26. Griffin

" I think you're getting soft, Griff." Dean laughs and skates into me. "You haven't threatened any of us today."

Smiling, I consider showing exactly how wrong he is, but I choose to show him mercy instead. "Just distracted."

"With what?" Malik asks, skating up behind me and slapping my ass with his stick.

Rolling my eyes, I don't even want to say it because I know he's just going to give me shit for it, but I do it anyway. "Blair. I'm taking her out tomorrow, and I want it to be perfect."

"I think it's nice you have something so strong," Asher says, joining our circle.

"Thank you, Asher. At least someone thinks so." I laugh, glaring at Malik.

He holds his hands up in defense. "Look, I lo-lo—oh my God, I can't even say it. I like that you seem happier than I've ever seen you. Seriously, I am happy for you, but that doesn't mean I won't make fun of you for it the entire time either. I do it out of l-lo-lo?—."

The guys burst out laughing, and I can't resist joining in. That was quite the dramatic moment, even for our resident drama king.

"Oh, come on, Malik. You've never been in love?" Asher jabs him in the chest with the hilt of his twig.

Malik shudders and looks away from us with an indiscernible gleam in his eyes. "Yeah, no. Definitely not."

"You just haven't met the right girl," Asher tries to salvage Malik's view of the L-word, but fails.

He laughs hauntingly. "I doubt that's the problem."

Coach blows his whistle, saving Malik from the spotlight. He's the first to skate away, and we follow, heading to where Coach stands on center ice.

"Great work today, boys." He claps his hands once. "In return for your hard work and effort today, I'm cutting you loose early. Enjoy the extra"—he checks his watch—"twenty-six minutes of freedom."

Some of the guys voice their excitement as he lifts his hand in the air. "Legends on three. One. Two. Three."

"Legends!"

Rarely does a practice end early. If anything, we are usually on the ice way longer than planned. But that's what you have to do to be the best.

We head to the locker room, and I take a quick shower, racing through my motions, itching to see Blair. I have no idea how she spends hours upon hours in her studies and then spends even more time buried in a book she's reading just for fun. But it's one of the things I love about her .

She's happy within the pages of a story, content to fill her time with the things she loves. She's independent and confident.

I get dressed and leave most of my shit in my locker, aside from my wallet, keys, and phone, before leaving the arena and heading to the library.

My steps slow as I pass by one of the campus shops, Happily Ever After Floral. Maybe I should stop and get some flowers to surprise her. More than anything, I just want to see that smile of hers. The one that makes my knees weak and heart soar.

Making a quick detour, I walk into the flower shop and purchase a dozen red roses—her favorite. I wonder if she's put it together yet—that all her favorite things keep magically showing up in the house.

It wasn't a coincidence that I made chocolate chip muffins for her. Personally, blueberry muffins are my first choice.

It wasn't a weird coincidence that red roses began decorating all of the tables in the house, including her nightstand and bathroom. It's because I order them in bulk and fill the vases before she wakes.

I snuck into her room one night when she was in the shower and snooped. It might have been a bit immature to rifle through her things, but I wanted to learn more about her without coming on too strong. That was back when we still pretended not to be into each other and to follow the just tutor and student guidelines we'd set. I found a questionnaire, the same one she pawned off as extra credit to me, and I took pictures of her answers and studied them thoroughly. Thankfully, she filled it out to help with the layout for her final project.

With the bouquet in hand, I walk through the library and try remembering the path she led me down earlier. Eventually, I manage to find the corner she set up in, spotting it across the walkway between shelves.

Her chair is empty, but I'm sure she's just off, grabbing more books to add to her piles. My heart pumps hard as I approach the table, eager to see her reaction to my little gift.

"What the fuck?"

Setting the roses down on the hardwood table, I pick up one of the pictures of Blair. It's of her in that silk red dress the night we hosted dinner. She's by herself, leaning over the gold railing on the stairs outside my house.

Dropping it, I grab another and another, panic building in my chest and spreading like wildfire through my body, cutting oxygen off to my lungs. My concern snaps into fear as I realize exactly what I'm looking at.

He was at my house, watching her.

Grant isn't just some guy who won't move on. He's fucking stalking her.

