"Are you cold?"
Earlier on Your Finale,
I unlocked my room door and there, laying in the middle of my bed, was Grayson.
"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, placing a hand over my beating heart.
"Good morning," Grayson said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. His hair was a mess and his voice raspy. I furrowed my brows in confusion, morning? "I hope you don't mind me taking a nap here," Grayson said, stretching, "You were just gone so long."
୨⎯ "Your Finale" ⎯୧
Chapter 21
2145 hours
XXX, Armstead Dormitory, Charlotte Anders
"Migraines?" Grayson asked me. I nodded.
"It's not true of course." I said.
"I wouldn't be too eager to deny it." Grayson said, looking up.
We were sitting side by side on my bed. I had just returned from Addy's dorm after a long conversation with her, which I was now sharing about it. Though when I came back to mine, a surprise was left, sleeping on my bed.
"Too eager?" I asked, laying down on my bed.
"Yes." Grayson said, as he turned his body towards me.
"Weren't you the one saying she was the mole in the first place?"
Grayson sighed, "I guess I haven't explained to you the whole story then."
"You haven't," I said.
"You just believed me without me even telling you my evidence."
"Huh," I said in realization, "I guess I did."
Grayson laughed, "At this point I could be the mole and lie to you and you'd believe me."
"Are you the mole?" I asked looking up at the ceiling, "Is this one of your mind games Grayson Millar?"
Grayson laughed, "Is it?" He paused, "How do I know you aren't the mole?"
"Touché, Millar."
"Touché, Anders." He responded which was then followed by a long moment of silence. I was the first to break it.
"Tell me," I said. "How do you know it's her?"
"Simple." He said, looking down at me. "She was the one gone for days, which happened to be the days, one on your first day at night, and her little trip the other day."
"Okay?"
"During those days you and I have been scouring the school, looking for evidence, talking to people, you name it. And the day of her return, she is summoned by Professor Randobal and caught in a classroom with him and Elizabeth an hour later."
I sit there, "Who's Elizabeth?"
"Wonderful," He adds condescendingly, "you don't even know your Student Advisor's name."
"I have a student advisor?" I say, eyes widening.
"Of course you do, we all have one." He says. "Elizabeth is your floor's advisor, and therefore in her sixth year. I'm surprised she hasn't arrived with her usual welcome wagon."
"She hasn't seen me yet." I say confused.
"Good thing, because she's another mole." He says.
"Another?"
"Yes, seeing as she was caught with Randobal and another mole..."
"She's another suspect." I finished in awe. Everything started to lock into place. "We just need evidence."
"Precisely." He said, "Here's the plan."
"You already have a plan?" I asked.
"Of course I do, I always have a plan." He said jokingly.
I rolled my eyes, "What's this plan of yours then?"
"A trip to the morgue sounds fun, doesn't it?" He asked.
I sighed. "I don't see how this is going to help but sure."
"Great!" He said with a smirk, "It's a date then."
୨⎯ "Your Finale" ⎯୧
"Did we have to do this now?" I asked Grayson. We were walking on our way to the morgue, and it was 10:45 p.m., it was pitch dark out.
Grayson slightly tightened his grip around my arm, guiding me towards the woods. "Of course, we do, it's always better to do things at night."
I sighed, stepping on a twig, "Are we even supposed to be here?" He pulled me through the trees.
"No." he said.
"If they catch us, I'll be toast." I scolded him, "It's not even my second week here and I'll already be expelled."
Grayson laughed, "You won't get expelled, I'm here."
I scoffed, "Sure."
"Believe it or not, the Millar's name carries some weight around here." he said, all high and mighty.
"Yeah sure, as if you're the next Hale." I laughed.
"So, you've read the book?" Grayson asked me once hearing my reference.
We walked towards a statue of a man. Grayson walked up to it, pressed some buttons here and there, and ended up conjuring a staircase out of thin air. Woah. This school will never cease to amaze me.
"I had some time to read here and there." I responded.
Grayson grabbed my hand as he descended into the earth. "Careful, it's dark down here."
Dark was an understatement. The halls were cold, damp, and more obscure than the night herself. We slowly went down the stairs, one step at a time, holding onto each other and the railings. Towards the end I thought I would make it without casualties. Yet, at the second to last step I tripped, missing a step. My heart dropped, I couldn't see one inch in front of me, and here I was about to fall to my death.
"Oh shit," I muttered under my breath, flailing my arms about. I had forgotten that Grayson was in front of me and that we held onto each other, for when I fell, he did too. Grayson gasped in horror as his arms swung wildly, trying to grasp onto something to save the both of us.
Crash.
"Ow..." Grayson said as we lay on the floor. Somehow in between the time it took Grayson to fall and meet the floor he had turned. For when I fell, I landed right on top of him. I felt bad for him, for he had broken my fall. The hall was silent, the only sound of our breathing. I felt Grayson's hand clasp over mine after a couple of seconds.
I cleared my throat, coming back from my trance, "Are you okay?" I asked softly.
"Yes." Grayson said grunting, "Something broke my fall."
I tried to get off of him but had some difficulty seeing as I was blinded by the darkness. I extended my hand out to the abyss to try and help him get up.
"Here, grab onto my hand." I whispered.
It took Grayson awhile to find my hand, but eventually he found it, getting himself up. The silence between us grew as I felt Grayson bend down to pick something from the floor. He walked towards somewhere and ended up finding a flashlight on the stairs, precisely what I had tripped over. Turning it on he pointed it toward the thing in his hand, a Mylar Blanket.
"Are you cold?" Grayson asked me softly, he pointed the flashlight towards me.
"A little." A lie, I was freezing.
"Me too," He said before he ripped the plastic covering off of the blanket. "This will keep us warm." He said as he drew closer to me and draped the space blanket over the both of us.
"Thanks," I said.
The both of us began to walk, only following the beam of light as our guide. I trusted in Grayson that he knew where the morgue was from here.
・❥・
(1196 words)
I'm in love with them. Sometimes I forget that this is supposed to be a mystery type story and not a romance. All the young adult is getting to my head.
(12/9/22)
- Daliah