, "Great."
"That's good. I'm glad to hear it. As long as she's happy, huh…" Blake mumbles.
"Yeah… of course." Okay, now off this subject..
"Just…" Blake begins. He pauses, "Tell her I said…hi..okay.."
"Of course, dude… I will.." I reassure.
"Thanks." Blake turns away slightly. I can tell he's way upset. I feel like a big jerk right now for no reason.
"Ok..so.." Hunter breaks this awkward tension, "Let me tell you about what this girl at school did…"
Hunter sure has some funny college stories…