Washed Away (Brandon Rogers)

Chapter 7

Brandon's POV

"Are you mad at me?" Cat asked with a quiet and submissive voice.

"What? No, no of course not. I don't know what happened but I'm sorry." I was still high from my smoke session but felt guilt and confusion. She just stood there for a couple moments before turning around and walking back out, lightly shutting the door behind her. I sat on my bed for a little longer, kind of just absorbing what was happening. I decided I would take a hot shower, maybe after I'd be able to talk to her. I pulled my shirt over my head as I walked out of my room and caught Cat looking at me with surprise.

Cat's POV

My eyes widened as a shirtless Brandon walked out and I just sat and stared. He seemed to blush and walked to the bathroom. He came back out and asked me if I wanted to do something tonight. I shrugged and gave a small "sure" and he nodded before walking back to the bathroom. I heard the door shut and the shower start. I sucked on my teeth a bit and went back to scrolling through Instagram. Lots of hate comments, a few friendly ones too. My inbox was filled with rude messages and threats. Really great, we're not even together and already getting hate. I went to his account and scrolled through the pics of me. I smirked at a picture of him, taking a selfie in the mirror with nothing but a bath towel and messy hair. I liked it, then closed Instagram. I looked around for a couple minutes, kinda spaced out. I took in a deep breath after forgetting to breathe, then opened YouTube. I typed in 'brandon rogers' and searched. I decided to look at his channel and immediately I saw his channel trailer. I tapped on it and braced myself for what I was gonna watch.

"Hey, I'm Brandon, and these are some of the people that I take credit for." I burst out laughing immediately after it started, his phenomenal characters all amazingly executed. I was cackling, crying, and I felt so happy in that moment. My sides were hurting, and I ended up falling over as the video continued, only worsening my case. I heard a door open and looked up from the ground. Brandon was walking towards me in a towel with a concerned yet amused look on his face.

"Youu...okay?" I started slapping the ground and laughed even harder and he started giggling. He walked into his bedroom and came out dressed in a t-shirt and jeans a couple minutes later. By then I had regained my oxygen and was able to stand up. I sat back down on the couch and he followed.

"So. What were you laughing at?" I looked at him for a couple seconds with a huge grin and just shook my head.

"Your videos are hilarious. I almost died." He smiled and patted my back. He and I sat and talked about his work, we talked about so many things we loved. I got hot and rolled up my sleeves to my elbows, forgetting about my damaged arms. We were laughing and chatting, until he stopped laughing and his smile completely disappeared. I was still talking and trailed off when I noticed he went silent. We made eye contact and his eyes were glassy, as if he were going to..cry. I shook my head and asked,
"What's wrong?" He looked back down and I met his gaze at my arms. I lowered my head in shame, and felt my cheeks heating up. As I was about to burst into tears again, Brandon started letting out quiet tears.

Brandon's POV

My heart ached as I couldn't take my eyes off the hundreds of cuts on Cat's forearms. Hot tears poured out of my eyes as I remembered earlier today when she was crying and running away. I just grabbed her arm to get her attention but I had no idea about this. I must've hurt her pretty bad... I squeezed her arm.. she was crying too. It was completely silent, except for a few sniffles from both of us. After I was able to calm down, I gently held both of her hands. She looked at me with her eyes puffy and her face red and wet. I released one of her hands and wiped her tears with my thumb, and she let me. I tucked her hair behind her ears, and she let go of my hand. She fell onto me, causing me to fall back so I was laying down on the couch. She laid on my chest and started sobbing. I pulled her sleeves down and she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling herself closer and burying her face in the crook. I slowly rubbed her back and told her it was going to be okay. After she stopped crying and her breathing was steady again, I quietly asked,
"What happened, Kitty?", and she sighed. "I just hate myself. I can't remember a time when I didn't and it's just sucky. I've been doing drugs and drinking and hurting myself under your care and it's so selfish. I'm sorry." I felt my cheeks heat up again. I just rubbed her back with one hand and played with her hair with my other. I thought and thought, and I made a decision. I pushed her so we were sitting up and I faced her.
"Show me any drugs, razors, anything you might have that you could use to harm yourself," I told her in a firm voice. She blinked a couple times before shuffling over to her duffle bag in my bedroom. She sat down and started pulling things out. She tossed some regular shaving razors, some socks, and some panties onto the floor in front of me. She dug deeper and pulled out a few tiny bags of cocaine, and a couple flasks filled with who knows what. I shook my head lightly, as she pulled out more cocaine and a couple pocket knives. I took all of it. I threw out the razors, hid the knives, and flushed the cocaine. I scrubbed the bathroom to rid of the powdery substance. Cat hadn't moved from her spot. I took the flasks and emptied them, then added them to the dirty dishes in the sink. She walked in while I was rinsing the last of the dishes and wrapped her arms around my waist, resting her head on my back. I chuckled and turned off the sink, then turned around. She smiled at me and went to the couch and sat down. I was about to walk into my room when she called out.

Cat's POV

"Brandon?"

I called to him before he entered his room. He turned around with his eyebrows raised and without hesitation I got up and ran up to him, crashing my lips into his as I hugged my arms around his neck.