Brandon couldn't remember where the fuck he was. He woke up in the back seat of someone's car. It looked slightly familiar, but his head was pounding and he couldn't think straight. His stomach felt like it was twisted in several knots and he started to feel the tell signs that whatever was in, was about to come out.
He swiftly forced open the door and vomited outside of the car.
He looked down and all he had on were his jeans and shoes. No shirt. He clumsily got out of the car avoiding his own puke and rubbed his eyes. He surveyed his surroundings, not recognizing anything. In the distance, all he could see was a house and some figure sitting on the steps with a blue light flashing across their face. Maybe a cell phone light?
He glanced around again and finally recognized his Jeep. Then he turned back around to the house and realized it was his. 'Fucking hell, I must be wasted,' he thought. He staggered across the driveway and up the steps.
Darren closed his cell phone as Brandon approached and sat down beside him. Darren passed him a cold bottle of water. He poured some in his mouth, spit it out and then poured some more and swallowed. The water felt so cool against his burning throat. He slid the rest of the liquid over his head flattening out his hair and running over his body. He felt like his skin was on fire, so the water was a welcome treat.
"Are you okay now?" Darren asked patting him on the back.
"Don't I look okay?" Brandon teased, flashing him a weak grin.
"You know there's going to be some questions about tonight, right?" Darren continued.
Slowly the memory of tonight's events came pouring into his head. Now he remembered what the hell was going on. 'Fuck,' was all he could think.
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Sienna and her father were still not on speaking terms. And the presence of this new guy, Chris Warner in their home was upsetting her even more. She was still shocked that her father's plan had lasted this long.
The last time she had seen Brandon was over 3 weeks ago when he had stopped by to see her father. She had been so excited to see him. She had planned to wait for him outside of her father's study, but figured that would give their little secret away.
So instead, she waited upstairs. But about 10 minutes later she heard the front door open, then close, then open again and close a final time. She scurried to her window as Brandon walked quickly to his Jeep, got in and tore out of their driveway.
A few minutes later Jackson had come upstairs and laid down the law. No cell phone, no laptop, no car, no credit cards! Nothing!
"You can't do that!!" Sienna had screamed at him.
"Yes, I can. Until you can pay for those things, then you will live by my rules in my house! I mean it, Sienna. You are to stay away from him," Jackson warned her.
Sienna was trying her best to not cry, but tears started to spill over the rim of her eyes. When he walked out of her room, taking her cell phone, laptop and car keys with him, she had thrown a porcelain dolphin at her door, which loudly broke into several pieces.
She and her father argued for a week straight about her relationship with Brandon. Her father tried to explain to her why he wanted them apart. He's too old for her, he has personal issues he has to deal with, blah blah blah was all she heard. She didn't give a damn if Brandon was an alien and had a wife and kids on another planet. She loved him, and her father was not going to keep her from him.
She had tried to escape on several occasions, but it usually ended with Jackson picking her up and carrying her back to the house with her kicking and screaming like a little girl.
Finally, her dad pulled his last high card. He told her if she didn't control herself for these next few weeks, then he would pull her tuition at Spelman College. That stopped her in her tracks. She had dreamed about going to Spelman ever since she was a little girl.
And to prove to her that he was serious, he had his money for her Stewart Living and Learning Center refunded. Instead of her privileged housing, she now was forced to some random dorm on the far side of campus with no air conditioning.
She and Lori would be traveling together a month and a half from now for school. Lori didn't get into Spelman, but she got into Clark Atlanta University which was only a few miles away. The two of them had been planning everything together since freshman year of high school.
The thought of many years of planning just going down the drain made her sick. But she wanted Brandon. She hated her father.
And she didn't make life easy at their house for Chris either. She resented him being there. Chris Warner's father and her dad were great friends who had served together. Chris was 19 and had just finished up his first year at Annapolis. His dad thought it best if he spent a week or two with Jackson to see what it takes to make it in the Navy.
Sienna had to admit that he was a nice guy. And good looking. His dad was black and his mom was native Hawaiian, and he had grown up in Hawaii. He had beautiful eyes and a beautiful smile. He seemed to smile all the time, actually. She wondered what kind of soldier he would make. He definitely seemed like the kind that you see in those news stories that have the soldier giving the little native children a piggy back ride.
But she didn't feel the need to talk to him. Or get to know him. She knew she was being a bitch, but she didn't care. She wanted to make her father and anyone else around as miserable as she felt.
But it had now been close to 3 weeks and she hadn't seen Brandon. She was going stir crazy in that house. She tried to keep herself busy so her mind wouldn't wander off to Brandon Temple. Her heart seemed empty without him. Her body seemed numb without his touch.
But today she was fed up and she had devised a plan. She stomped down stairs towards her father's study. She opened the door and walked in not caring if she was interrupting him.
"Daddy, if you want me to go to this Veteran's Ball next week, I need to buy a dress and get my hair done. If I can't have either of those, I'm not going," she said to her father while tapping her feet.
The Commander looked up and sighed at his daughter. It was the first civil words she had spoken to him in weeks. He leaned back in his chair and took his glasses off.
"Alright," he said. "Can you tell Chris to come in here?"
Sienna couldn't believe it was that easy. Yes! Finally she could see Brandon. She would use her Dad's car and drive over to his house immediately.
She went running out of the room and up the stairs. She barely passed by the guest room to yell at Chris that her father wanted to see him before she ran into her room and threw on a pair of cute, ass-hugging denim jeans and an off the shoulder yellow shirt.
On her way back down the steps she saw Chris standing there with keys in hand.
"Hey, there you are. Ready to go?" he said with a smile.
"What? I'm not going anywhere with you!"
"Um, well your dad said that I could take you around today and keep you company," Chris said with a smile.
Sienna deflated right there in front of Chris. Her father was too much. She didn't need a fucking babysitter! But she figured it best to try and get out of the house, shake Chris and go find Brandon.
"Fine, whatever," she said stomping past him.
Chris followed her out. This was going to be a long day.
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