Whispers Of The Heart

Chapter 8

Grayson Lockhart

"Grayson"

The sound of my name, spoken with a familiarity that sent a shiver down my spine, halted my movements just as I was about to climb into my car.

Emery Rose.

The name alone was enough to evoke a flood of memories, each one a bittersweet reminder of a past that I had fought so hard to leave behind.

I turned to my side, my eyes meeting hers, and there she was.  The sight of her sent my heart into a tumultuous frenzy, a whirlwind of conflicting feelings swirling within me. She was both the source of my greatest joy and my deepest pain, a constant presence in my thoughts despite my best efforts to forget her.

Emery stood before me, wearing a coat that engulfed her petite frame, hanging loosely around her.

And then I saw it- She's wearing my coat.

The one she was wearing during that rainy car ride, never expecting to see it on her again.

My coat.

Memories flooded my mind, transporting me back to that rainy night when I had given her a ride home. That ride was torture. Even then, soaked from the downpour, she had looked radiant, her beauty undimmed by the wetness clinging to her skin.

It was driving me crazy.

I hadn't anticipated encountering her at Donna's bookstore, a familiar refuge where I often sought solace and respite from the chaos of daily life. Helping out my grandmother during my free time had become a routine, but that day, everything changed.

It had been years since we last spoke, since I made the painful decision to push her away for what I thought was for the best

I often caught glimpses of her around school. And Sometimes, I could feel her gaze burning into me, but I never dared to meet her eyes.

Donna is the only person who knew about my feelings for Emery. She had a knack for picking up on things, especially when it came to matters of the heart. So when Emery mentioned her name, Donna immediately recognized her.

She had asked me to give a girl a ride home from the bookstore, but she hadn't mentioned it was Emery until I had already agreed and saw her standing there drenched and shivering because of the unforgiving rain.

Seeing her in such a vulnerable state stirred something deep within me, a mixture of concern and resentment towards the circumstances that had brought her to that point.

I couldn't shake the nagging question of whether her stupid ass boyfriend knew she was out alone in such inclement weather, her tear-reddened eyes betraying the inner turmoil she must have been experiencing.

How could her boyfriend allow her to walk home alone in the pouring rain, completely oblivious to her distress? It was a question that gnawed at me. The fire of protectiveness that had always burned within me when it came to Emery flared to life, urging me to shield her from harm.

The thought of her out there, alone and vulnerable, filled me with a primal rage unlike anything I had ever experienced.

But beneath the surface, another emotion simmered—a deep-seated longing that I had spent years trying to ignore.