Nicholas Grey Must Not Die | ✓

17 | Tears

"What's mine is yours, every breath I take, every choice I make; it might sound crazy. All my pain washed away, in the blink of an eye, yeah, you saved me. You got all of me and I don't need it anymore"

~ What's Mine is Yours (Kane Brown)

Things slowly returned to normal over the next two weeks. Nick was fully back at school and at basketball practices since the football season was already over. People at school seemed to have taken my warning seriously, even the girls. I probably looked crazy enough that day that they all actually believed I'd do the things I had threatened them with. Plus, all the trouble Nick's parents were getting from their coworkers and superiors seemed to have silently vanished. It's kind of funny how people love to jump on the hate train without acting like the grown-ups they are and doing their damn research. 

If you haven't noticed, I'm still a bit bitter over the whole ordeal. So is my mom, but she hides it much better, especially when she's with Mrs. Grey, which is a lot, to be honest. We've been having dinner with the Greys every Sunday ever since Mrs. Grey got out of the hospital. Her doctor confirmed that her health scare was just due to her immense stress at the time and that it's nothing to worry about; she's fully healthy. We're all still keeping a cautious eye out for Mr. Grey, but he seems fine as well. Hunter and Sabrina seemed to have relaxed after the video debunking the girls came out and that gave me and Nick, especially Nick, so much relief. Stress meant health issues, particularly heart issues for them, so their relaxed state meant a lot. 

Speaking of Nick, he was at a basketball game today, a really important one, too, since a lot of college scouts were coming. I wanted to be there, to cheer him on from the bleachers, but I was scheduled to volunteer at the hospital tonight. I've been calling to cancel for the past month and I didn't want to that anymore, especially since things seemed to have calmed down. 

I haven't seen Nick all day, which sucks, because I've been a ball of energy ever since I saw my acceptance letter to UC Berkeley this morning. I'd screamed so loud that both of my parents busted into my room with their individual baseball bats. If I hadn't been so focused on my news, I would've fallen over laughing at how ridiculous they looked. Eventually, I told them and we proceeded to hug it out before Dad proclaimed he was going to make us a celebratory breakfast. My mom quickly followed him to the kitchen, muttering under her breath about wanting to make sure he doesn't burn the kitchen down. Needless to say, we ended up going to IHOP instead to celebrate. 

Right as I was about to leave for the hospital, I realized I needed to get an oil change. I was already running late, though, so amidst my mini freak out about what I should do, my dad assured me he'll take care of it. He ended up dropping me off at the hospital. And that's where I've been for the past four hours. I'm supposed to get off in about ten minutes, so I texted him to make sure he wasn't sleeping and forgetting about his currently car-less daughter. 

Which is why when I saw Nick pulling up fifteen minutes later in the parking lot, I stared at him in confusion instead of getting in like normal. He let out a loud laugh at my expression. "Come on, get in and I'll explain."  

Cautiously, I got in and buckled my seatbelt before turning to face him. "My dad's supposed to be picking me up." 

He let out another chuckle. "I know. I told him I wanted to pick you up tonight and he gave me his blessing."

I squinted my eyes at him to try to look interrogating, but the beaming smile that pulled at my lips was traitorous. "You and my dad talk?"