Page 28 of After All This Time

Xander walks towards me and places his hands on my shoulders. “We’ll stay here. I’ll text you if something happens.”

“We both know there’s another reason you want to go home. We also know the reason isn’t at your home, but at another home down the street. The home you’re being forced to stay at where a particular brunette resides.” Grayson’s idiocracy is on full display yet again.

What a surprise.

“What?” Xander and I say in unison.

Grayson opens his mouth again and I just know it’s going to be something sarcastic and stupid. “Say hi to Dani for me, will you?”

“Do you ever just think to yourself, ‘Wow, now might be a good time to shut the hell up and not say anything’?” Xander punches Grayson on the upper part of his left arm.

“Death makes me uncomfortable.” Grayson shrugs his shoulders.

I check my back pocket to make sure my phone, car keys, and set of keys for the house are in there. And we’re good.

I glance into my sister’s room to see if she might wake up.

She’s lying there with her eyes shut, chest rising and lowering itself back into place.

God, I hate seeing her like this. It breaks my heart.

“We got this, bro. Go!” Xander pats my back.

“Thanks. Bye, losers.” I walk away from the guys, heading towards the elevators.

The button for the elevators lights up as I press it.

Here I am standing at the hospital.

I’m about to go pack up my stuff and drop it off at my childhood rival’s house. All because her mother is forcing me to stay with her.

I know I could’ve said no, but the look on Celia’s face was genuine. I could tell she was genuinely worried about Dani.

But, at the same time, what the hell is Celia thinking?

Why did she think having me stay with Dani would be a good idea?

It’s a horrible idea.

The doors to one of the elevators open.

I’m so exhausted. My eyes are struggling to stay open and my body feels sluggish. I think I ended up getting three hours of sleep last night. Honestly, I don’t know how anybody sleeps after going through a traumatic event like that.

When I reach the lobby, I take a deep breath and walk out of the elevator.

I debate on whether or not to run to the bathroom. Ultimately, I decided against it and headed towards the sliding glass doors. They open when they sense me approaching them.

Once I make my way into the parking lot, I search for my Subaru Forester.

You know how you forget where you park your car in a giant parking lot? Yeah, that’s what’s happening to me right now.

It takes me a solid three minutes to find my car—the Sunset Cove University magnet I have on the back helps. It stands out with the school’s signature teal, accompanied by a palm tree and birds.

My body goes into autopilot as I pull the keys out from my back pocket to unlock the car. Getting in the driver’s seat, I put my phone and house keys in the cup holder. The sound of silence fills the car as I turn it on and back out of the parking space.

The hospital is a fifteen-minute drive to Crystal Harbor, the neighborhood Dani and I grew up in.

Even with everything going on in my head, I can’t help but think about her the entire drive home.

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