A/N: OH MY GOD, the last chapter is here!! Enjoy :)
Third person's POV
"Merci pour votre attention et j'espère que je vous voir la prochaine fois." Sophia ended off her French presentation with a smile, making eye contact with everyone at least once. She took the paper with her text written on it back to her desk.
As the teacher has told the class before, it was Monday and time to present their projects. Sophia stuttered and stumbled over her words a few times, but excluding that, she thinks it went fairly well.
"Bon travail, Sophia," the professor praised her. She nodded back politely and sat down.
It was only minutes later that the bell rang, and she wasted no second in packing her things into her bag. She left through the door and waited right by it. She knew he wasn't coming. Of course he's not coming, she thought. But Sophia was so used to having Logan stand right outside the classroom for her, it'd take a while for her to forget about it.
In fact, Sophia knew she would always have him in the back of her mind. The first friend she made here, a lot of places and people reminded her of him. But she has to move on, even though she would still cry at night. Having someone die right in your arms can definitely cause a person trauma.
Sophia shook her head and walked in the direction of the cafeteria. She saw Evie and Arabella sit together again, and went to join them. "Hey," she smiled as she took a seat. "How are you?"
Bella shrugged. "Alright, I guess." Sophia nodded in understanding and looked at Evie.
"Same. What about you?" Evie asked. Sophia inhaled and let out a breathy chuckle.
"Been better," she answered honestly, and shifted her gaze away from them. It was quieter than usual, not just at their table, but in the whole room. According to the news, Logan has gone missing since Saturday, the day that party took place. That means he never went home after they kidnapped Bella. He never said goodbye to anyone, went through Sophia's mind.
"Um, sorry?" Sophia suddenly spoke up when she spotted that 'Weasley Boy' stroll by their table. One of Logan's best mates.
He met her eyes and there were bags underneath them, he hasn't slept for quite a few hours. He was confused as to why Sophia had called him over and narrowed his eyes at her.
"Are-Are you doing okay?" Sophia questioned with sincerity. He was shocked at first, but then let out a small smile, it didn't reach his eyes though. And he continued walking, not in the mood for talking with anyone at the moment. Sophia sighed and felt extremely bad for the guy.
Automatically, her gaze wandered over to a specific table. Grayson's eyes met hers. Sophia raised her brows at him and he smiled, motioning to his phone. She brought up hers and noticed the texts that he sent her.
Grayson: Come to my table when you're done?
Sophia nodded her head at him and finished her sandwich. "I'll be back," she said to Evie and Bella as she stood up. Walking to Grayson's table, she didn't feel any stares on her, like in the beginning when she did. She smiled at that.
"Hey," she said shyly, making eye contact with the entire table. Anderson's girlfriend, the one Sophia's met before once, sat on his lap again. He gave her a curt nod and the girl grinned. Jacob was ogling a table full of girls and didn't even hear Sophia. He seemed to take the whole Logan thing alright, but you never know what goes through ones mind. And lastly Kyle, he sent her a beam, she didn't know if it was genuine or not, but she took it.
"D'you want to go for a walk with me?" asked Grayson. Sophia was surprised but nodded nevertheless. The last two grades in this school were allowed to leave during break, so it wasn't skipping or anything.
Grayson pushed back his chair and took Sophia's hand in his, not caring if it caught people's attention. He wanted them to know, he wanted everyone to know.
As they passed Evie's table, Sophia whispered to them, "Wanna come with?" She didn't want to leave them alone and go without saying anything. They shook their heads, Bella speaking up.
"No, we have to catch up with some friends, it's been a while." And Evie nodded in agreement. "Have fun though," she added.
Sophia said a quick 'thank you' and left the building with Grayson. "So, why do you want to go for a walk." Her curiosity got the best of her.
He looked down at her and smirked. "Can't I want to be alone with you anymore?" he asked rhetorically. She giggled and walked closer to him. He took them to his car and they got in.
The car ride was cozy with the music playing in the background and she didn't want it to end. He parked at the side of the road and her eyes widened. "You're taking me to your special place?"
He turned to face her and said in a cheeky yet authentic tone, "Our special place." Her heart fluttered and for the rest of the day she wouldn't be able to get rid of it. He wanted to share his private location with her, the place where he always went to be alone. She was speechless but he knew.
They stepped out and ambled through the tall, green trees together, hand in hand. Birds were chirping and the sun shone through the clouds. Leaves rustled due to the light breezes of wind, but it wasn't cold enough to actually get goosebumps.
