whatever it takes - odell beckham jr.

chapter forty-one

i'm feeling a little bit badly that i'm happy that she looks like shit, even in the dark i can see her mascara stained cheeks and crazy hair. i mean, i'm supposed to be the one here helping her.

her eyes are red and puffy from crying, and she glances up at me before sniffling. "you must be the social worker."

"i'm a social work student, yes."

"great." she rolls her eyes, before throwing herself against the bed. "does that mean i still have to wait for someone besides you to set me free?"

"no." i pull a chair up to her bedside before pulling out my pen. "we can chat, and i'll make the decision as to what happens."

"okay."

"so, you are braelin jamison?"

she nods, before closing her eyes and leaning back against the bed.

"tell me a little bit about what happened tonight to bring you in here."

she pulls at her hands before sighing and beginning her story. "i was out drinking with my girlfriends. on my way home, i was pulled over and brought in here."

"you were brought in here because you were making statements to the police about wanting to hurt yourself. is that true?"

"i didn't want to go to jail." she wails, as a few crocodile tears run down her cheeks. "i kept telling the officer who my dad was, but he didn't even care!"

"drinking and driving is against the law for everyone. regardless of who your father is." i tell her, fighting my eye roll. she wails again making me cringe. "do you drink often?"

"lately." she mutters, before opening her eyes and staring at me. "i'm going through a rough patch."

"a rough patch?"

"well, everyone hates me." including me, but of course, i'm in professional mode. so, i keep my comment to myself. "and why is that?"

"it's a really long story."

"and i have a real long time to listen."

i really don't have a long time to listen, but aside from having to do my job, curiosity also killed the cat. and, of course, i'd be lying if i said that i wasn't intrigued to hear about how many other people also hate the woman.

i've basically already decided that she will be able to go home when we're done here. she's not suicidal, she just threw a temper tantrum to avoid going to jail. she sighs loudly.

"there's this guy–" i brace myself to hear her begin to talk about the man that i love. and i swear to god, it takes everything that i have to continue to sit here and listen when i know exactly where this is heading. "he's like, the guy, you know?"

"yeah."

"i love him. i've always loved him. and he has always treated me like a second option."

inwardly, i grin. "that has to be tough."

"yeah. i could have anybody. he should be grateful that i even want him. yet he doesn't seem to care." i sit silently, waiting for her to continue. at this point, i'm not even writing anything down. i'm just listening, waiting to hear what all she has to say. "so, he met someone. and he actually had the nerve to try to pick her over me." she rolls her eyes, and i grimace.

"i mean, you should have seen her. she isn't even that pretty, and plus, she even had a kid! seriously. what kind of guy passes up someone like me for some plain jane single mom? do you know that she was actually his housekeeper?"

disgust drips off her voice as she shakes her head.
her eyes are still closed, as she leans her head back against the pillow.

"so, i tried to come onto him. i literally threw myself at the man, and he turned me down. like, i literally stripped down to nothing, and he still didn't want me. in fact, he couldn't get away from me fast enough. and i know that maybe right now i don't look my best? but i'm hot. way too hot to be turned down like that."

my blood freezes in my veins as i stare at her, my mouth completely open wide. so wide, in fact, that it takes me a full minute just to shut it so that i can form a decent thought.

"so, what happened after he ran away?"

braelin sits upright on the bed and flails her arms.
"well, now he hates me! everyone hates me over it, because they all think that i tried to set him up. he thinks that too! he won't even talk to me, and trust me, i've tried. all he wants to do is sit around and feel sorry for himself over her! i love him, i want to be with him! and you know what? he doesn't even care."

i stand abruptly, before flipping on the lights. she screeches and narrows her eyes, before finally focusing on me.

"why did you do that? i told you, i wanted the lights–" her voice trails off as recognition sets in. "oh, fuck."

"oh fuck is right." i slam the door shut before leveling my eyes on hers. "what you're saying is, odell turned you down?"

"i'm not gonna go over this again. i had no idea that it was you sitting here. in fact, i think that you should have let me know–"

i take another step towards her, damn near spitting my words. "dell and i were high school sweethearts. did you know that? he gave me that job because he knew that it was the only way i would even let him near me, because even after all of this time, he never stopped loving me. and while you had me believing that i could never compete with a woman like you, in all reality, you were never any competition for me. because sure, maybe odell fucked you here and there, but that's all that you were ever gonna be to him. you could have never won his heart, because he didn't have it to give. even after six years, it still belonged to me."

"well, then it sounds like you fucked up." she narrows her gaze at me before crossing her arms across her chest. "and legally, i don't have to say another fucking thing to you. you tricked me. i'm pretty sure that you broke a few laws here tonight. and i'm gonna make sure that you–"

"do whatever you want." i mutter before flipping her lights back off. "but you're not free to go yet."

i open the door and storm out. i find avery, the social worker who i have been working with. i quickly fill out braelin's paperwork before sliding it across the desk to her.

"i started her eval. she's nuts." i tell her, hiding my smirk. "she kept making suicidal statements and then tried to pretend like she knew me. i've never seen that girl before in my life."

"oh, lord." avery murmurs, before taking her chart. "you think she needs to go inpatient?"

"definitely." i nod. "she seems like she needs some help, for sure. i hate to dump it on you but, are you alright if i go?"

"yeah, sure. get out of here." she smiles at me, before taking the chart. "i'm actually just going to leave it for third shift anyway."

"perfect." i collect my things before booking it towards the door.

i send another text to my sitter, asking her if she can stay even later, before calling a cab and asking him to hightail it across the city.