𝖈𝖔𝖒𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖘𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖒 | d.f. |

🛠 grayson79 🛠

[ 12:30 PM ]

"soraya!"

"no gray. i don't have anything to say on the matter," she shuts down, throwing a punch toward matt.

he weaves out of her way. he throws one her way.

she ducks before uppercutting him, knocking him back slightly.

"ray chill!" matt groans, shaking his head.

"we're practicing are we not?" she questions.

"can i get one word in? please?!"

"no! you can't!" she dismisses, dropping her fighting stance and looks at me.

"why?"

"matt is not your responsibility! and nothing in the world is going to persuade me to keep him here! if, and that's a huge IF, dominic comes back, he's got time to figure out where to go."

"what happened?"

"what?" she asks, squinting her eyes at me.

"what happened from yesterday us becoming a family til now?"

"you couldn't possibly fucking comprehend what runs through my head gray. you couldn't begin to comprehend what dom and i hold inside ourselves. he is the ONLY ONE that gets it! we're a fucking threat. i don't think you remember that before you two came into the picture, it was dom and i," she spits.

"i do remember!" i counter, her words triggering the darkest moments of my life. "i remember every fucking day! it's not just you anymore soraya! there are people who actually give a shit about you!"

"i didn't ask you too! i never wanted to meet you! or HIM!" she yells, pointing to matt. "we never needed you!"

i smile to myself, realizing soraya's little game she likes to play. she's done it so many times since i've met her.

she doesn't accept help from others. she likes to do everything on her own.

but she can't. not now.

she's going to have no one left if she keeps pushing people away. in a way, she pushed dominic away.

she's not going to keep that self destruct nature; not while i'm around. if dominic trusted me enough to watch his girl and his little sister, i have to at least help in more ways than just one.

i've lost too many people. i'm not losing anymore.

i grab her shoulders, pulling her into me. i wrap my arms around her and squeeze tight.

yelling doesn't work for her. she doesn't listen when you yell.

she pushes against my body but i don't let go. i hug tighter and tighter.

"grayson let me go!" she squeaks out in an attempt to sound angry.

"just stop for one second!" i try to reason with her.

"GRAY!"

"STOP!" i demand, "just fucking stop! no one is against you here! no one is looking to see you fail or turn you into the fucking government. no ones talking bad about you. whatever your moms told you, fuck that! fuck her. you're not her and you don't have to be her. you don't have to be alone. we're trying! that has to mean something. please! let it mean something," i plead, hoping i've gotten through to her.

her advances to get away cease altogether.

"he betrayed us," she squeaks out, "and dom could be..."

she falls against me in a heap of tears.

"he's not gone ray," i whisper to her.

"you don't have the nightmares i have. you don't constantly see him dead!"

"that doesn't mean he's gone."

"and that doesn't mean matt can stay," she responds, pushing me off of her. "betrayal is betrayal. so are secrets. no ones giving him another chance until i know dom is okay."

"well instead of waiting, let's... just... go find dom?" i shrug, thinking of anything to get her to go back to that take charge fearless leader. "it's like matt said, we're sitting ducks. besides, they wouldn't expect us to go to them," i explain, a vague plan forming in my mind.

"what?" ray questions, wiping her face of her tears.

"you want to be a stone cold killer, then let's move a step ahead of them."

"okay so, do you have anything captain dolan?"

"we put on the map dom's location to stop in with the van in maryland, right?" she sniffles and nods, crossing her arms. "then he contacted you about the room he's in when?"

her face contorts into confusion.

"i don't know gray!"

"well think! we can estimate his location based on his check in times with you."

"what if they took a jet?"

"you said he was in some transport truck?" i question.

her dejected manner transforms into indecision.

"what about after that!? he said they stuck him with something that knocked him out!" she stops. she takes a deep breath. "okay, let's assume they drove that transport truck, we don't know in what direction."

"process of elimination. in the meantime, try to contact him or whatever it is you guys do."

"okay," she states, staring into space, "okay... fine," she says, slowly nodding.

"matt, my dad used to collect old maps. they're in the garage. maybe they won't be that far off," i tell him.

matt moves in the direction of the garage.

"so now what?" soraya asks.

i look at her.

"you miss your boyfriend so bad, we're going to go get him."

"he's not my boyfriend," she grumbles.

"you want him back or not?" she doesn't say anything. only flips me off and roles her eyes. i nod at her and head inside. "prepare to think galaxy brain!" i throw over my shoulder.