never be the same | grayson dolan

twenty

"Where the hell have you been?" My father rushes out of the kitchen the second I walk through the front door.

"I'm okay, dad." I sigh heavily at his concerned expression.

Grayson enters from his room and runs over to me. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah I just needed to clear my head." I look down at my disgusting appearance.

"You can't just disappear like that!" My father looks down at me. "We have been out looking for you for the past hour."

"Where were you?" Grayson goes to gently hold my hand when he looks down at the dry blood on my knuckles. "Did somebody hurt you?"

"I punched Victoria." I mumble and look up at him.

"Why would you do that?" My father chimes in.

"She's the one who took the picture and sent it to you."

"Are you serious?" Grayson shakes his head. "Unbelievable."

"Ocean Side closes at eleven." My father raises an eyebrow at me. "Where were you the past hour?"

"At Anthony's." I mumble lowly, hoping maybe they won't hear me.

"Why the hell would you go there?" Grayson runs his hand through his hair. "He's the reason for this whole mess."

"He's harmless." I look down.

"Yeah, and a month ago you were saying those exact words to him about me."

"I don't want anything to do with him." I glance up at Grayson. "He's just the only other person I could talk to."

"This is becoming too much." My father cuts into the tenseness in the room. "Ben coming back has us all on edge."

"Well he's in town now and probably doesn't plan on leaving." I lowly state.

"I'm never letting you go anywhere alone the rest of the summer." Grayson inches closer to me.

I slowly nod and motion toward the hallway. "I'm gonna go take a shower. It's been a long day." I quickly walk into the bathroom and turn on the steaming hot water.

I take off my white romper and toss it in the hamper to get washed. My reflection in the mirror shows the dark puffy circles that appear under my eyes from practically crying all night. I step into the steaming shower, allowing the hot water to wash away my insecurities.

My mind flashes back to the horrible night that is fresh in my memory. My chest heavily rises as more tears fall from my eyes. What is wrong with me? I stand motionless under the showerhead and softly sob. My loud cries cause the bathroom door to swing open.

"Madison." Grayson shuts the door behind him so I won't catch a draft. "Are you okay?"

I don't answer him at first. I stay hidden behind the curtain, trying to control my sobs.

"Not really." I shake my head, even though he can't see me.

"I know this is really hard for you." I can hear the sadness in his voice. "But everything is going to be okay, I promise you."

"I know." I manage to choke out. "I just wish I could forget about it."

"Me too. I'm sorry for making you relive it."

"You needed to know." I sigh. "He was going to come back eventually."

"I know what will cheer you up. When you're done with your shower, we can eat Lucky Charms and watch whatever sappy romance movie you want." Grayson laughs from the other side of the curtain.