𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 || 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞

Ten

❥ "𝐇𝐄'𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐈𝐄," Avery said through gritted teeth. Jameson had made it to Hawthorne Island and now he was going to this guys house for information on Toby and Grant.

"He will not," Grayson affirmed, "And if any threat is apposed, i'll take care of it." He messed with the buttons on his collar, and that's when I knew he was just as nervous— if not more nervous than Avery.

Wait until this is all over.

Jameson eventually called Avery, and we were all huddled around the phone. "It's not good."

Avery raised her eyebrows. "Why? Did you talk to him?"

There was a quick pause before Jameson said, "He won't talk to anyone but Avery or Evelyn." Shit. Out of everything, this was the worst thing that could have happened.

Yay!

"So," Avery was processing her words, "that means we have to go down there? Me and Evelyn?"

"That is highly dangerous," Oren cut in.

Dangerous, yes? But I needed to do this. Me and Avery had been lost on our own paths since the moment we came to Hawthorne House. This could be the thing that changes everything.

Without speaking, Grayson knew what I was thinking. "If you two are going, then so am I."
—
❥

Hawthorne Island was something you would see straight out of a movie. The flight wasn't too long, and Alisa made specific instructions that we were to be back tomorrow morning the latest.

If we didn't, we were in jeopardy of loosing the inheritance.

Me, Avery, and Grayson were all sitting outside this guys house, and nobody had knocked yet.

"For goodness sakes." Grayson knocked on the door.

I fought back the urge to smile as the door creaked open, revealing half of a man's face. He wasn't Toby— or Grant, but i'm guessing he knew them someway if he only would talk to me and Avery.

"The girls?"

Grayson gestured toward me and Avery and the guy examined us throughly with his eyes. Something in his demeanor switched when he looked at me.

"Come in."

Hesitantly, I walked into the house with Avery trailing behind me. Grayson waited outside because the guy wasn't letting him in the house.

Once the door shut, the guy had this odd look on his face that made me even more hesitant to talk to him, but I did anyways.

"Grant Ruth sent a package," I said.

The guy smirked. "Glad you got that. But for your own safety, I seriously wish you hadn't listened to him."

Before I could process his words, he pulled out a gun and my flight or fight response triggered. I couldn't move. Everything that happened with Skye— the last time I got shot— re entered my system.

"RUN." Avery yelled, dragging me with her to the door. As she opened the door a gunshot went off, but it just barely grazed the door.

Grayson was up and armed as soon as he saw the look on both of our faces.

"It's a trap," Avery said, "He's trying to kill us."

"We need to get to the jet. Now." Graysons tone was firm, not wavering one bit. And all I could do was let Avery take my hand and lead the way.
—
❥

By the time we got to the jet, everything was ready for us. All we had to do was step on the plane.

As my footsteps approached quicker, Avery dropped my hand. I turned around confused to look at her.

"Av? What's wrong?" Avery had a hard grip on her side and my confusion only intensified at her grunting. But when she pulled her hand away, all the color drained from my face.

Blood.

Avery got shot.

"Avery—"

A loud scream came out of Avery's mouth as she pointed in front of her, but I didn't have enough time to turn around.

Fire exploded around us, and the sound of a pure explosion erupted in my ears. I was on the ground in seconds, limp— blood everywhere.

When I titled my head to the side, I saw Grayson. Staring at us.

Do something. Say something.

Be here.

But all he did was stare. And the world around me succumbed to pure darkness.
—
❥

There's a voice. A couple of them. I cant make out the faces, but they're not right by me.

I'm in Hawthorne House. I have to be. But how? I—

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Jameson. "You watched Avery and Evelyn get blown up, and you didn't do shit?"

"Jamie—"

"You know what? I get it. For months I was hung up on Emily— and the guilt that I felt. But this? This is absolute bullshit, Gray. I know you feel guilty, and I know you hate yourself for that night. And for months I convinced myself this was just a Goddamn game, but it isn't. These are people. This is Evelyn."

Grayson didn't respond for a few moments. Those words cut deep— they had to have.

But they were true.

"I couldn't move, Jamie. My insides were fucking frozen. I wanna be better— i'm trying to be."

My heart ached, but not for the right reasons. It was the feeling of him slipping away from me, because after everything, it wasn't enough.

We weren't enough.

"It's a shame you can't move on," I had never heard Jamesons voice so serious. "because you just lost the best thing you had going for you."

My heart was heavy when I drifted back off to sleep.
—
❥

a/n:

I know you guys hate me SOOOO much. but I felt like I wanted to keep this story somewhat realistic bc while he does care abt evelyn so much emily is still tormenting him. I PROMISE THO they will be together by the end of the series. I just couldn't get myself to write Grayson saving the girls. It felt so unnatural 🥲 also these two are very 1 step forward 3 steps back

also the writing is ass in this chapter i wanna get to the final gambit part soooo bad.