Senior Year with My Protector | Protector 1.2

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

       I normally love Saturdays. Both my parents have morning shifts at their jobs, so they leave before eight o'clock, meaning by they wouldn't wake me up before noon and tell me that it was too late to sleep in. Instead, I could sleep in as long as I wanted and eat whatever.

       That was not the case this Saturday. Since my bedroom is closest to the stairs, I heard the doorbell ring repeatedly. I groaned before pulling myself out of bed, not even caring that I was still in my pajamas --which was a pair of shorts and one of Grayson's shirts that I 'borrowed'.

       I opened the door, shocked to see Grayson was standing there, soaking wet. It was pouring outside.

       I noticed that Grayson was holding his left wrist, which made me worried that it was sprained, or even broken. He also had his backpack on, changing my worried expression into confused. That was, until he said, "I need a place to stay."

       Without even questioning him, I moved aside to let him walk in. I closed the door behind him and stood in front of him. "Grayson, what happened to your wrist?"

       "They're back in my life," Grayson said. "My dad and Graeme. I thought my mom was pissed at them. I thought she would never forgive them. But I guess a mom will always want to forgive her first son and her true love."

       "What does that have to do with your wrist?" I asked.

       "I'm getting to it," Grayson said. "My mom forgave my dad and Graeme. I was furious. Why would she ever forgive the two people that beat the living crap out of me and nearly beat me to death? And you know me when I'm furious. I tend to do things illogically. My mom and Ginny went out shopping and Gale was at work, so it was just me, my brother, and my dad. And I yelled at them. Called them names. Graeme lost it and you know what he's done to me before. I tried fighting back but...." He looked down at his wrist. 

       "Broken or sprained?" I asked, gently taking his wrist to get a good look at it.

       Grayson winced under my touch. "I don't know. It doesn't hurt as much so I think it's a sprain."

       I gestured for him to follow me up the stairs and into my room. He sat on the bed while I went to the washroom to grab the first aid kit. When I went back to my room, I dug through one of my drawers to pull out a pair of Grayson's sweats and another shirt I also 'borrowed'. Hey, there was nothing wrong with wanting to wear your boyfriend's clothes.

       "Here," I said, handing him the clothes. "Don't want you catching a cold."

       As Grayson changed into the dry clothes, I dug through the first aid kit to look for the bandage. By the time I found it, Grayson was changed into the dry clothes. I stood in front of him, wrapping the bandage carefully around his wrist. He winced a few times, causing me to apologize repeatedly.

       When the bandage was fully wrapping, Grayson sighed and sat down on my bed. "I feel like giving up right now," he said. "My mom knows I'm depressed and she knows it was my dad and my brother that caused it. Yet, she's letting them back in my life. I already tried killing myself twice because of it. And honestly, I'm really going for a third time."

       "Grayson," I said. "Don't say that. You still have your sister and me. We'll do anything for you, you know that."

       "I know," Grayson said. "But....seeing my dad and my brother....it hurts, Flower. My dad still thinks I stole you from Graeme and kept yelling at me for it."

       "Wow," I said. "That's really messed up. I still don't get why your brother is such a jerk to you."

       "Yeah, I don't know either," Grayson said. "Anyway, can I stay here for a bit? I don't know how long, though...."

       "Don't worry, my parents will be fine with it," I said. "My dad still ships us and my mom has grown onto you."

       Grayson smiled faintly. "Thanks. This is basically the only safe place for me. There's also my cousin's house, but my family knows where it is and I kind of don't want them knowing where I am."

       "You're not even going to tell Gale?" I asked. "She might be worried."

       Grayson shrugged. "I just....I don't know what to do anymore, Poppy. My life is so screwed up and I just want to give up." I knew he truly was upset, because tears were forming in the corner of his eyes. "Sometimes, I don't even want to be alive. I don't want to go through all this crap anymore."

       "Please don't say that," I said, my own tears forming. "I hate seeing you cry."

       "I'm sorry," he said as he looked at the ground. "But you don't know what's like to have the mind I have. Every day, every damn day, I get really dark thoughts in my mind. I try pushing them away, but it's not working. Nothing is working. I feel stuck, helpless, alone...."

       I sat down on Grayson's lap, facing him. "Grayson, don't say that. You're not alone, alright? You have me. You'll always have me. Nobody what."

       Grayson nodded, wiping his tears away. "I love you so much, Flower. So damn much."

       I rested my hands on the crook of his neck, pressing my lips against his. "I love you too, Grayson. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here. I don't care if it's one in the morning or later than that. I don't want you going through this alone."

       Grayson's cell phone rang, so we stood up so he could retrieve it from his back pocket. He sighed, looking at the caller id before answering. "Hello?....Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to get away from home for a while....Gale, please. I promise I'm fine. I have somewhere to stay. Just....No, I swear I'm fine.....Nothing! Gale, I'm fine, alright?! I just need some space." He hung up on his sister with a sigh.

       "Everything okay?" I asked.

       "My sister's just worried," Grayson said. "And I don't want to tell her because she'll just freak out on my dad and brother."

       I wrapped my arms tightly around Grayson's waist. "I promise I'll help you get through anything."

       "Thank you," Grayson said, pressing his lips on my forehead. "Thank you."

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I always cry when I write Grayson crying. Don't ask why. He's just so emotional and it gets to me. He's barely anything like the person he was in the first book.