Playing Rough

Chapter XX

Michael cleared his throat and halted all movement in front of the front door. He looked at me for the first time since we left my house. "Please calm down, Bry, everything's going to be alright." It was a decent attempt at reassurance, however, it did nothing to help the tension slip out of my body. I clenched my jaw and bit my tongue, I wasn't in the right place of mind to respond to him.

I heard a sigh escape Griff's lips and focused on him as he inched closer into my personal space. "I know about the category five storm wreaking havoc in your head right now, I'm not that oblivious." He closed the space between the two of us by wrapping his strong arms around my waist in a comforting hug. I stiffened up even more with his body pressed up against mine, I could barely breathe. "Have some faith in me, okay? I mean it when I say that everything's going to be okay from this point and onwards, I'll make sure of it." Griff murmured as he hung his head on my shoulder.

I felt powerless before, but now I truly was powerless with the wait Griff's body fit against mine, and the way I could feel his breath on my neck as he drew comforting circles on the small of my back. I found myself beginning to unhinge and relax despite my adamant attempts at resistance. 

There was no resisting Michael Griffin for me, he held my heart captive for as long as I could remember.

I cleared my throat and tried to collect my composure before speaking what was on my mind. "It's not your battle to fight, Griff. I should just go home." I tried to reason with him. He wasn't obliged to be my knight in shining armor when I couldn't speak up for myself, I couldn't put that kind of burden on anyone's shoulders even if I wanted to.

Michael's hold on me was persistent. "I know I don't have to fight for you and I won't, Bryan. We'll fight together. I fucked up so many times with you and I regret every single mistake I've made. If I could, I would go back in time and fix everything, but I can't. So the least I can do is not repeat the same mistakes and leave you for stranded again. We're in this together now, just like it should have always been." He peered at me from my shoulder with a reassuring smile and I felt the butterflies in my stomach surge back to life again. My poor heart couldn't handle this. He saw right through me and I didn't know how I should have felt about that.

Before I could craft a coherent response, the front door bust open and revealed a shocked Janice Griffin, also known as Michael Griffin's sweet mother. "Look at you two!" She gushed. Her expression changed in the blink of an eye.

"Mom!" Michael groaned as he scrambled off of me, the warmth of his body against mine dissipated rapidly. A small flush overtook his cheeks as he stared at the ground. It was... adorable.

"More for me," Janice remarked in a sly tone and before I knew it, I was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug. Michael might have taken my breath away, but Janice might as well have collapsed both my lungs. "It's been so long! Too long." She exclaimed excitedly.