33. Grayson

Chapter 33

Grayson

" T hat's another win." I smirk at my opponent. Some blond-haired guy whose name I didn't catch. He hands me a ten-dollar bill, which I pocket with the rest of my winnings for tonight.

I beat Elliot five times in foosball. Shortly, we developed a crowd around the small table, and people started making bets if they could beat me or not. I've never played the game before, but I'm pretty good. That, or everyone else is too drunk to possess any skill. I haven't had anything to drink since I'm Macy's designated driver.

I look back at our table and see it's still empty. Maybe the girls went to the bathroom. I have no idea what they do in there for so long, but I know they like to take care of their business in packs, which I'll never understand. I pull out my phone to check the time when I see a text from Macy and feel myself grin before I even read it.

Crash Detected SOS: This phone detected a crash. You are receiving this message because the owner has you listed as their emergency contact.

Blood rushes to my face and pounds in my ears. Suddenly I'm out of the crowd and standing at our table, as if Macy will return to it at any moment.

My whole body shakes, and I can't hear a single thing besides my blood pumping loudly in my ears. Someone claps me on the shoulder. I recognize the man, he wanted to play me next. Words are coming out of his mouth but it's all gibberish to me at the moment. Then, his hands are on my shoulder and he's trying to pull me back to the game. Away from helping Macy?—

Oh God, Macy.

"You scared you're gonna lose, big guy?" he gets in my face and the next thing I know he's knocked back and touching his bloodied nose. "What the fuck, man?" he seethes.

Suddenly Elliot's beside me, snapping his fingers in my face and telling me to slow down. Slow down? "Not Macy. Please don't take Macy," someone pleads over and over.

The voice follows Elliot and I as he drags me out of The BARnacle. The voice stops when I clear my throat. My voice.

It feels like every particle of my soul is carried away by a breeze, like dust in the wind. Like I'm nothing if not for Macy. I won't survive my world being ripped away from me a second time.

I gasp when my cheek stings. I blink at Elliot, who's voice finally registers in my head. "Talk to me, man. What's going on? Where is Macy?" As I bring my hand to my burning cheek, I realize he slapped me.

Words. Right. "S-she crashed."

"What?"

I show him the text with shaking hands. His eyes widen and he inhales a deep breath. He pulls his phone out of his front pocket and messes with it for a moment. "Come on," he says.

"I need to get to Macy." My voice is choppy with hysteria.

"I'll get you to her, man. She's probably with Sarah. I have their location," he explains, walking briskly to his car.

"I'll drive," I say, needing a semblance of control.

"You're in no state to drive," he says, opening the driver's door and climbing in.

No state to drive? I haven't even had a sip of alcohol.

"Everything's going to be okay. I'm sure it's nothing."

I hold my hand up in a desperate plea. I don't need a false sense of security. I refuse to hold onto hope until I can physically see her for myself. I'm numb to the external world, completely blind to whatever is in front of my eyes. I don't hear Elliot's voice anymore or see the inside of his car. I only see the vivid details in my nightmare, where Macy is in Delilah's place. Scarlet pooling on the road and anguish tearing through me when I see how much of it is a puddle on the ground instead of inside her veins.

My throat feels as if I've swallowed fire. My knuckles ache while something thuds repeatedly until delicate hands still my wrists. I blink back into reality, my fist aching, realizing I was punching the dashboard. I hear Elliot telling someone not to touch me because I'll hurt them.

And then the only thing that exists to me is her voice. I close my eyes against it, welcoming oblivion. "Grayson," Macy whispers. My angel. I must be in heaven. "It's okay," she coos. "Look at me. I'm right here." Her hand touches my cheek and the delightful weight of her rests in my lap. I feel her breath against my face and open my eyes to see gold flecks swimming in her wet eyes.

"Don't cry," I say in a choppy voice.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers. "I dropped my phone and it shattered. I forgot that I put you as my emergency contact since I'm so far from my family."

"You dropped your phone?" I ask.

"Yes. I wasn't in a crash. I was walking to my house with the girls, and I was dancing a little. I accidentally flung my phone and it shattered. I am okay. See? Completely unharmed."

"You were dancing?"

"Yeah."

I hug her to my chest and inhale the sweet scent of her hair. She's alive and she was dancing. I recall the summers she danced outside my window.

"Come on," she whispers after some time. My pulse has finally slowed, and I can think a bit more clearly. I open my eyes and see that Elliot, Julia, and Sarah are standing outside, a look of horror on each of their faces.

We climb out of the car, and I nod to Macy's friends before crossing the distance to my house with Macy as a much tinier shadow on my heels. "I'll talk to you guys later," she says, with no further explanation of my behavior.

Once we're inside, I rest my back against the door. I slowly sink to the ground.

"It's okay," Macy whispers, kneeling before me.

"It's not."

"It is, Grayson."

"Look at my hands!" I raise my voice, causing her to flinch away from me. My chest squeezes from the sight of it. Of the frown lines on her face. "I punched someone at the bar because he was unknowingly keeping me from getting to you. I didn't even realize I was beating the shit out of Elliot's dashboard. I'm a nutcase, Macy."

"This is completely normal for what you've gone through."

"What I've gone through…" I laugh without humor. "Let's just call it what it is. Everyone I loved died and left me here. You're the only person I have left." I clench my jaw. "How does that make you feel? To have just met me a month ago and to become the only thing I have to live for. I mean, shit, no pressure or anything."

"We didn't meet a month ago," she says.

"Regardless of when we met, it's too much for anyone. It's unfair for you to be relied on so heavily by me."

"We'll figure this out?—"

"Stop," I say. "Your heart is bigger than this world and I know that you'd stay with me even if it made you miserable. You'd drown to keep me afloat."

"If you care about me, then you wouldn't be trying to breakup with me right now," she says, her voice cracking and tears filling her eyes. "After everything I learned from the breakup with Walter, I've promised myself to never do something unless I want to, including continuing our relationship. Give me some credit here. I want this, Grayson. I want you ."

"I care about you too much to see you stay with someone like me." I inhale a deep breath and look at her pretty face. I've already memorized every freckle, every eyelash, and every expression she makes. "Move here, Mace. Be happy. I'll leave."

"Stop," she says with the fire she only has with me.

I lift myself off the ground and reach down to lift her up. She claws at me when I open the door and bring her outside, her friends are long gone by now. I tell myself it's like ripping off a bandage when her heartbroken eyes meet mine, and I slam the door in her face. I lock it before she can try to come back inside.

She bangs on the door, and her voice is muffled by the wood. "Let me in!"

"Go home," I say.

"Don't do this, Daniel Grayson Wright! Don't you dare break my heart."

I'm saving you from that, Mace.

I will my feet to drag me away from her, and then I lock myself in my bedroom to drown her out. I stare at nothing for a while. Hours—probably. I finally decide it's best not to see her for a while, so I pack a bag with the little clothes I have and plan to stay at the Inn off the island.

It's well past midnight when I open my front door but freeze in place when I find Macy reading a book on the hood of my car.