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“Enh, he’ll be fine. Maybe some space will be good for him. She’s only been back one day, and he’s a wreck,” I say, then start walking toward the school. The teachers are pretty chill when it comes to the football team, but I can’t let my grades slip.
“Yeah, maybe,” Dom mutters behind me as we head to school. We pass the maze, and I laugh when someone grunts and moans inside. Carter slides up next to me, swings his arm across my shoulders, and continues walking.
Dom comes up on my other side and does the same. I glance at them both, and they are wearing matching smirks. I roll my eyes and shove them off.
“I wasn’t about to go in the maze,” I grumble, and they laugh.
“Sure, bro, sure,” Carter says, and I sigh as we reach the school doors.
“One time…” Dom snorts, and I shake my head. “Fine, three times, I just happened to walk in there and watch someone fucking. Doesn’t mean I have an addiction or something,” I grunt, and Carter walks in front of us, turning to face us, holding up six fingers.
“I don’t yuck on your kinks, so don’t make me feel bad for mine,” I grumble, crossing my arms.
Carter gives me a wink and opens the door. It’s quiet since everyone should be in class, and I head toward my locker.
“I know Gracie deserves some form of payback, but I think we need to watch the girls, too. I don’t know what Ash has told Bianca to do, but we all know she’s been in love with him for years and was jealous of Gracie,” Dom says as he waits for me to grab my books.
“I’d be more worried about her and the girls than Ash,” Carter says with a laugh, and I shake my head.
“I can’t get involved in this shit. I have plans to escape this town. We all do, So okay, if you will shut up about it, I’ll keep an eye on your little Bambi. But Dom, seriously, you need to get over your crush on Gracie. Ash is never going to give her up. He may hate her now, but we all know they are the endgame.” I slam my locker and leave him and Carter gaping after me as I walk to math class.
They may think I don’t know shit, but it’s so fucking obvious.
There is a thin line between love and hate, and Ash has loved her for a really long time.
Gracie
Sweaty and exhausted from the long jog, I walk into my parents’ house and am greeted by silence. My shoulders relax with relief, and I take a few deep breaths, trying to calm down.
Walking quietly around the living room corner, I bump into my brother. Well, shit.
“Gracie, thank God you’re okay!” he says, snatching me in a hug so tight my feet leave the floor, and I can hardly breathe. “Where the hell have you been? You’ve been missing for over sixteen hours! Mom and Dad have been searching all night. We called all your friends. We were just about to go down to the police station, but I had to stop by and get a recent photo of you.”
Whoa, he's still clutching me to his chest, and he sounds almost hysterical.
“Gray… can’t breathe. Put me down. I’m fine. I just needed some time to myself after the last few months,” I reply, giving him a shrug of my shoulders.
“Time? You needed time to yourself? Gracie, you almost died. You were in a coma! You don't get to just leave without telling anyone where you are going. Do you even know what I thought happened? Do you even care about all the pain and misery you put our family through from your ‘accident’?” he yells back at me while using air quotes. I’m not sure what he means. It was an accident, wasn’t it?
“You know what, Gracie? I can’t do this right now. I haven’t slept, and I need to call our parents. They’ve been sick all night with worry.”
Shoving past me, he leaves, slamming the front door behind him.
What just happened? I knew they would be upset, maybe even furious with me, but that was a tad dramatic. I groan and plop down onto the couch. I should take a quick shower and eat something before the others return.
Thankfully, I stopped at a gas station on the way home to use the restroom. I was about to burst. Heading up the stairs, I look at all the pictures on the wall as I walk past. Smiling faces greet me, full of excitement from the amusement park we attended or what looks to be a trip to a beach.
What I wouldn’t give to just run away to a tropical paradise right now and never return. This town holds too much pain.
After reaching the top of the stairs, I enter my room, then the en-suite. Closing the door, I take a deep breath, anticipating what's to come. If Gray's outburst was any hint toward how my parents will react, I’m in for a long day.
I should just tell them that my supposed friends from the cheer team and football team decided to pull a mean prank on me, but I don’t want them to see me as weak and pull me out of school.
Even if it’s torture, it’s the one place I can escape, and I need that right now.
ChapterNine
“Please sit down, Gracie,” Dr. Pepper says as I enter her office. I should have known that after my parents came home to find me in the kitchen with an oversized bowl of cereal, they would make an immediate appointment with my therapist.
