EXILE//Grayson Hawthorne [3]

Chapter 10 - Invisible String

________________________________

"A string that pulled me
Out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar
Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire
Chains around my demons, wool to brave the seasons
One single thread of gold tied me to you."
-Taylor Swift
________________________________

Grayson's P.O.V

I sat with Jess, rubbing her back in comfort as she cried into her hands.

Tears streamed down her beautiful face, making her eyes red and puffy. We were no longer in the game room, but rather sitting on the roof of Hawthorne House yet again.

Jess had needed a place away from everyone. When she said that I assumed that also meant me, but when I had got up to leave she had grabbed my hand, tears in her hazel eyes, and asked me to stay.

I had seen the desperation in her eyes, and the way her lip quivered and known that the only way I could help her was to be there.

And I would. I would be there for her. It wouldn't make up for all the times I wasn't, but I could change my ways. If Jess can still somehow love me after all the things I have done, and choose me over Alex, then I could be better for her.

I could become the thing she deserves.

"Oh Grayson, I didn't want it to end this way." Jess said through tears, her words harder to hear due to the shake in her voice.

"Jess—" I tried to comfort her but was interrupted.

"I'm a terrible person, Gray." She whispered, letting out another sob. I grabbed her hand.

"Would it have made you a better person if you would have married him while giving me looks from across the room? Would it have made you a better person if you married him while loving me? Jess, no one in this house views you as a bad person. Not Avery, not Libby, not Jameson, and definitely not me. Things would have only got worse if you continued on with him." I said, my voice soft.

Jess wiped a tear from her face, looking out at the vast expanse before us. "If that's true, why do I feel like you are the only person who doesn't hate me?"

I cupped Jess's cheek. She leaned into it like it was instinct and my heart fluttered. Having her back was like some kind of miracle—but she was different.

"Jess," I said, pulling her chin to look at me. "You made a mistake. You are human. You have flaws. You cannot be perfect all the time. People have hurt you—I have hurt you. No one can fault you when you choose something for yourself, even though it hurt others."

Jess gave a small smile. "You know, this feels wrong." I gave her a confused look. "I feel like our places should be reversed."

My shoulders fell slightly. "Let me help you, Jess. For once, let me be the one to help you. I owe you as much." I finished, resting my forehead on Jess's.