His Sweet Revenge

Chapter 33.

Hale puts his hands on his hips, letting out a quick frustrated breath. "You see, the only other people who have been inside that house since it went missing are me, Macy, David, Margaret, Nate, Iris, and Layla. And you. You can see that this looks bad for you."

"Yeah," Grayson nods, getting up from the stool. "Yeah, I can see that this looks bad for me. But that doesn't mean I took it."

Hale steps closer to us in the kitchen. "So, here are your options. You either tell me the truth and return the gun to me. Or I want you gone in the morning. And if you can't leave, I'll have the police come here with a search warrant."

"Are you fucking serious?" Grayson asks, his voice calm.

"Yes. I am fucking serious."

Grayson laughs. "Fine." Then he storms off. The front door slams shut a few minutes later.

Hale turns his head around to look at my mom.

"Maybe he doesn't have it, Hale."

"Then who does? Layla? Nate? Iris?"

Mom lets out a deep breath.

"I'm ... gonna go. I still have some job searching to do."

Mom nods, crossing her arms. It feels like they have a conversation to get through, and I definitely don't want to be around to hear it.

I rush back home and up the stairs to Grayson's room. He's already packing his stuff.

"What are you doing, Grayson?" I ask from the doorway, out of breath.

"I'm leaving."

"No, please," I say, walking into his room and closing the door behind me.

He stands up straight, tossing his duffel bag onto his bed angrily. "What the fuck else am I supposed to do? Let him humiliate me by calling the police here? No fucking way. I'm done. I'm gone."

Tears threaten my eyes, and my throat burns. I don't want him to go. My chest aches at the thought of him leaving me.

He huffs and sits down on his bed. I cross the room and sit beside him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Not right now, Layla," he says, pushing me away lightly.

I draw back and rest my hands on my thighs. "Will you please just stay the night? Just one more night? Maybe we can talk this out in the morning."

"Fine." He pauses. "I'll stay for tonight, but I'm not talking this out. I'll be gone tomorrow."

I remain seated next to him and let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry," he says softly, pushing my hair out of my face.

I shake my head. "It's okay. You're allowed to want space."

"I never want space from you, okay? Even if I make it seem like I do, I don't."

"Where are you going to go?" I ask.

"Kade's. For now. For as long as Jenny and Patrick will have me."

I nod and give him a quick small hug. "Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

— — —

When I wake up, I head straight for Grayson's room. It's early enough that he should still be sleeping, but when I open his door, I'm surprised to see his bed is empty. The bathroom door is closed, and I can hear the water running.

He said he didn't have the gun, but would it hurt if I just took a quick look?

I start with the drawers of his nightstand. Empty. I move on to his dresser, scanning each drawer and finding nothing. He hasn't even bothered to put his clothes away.