Chapter 27 and 28

Chapter 27

While I was cooking breakfast for Belle and the lazy boy who was still sleeping, someone knocked on my front door. I was a bit confused since it was only nine in the morning and it was a Saturday. Who would come to my house this early? It couldn't have been my parents because they would have walked in instead of knock.

I lowered the heat on the stove and walked to the front door. I looked through the peephole, relieved that it wasn't a mugger. At least she didn't look like a mugger. I opened the door and got a closer look at her. She had long blond hair and ocean blue eyes that reminded me of Grayson's. Then again, many things reminded me of Grayson.

"Hi," she said with a smile. "I'm Elliot Matlin. Is there a Grayson Prince here by any chance?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'll go get him. Just wait here." I closed the door before heading down to the basement. Grayson was still sleeping on the couch, so I shook him awake. "Grayson, someone is at the door to see you?"

Though his eyes stayed closed, he muttered, "Who would come here for me?"

"I don't know," I said. "She said her name is Elliot."

Grayson opened his eyes at the sound of the girl's name. "Elliot Matlin?" he asked. I nodded, so Grayson sighed and got up from the couch. "How did she know I was here?" he muttered to himself as he went upstairs.

I followed him, but went back to the kitchen so I wouldn't burn the food.

Belle came in the kitchen just then, rubbing her eyes. "Who's Grayson talking to out there?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Some girl named Elliot. I've never seen her before and I'm wondering why she would come here to look for him."

"Flower," Grayson said, standing by the kitchen. "Can Elliot come in for a bit?"

"Sure," I said, but honestly, I was a bit curious who this Elliot was and how she knew Grayson.

Grayson gestured for Elliot to come in and closed the door behind him. Elliot, however, was looking a bit impatient. "Grayson, all I was told to do was come here and get you to go home," she said. "Your dad wasn't that happy when you never went to babysit."

Grayson shrugged and snatched a piece of bacon right off the frying pan. "Hey!" I protested, slapping Grayson's shoulder. "Wait until the rest of the breakfast is made."

He didn't listen as he took a bite out of the bacon. "Elliot, this is my lovely girlfriend Poppy," Grayson said. The sarcasm on 'lovely' made me glare at him. "And that's Belle." He had a cold tone when he said Belle's name. I guess he still didn't approve of Belle being my friend again.

"Do you really hate me that much?" Belle asked.

"Hate is a strong word," Grayson said, turning back to me. "Elliot's my cousin on my mom's side. And she came here to join our awesome party."

"No," Elliot objected. "I came here because your dad wants you home and refuse to listen to anyone else."

Grayson swatted his hand. "Tomayto, tomahto."

I sighed. "Grayson... .."

"Don't give me that, Poppy," he said. "You know why I didn't go."

"You're making things more difficult than they have to be," I said.

Grayson gave me an annoyed look before saying, "We need to talk." And before giving me a choice, he pulled me out of the kitchen and into the living room. "I need you to support me with what's going on."

"You wanted me to give my parents a chance with the whole Ben thing," I pointed out. "So why can't you give your parents a chance."

Grayson sighed. "It's different."

"Not really," I said.

"Oh, really?" Grayson asked. "You're telling me that you didn't want to tell them about Ben because your dad abused you and your mom left? Tell me how that's the same."

He had a point. It was different. But I didn't understand why he didn't want to at least try. His dad stopped abusing him and his mom came back.

I looked in Grayson's eyes and he immediately looked away. Now I understood why he wasn't giving them a chance. He was hiding something. "Grayson," I said. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing," Grayson said, but not after he hesitated.

"I know you better than a lot of people," I said. "I can tell when you're lying. What is the real reason you won't forgive them?" Grayson wasn't answering, so I took a step closer to him. "Please, Grayson. You can trust me. I want to know."

Grayson sighed and ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. "The day my mom left," he said, "I was almost beaten to death by my dad and Graeme."

Words couldn't even describe how shocked I was feeling. I thought he only got beaten, but not almost beaten to death.

"They blamed me for my mom leaving," Grayson continued. "So the beat me until I went unconscious. Gale wasn't home at the time and when she came home, she found me laying in the living room with bruises and cuts and she took me to the hospital. Remember the injuries Devon got when I crashed the car?" I nodded. "Well, mine were worse. I was in the hospital for weeks. The doctors told me I almost died from the injuries, but my sister found me and brought me to the hospital just in time."

"You almost died?" I asked in a small whisper. "And your dad and brother weren't punished for it?"

"They lied to the authorities," Grayson told me. "They said I was mugged on the way home and that I didn't get a clear view of the person."

