Page 105 of Dr. Brandt

This fucking guy again, I thought. The bastard had come back into Jessa’s life and most likely manipulated her into taking him back because he knew she was vulnerable.

“All good here, Dr. Brandt?” he said. I couldn’t stand this man, and that was putting it mildly.

“I just signed off on the last of his charts.” I looked to where Jessa and Jackson stood together, ignoring mine and Warren’s bizarre stand-off. “The therapists will meet with you tomorrow and review the outpatient rehab guidelines.” I looked back at Jackson. “When you’re ready, Collin and Jake have insisted on a game of beach football,” I said. My friends and I worked with Jacks over the past month to ensure he kept moving forward, fighting, having fun, and never giving up.

“Don’t you think football is pushing it a little bit?” Warren popped off.

“Okay,” the outpatient team leader said, walking into Jackson’s room, where I was ready to punch Warren in his whitened teeth.

Fucking douchebag.

“All’s good here. He’s officially discharged from St. John’s,” I said, smiling at Jacks. “I’m on-call this week, but your mom and I discussed me popping in and out to check on you if that’s good?”

Jacks smiled, but it was apparent the poor kid was confused. One day he was going to Lakers games with my best friend while his doctor and mother were on vacation in Mexico, and the next thing he knew, Warren was back in his life—and now living in Southern California. He hadn’t said a word about any of it, but honestly, he had more significant problems than discussing his mom’s relationship patterns.

“Laguna Beach isn’t exactly around the corner from here,” Warren said. “Are you sure you can be that far from the hospital?”

You’re a fucking prick, I thought, hating this asshole more and more by the second.

“Don’t be a dick, Warren,” Jacks said, shocking me. And after looking over at his annoyed expression and Jessa’s wide eyes, I didn’t know where to take this.

“I see you’ve learned some lovely foul language while under the care of Dr. Brandt,” Jessa said as Warren tried to figure out how to pick his jaw up off the ground.

Jacks smiled at me. “Dr. Brandt doesn’t cuss,” he laughed.

God, this boy. I wanted to hug him and tell him he was a chip off the old block, but that was for a different day. It was another thing I wanted to discuss with Jessa but would do so when this gnat of a man wasn’t hovering around like the annoying fucking insect he was.

“Never,” I agreed. “All right. The team is here, and the rehab center usually does a fun send-off when patients leave, so don’t keep them waiting.”

“I’ll see you soon?” Jacks said, and I nodded.

As the room filed out, Warren decided to pull a chickenshit move and glare at me like a middle schooler. I’d had about enough of his shit for the past month, and I wasn’t about to let this bitch piss me off on my son’s big day.

“Can I speak to you for a moment, Warren?” I said, staying back.

“It’s okay,” he said reassuringly to Jessa while I kept a professional expression and refrained from rolling my eyes.

“Yeah, I’m not going to kick his ass or anything,” I said after she halted. “I just need to go over some stuff, ensuring Warren understands. I haven’t talked to him much over this past month, and I want to ensure he’s up to speed with supporting Jackson and you.”

I plastered the fakest smile I could manage to get Jessa to trust that I wasn’t going to level this dick standing proudly to my left, and she hesitantly left the room.

“What’s the deal, Cameron?” Warren questioned.

I slid my hands into my pockets. “I intend to get my lady and my boy back. I suggest you not get too comfortable living in Southern California.”

I didn’t give a shit anymore. I might as well make my intentions clear with this fucker so he wouldn’t be surprised when his ass was heading back to New York in less than a month.

“Oh?” Warren said, his gaze darkening. “Well, if it makes any difference, I wasn’t the one who called and begged for me to come back into their life—that would be the woman out there who doesn’t trust herself with you. So maybe you should tell her, not me.”

I smiled, “She was scared, and that happens. So, I’m not surprised she’d fall back into the arms of a man who most likely made her comfortably miserable.”

“Miserable, my ass,” Warren said. “She’s a good woman, not the type to live her life chasing adventures and thrills. I know you believe it’s as easy as that,” he snapped his fingers to prove some point, “but there are responsibilities in this life to attend to when you’re not born with a silver spoon in your mouth.”

“You insult me because my father was wealthy?”

“You insult yourself, Cameron. Take my advice: if you care about Jessica and Jacks, leave them alone. Let them live a normal life where they aren’t spoiled by material things that give false hope.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

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