Page 65 of The Afterthought

"Oh my god, no! I told you I was being safe, but it is serious."

"You can tell me anything, Chloe."

"Matt and I are going on a road trip after graduation. I was nervous about telling you because I didn't want you to leave after I left. We have a month-long trip planned, full of driving around and tent camping all over."

"When are you two leaving?"

She hesitates. "The morning after graduation."

"And you'll be gone for a month?" She nods, and I take a deep breath. "Okay, you will call and text me every single day so I know exactly where you are."

"If that's what you want."

"In that case, I'm really excited for you. I hope the two of you have the best time. It's going to be amazing, seeing all of the things out there." I reach out to grab her hand reassuringly. "I will be here when you get back, with whatever snacks your little heart desires and enough movies to stay up and binge all night."

She smiles and leans across the bed to hug me. "Thank you. I was really worried that you were going to leave when I told you I wasn't going to be here for a while."

"Chloe, we spent seventeen years not knowing each other. We have a lot of time to catch up on. You can't get rid of me that easily."

"You'll be okay here without me?" she asks.

It's a question I wasn't sure I was going to have to consider, but I think I will be just fine. I have a job lined up, and Greyson promised me that he would always be there for me, no matter what.

I stand up to make my way to the door, but before I leave, I turn to look at her. "Come on. We need to have ourselves a girl's night. Tell your boyfriend he gets you for a month; he can handle a few hours without talking to you."

"Fine, but I'm not eating your food. We're ordering pizza from that place that Greyson got it from before."

I laugh, and we spend the next few hours watching a combination of movies and the most ridiculous reality TV shows. I ordered the pizza that she very kindly requested, and we had the best time. When the night comes to an end, I send Grey a quick text to let him know I'm heading to bed and slip under the covers to dream the night away.

I'm startled awake a few hours later when I feel the bed shift. An arm wraps around my waist, pulling me in close. The smell of burnt leather and mint consumes the air around me, and I sink into his hold. There is a faint smell of something else on him though. It almost smells like lighter fluid.

"What are you doing here?"

"I missed you. Go back to sleep." He leans in to kiss my shoulder.

"How did you even get in here? It's the middle of the night," I question.

"Shhhh, that's not important. Go to sleep, little shadow."

I wiggle my butt against his pelvis, and he pulls me in closer, nipping the corner of my ear.

"As much as I would love to bury my cock in your sweet pussy, it's been a really long day. Just let me hold you."

"Okay," I concede.

He kisses the back of my shoulder again and says, "Forever my heart."

"Forever my always," I say back before sleep pulls me under.

Chapter 29

Greyson

All I wanted to do was stay in bed with my girl, but I couldn't. Everything in this damn town is going to shit. We've been stressing over today's drop ever since Ava told us what she overheard at Temptations. I was fuming when she filled me in on everything that happened regarding Alec the other day. He’s lucky I’ve been busy.

I can't believe that son of a bitch had the nerve to not only disrupt her while eating but also call and threaten her. What did he expect? For her to not tell me anything? There has always been an unspoken rule between our gangs to never involve women or children, but he crossed that line. I won't stand for it. I don't care what Knox has to say. I'm taking matters into my own hands on this one. First, I have to deal with gang business.

I make my way to Adam's Garage to meet with some of the guys before we go over to the warehouse to do the drop. Everyone is on edge because we know something big is going to go down. We don’t know exactly what to expect, but we will be ready.

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