Perfectly Wrong | Grayson Dolan

1

Grayson

My mom was pretty lenient about letting Ethan and I stay out kind of late with our friends. Even on school nights.

As long as our homework and chores were done, we could be out until midnight. She didn't mind.

Most of our free time was after football practice anyway. How we're we supposed to live our best high school memories if we couldn't go out?

Ethan and I usually got most of our homework done at school, and then we'd finish the rest of our homework at home and eat dinner before heading to football practice. After practice we'd go home and shower before going out to hang out with our friends.

As long as we made it home on time, my mother didn't mind.

Ethan and I were pretty good kids, so it wasn't like we were wreaking havoc or anything. Our dad always taught us to be the calm ones in the midst of a storm.

We were the ones that kept our friends from getting into too much trouble. Ethan and I were the voices of reason around here.

Most parents probably wouldn't let their seventeen year old sons stay out until midnight on school nights, but our mom was cool like that. She knew we could be trusted.

Everything Ethan and I do is so that we can make our dad proud. He passed away due to cancer a couple of years ago, and not a day goes by that I don't miss him.

Senior year has only just begun, yet Ethan and I are already committed to Villanova University for football, and our prospective degree programs.

Ethan's going into engineering, and I'm going into social work.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in a very loving household, and I want to be an advocate for children who aren't so lucky.

Those kids just need someone to fight for them, and I hope I can be of help someday.

I've always believed that there's some greater power controlling the universe, and that everything happens for a reason.

I strongly believe that it wasn't a coincidence that I parked my car on a different street that evening.

It wasn't a coincidence that I took a shortcut down a back alley when I was walking back to my car.

I never would've seen a strange car parked in the alley, and I never would've noticed a young girl sleeping in her car.

The closer I looked, I realized it was a girl from school. Brooklyn Denton.

I didn't know anything about her other than that she was in my grade and that she didn't seem to have many friends at school.

People around here kind of gave her a bad rap, but that didn't mean she wasn't a good soul. My father always taught me to believe there's food in everyone, and besides, you never know what someone is going through.

They might just need someone to care.

I tapped on her window, so I could offer her a ride home. Maybe she couldn't drive, and that's why she was parked in the alley.

She woke up, then turning the car on, and rolling down the window.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey. Brooklyn, right?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Are you okay, Brooklyn?"

She bit her lip, trying to think of an answer.

"Do you need help getting home?" I asked.

"No thanks.m. I must've fallen asleep. It's been a long day. I should go home now," she said, glancing at the clock.

It was 11:37.

"Well, drive safe, okay? I wouldn't want you to get hurt," I said.

She nodded before rolling her window up and driving off.

My mind filled with questions wondering if she was actually headed home, or if she was finding a more obscure place to park for the night.

Something in my gut told me there was a reason she was sleeping in her car. I knew that her mother died when she was young, so maybe there was more trouble at home.

I can't imagine what it's like to not want to go home. Or to be put in a position where you feel like you can't.

I got home that night and prayed for her, hoping that she was telling me the truth. That she really had somehow just fallen asleep, and that she was getting home safely. That her home was safe. Somehow, I still had an uneasy feeling about it, so I made a mental note to check on her at school.

I tried to look her up on Instagram, but I couldn't find an account that belonged to her.

I was putting my clean clothes away in my room when my mother came to the doorway.

"Gray, honey, would you please text your brother and tell him to get his ass home?"

"Sure, mom," I said, grabbing my phone and sending a quick text to Ethan. He was at his girlfriend's house, so I wasn't surprised that he stayed out past our curfew.

We were good kids, but I had to keep Ethan in line sometimes.

My mother sat down on my bed as I continued putting my folded pants into the dresser, and hanging up my shirts.

"How was your day?" she asked.

"Interesting," I said. "What would you do if you found someone you kind of know sleeping in their car?"

"Why did that happen?"

"There's a girl from school. Brooklyn. She's in our grade, and I saw her sleeping in her car tonight. I asked if she was okay, or if she needed a ride home, and she said she was fine. Something in my gut keeps telling me that she's got nowhere to go, and I don't want to just leave her to fend for herself, you know?"

"Gray, honey. You've always been so caring to everyone. Why don't you invite her over for dinner tomorrow night, and we can see if she needs somewhere to stay. She could stay in Cam's old room if she would like. Make sure that she knows it's an option rather than a requirement. She should feel safe making the decision to stay or not. Just be gentle and don't force or push anything. I'd start with inviting her here for dinner, and we can figure things out from there, okay?"

"Thank you, Mom."

"Hey, thanks for telling me. Most kids you're age wouldn't even care, but you're actually trying to help. That's really brave of you, Grayson," she said, getting up and heading for the doorway. Ethan was home, so she was probably going to go downstairs to yell at him.

I nodded. "I know that Dad would've helped anyone, and that's my mission now."

My mom smiled at me. "He's so proud of you, honey."

"Thanks, Mom. Now go yell at Ethan for being late."

She laughed. "Goodnight, Grayson."

"Goodnight," I called as she disappeared into the hallway.

I shut the door and went into my bathroom to brush my teeth. I changed into a pair of shorts and laid down before setting my alarm and falling asleep.