Ripping my phone out of my pocket, I immediately call Blair.

After the first ring, a vibration hums on the desk, and my heart drops.

Lumi . I'll call him. Maybe she called him, and they're together, and Grant put these here after she left. Although I know she wouldn't have left all of her stuff behind. But I hold on to the delusion because it's the only thing keeping me together .

Lumi answers on the first ring. "Hey, what's up?"

"Is she with you?" I ask desperately, praying he says yes.

"Blair? No, she said she would be at the library all afternoon. Why?—"

I cut him off. There's no time. "Yeah, I'm here at the library. But she's not. And her stuff is covered in creepy fucking pictures that only Grant could have taken. I think he did something, took her—I don't know! But I'm going to kill him when I get my hands on him."

My chest feels like it's cracking open at the thought of her trapped with him.

"I'm at Paul's in the dorms. I'll be there in two minutes."

I hang up and shove my phone into my pocket. I can't wait for him to get here. I need to find her.

"Fuck!" I scream and thread my fingers through my hair. "Think, think! Where would she be? Where would he take her?" I rack my brain, trying to answer my own questions, but I only draw blanks.

I pace back and forth in front of the desk, then ram to a halt as I spot a black ribbon on the floor—her bow.

Picking it up, I cradle it in my hands, pressing it against my lips. Where are you, baby?

Tucking the bow gently in my pocket, I remember that Grant's a football player. I take off running, racing out of the library to the field.

I'm going to break every bone in his fucking body. Oh God, she's probably so scared right now. My heart shatters in my chest, and my eyes burn as I close the distance to the field, glad to find that the team is still practicing .

As I rush onto the green, straight in the middle of their play, I start shouting, not giving a single fuck about ruining whatever they're doing.

"Grant Gustavson! Where is he?" I belt out, addressing anybody within earshot.

"Hey!" one of the coaches shouts and runs toward us, but I ignore him.

"You," I growl, recognizing the red-haired kid usually attached to Grant's hip. Grabbing his collar, I lift him up and yell, "Where is he? Where is Grant?"

He cries out, "How would I know? I haven't talked to him in days! Put me down!"

Getting in his face, I sneer my words through my bared teeth. "Do you like playing football? Because if you don't answer me right now, I'm going to make damn sure you won't ever again. He took her. Now, tell me!"

"Hey, let him go!" One of the other football players charges up to me, but the second I look down at him, he plants his feet on the turf and tucks his tail.

"For fuck's sake, Felix, tell him already!" one of the others shouts.

"I don't know, okay?! I would have told someone if I had known he was planning something like that!" He holds his hands up.

Lowering him to the ground, I grab him by the arm. "Where would he take her? Does he have a house? A dorm? You have three seconds before I shatter every bone in your arm."

"Someone stop him! Why are none of you doing anything?" he sobs, looking around at his team.

"Are you kidding me? I've seen what he can do on skates on slippery ice. I'm not willing to find out what damage he can do on solid ground," someone scoffs.

"Three. Two. One." Tightening my grip, I lift his arm up, and he stops me.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! He has a place he likes to go when he needs to clear his head." He hesitates, thinking. "A tower? A tower with a bell? I've never been there, but he's mentioned that place when talking about Blair before!"

I can see it in my mind, smack dab in the middle of campus. I hear it every day at noon, yet I've never given it a second thought before.

Grabbing him by the throat, I feel the group close tighter around us, but I don't acknowledge them. "If you're lying, I will be back for you. I promise."

Dropping him, I push through the players and take off sprinting, pounding my feet into the ground, willing them, praying for them to move faster.

The second I hit cobblestone, I know I'm getting close. The stone will eventually lead me to the tower.

My throat thickens, and my ears ring.

I can't lose her. I can't fucking live without her. I should've told her I loved her; I shouldn't have held back. But I was so goddamn scared.

After my family died, I sealed myself off from the world. I don't know how or when she broke through every wall I'd built up over the years, but I do know one thing. She's invaded me, heart and soul.

Above the hedges, I spot the bell, hanging still in the air.

