loving you is a losing game - avery x jameson

chapter 1 - heartbreak

I STEPPED OUT of the Media room and let out a breath that was being held in for way too long.

 "Landon's hard work, huh?" the youngest Hawthorne brother said, so focused on a new invention that the house could collapse, and he would still be playing with it. 

"What are you playing with now?" I exclaimed. He spun a dial and flicked a switch, and it started playing music. The faint tinkle of Happy Birthday filled the air around us. 

"A birthday present for Max." he said, matter-of-factly. Of course, I thought, his girlfriend. Since I was kidnapped, Xander and Max had gotten together, with strict rules and lectures from Dr Liu. But when did a Hawthorne play by the rules?

I was racing down the stairs to dinner when I heard my name being called. 

"Avery?" the voice called out. I knew it was a Hawthorne, yet I couldn't quite place who. 

"Yes?" I replied, slowly working my way back up. It was silent for a few seconds, and I started walking to the top of the stairs. 

"I need to talk to you about something." I paused. It was Grayson, and him wanting "to talk" couldn't be a good thing. My stomach grumbled, quite pronounced.

 "Umm, I was going to get some dinner, can we talk after?" I yelled out. 

There was a one-word reply. "Avery."

As I walked into Grayson's room, I noticed little things. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, firstly. Not on his desk, the way he usually is. I had walked past this room countless times, yet for the first time, there were things everywhere. Visibly confused, I sat, perched on the end of his bed. 

"We need to talk." Grayson said, not looking me in the eye. "About us." He clarified. Emotions started to overwhelm me; I wasn't ready to have this talk yet. 

"Gray-" I started, but he cut in. "On spake." He said, letting out a small smile. "Let me speak." his voice cracked. 

"Avery, I love you, and I always will, but there is someone who deserves you. Someone who can't take his eyes off of you. I see the way he watches you all the time, with the most emotion I've ever see him have. This isn't a game to him anymore." Tears started forming a path down his face. We both knew who he was talking about. "I will not let another girl come between me and my brother," he continued, "You and Jamie deserve to be happy. This is my chance to be the bigger man. I will always love you, but this is goodbye." Grayson stood up and walked out of the room, looking at me one last time before walking away.

All the emotions that I had been holding in started to pour out of me at once. A single tear fell down my face, then another, and another, and they gradually started pouring out of me. My breath quickened and I started panicking. My breathing was incredibly fast at this point, and my vision started blurring. I heard footsteps nearby, and tried to muffle the sounds, but it was no use. With my face buried in my hands, a strong, steady hand touched my back, and another pulled my hands away from my face. The oldest Hawthorne brother pulled me in for a hug and rocked me slowly against his chest. 

"Just breathe darlin'." his Southern drawl stronger than I'd ever heard it. "Deep breath in, deep breath out." My panicked breaths started slowing eventually, and Nash looked into the distance. "He told me he was going to do this. I told him he better not damn break your heart, but he was set on it." I hiccupped. 

"What if he doesn't love me?" I whispered. Nash paused, and then looked me directly in the eye. 

"Oh darlin'." he whispered back, "I've seen the way Jamie looks at you. Everyone has. That boy has no eyes for anyone else. From the second you arrived; he was obsessed. He watched you in a way that no one had ever seen him look at someone. He was serious. You were never just a game to him. There is no way in this world that he doesn't love you with every fibre of his being." Nash finished.

He helped me sit up and walked with me back to my room. 

"You want anything?" he asked me on his way out. 

"Dinner?" I asked. "I was on the way down, before..." He nodded and left me alone with my thoughts. Before I started fully freaking myself out, I dialled Max. Yes, she was in the same house as me, but I didn't want Nash coming back when I wasn't here and thinking the worst. 

She picked up after half a ring. "Excuse me, I'm a bit busy here working on a complex equation here!" she answered. 

"Doing nothing?" I asked. 

"Who knew you could be bored in a MANSION?" she exclaimed. 

"Umm, hello? I've been stuck here for half a year!" I hiccupped at the end of the sentence. 

"Ave? You, ok?" Max asked, her voice laced with concern. "Why did you call me again?" she prompted. I started sniffling. "Ave? Avery?" Max started yelling. "I'm coming into your room. Don't end the call until I'm there." I heard her approaching and waited until she climbed up onto my bed and started rubbing my back before I started explaining what had just happened.