"What about Gale?" I asked. "She obviously knew it was them. Why didn't she say anything?"

"Because I almost died," Grayson said. "She knows the damage my dad and brother was capable of so she didn't say anything. I don't want to forgive my parents. I can't. My mom left me to get beaten and since she left, I was almost beaten to death."

"Does she know that?" I asked.

Grayson shrugged. "I don't know. I try not to talk to her. It's even harder since Gale's visit is over and she had to go back to college. She's the only one who was there for me."

"What about Elliot?" I asked. "You seem close to your cousin."

"Yeah, but she doesn't know what happened," Grayson said. "For all she knows, my mom left because of relationship issues between my parents."

"Grayson," I said. "You might hate me for suggesting this, but I really think you should tell your mom what you went through when she left. She may have left you, but she came back. Doesn't that mean anything?"

Grayson looked at me as if he was contemplating the decision. He finally sighed and shook his head. "I hate how right you are at times. Okay, I'll talk to my mom."

I hugged Grayson tightly. "I love you, you know that?"

Grayson hugged me back. "I love you too, Flower. Thank you for not giving up on me."

We walked back to the kitchen where Belle was talking to Elliot about bacon. What an interesting topic.

"I'm ready to go home now," Grayson told Elliot.

"Good, because I hate seeing Uncle Gary angry," Elliot said.

If only she knew how bad he can get.

~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 28

Grayson

I was a bit nervous when I walked into my house. What if my mom didn't believe me. What if Dad or Graeme interrupted and lied about what happened?

"Grayson," Dad snapped when I walked inside. "I told you to babysit and you never came back home list night. I had to get your cousin to find you because you refuse to listen to anyone else."

"Gee, I wonder why," I said sarcastically.

"I really hate your attitude," Dad said.

"And I really hate you," I shot back. Yeah, I know, it was a bit harsh but it was the truth.

"Grayson!" Mom exclaimed. "That was not appropriate!"

"Did anyone ever told you what happened the day you left?" I asked.

The confused look in Mom's eyes told me that she didn't know. Of course not. Dad lied to the authorities. Nobody would have told Mom.

"It happened five years ago," Dad said. "You need to forgive and forget."

"Excuse me?" I asked. "Forgive and forget? How the hell can I forget what happened?! How can I forgive you?!"

"Grayson," Mom said calmly. "Please lower your voice. Why don't you tell me what happened?"

"It doesn't matter," Dad said. "It was in the past."

I just stared at him. He didn't want Mom to know what happened. Well, guess what? She was going to know.

"I was thirteen," I told Mom. "I was in the hospital for weeks the day you left. I almost died."

"Grayson, now is not the time to discuss that," Dad snapped.

I turned to face Dad, feeling completely annoyed. "Then when is? You lied to the authorities about what happened to me! I almost died!"

"What happened?" Mom asked, sounding very concerned.

"I was almost beaten to death," I told her. "But my very own father and brother!"

"It was five years ago!" Dad objected.

"Grayson, go pack your things," Mom said.

"Huh?" I asked just as Dad said, "Excuse me?"

"I am not letting my son stay with someone who abused him," Mom said. "I was stupid to leave him here because obviously, abusing him wasn't enough! I can't believe you almost beat him to death! He was thirteen!"

Dad crossed his arms. "It was five years ago!"

"That doesn't matter!" Mom yelled. "Nobody deserved to go through that! You're always complaining about Grayson's behavior, but you're the one who caused him to act this way!" Mom then turned to me. "Grayson, go pack all of your things. You're no longer staying here with your dad and brother."

I couldn't believe it. Mom was taking me away from Dad and Graeme. I wanted that to happen for so long and now, it finally was.

"You can't take my son away from me," Dad said through his clenched teeth.

"Your son?" Mom asked.

"Yes, my son," Dad said. "I was the one who raised him for five years while you left!"

"Raised?" Mom asked. "Don't you mean beat him to a point where he almost died?! I don't care what you say, I'm taking him to live with me!"

"I'm going with Mom," I told Dad. "I can't live in a place where my dad disapproves of me or where my brother constantly tries to date every single one of my friends who were girls."

"Yeah, and thanks to you, your brother is heartbroken because you took the girl away from him," Dad said.

"Here we go again!" I said. "Graeme never liked Poppy! He only wanted to date her because she's my friend. He does it all the time!"

Dad shook his head. "You should have seen the way Graeme was feeling when he found out about you and Poppy."

"Are you serious?" I asked. "He doesn't really like her! You know what? I am going to go pack my bags and live with mom. And you can't stop me."

He didn't. Good.