Perfectly Wrong | Grayson Dolan

5

Brooklyn
Friday

Lisa invited me to go to the boys' football game with her. I had nothing else going on, so I decided to go. Plus I wanted to support Grayson and Ethan after they've both been so kind to me.

Especially Grayson.

They even started sitting with me at lunch and introduced me to a few friends of theirs. School used to be a place where I felt like everyone hated me, but somehow I felt like I belonged for once.

I got into the game free because I was a student, and Lisa had already purchased a season pass for the school's home games. I could tell that she absolutely loved seeing the boys play sports. It made her proud, and she loved that it made them happy.

We talked about how her late husband and their dad never missed a single practice or a game. He was always their kids' biggest cheerleader, and she knew he was watching over them now.

She told me that my mother was watching over me too.

It felt comforting to have an adult who actually cared about me. She didn't judge me for having a few tattoos, or for my nose ring.

She didn't even judge that I had been living in my car. She only decided to help.

How amazing is that?

I've felt more at home in the past two days than I ever have since my mother passed away. I've spent my whole life being scared of the only parent I had left. I was scared to go home every day after school. I was scared of him hurting me.

Now I feel like I have people who will protect me from him.

I feel safe for the first time in ten years.

"Hey, Miss Lisa," Kylie Middleton said, giving Lisa a hug.

"Hi, Kylie. How are you, sweetie?"

"Good," she said, giving Lisa a smile.

"Kylie, have you met Brooklyn?"

Kylie glanced at me, still smiling. "I don't believe we've been formally introduced. I'm Kylie, Ethan's girlfriend."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you," I said as Kylie reached out for a handshake. "I'm Brooklyn."

"Nice to meet you, Brooklyn."

"Brooklyn's staying in Cam's old room for the time being," Lisa told her.

"Cool. The Dolan house is amazing."

"I'm pretty lucky," I said.

Kylie hung out with Lisa and I for the rest of the game, all of us making small talk and cheering on the boys.

Ethan and Grayson both played a really good game tonight, and I was really proud of them. Our team won the game by a lot, so the spectators were going crazy when the buzzer finally sounded.

"Come on, Brooklyn, let's go find the boys!" Kylie said, taking my wrist and pulling me across the bleachers. She had invited me to go to a party tonight, so we said our goodbyes to Lisa, and she told us to have fun tonight.

We found Ethan and Grayson, Kylie giving Ethan a hug as I told Grayson he played a good game.

He gave me a hug, thanking me for coming to see the game.

"Did my mom bring you?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. She went home. I'm going to Kylie's for a bit, and then we're going to the party at the Montgomery's."

"Yeah," Grayson said. "E and I will be there in a bit. It'll be a fun night."

"Good game, Gray," Kylie said. "Ready to go, Brooklyn?"

"Yeah," I said. "Bye, Grayson. Good game, Ethan."

"See ya," the boys said in unison. That was the first time I've ever heard them say the same thing at the same time, and it made me laugh as Kylie and I walked away.

"I've never seen them say the same thing at the same time."

"Really? That's funny cause they do it all the time."

"I've only lived in Cam's old room since Thursday."

"That's what Ethan told me. He said you needed somewhere to go."

"Yeah," I said. "I guess my life is slowly starting to get better again. I've had it rough, but somehow I'm still standing."

"I know the Dolan's like the back of my hand, and they're great people. They treat everyone with such respect and kindness. And Ethan. He is the best boyfriend I could've asked for. I know we're only in high school, but he's my first love. He's so selfless, and Grayson is too."

"If it weren't for Grayson I'd be living in my car right now," I admitted.

Kylie stopped walking. "Brooklyn, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," I said. "I have people in my corner now. The only person I had before was my dad and he—" I said, taking a pause. "I don't wanna talk about that."

"It's okay," Kylie said. "You don't have to. But if you ever want to, I'm here for you. That's what friends are for."

I smiled. "Thanks," I said. "Sometimes I think it's hard for me to open up to people, just because I never had that type of support before."

"Well, you do now," Kylie said as we started walking again. "And it's okay to feel that way. You're human. It's like our brains are designed to hold things in some times. But it's always okay to talk about the things we go through. Even if we don't realize it's okay."

"You're really smart," I said.

Kylie smiled. "I'm actually taking a psychology course right now."

"Ah, you're doing dual enrollment?"

"Yeah. I mean, free transfer credits, right?"

"Yeah," I said. "I don't think I'm gonna go to college."

"That's cool," Kylie said. "Everyone has a different path."

"You're really understanding," I said. "It's nice to be around people who don't judge me for having a few tattoos."

"I have one," Kylie said. "It's a butterfly on my ankle. My grandma loved butterflies, so my sister and I got matching ones after our Grandma's funeral."

"I have one on my finger," I said. "It was my first tattoo. It gives me hope I guess. It also covers up a little scar I had."

I held up my hand, showing her the small butterfly just above the knuckle of my right ring finger.

"That's really cute," Kylie said. "I'm sorry that people misjudge you all the time. They just don't understand that you've been through a lot."

"Thank you," I said. "It gets on my nerves sometimes when people assume things that aren't true. And not just about me. About anyone. I've always just kind of done what I've had to do to survive. I don't have tattoos because of my personality. Some of them are because of things that have happened to me. They're a part of my experiences, and a part of what got me through those bad times. They weren't to mark my skin up. They were to cover the marks that were already there. The ones that those people probably never knew about. I simply got dealt a bad hand of cards, and a lot of it wasn't my fault."

"I'm glad you know not to blame yourself," Kylie said. "Cause a lot of people do. They blame themselves for things that they shouldn't be blaming themselves for."

"I just know that I never did anything to the people who have hurt me, so it wasn't my fault that they did."

"I'm sorry that you've been through so much. But Lisa and the boys will take good care of you. They won't let you down."

"I hope I don't let them down either."