Emmalin
Heaviness. My head felt so heavy. I reached up to grab my head and was startled to see the needle in my arm, hooked up to a bag.
"It's an IV."
I looked up at the voice that spoke. Grayson was facing the window, staring out into the black night. He was still.
"It's to keep you hydrated. Dr. Rexton said you were severely dehydrated." He spoke low, but I caught the dark undertone. I looked around the room and spotted the clock. It was just after midnight. Shit. How long had I been out? I grabbed my head, trying to remember what all transpired that day. Grayson finally turned around. He looked older as his eyes pierced through me.
"Tell me."
I looked down at my hands twisting in my lap.
"Look at me!" His voice boomed through the room, and I jumped. My eyes watered with tears, but I wasn't going to let them fall. I get it. I fucked up. He didn't want me anymore. I took a deep breath.
"Carson didn't live with us all the time. I didn't understand why at first; no one told me. I guess I was too young to understand. Turns out he was in boarding school for troubled boys. When he was home with us, he was violent. He knew about the rape, and taunted me about it because he didn't care and said I deserved it." I let out an awkward laugh. Grayson's face was stone. "I think he knows about Aaron."
"Is that what he's threatening you with?" he spoke quietly.
I shook my head. "I don't care what happens to me, Grayson."
I watched in shock as Grayson's fist went through the drywall. The next thing that went flying was everything on top of the dresser. He was bound to destroy everything in sight. I reached over and pulled the needle out of my arm, and steadily got out of bed. I slowly walked up behind him, knowing it was stupid. He could lash out or even hit me. I took a deep breath and placed my hand on his shoulder.
"Grayson."
He stilled and slowly turned around. I stepped back as he stepped forward. His breathing was heavy, and his eyes both pained and angry. "That's the problem, Emmalin. You don't care if anything happens to you. You don't give a fuck if anything happens to you. But what about me? Did you stop to think about the people who do give a fuck about you? The people who love you?"
My eyes welled up with tears. "Grayson, I only wanted to protect to you."
"Why didn't you come to me? This could've ended a long time ago, Emmalin. I would've had him in the fucking ground. Anything, if it meant keeping you safe. Why didn't you come to me?"
I wiped the millionth tear that had fallen and shrugged. "Because, a part of me was hoping to save him."
He sighed. "Was it to save him, or was it because you still won’t trust me?"
I winced at his statement, because it felt like a slap in the face. "Grayson, I trust you with all of my heart. But I needed to do this." His eyes hardened.
"What else, Emmalin?"
I hesitated because I knew what I had to show him next was going to hurt the most. I walked to the closet and found what I needed. "He's threating to release these to the public." I placed the folder on the bed, then took a few steps back as if they were on fire. Grayson eyed the folder carefully before opening it. I watched as he looked through each of the pictures before finally looking up at me.
He ran his hand through his hair. "Fuck. You saw these?"
I nodded, not meeting his eyes. Even though he and those women happened before us, it still hurt to see them. It cast my doubts all over again about not being good enough. I saw the smiles and lust they had, and the looks in their eyes from the pleasure and pain he brought them. Something I tried to give him, even when I knew I couldn't give him all of it.
"They were nothing."
I nodded, wanting to believe him. Needing to believe him. The tear that escaped, however, told another story. He cupped my face in his hands. "Hey. Look at me. You're my everything. What you saw, that's all in the past. I don't know how he got those, but you weren’t supposed to see those, Emmalin. I'm sorry." He brushed my hair behind my ear. “That’s why you asked those questions the other night?”
I looked down and nodded.
“You walked around for weeks with this? Is that why you’re trying to cash in your trust fund?”
My eyes widened. “How did you know that?”
“Only sometimes you’re good at hiding things from me.” His jaw tightened. He shook his head and turned back to the pictures. “These were all from Tesh. Which means there’s a breach.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair.
"He's doing this because he hates me, Grayson. His vendetta is against me, and he's taking it out on the people I care about. He's sick." Grayson was quiet as he stared at the ground. I slowly stood and exhaled. "I'm not going to let him do this. I think it's best for everyone that I leave now. I'll find a way to stop him. I promise." I turned to walk away and Grayson grabbed my bicep.
"You walked out of my life once already; did you think I would let you do it again? Let me handle this.”
“But Grayson.”
“Emmalin, I said, let me handle this.”