“The you that I miss doesn’t exist. Not anymore, at least. I’m not sure I even know you.”
He sighs, resting his forehead on my shoulder. “That’s not true. You know me better than anyone.”
“Well then, it’s just that I can’t trust you anymore.”
With a gentle push against his chest, he backs up, and I close my locker before walking down the hallway. Everyone keeps their eyes on me, and those who don’t, start to when Grayson calls my name.
“Savannah, wait. Please.”
I turn around, feeling completely defeated. “What Grayson? What could you possibly want now?”
“What I’ve always wanted—you.” He comes closer and only stops when he’s a couple feet away. “The last few weeks, the last eight years even, have been nothing but hell. Between getting ripped away from each other when we were just kids, and being reunited under the most fucked-up circumstances known to man—it’s all taught me one thing for sure: my life is better with you in it.”
We’ve attracted an audience, but I don’t think he cares, because his attention is solely on me.
“Since I got here, we’ve been at war over the two things neither of us can live without—power and control. Now, I’ve already lost you once, and you’d have to be out of your mind if you think I’m going to let that happen again, so screw it.”
He drops to his knees in front of me, and everyone around gasps.
“You can have it. Christ, I’d pull my heart out and hand it to you if I thought it would do me any good. The only thing I want is you, because I’m in love with you. I knew it when I was fucking nine years old, and I damn well know it now. You’re it for me, Savannah. There’s no one else, and I don’t want to live a life without you by my side.”
My stomach is in my throat as I gawk at Grayson, having heard everything I’ve always dreamed of him saying. The headstrong, punch-throwing, bigshot quarterback is on his knees in front of me, and all I see staring back at me is the little boy I swore I was going to spend the rest of my life with.
“Get up.”
“Not until you forgive me,” he argues.
“Gray.” The nickname alone is enough to spark hope in his eyes. “Get off the floor and fucking kiss me.”
Not needing to be told twice, he jumps up and pulls me in to cover my mouth with his own. He takes everything he can while still giving me all of him. It’s needy, and passionate, and has the ability to restart my heart all on its own.
“I love you, so fucking much,” he tells me, and I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing him say it. “You really forgive me?”
I nod. “But I have one condition.”
“Anything.”
Taking a step back, I keep my eyes locked with his. “I want you to explain everything.”
26
Grayson
Holding Savannah’s hand in mine, we navigate through the woods to the one spot I can really call ours—hidden away from the prying eyes and ears of everyone else. If there is any place we should have this conversation, it’s here. She deserves to know the truth. I just fear the fallout.
“Do you remember the first time I brought you here?”
She looks up at me and smiles. “How could I not? You’re not taking me out here to kill me, are you?”
“Don’t be stupid,” I tease, reciting it back to her with a nudge.
As we walk through the clearance, I can tell by her expression that it’s been a while since she was last here. She runs her hand gently across the tree we carved our initials into. You can barely see them now, but we know they’re there. Once she’s done looking around, she comes over to sit beside me and takes a deep breath.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
I reach out to hold her hand, knowing that telling her this could change a lot for her. How she sees her father, though he’s done most of the damage on his own. How she sees herself. This conversation could break her even more than she’s already been.
“Are you sure? There are things you don’t know. Things that maybe you shouldn’t know.” I warn, but she remains firm and shakes her head. “Alright, where do you want me to start?”
“The day you left.”
I watch as the rain drips down the window, the weather looking like exactly how I feel. Not only is Savannah gone this weekend, but I can’t play outside. Even sitting on the roof is off limits until it dries up and it doesn’t look like that’ll be happening any time soon.
Savi will be coming home tomorrow, though, and I can’t wait. Since we had our first kiss on Thursday, I’ve been even more excited to see her than I normally am. If our parents knew, they’d probably say we’re too young to have feelings for each other, but what do they know?
“Grayson, dinner!” My mom calls.
I pull myself away and head for the stairs, using the banister to slide down. My mother stands at the bottom with a disappointed look on her face.
“One day you’re going to fall doing that, and I don’t want to hear you cry about it when you do.”
Something I’ve learned about my mom, is that she’s a sucker for how cute I am. So, I smile sweetly and give her a hug. Just like I planned, she caves. The two of us go into the dining room where my dad is already waiting.
“Hey Gray.” He greets me. “You’ve been spending all weekend in your room. You sure you’re okay?”
I nod. “I’m just bored, and I really miss Savi.”
“Well, how about tomorrow we go down to the indoor batting cages? Would that cheer you up?”
Just the idea has me instantly in a better mood and I lunge to give him a big hug. “Can we play a game after dinner?”
“Sure. How does Uno sound?”
“The one that regular one or the one that spits cards at you?” The difference matters.
Letting out a light laugh, he and I both know we each want the one the other doesn’t. I eye him intently and wait for his decision.
“The one that spits cards at you.” I start to celebrate when he stops me. “But only if you promise to take it easy on your mother.”
“Deal.”
We all sit down for dinner. The smell of homemade mac and cheese wafts through the air and makes my mouth water. My dad thanks my mom with a quick kiss before digging in. It’s as delicious as it always is and the cheesy garlic bread that goes with it is my favorite.
Dad starts to clean up the table while I get the game from the closet when there’s a knock at the door. My mom glances out the peep hole and has a confused look on her face as she answers it. Five police officers stand on the other side.
“Mrs. Hayworth?”
“Yes?” She replies.
One of the officers holds up a piece of paper. “We have a warrant to search the premises.”
They push their way through, instantly starting to look through things. My father comes out from the kitchen, finding myself and my mom panicked as she holds me close.
“What’s the meaning of this?!” He roars, bringing all the attention to him.
Two of the men share a few whispers before heading straight to the den. I follow them and when I see them going for my secret spot, I panic. They’re going to tell my parents about Savannah’s picture! She told me not to let them see it!