This time Sophia knew where to go and she went in first, ducking through the narrow tunnel-way. They ended up in the same place as last time, and she still couldn't believe her eyes. The view here was probably the most beautiful thing she'd ever see in her life.
She turned around and met Grayson's gaze. Okay, second most beautiful thing, she thought to herself.
"Why'd you take us here?" she asked, not that she minded. This place was a fantasy.
"I don't know..." It seemed that he wanted to say something else, so Sophia raised her brows. "I need to talk to you. I haven't been completely honest with you." Sophia tensed up. Was he not in love with her anymore? Or was he even ever in love? Assumptions ran through her mind and she held in her breath.
Grayson noticed and put his hands on her shoulders. "No, no, no. It's got nothing to do with us, Sophia." She relaxed a bit but was still anxious to find out what he was hiding.
"So," he started, telling Sophia to sit down, "remember when I told you about Cassius getting into a fight at a party and I had to help him?" Sophia cowered at the name but nodded.
"Well, that part and everything else was true, but I left out some minor details." Sophia had a feeling that these 'minor details' weren't so minor. The reason why I finally couldn't handle him anymore and put him in jail...is because we didn't just lose that guy he had beaten to death. I lost someone else as well."
Sophia frowned and scooted closer to him, resting her dainty hands on him to calm his breathing. "You don't have to tell me, Grayson. We have time." But he shook his head stubbornly.
"No, I've always wanted to tell you," he admitted, and Sophia nodded again. "My sister..." he cleared his throat. "She was in the hospital for over two weeks then, she was on level four of lung cancer." Sophia's lips parted and she instantly gave him a hug, she didn't even know he had a sister, let alone her being gone. His arms closed tightly behind her.
"Our family wasn't the richest and we already had trouble paying the bills at times. My mother waited too long to bring her to the hospital, telling her the pain will pass and that it was temporary. But when she finally went, the doctors said it had already spread a lot. So while I was helping Cassius kill a man, my parents were saying good bye to my little sister. They had messaged and called me a hundred times, but my phone was on the ground, broken. The guy I fought with smashed it." Grayson inhaled a deep breath after his rambling, but wasn't done yet.
"That's why I have my own place, why I live alone. My parents couldn't stand to look at me after they found out I had been fighting. And if they did, I was only met with glares and sneers."
Sophia was still processing everything he's told her. It was a lot to take in. "Oh my God...Grayson, I'm so sorry." He shook his head but she shushed him. "I know you don't want my pity, but you can always, no matter when or where, talk to me about it. I may not know how it feels to lose a sibling like that, but I'm quite the listener," she smiled at him.
"This is why you remind me of her," Grayson said, and Sophia blushed. Is that a good thing? she wondered.
"You both have the purest hearts and are the most stunning people I've ever met, from the inside and out." Yes, it is a good - amazing thing. Instead of finding the right words to say, she kissed him on the lips.
"Thank you for everything," he muttered, and he meant it. Without Sophia, Grayson would be numb. But every time he sees her, it's like he falls for her all over again.
"No, thank you," she replied, smiling against his skin. He leaned against the rock behind and placed her head gently on his hard but comfortable chest. It was silent for a moment, until Sophia voiced her thoughts.
"How did we get here?" she asked him as he twirled her hair between his fingers. He lifted her head up from his chest and looked down at her, smiling.
"I don't know, but I'll do it all over again if it means I get to stay here with you forever."
This made Sophia close her eyes, feeling the sun on her face. She recalled Liv telling her that her life was like a horror movie. "I'm so glad we end up together," she mumbled. Grayson hummed in question, not hearing her.
"I love you," she said. He grabbed her hand in his and squeezed.
"I love you, too."
Not all stories end like this, some are better, some are way worse. But I'm happy with mine. Of course, I'll never stop missing Logan. It'll take so much time to heal, and maybe it won't ever go away, but I have Grayson.
Grayson is the band-aid I put on my wounds. He soothes them and keeps the bad things out. He has protected me and always will.
All I want is for him to be happy, that's all it takes for me. If he wears that bright smile of his, every ending I get will be good.
Because I love him, more than I thought was possible. And I always will.
ღ
A/N: I literally cannot explain to you how happy I am right now.
First of all, thank you so much for all the support, comments, kind messages and VOTES! I appreciate it all.
Secondly, thank you for choosing this book in the first place and reading with me up 'til now. Y'all make me smile daily.
I hope it was worth your time, and maybe see you soon <3