Tell Me The Same (Brandon Rogers)

23. Crash

Brandon woke up the next day, hungover as all hell. The throbbing in his skull kept him there in bed, he was still fully dressed. He reached his arm across the bed, half expecting a sleeping Bug to be beside him. But when she wasn't there, he finally had the driving force to get himself out of bed to check if she were on the couch.
He stood and stretched, stumbling his way in to the empty yet trashed living room.
He let out a hum and retrieved his phone, he thought she'd at least come back home with him.

He dialed her phone and fixed himself a glass of water while he waited for her to answer. She never did and he settled on texting her, a simple 'Hey, wanna come over?'
But the hours passed and Brandon felt an uneasy anxious pit swell in his stomach. To settle his worries he called a few of the others up, all of which led him nowhere.
Brandon snatched up his keys before walking out the door to run down to his car, He'd been through this before. She hadn't answered before, he'd left her alone before.

As he drove down the road not only did the anxiety grow more fierce but the self-loathing began to join it. How could he? He exposed her to so much so fast, he knew she couldn't drink! He knew she had a problem. Why would he let this happen? He punched the steering wheel as he sat impatiently at a red light.
She loved him and he let this happen.

When he arrived he dashed up to her apartment room, fumbling with the keys, finding hers and unlocking her door. He hoped and prayed she would be up, caught up watching television or maybe even cooking.
But she wasn't. She wasn't in her room either. She wasn't in her home at all.
He then checked her bathroom, she needed to take her medicine soon. And if she didn't, then they'd be back at square one. The pill bottle sat on the sink, she didn't have it with her. He felt as if this added to the situation.
Brandon took a moment, having to steady himself against the counter, his head felt light and he thought he might fall over.

His fingers tapped her number in once more and with each ring his heart ripped apart more and more. Where the fuck was she? He racked his brain and settled with backtracking the whole night. At this point he knew she gave in to the temptations, he almost couldn't blame her. He probably would too. How could he let this happen?

.

Brandon went to each establishment from the night prior, all resulting in nothing. Each phone call brought no new news. He continued to call friends but none of them knew of anything, soon Rachel and a few others decided to help in the search.
He heard someone make a "Hangover" movie joke, Brandon couldn't remember whether he laughed or not, or even if it were funny.

As the hours passed, he felt himself become even more hopeless, he didn't understand. Why was this happening? He sat with his head in his hands, the tears unable to be held back at this point, It'd almost been a full day.
Rachel took a seat beside him resting a hand on his back, "I think we need to go file a Missing Persons report." She told him, "I'm sure she'll pop up soon but just in case." She tried to sound hopeful, for him.

Brandon sniffled, "I keep thinking we're going to find her beaten in an alleyway or something... And I let it happen."
Rachel shook her head no, "You can't think like that Brandon, This isn't your fault. We just need to keep looking. We'll find her, I promise."

.

It was a week and two days.

A week and two days since she'd been gone. At this point Brandon could barely even look himself in the mirror. He'd caused others to worry, as he wasn't getting enough sleep. All work on videos came to a sudden halt.
Things had been so good, One of the last coherent words he could remember from her were "I love you" Things were going to continue to be so good. But now that's all slipped from his fingers.

He had forced himself to go to work, casting a small commercial for a local computer repair place. He watched the auditions, hardly able to focus and feeling even worse due to it.
He was in the middle of taking notes of the most recent audition when his phone rang. His body moved faster than he thought he was even able to. He didn't recognize the number but answered it with a hopeful hello.

"Brandon I fucked up." The hoarse, light voice of the person he'd hoped it'd be came across the line.
Brandon felt tears swell in his eyes, "Bug? Bug where are you? I'll come get you!" He told her.
"I'm so sorry Brandon, I don't know what happened. I'm so sorry." She cried, she was crying.
"If you just tell me where you are I'll come get you." He repeated, hoping she could actually hear him.
He heard her inhale sharply, "I gotta go, the police are here." She quickly hung the phone up, leaving Brandon confused.

He quickly dialed up the same number again, but someone else answered it.
"Hello?" It was a different woman's voice.
"Hello, yes. Someone I know just called me from this number? What's going on?" He asked, his hand tapping against the table.
"Oh, there was a car accident, The police are here now. The girl asked to use my phone, she doesn't seem in her right mind." She informed him solemnly. "She seems okay though. No lasting damage, in case you were wondering."
A sigh of relief left Brandon's lips. "Thank you. Where are you exactly? I should be there."

She gave him the general area, it was outside LA, further down south than he'd been in awhile. He couldn't, for the life of him think of why Bug would be down there.
Before he had hung up, he had asked one last question, 'Is she alone?'
When the lady answered, No, there's a man here with her. Brandon didn't know how to feel. He was happy she was.. going to be okay. But who was she with? What had happened?
Was he angry with her? Angry with himself?
He decided he needed to get his shit worked out before getting there, but he wasn't so sure that'd happen due to his tense speeding down the highway.

.

When he was a hour away he got another phone call.
"Hello?" He quickly answered, letting loose of the gas peddle just slightly.
"Is this, Brandon Rogers?" The strong, assertive voice asked from the other end.
"This is he." He gnawed on his lip in anxiety.
"This is Sheriff Anderson down at the El Centro police department. I'm calling about Bug Avery, do you know her?"
"Yes! Yes of course, she's my.. my girlfriend." He quickly answered.
"Look sir, she was found in a car wreck with another man. It was just them, drove in to a tree. She's fine, he's a little banged up." The officer explained to Brandon. He wasn't so sure who this random guy was. "But, there's a few other things we need to talk about when you get here."

At this point, Brandon knew what had happened. As Marta said before, "She goes on long benders with random guys. Disappearing for weeks before suddenly showing up out of nowhere, almost as if it had never happened."
He let out a broken sigh, Apparently that was his Bug.

.

When Brandon arrived he was met by Sheriff Anderson, "Can I see her?" He asked, pleaded really.
"In just a moment, I need to tell you about her state." He let out a sigh, "She's tested positive for cocaine and pot. Nothing was found on them, so there won't be any charges. But she is not in the right state of mind."
Brandon rubbed his temples as Anderson gave him a moment, "Would you like to see her now?"
"Of course." Brandon spoke finally.

When he walked in to the closed off room, he saw her. She sat uncomfortably stiff in a metal chair, a styrofoam cup of water held in her hands. Her eyes were sunken in and dark, she was sickly pale and her hair looked like a tangled rats nest. He couldn't help the tears that broke, he didn't know if he was crying from how happy he was that she was here, found. Or that he was heartbroken from the state she was found in.
She hadn't noticed him yet, a nurse sat with her, examining her and that took all the focus Bug could give.

"Buggo?" He tried to get her attention as he slowly stepped forward. She looked over and he saw the sob erupt, causing her stiff body to shake.
"Brandon I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry Brandon." She repeated over and over. Brandon sat in the cold metal chair next to her, scooping her up in to his arms and holding her gently against his body.
"It's okay. It's okay." He whispered softly in to her ear. "It's okay now."

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Is this story even coherent anymore?
I'm really sorry if it isn't but thank you for staying around :P I really appreciate it.