My legs and lungs burn, but I don't slow down. Digging into a reserve I didn't know existed, I race down the path, turning right at the opening, and within seconds, I close the twenty feet to the tower.

Throwing open the wooden arched door, I take the first step onto the wooden stairs and call out, "Blair!"

"Gr—" Her voice is muffled, but it's all the strength I need to fuel the fire scorching inside of me.

Taking the steps two at a time, I circle round and round, flying as fast as I can. The stairs come to an end on my last turn, and Blair comes into view. The bell blocks most of her body.

My breath catches, and my knees threaten to give out on me. She gasps when she meets my eyes, heaving and sobbing. Her scrunched face is streaked with makeup and tears.

Pushing myself further onto the platform, I finally see Grant, standing behind her to her left.

I can't breathe. I can't think. I can't ? —

Images of Blair smiling in my arms flash in my mind. I can hear her laughter in my ears. This is my fault. All of this is my fault.

My brother's innocent stare joins Blair's, then my mother's and father's, and tears spring to my eyes. It's my fault Gavin's gone. It's my fault my parents are gone. Everything bad happening is my fault.

If I had never asked her to be my tutor, I never would have gotten her fired, and she never would've moved in with me. If I had stayed in my mansion, hiding my heart from the world, the girl I love wouldn't have a gun aimed at her head.

"Grant, please let her go." My words shake with fear, vibrating from the spasming of my chest .

He sniffles, and I realize he's crying too. "Why would I do that? I have her right where I want her."

Focusing all my strength on my legs, I force my right foot to step forward. "Let me take her place. Please."

Blair's sobs, mixed with my agony, fill the tower, bouncing off of the bell and resonating around us.

"See, Blair?" He runs his hand over her hair. "Loving you is a dangerous thing. You make us insane, make us willing to do crazy things just to keep you to ourselves." Grant wipes his tears and snot away with his sleeve as his downturned glare lands on me. "Tell him you hate him, Blair."

Her bottom lip trembles, and she shakes her head from side to side. I will make him pay for what he's doing to her.

He moves the gun to the side of her head and yells, "Tell him! Tell him now!"

"N-n-no," she murmurs, and the shattered pieces of my heart cut into my lungs, releasing all of my air.

Please don't hurt her.

"Ahh!" he grunts. "Always so goddamn stubborn!"

His face twists with anger, and he tightens his hand on his gun before pulling it away from her and pointing it straight at me. I've never felt more content, knowing if he pulls that trigger right now, it's not her being shot. She'll be able to use it as a distraction and run.

He wraps his arm around her neck, pinning her against his chest. "Blair, I swear to God, if you don't tell him how much you hate him right now, I am going to put a bullet in his head."

Forming an O with my mouth, I breathe in deeply, showing her to do the same, and she follows my lead, taking in a quivering breath.

"Tell me," I say softly, holding her bloodshot stare. "It's okay. Tell me you hate me."

She forces that breath through her nose and inhales again. Her gaze softens as she looks at me the same way she did when I first kissed her. She parts her lips, and I anticipate the three words that will hit me like a punch to the gut.

But she takes a breath and stutters, "G-Griffin." The pain in her voice slices me to the core. "I love you."

Time freezes, the world around us spinning to a halt.

Grant repeatedly yells, "No," and lets out a guttural scream.

Blair looks away from me, focusing her attention on the weapon in his hand, and I see her plan play out in my mind seconds before it happens.

"Ahh!" Grant shrieks and pulls the trigger, but I'm already crouching down and moving toward them at the same time Blair strikes his arm, pushing the trajectory of the bullet straight at the bell.

The round strikes it and deafens us, ringing louder than my ears can bear. Blair elbows him in the ribs, and he hunches over from the blow, loosening his hand on the gun.

Lunging forward, I smack it out of his hand. It goes flying over the short stone wall—the only divider between the platform and a twenty-foot fall to the ground below.

Grabbing Blair, I move her behind me, tucking her safely out of his reach. "Go! Get out of here! "

"You can't have her!" Grant growls and takes advantage of my distraction, crashing his knuckles into my jaw.

"You hit like a bitch," I ground out, grabbing him by the throat.

