No Strings Attached || Grayson Dolan

16. THE ONE WITH THE OPENING UP PT 2

February 3rd
POV Lydia
"What happened at Kendall's party Grayson?" I ask lightly and he stares empty in front of himself, he won't meet my gaze.

"As I said you don't know anything about me before junior year, and there's a reason and I'm gonna start there. In the end of freshman year I got in contact with this senior Kevin and his gang. I was very insecure about myself at this time and I was prepared to do anything to be cool and fit in. Mom had just gotten sick at this point, and I didn't know how to handle that" he starts off and I'm truly shocked. I had no idea about any of this and he has barely started talking. Mrs. Dolan has been sick?

"The gang weren't good people and I knew that, but it was something about them that made me stay. It was like they had a power over me that whenever I tried to leave, it pulled me back. I spent most of my time in a warehouse with them, they introduced me to drinking and smoking. Smoking everything. I got addicted and I couldn't stop. School was a disaster at this point, I was barely there and I was failing all of my classes"

"What got you out of it?" I ask and he fiddles with the grass beneath him, this must be hard for him to talk about.

"In the end of our sophomore year I met Kendall and Sierra, at the time they were a thing, and they showed me that life is more than drugs and alcohol. They got me back to school and I quit doing drugs. Ethan was a part of this too of course, but the gang had convinced me that he was just my lame ass twin that was in the way. Therefore I isolated myself from him. Stupid, I know. But these guys controlled me completely"

"That year was so miserable for me, so I think my brain kinda blocked out how bad it really was. That's why I joined them again when Kevin came to the party. My brain convinced me that maybe my years with Kevin wasn't that bad. So I went with him" he continues and I don't know what to say, so I figure it's best to not say anything.

"And now history is repeating itself. I can't get away. I can't ever get away from it"

"Yes you can Grayson. We will help you. Everyone will help you. You just need to set your mind to it" I say and put my hand on his shoulder, really looking him in the eyes trying to make him understand.

"You don't get it. They will come after me. They'll never leave me alone"

"Don't say that, we're doing this together. I want Grayson back" I whisper and he doesn't say anything back, he just looks out over the lake.

"When you said that your mother got sick, what did you mean?" I ask and for the first time tonight he looks at me, confused but it's still a look.

"Oh my gosh, you don't know. My mom survived breast cancer" he answers and I can tell that he doesn't want to talk about it. I had no idea about this, no one told me. I don't know what to say, so I just bring him in for a hug. The warmest one I can possibly imagine.

I don't know for how long we hugged, but I think both of us needed it. When we pull away, he stays a few inches away from my face, gazing into my eyes.

"Hey. You know what we agreed on, no staring deeply into each other's eyes" I whisper and he smiles slightly.

"That seems to be very difficult for me since your eyes are so mesmerizing"

Did he just flirt with me? But he's obviously not himself and he's also very vulnerable, he's probably not even aware of what he's saying.

"Do you promise to show up at school?" I ask and back off from him. He looks a bit confused as why I did that, but if it went any further I'd feel like using him.

"I'll at least try"

"That's all I'm asking for" I smile at him and he smiles back. I feel like he's a completely different person than he was at the begging of this night.

"We should probably head home. Mom is probably crazy worried" Gray says and I smile big at him, he cares. He cares again.
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