Traces Of Magic

~Chapter 30~

-Grayson's POV-

I sigh as I walk up to Mandy's house. I hesitate but eventually decide to knock on the door. The door creaks open slightly from my hand making contact. I look down and tap my foot as I wait for someone to come. Finally, I hear the sound of someone coming down the stairs. I look up as the door opens wider.

To my surprise, I am greeted by a nude Jarron. "Oh. Hey Grayson. What are you doing here?" I avert my eyes and stare inside the house. "I was, um, just checking to see if Mandy was okay." Jarron scoffs. "And why wouldn't she be?" I smirk. "Well, for starters, you're here." I chuckle as Jarron glares at me.

Suddenly, Jarron grabs me by the collar and gets in my face. "Don't think that just because you're Mandy's friend or whatever I won't hurt you, because I will. I will break you into a million pieces. Now I best suggest that you take your scrawny little ass back home before I do exactly that." There is a bit of silence between us before Jarron sets me down. He backs off and starts to shut the door.

I push it open. Jarron growls. "What do you want?" I rub my head nervously. "Just one quick question: why are you naked?" Jarron looks himself over before his cheeks turn bright red. "I...I don't know. That...that doesn't concern you!" He slams the door shut in my face. I sigh before going back. Halfway down the sidewalk, I stop and glance up at one of the windows. A tear rolls down my cheek before I wipe it away bitterly and continues home.
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-Mandy's POV-

I feel Jarron crawl back in bed with me. "Who was it?" He sighs as he runs his hand through my hair. "It was nobody Mandy. Just...go back to sleep..." His hand slows down and eventually stops as he drifts off to sleep. I sigh and smile as I gently untangle his hand from my hair and get up. I stretch silently and grab some clothes out of my drawers before sneaking off to the bathroom.

I pull my outfit on and stare at the image of myself in the mirror. My blonde hair is a mess, my pale skin is paler than usual, and my blue eyes don't sparkle. My face looks exhausted. I shake my head as I grab my brush off of the counter and brush the knots out of my hair. I set the brush down and grab a hair band as I proceed to put my hair into a bun. I shut the door behind me before creeping down the stairs.

One of them creaks loudly as I place my weight on it, causing me to freeze and stare up at my bedroom door. I stand there for a few minutes praying that Jarron doesn't wake up. After nothing happens, I quickly make my way down the rest of the steps. I cross the floor and get out the door without an incident. I make sure I shut the door behind me before walking away, looking to see where my head leads me.

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Eventually, I catch sight of Grayson. He stares the ground as he walks on the sidewalk. I jog to catch up with him. "Hey Grayson!" Stoping, he looks up at me briefly before looking back down. He mumbles a greeting to me before continuing. I grab his arm, forcing him to stop again. "Grayson, what's the matter?" He pushes my hand off angrily. "It's nothing Mandy. Just...go back home and leave me alone." I stare at him, unsure of why he's upset with me.

"But...but Grayson..."

He gets in my face. "Listen Mandy. I get it. You don't care. You don't care about me or Lexi! Hell, you don't care about anyone or anything anymore! You're too busy having sex with Jarron to pay attention to other people, your friends, needs!..." Tears form in my eyes as he goes silent for a moment. I never realized that this was how he felt. "...It's like I don't even know you anymore Mandy! I swear it's like you're a whole different person..."

My words get caught in my throat. "Wow...Grayson...I...I never knew you felt..." He cuts me off.

"You didn't know what? That you're becoming a jerk? Yeah, well now you know. You told me that Jarron was a jerk, but now I'm thinking the jerk is you."

He starts to walk off as the first tears roll down my cheeks. "It's not what you think..." He stops and looks back at me. "What did you say?" More tears travel down my face. "You don't understand..." He takes a step closer. "You don't understand.... you don't understand..." I keep repeating myself in a whisper as Grayson gets even closer.

When he's a few feet away, I completely shut down. Tears flood down my face as I toss myself to the ground. I curl myself up into a ball. I can hear Grayson very faintly. The pain of everything that has happened to me takes complete control of me as I start to rock back and forth. I feel Grayson try to wrap his arms around me, but I push him away violently. I hear him stumble backward before he manages to get a hold of me. I thrash around wildly, causing him to drop me. I ignore the sharp pain in my back and try to scramble away from him, but he's too fast for me.

Learning quickly, he grabs me and cradles me in his arms. I try to squirm around, but he holds me tightly against his chest. "Mandy, please calm down." He tries to brush my hair out of my face, but I snap at his fingers. On his third try, I finally bite his hand. The taste of blood fills my mouth as I sink my teeth into his flesh. He cries out in pain as he yanks his hand out of my mouth. He give up on trying to brush my hair back and wraps his arm around me. I growl and snap my teeth as I claw at his chest ferociously. He whimpers softly. Soon, I grow weak and fall asleep in his arms.