HIRAETH [1] || Grayson Hawthorne

Chapter 28- Kit Kat

"Was just leavin' sweets." -Nash Hawthorne

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Mike was visibly following me now, no longer hiding in the shadows. In fact, three other men joined him.

Alisa arranged everything necessary for tonight. Guards scoured the grounds outside Hawthorne house earlier but nothing, not a single drop of gasoline on site. They couldn't smell it on the grass either. 

I walked up the stairs and caught a glimpse of the outside through a large floor-length window. People were stationed around the house, lots of them were but Mike positioned them in a way to make it seem like the number of guards didn't triple. He also told me that the fire department was close by just in case someone does set the place on fire. 

Nothing was helping my nerves. I turned away from the window and walked towards Libby's room. I had to tell someone and I couldn't trust any of the Hawthorne men, except Grayson. But who knew how he would react. 

We were enemies once and he vowed to protect his family before me or my sisters. This was definitely a situation for that and I didn't want him hating me for bringing a threat into the walls of this fortress.

Telling Grayson wouldn't be a possibility.

I reached my sisters room and lifted a hand to knock. I hesitated. Libby told Xander about my contract with Harper which led to our fight. I thought about telling Avery but she was the one who blabbed to Libby. 

I pulled my hand down and began walking away. My four bodyguards following.

Libby and Avery were my sisters. They needed to know this for their own safety and mine. Plus, they both would probably have noticed the amount of bodyguards following them. 

I walked back to the door and knocked before I could change my mind. "Libby?" I knocked again before pushing the door open gently. 

Nash.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him with a small frown growing on my face. "Was just leavin' sweets." he picked up his cowboy hat and strode over to the door. I moved aside to give him enough space to pass by. 

My eyes lingered on his retreating figure before I forced myself to go inside instead of interrogate the man. "Rors. What's up?" Libby wasn't looking at me. Her gaze was on the four men who stood in the hallway. "We have a lot to talk about." I glanced back to silently beg Mike to let me go inside her room by myself. 

He frowned before nodding at the others to stand by. 

I stepped in and shut the door. "Is something wrong?" she asked, standing from her bed. "No." I was lying. Libby gave me a look, "Yes. Something's wrong. Something's very, very wrong." I confessed and beelined for her bed. I flopped down and looked up at my sister who remained silent to let me continue.

"Here. Look." I handed her my unlocked phone. I watched her face contort into confusion. "Who..?" she let the word trail off. "Harper." I said simply before word vomiting the story and dumping all of this on her. 

Libby took long deep breaths by the time I finished. "There are men everywhere to protect us. Alisa withdrew $20,000 and divided it into two. One envelope of money is with the guards, the other one is just outside the gates." I concluded.

My sister nodded, "Okay, okay." she repeated slowly. "Does Avery know?" she asked, I shook my head.

-

Libby dragged me and Avery into her room after I finished telling her everything. Both girls were scared but trying not to show it. "Do we not have a safe room or something?" Libby asked with a frantic voice, trying to shove me and Ave inside her bathroom like it would protect us from anything. 

"I think we do." Ave replied, looking at me worriedly. "Then let's go. What are we doing here?" Libby threw her bathroom doors open and pulled us both out. "Guys." I tried to catch their attention but both women were trying to open the bedroom door. 

They succeeded and Libby resumed dragging me and Ave around. All our bodyguards following suite. "Libby." I called out but she was in a world of her own. "Lib--" I was cut off by my phone ringing. 

Everyone froze, my sisters included. 

I pulled my hand out of Libby's grasp and took my phone from my back pocket. "W-who is it?" Libby stuttered with a worried expression. 

I glanced down, "Unknown." I said and looked up at Mike. He nodded once as a way of telling me to answer it.

 "Hello?" I tried to sound confident, like I got calls from blocked numbers all the time. "We're outside. Give us the money personally or we'll burn your home." Chester. 

He really wasn't a friend. 

"Pick up the envelope outside the gate or ring the doorbell." I imitated what Alisa said since it was the plan anyway. "There you are." someone said from my right. I turned to look into the hallway and saw Grayson Hawthorne walking towards me. "Not the time." Avery glared at him.

"Little Lorelai, the agreement from the start was that you give us the money on your own." he reminded me, I wasn't stupid. "I know." I told him just as Grayson reached us. I saw him look back at the sea of bodyguards and frown. 

I heard muffled voices on the other end. "Harper's here and she's threatening to breach the walls, so if I were you I'd walk outside right now and give your best friend Chester the envelope." his voice was dripped in sarcasm. 

"But you aren't me and don't you think it's embarrassing to refer to yourself in the third person?" I couldn't stop myself, I just had to say it. "Hope you like the smell of burnt flesh." 

The call ended, I squeezed my fist shut and took a few deep breaths. "I'm going." I said with no hesitation and started to walk. They can't burn the house down. Avery needed the house for clues, we needed the house for clues. 

This is Hawthorne House, though it may not mean a lot to me, this building holds a lot of memories for the people who grew up here. I wasn't going to let it burn to ash. 

If I end up dead because of this decision, Avery can still inherit everything. I was just one useless girl who got lucky.

"Lorelai!"
"Rory!"
"Hey, Rors!"

Their voices chased after me. Someone gripped my arm. It was Mike. "I can't let you do that." he warned me. "Yes, yes you can." I glanced back to see Grayson gone. My sisters must have shooed him away. 

"I don't want to see this house burn down and neither do you." I tried pulling away from him but his grip was tight. "No." he pulled me along with him as he walked towards a vase. He reached inside and flicked something so the wall behind started to open. 

Mike escorted me in what seemed like a safe room and the other bodyguards ushered my sisters to follow. Soon, all three of us and five other bodyguards were inside. "Stay put." Mike scolded me before walking out. 

I tried to run but my sisters held me back, "Don't let her leave." he instructed the men inside with us. 

The wall slowly closed. 

***
ill write the other chapter rn and then go back to reading tfg slay

will post other chap tomorrow bc why not <3