It Ended With A Lie

Chapter 5

Ridge's POV

I did everything to distract myself for the two weeks. I got a job at Pizza Hut, did my homework online, and did everything Mom asked me to. I even turned toward online college instead of going back to campus, which got me chewed out by my mom.

As of right now, I was taking out a pizza when a certain someone walked in. I looked up, smiling when I saw Grady. He leaned over the table, peering back to where I was. "May I take your order?" Nadia, my co-worker, asked.

"Actually, I'm looking for Ridge McCain," he said.

"He's wor-"

"Nadia, it's cool," I said, placing a pizza into the box. I made my way to the counter. "How'd you find me?"

"I may have found your mother on Facebook, and messaged her," Grady said, grinning, "She told me you were thinking about turning to online college permanently?"

I sighed, "Grady, I was going to tell you."

"It's cool. Don't worry about. Your mom told me everything," he replied.

"What are you even doing here?" I asked.

He scratched the back of neck. "Well, I was worried about you. After speaking to your mom, it got me worried. She said you're not doing too well."

"I'm fine," I insisted.

"Mhmm. Is that why you're working in a crappy pizza store and barely speaking to anyone?"

Grady knew me better than anyone else, except the part of Braelyn. We became like brothers, and I should've known I wouldn't have been able to lie to him. He knew when I was not okay.

I looked at the clock then back at Grady. "My shift ends in a hour. You can wait here, or I can give you my parent's address so you can go there."

"I'll chill here and get some sleep. I've been driving for hours," he said.

"You drove here?"

"Yup. Now, get back to work, loser," Grady said, shooing me away. Then, he walked out of the store without another word.

××××××

An hour later I walked out of Pizza Hut and to Grady's car. He sat behind the wheel with his seat reclined back. I tapped on the window with my knuckle, and he jumped. He looked at me before turning the car on and unlocking the doors. I got in.

"Where to?" he asked.

"My house. I'll direct you."

Ten minutes later we were walking into my house. Mom and Dad greeted Grady before I showed him to the guest room. He sat his stuff down. "I could stay at a hote-"

"Nope. You're staying here. It's late, so I'm going to sleep."

He pointed a finger at me. "Oh no. You're going to tell me everything right now."

"Dude, it's midnight," I groaned.

"Sit," He ordered. I did and rubbed my face before looking at him. "Now, who's Braelyn? Your mom told me she was an ex of yours."

"She is more than just an ex, Grady."

"Tell me then. Your mom wanted me to speak to you, and I want to know what's going on with you. You're like a brother to me, and I can tell there's something wrong."

The thing about Grady was his family was big on family. They relied on each other, and they trusted each other. Every holiday, his family all gathered at his house to celebrate. I'd never seen anyone have a family as complete and close as theirs, and I loved that.

I took a deep breath before spilling everything. He listened to me, nodding and putting in his thoughts. It made me feel better just having someone to talk to and get this off of my chest. My sister wasn't speaking to me, and my parents worked. I didn't want to bother them with my troubles anyway, so I kept it all to myself. With each word, it felt like I got a ton of bricks off of my chest. At the end, it felt as though I could breathe again.

Grady sighed, "Wow, I can see why you're acting the way you are. I have no idea what to tell you because I've never been through that before."

"Yeah, no one seems to know what to tell me," I laughed humorlessly.

"Have you told her how you felt yet?"

I shook my head. "No, I've barely spoken to her the past six weeks I've been home."

"Maybe you should start there."

I yawned, "Yeah, maybe. Listen, I'm going to get ready to bed."

"Okay, I'll try to work up some more wise words to give you," Grady chuckled as I moved toward the door.

"Night."

"Night, Ridge."

I closed the door behind me, thinking about good it felt to have my best friend here with me.