Secrets, Lies, and Summer Skies

Chapter Seven

I didn't notice that Grayson had returned to the car until his door thudded closed behind him. In silence, he turned over the engine and pulled away from the house. My house wasn't far from Jenny's and the quiet journey was painfully short. As awkward as the atmosphere was between us, I was glad to not have to recount the events of the evening. I still didn't know which part was worse. Being knocked over by the creep in the club hadn't been great, but I was more torn up about my car than my ankle and butt.

As the house approached, the inevitable lecture was upon us. I twisted my hands nervously in my lap as Grayson pulled into the drive and cut the engine. I wanted to fling myself out of the door and run up to my room. Or limp. You know what I mean. One look at his face told me I wasn't getting out of it that easily.

"Should I even ask?"

I hung my head. "Probably not."

"I asked you to text if you were going to be out late. You didn't even leave a fucking note, Chaise!"

I flinched.

Grayson noticed. He took a steadying breath and squeezed the steering wheel. "I was worried. What if something had happened to you? Do you know what the crime stats are for that side of town?"

"Worried about me, or about my dad never speaking to you again?" I asked before I could stop myself. The words just fell out of my mouth with zero filters. I cleared my throat gently. "Actually, don't answer that."

I felt Grayson's gaze on my cheek, the warmth of it as it travelled from my watery eyes to my trembling lip. One of his large hands closed over mine and it was like a bolt of lightning flashing through my veins, electrifying every nerve and making me hyper-aware of his presence.

"Tell me what happened." Although his voice was a touch softer, it still wasn't a question. "All of it."

Recounting the night made me realize just how awful it had been from its inception. I'd brushed off things like Jenny tricking me into driving to her house even when she'd known all day that the party was cancelled because it didn't seem like a big deal considering everything else that happened. It was only as I told Grayson everything that I realized I should've trusted my gut and put an end to the night. Jenny might have called me responsible, but I was clearly spineless if I couldn't stand up to her.

Grayson's expression was grave when I told him about the grabby security guard and the way we'd both been manhandled on the dancefloor. Grayson didn't strike me as the type to frequent clubs and, if he did, he wouldn't have put his hands on a woman without her consent. By the time I got to the part where the man had pushed me over, I was convinced he was about to rip the steering wheel out of the dashboard. Suffice to say, he wasn't nearly so devastated about my car as I was. In fact, he relaxed in his seat when I rounded off the evening's event with it.

"Anything else?"

"Isn't that enough?"

"Not if you're keeping something worse from me."

"What could be worse than that?" I asked.

Grayson opened his mouth to reply but closed it again. Instead, he squeezed my hand again. "You don't want to know what I thought had happened to you when you called."

I wasn't an idiot. Well, that was probably in contention after the night I'd had, but in general, I wasn't totally stupid. Still, it hadn't occurred to me that in a bad neighborhood, something awful could happen to two lone girls in a dark club or on the way back to their car. I mean, I'd been conscious enough of that risk when I'd parked the car and in trying to get Jenny away from the creepy guy, but hearing that Grayson feared the worst made my blood chill in my veins.