Page 4 of Broken Player

"What kind of treatment?" Justice asked.

"It's called stimulation. Doctors implant a strip of electrodes into my spine, and it would potentially activate the nerves thathelp me walk. They'd had quite a bit of early success, and it looks promising," my dad elaborated.

Charlie tilted her head and sipped her water, looking thoughtful. "I think I read a study on that a couple of years ago, but it was still early. I'll dig into the research when I get home and see what I can find." Charlie was a neurosurgery resident. She'd finished medical school two years ago and was working her way through her residency. She changed her specialty to neurosurgery after my dad's accident because she wanted to help people like him if she could.

"We don't even know if you can get in. There's a long waitlist, and the treatment is really expensive for something we don't know will work." My mom sounded weary, like she'd gotten her hopes up before and been let down. And she had. We all had. We all knew not to put too much faith into any new treatment option that came up. All had failed so far.

Besides that, I didn't exactly know all the details of my parent's financial situation. Still, I doubted they had the money to take something like this on. It made me angry that helping my dad get better depended on how much money he had, but that was how the medical system worked. I looked at Charlie, and our eyes met. We were thinking the same thing. Maybe her connections at the hospital where she worked could help get him into the treatment and with the money aspect, too.

"I'm pulling for you, Alex," Quinn chimed in.

My dad's smile lit up his whole face. "Thanks, Quinn."

We all dug into our food, the mood lighter, but we were all quiet, lost in our own thoughts. When I finished, I stood and grabbed my plate, and Quinn followed me into the kitchen where we dropped our dishes into the dishwasher. "Movie night?" he asked.

I nodded. "Your turn to pick."

He grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Are your sisters staying?"

Charlie and Justice had followed us into the kitchen. "No, we're about to take off, so feel free to torture her with your movie selection," Justice smirked.

Quinn giggled, and I poked him in the side. "Goddamn, Quinn. You sound like a maniac."

"Don't hate, Ry. We're off to watchShe's All That.Bye, ladies." Quinn wiggled his fingers in a wave before he grabbed my arm. I barely contained my groan. I hated romantic movies, and Quinn knew it.

"Ugh, couldn't you pick a better Paul Walker movie?The Fast and the Furious, maybe?" I pouted.

"Nope. Sure, he's hot in that, but he's hotandan asshole in my movie. The best combination." He was practically vibrating, and I begrudgingly smiled. "Seems like maybe we both have a type, right, Ryan?" He shot me a smug smile in return.

I couldn't argue with him there. I didn't know what Maddox was like now from personal experience, but he seemed to be a grade-A asshole in the media. "You know me too well. I think we need to break up," I grumbled.

Quinn chuckled. "If only it were that easy to get rid of me. Sorry, Lancelot. You're stuck with me for life."

I sat on my bed next to Quinn and snuggled into his side, burrowing underneath the covers as he started the movie. "I guess I could do worse," I mumbled.

"Damn right. Now shut up and take in all this nineties hotness with me." Quinn wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I tried to lose myself in the movie, ignoring how my thoughts kept drifting to the house over the hill and wondering what Maddox was doing right now and if he ever thought of me, too.

Blue lights pulsed around me as I tipped back my glass of whiskey and downed it in one shot, barely feeling the familiar burn. The bass rattled the floor under my feet, and my brain shook around in my skull exactly how I liked it. I couldn't hear myself think when the music was this loud. The thinking was what got me in trouble, and I wanted no part of it tonight. Or any night.

Turning, I watched a hot blonde shove her tits in Connor's face trying to get his attention. He flicked his eyes over to me, his eyebrow raising. When we went out together, he always gave me first choice on the women that were ballsy enough to approach us. Being the bassist for the hottest band in the world had its perks, and I enjoyed every single one.

He also knew I preferred blondes. Light hair and eyes. The complete opposite ofher.

I nodded once, and Connor turned back to the woman perched on his lap, leaning forward to shout into her ear. She moved away from him, sliding off of his lap and locking eyes with me as a predatory grin spread across her face.

Little did she know, she wasn't the predator. I was. For tonight, and only tonight, she'd be my prey.

I held out my hand and pulled her down into my lap, gripping her hips and running a hand up her stomach until my palm rested below her obviously fake tits. I didn't mind as long asthey were perky. Her floral perfume floated around me, mixing with the smell of alcohol and sweat in the club. I brushed her bleached blonde hair off of her shoulder and leaned up until my lips almost touched her ear. "Did you bring any friends with you tonight, sweetheart?"

She nodded her head vigorously before stretching her arm out and pointing to two women grinding against each other on the VIP dance floor. I shot Connor a look, and he followed my gaze. His eyes met mine, and silently a plan was made between us. He stood and moved across the floor slowly in a cocky swagger that had everyone jumping out of his way, clearing a path.

It didn't hurt that he was a big motherfucker.

I moved my palm to rest on blondie's smooth, tan thigh and stroked my thumb in circles. I watched as her breath caught, and her nipples hardened, poking through her tight as fuck dress that hugged every curve.

Turning my attention back to Connor, I watched as he moved between the two women, both of them grinding against him to the beat. From here, through the haze of flashing lights and dark shadows, he could have been fucking them, and no one would have been the wiser. Knowing him, he might have been.

I focused back on the girl sitting on my lap, inching my fingertips higher up her thigh until I hit the hem of her dress and then dipped my fingers underneath. When I lifted my gaze to her face, she watched me with hooded eyes, and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. My cock hardened as I thought about those plump, red lips wrapped around me.

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