Stroke It - Brooke Page Page 0,76

in my head my punishment for losing control.

Did I overdose?

Fuck. I had such a good run going.

Wincing, I opened my eyes.

No, I didn’t overdose, came way to fucking close. I needed to start seeing my therapist again. Especially if I were going to distance myself from the one person who made all of my fears and doubts go away. More visions began flashing through my brain.

I sat up quickly. Regan… was I dreaming?

“Good morning,” the sweet voice who broke my heart said softly. I turned my head, seeing her standing in the short hallway leading to the door. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, wearing skinny jeans and black converse, and… was that my gray t-shirt from the other day?

She nodded toward the nightstand. “Take the Tylenol and drink all of the water.”

Not arguing with her, I swung my feet over the bed and reached for the medicine, downing the glass of water in a few gulps. I set my head in my hands, trying to make sense of my mixed emotions and memories.

The bed dipped slightly beside me. “You should probably go back to sleep. Sebastian said you don’t have to do anything until six tonight. It will help with the fuzziness.”

“I know how to deal with a hangover,” I muttered, standing from the bed to head into the bathroom. “I need to brush my teeth, a hot shower, and some bullshit green drink.”

To my surprise, Regan didn’t follow me into the bathroom, and I was thankful to have time to collect my thoughts, I needed to weed through my memories, and try to process what was real, and what I hoped to be true. When I came out of the bathroom in a towel, Regan was sitting in the chaise lounger in the corner of the room, a Styrofoam cup with a straw in her hand. She nodded her head to my nightstand, a similar cup sitting in place where the water and Tylenol had been earlier. “Green drink.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Where did you get that?”

She grinned. “You’re not the only one who knows about the green drink.”

The side of my mouth lifted, and I took it, sipping the vitamin packed smoothie. Sebastian lived by them, urging all of my bandmates to drink them after a long night of partying.

After a few more sips, I cautiously sat on the end of the still made bed, only slightly disheveled from me passing out on top of it.

“You helped me to bed?” I asked, wanting to know what was true of my memories.

She nodded.

“I didn’t… didn’t take anything…?”

She shook her head. “Only half of the alcohol in the bar downstairs.”

“Explains the hangover,” I sighed in relief. I remembered Rocket dumping the plastic bottle of pills, but wanted to be sure I hadn’t made it up in my head. When you’re an addict, you get really good at making up lies to cover your tracks. They're so overthought, you begin to believe them.

I gazed at her. “You got kicked out of your room?”

She played with the straw of her cup. “I left it.”

My leg bounced and down. “Your room, or…?”

She lifted her eyes from her drink, the gray of her irises soft and inviting. “Both.”

I scratched my head, then stood, setting the drink down by the television. Standing in front of her, I held my hand out, and she took it, rising to her feet in front of me. A lump traveled down her throat while I studied her.

Holder hand still, I squeezed it, cupping her cheek with the other. “You love me?”

Her eyes moistened, “Yes. I love you more than everything.”

My heart pounded, my throat thickening.

I didn’t make it up.

She chose me.

She loved me.

Unable to keep my own eyes dry, I closed the gap between us, kissing her lips sweetly, savoring her words. I was too choked up to speak, and kissing her between hasty breaths of pentup emotion was all I could give at the moment.

Her arms snuck around my waist, her fingers running along the bare skin of my back. Tears fell down her cheeks, and I wiped them away with my thumbs. “Don’t cry,” I rasped, kissing her again.

She held onto my wrists. “I’m sorry, I just had to be sure I loved you before I left him. I had to be sure throwing away my image wouldn’t be a worse outcome.”

I cocked my head back, my hands firmly on her face. “What do you mean? You think I’ll ruin your image?”

Her eyes widened