He smacks my face with a half-clenched fist. He should know me better than that for how much he's been watching us. He won't beat me hand to hand. For fuck's sake, I take punches and give them for a living.

Adrenaline pumps through my veins, and I rear back, releasing my fist like a spring. It finds its target, a gnarly cracking sound erupting as I shatter his nose.

Reaching down, I grab his arm and twist it, fighting it past its breaking point. I snap it in two, and he shrieks in agony.

"I refuse to let her be loved by The Beast," Grant spits out.

"Get it through that thick skull. Underestimating me would be a grave mistake," I challenge him further, my words declaring what I will do to him if he continues.

Sirens wail in the distance, and I release his throat, keeping his arm tightly in my grasp.

"Let me go!" he grunts and tugs hard, leaning back and hurting himself more than I am.

Drawing his arm back, he lunges forward, punching me in the ribs, and I groan.

"We're done playing your games." I shove him hard, and he tumbles backward, bumping into the wall.

"Not until I say so," he grits through his teeth and takes off after me, but I step to the side and move out of the way .

He doesn't anticipate my move as he charges. He trips and flies forward, crashing into the stone barrier headfirst.

He gets to his feet immediately as I step near him, readying myself for his next attack. But it never comes. He grabs his head, now pooling with blood, and wobbles back and forth on his feet. I'm too late when I see what's coming.

He teeters back, losing his balance, and flips over the stone barrier.

He screams out as he falls.

People shout and cry out as he seems to free-fall through the air forever until he crashes to the ground, sounds of cracking bone singing into the air. Rushing over to the edge, I peer at the scene below.

He's still conscious, and his screams haven't stopped; if anything, they've grown louder. Grant's upper body lies on a bush that seems to have softened the impact of his fall. His lower body didn't have the same luck. His legs are twisted, bent into unnatural positions, bones sticking through his pants. Blood decorates the cobblestones beneath him.

"Griffin!" Blair calls out, and I hear her feet slapping against the wood as she soars up the staircase.

"Blair!" I answer her call and race over to the top of the stairs as she pushes off of the final one. "Thank God," I whimper and lift her into my arms the second she reaches me before carefully lowering her back down.

"Are you hurt?" I ask her, pulling away and studying every inch of her for possible injuries.

She shakes her head .

"Did … did he touch you?" The words are poison in my mouth.

Her bottom lip quivers, and she nods. My vision spots with pure fury. I should have shoved him over the edge myself.

My eyes well up as I pull her into me, wrapping my arms around her. She lays her head on my chest, and guilt wraps itself around me like a snake squeezing its prey to death.

"I'm so sorry …" I whisper to her, kissing the top of her head.

She lifts her head up and stares at me with absolute confusion. Confusion burrows into the crease of her brows and frown of her lips. "What do you mean? You came for me and saved me from him."

"Yeah, almost too late." I sniffle, my chest contracting at the thought of what could have happened if we hadn't gotten out of practice early. "I don't know what I'd do without you, baby."

She looks up at me and confidently says, "Good thing you never have to find out."

She stretches onto the tips of her toes, and I lean down.

Closing my eyes, I wait for her kiss, but she presses her lips against my cheeks, one and then the other.

Malik's voice slices through the moment. "Don't attack me!"

He climbs the last few stairs and bends over, placing his hands on his knees, gasping for air.

Blair bursts out laughing at him, and it's so contagious that I can't help but laugh along with her. But I'm more confused about what the hell he's doing here.

"How did you find me?" I ask him.

He stands up, his face scrunched with exhaustion. "I saw you hauling ass across campus, so I chased after you. Eventually, I got lost, but then I heard screaming, found the gross little accident outside, ran up all of those stairs, and now, I'm here—here to help."

His ramble brings a smile to my face, and I release Blair long enough to pull Malik into an embrace. "Thank you, seriously ."

He hugs me back. "Ehh, don't mention it. You'd do the same for me."

He's right. I would. He's my best friend, and I'd do anything for him.

Nodding my head, I communicate that through my stare, and he reads it clear as day, nodding back at me.

Pulling out of our embrace, I wrap my arm around Blair and pull her into my side.

We should sort out whatever we need to do downstairs so we can start putting all of this behind us.