Bullet

Chapter 18 - Many Different Directions

Chapter 18
Many Different Directions

A/N - A big thanks to my friend Stephanie who made me another lovely cover that's off to the side! :)

“So you just let him leave?” Marnie asked, shutting her locker and leaning against it with a weary expression.

I tugged my books closer to me and nodded my head bravely. 

It had been two days since I last seen Grayson, my words to him the farthest from kind. He looked so ashamed and so far from proud when he uttered his final sentence to me. As soon as he said it, I couldn’t think about anything other than Clay. How we could have gotten him help. How Grayson could have told someone before this all happened. 

In the beginning, I was practically begging Grayson to just keep it to himself and save us both the misery. God knows we had both been through enough as it was. Now, I didn’t care that I went against my adamant wishes and allowed him to finally tell me what he had been hiding from me since the first day we started talking to each other. 

All I could think to say after he uttered those words was:

“Leave.”

I pointed my finger away from us and kept a stone face until he was far from view. He knew I was going to be upset about this. He knew the power behind his secret and how much that small detail held. But he wasn’t allowing me to push him away just yet. 

“You have to let me explain. Please,” he begged, interlacing his fingers together in a pleading gesture. 

The tears were starting to flood in my eyes again but I didn’t want to let it show. I couldn’t let him know that he hurt me. I’d spent too long allowing other people read me and letting others in only to be pushed over the edge. 

“Get off of my porch, Grayson,” I seethed, venom dripping from my words. 

He watched me with sorry eyes, looking almost like he was about to cry himself. All I could think was that he deserved to feel like this. Carter died. He got shot. Another girl was hurt. I almost died at the hands of my own brother. This entire time everyone in the school was pointing fingers at me and at Clay for what happened that day. 

Although Clay was the one who pulled the trigger, scarring those kids for life, Grayson Foster was the one who knew his plan before it even happened. If he just told someone about the idea, made it known before we all entered school that day, then this would have never happened. There would be no emotional turmoil, no scars, and no deaths. Everyone would be able to go on without even thinking of a day that would go down in history. My brother wouldn’t be in jail and serving a life sentence. 

Grayson pushed himself up from the porch swing, making it rock back and forth unsteadily. I didn’t even watch him go, instead just avoiding his movements and allowing the door to slam behind me. It was almost four in the morning and my parents would probably curse me for waking them up at this hour, but I didn’t care. It was like one last slap in Grayson’s face. He’d allowed all of this to happen. 

How could someone hold onto a secret like that?

This wasn’t a string of gossipy rumors. It wasn’t like he knew someone was cheating or a girl at school was pregnant. Those types of rumors, while still able to sting when they were heard, weren’t even close to the value of a human life. 

Many human lives. 

“I can’t believe you just made him leave without explaining himself,” Marnie shook her head at me before turning to walk down the hall. I followed behind her, keeping on her heels.