Page 73 of Revived

Chapter 23

Rachel

“Aren’t you happy to finally have that cast off?” Grayson threads his hands haphazardly through the water of his blow up pool in the backyard as I watch him from my lawn chair. The afternoon sun is beating down on us both as the smell of sunscreen flows through the air.

“Yes! But now I have a skinny arm and a fat arm,” he answers before blowing bubbles in the water.

“Do you remember why that is?”

He nods when he rises. “My muscle got weak. So now I gotta work out like Daddy to get big and strong again.” He flexes his muscles like a bodybuilder, his wet blonde hair slapped against his face, making me throw my head back in laughter. When Grayson broke his arm, we watched every video we could about how the body heals a broken bone, answering every question he threw at me.

“That’s right, bud.” Even though I feel dirty for it, the thought of Luke’s muscles enter my mind instantly while I rub my thighs together to dull my need for him.

It’s been a little over a week since our date and Hannah’s parents are due to arrive this evening. Luke has been running around the house like a madman, cleaning and organizing everything. I’ve never witnessed rage cleaning before, but it’s kind of scary. The past few nights I’ve been trying to help him relax, relying on our physical connection even though I feel like he’s grown distant emotionally. I’m trying to remind myself that this visit is stirring up feelings for him that must be hard to handle, exercising the patience I’ve increased tremendously since we started seeing each other. But at what point do I put my foot down and demand him to talk to me? Shouldn’t he want to talk to me about how this is making him feel? As the person he’s dating, I’m positive we should be talking about it.

But he’s been a steel cage, only discussing items related to Grayson and his work, which starts again on Tuesday after the holiday of Fourth of July on Sunday. Luke is teaching a summer session, so I’m hoping the routine and having Hannah’s parents gone in a few days will help him return to normal.

But hope is a fickle thing. You can believe in it and hold on to it with all of your heart. But you have no control over someone else’s actions, which can devastate that hope in the blink of an eye.

“Are you getting hungry, Grayson?”

“Yeah,” he says before rolling around in circles along the length of the pool that I barely filled up.

“Okay. I’m going to go make us some lunch. Can you keep your head above the water for me while I’m inside?”

“Yup!” He flashes me a smile and a thumbs up as I open the back door but only close the screen so I can still hear him. As I wash my hands at the kitchen sink, I also watch him through the window overlooking the backyard, knowing I can see him from here as well.

“What are you doing?” Luke comes in from the garage as I’m standing at the island, making sandwiches for all of us.

“Making some lunch. You hungry?”

“Yeah, starving.”

“Okay. I’m almost done here.” Slathering some mayonnaise and mustard on two slices of bread, I load up the sandwich with meat, cheese, and veggies before sliding it across the marble to him.

“Thank you. You’re the best,” he says before chomping down on his lunch.

“Are you okay? Everything clean to your level of specification?” I tease, but he doesn’t laugh or smile.

“Yeah. Great.”

“Luke,” I sigh. “I know you’re stressed, but you know you can talk to me, right? I might not understand exactly what you’re going through, but I can listen.” I offer him a soft plea as he moves to stand and walk over to me.

“I know.” He plants a quick kiss on my forehead before walking around me to the fridge. “I’m fine though.”

“Okay, sure.”

Once my plate and Grayson’s are finished, I walk back outside, feeling even more frustrated after his short replies to my attempt to be there for him. There’s nothing more I can do at this point, except wait for him to come to me, I guess. If he ever does.

As we all wait in the living room for the company to arrive, the doorbell rings around four o’clock as Grayson and Luke cautiously move to the door to answer it.

“Oh my gosh, Bill… look at him,” Hannah’s mother croons as Luke unlocks the screen and pushes it open.

“Hi.” Grayson says shyly as Hannah’s parents move inside.

“Bill. Teresa. Nice to see you,” Luke finally speaks, reaching out to shake Bill’s hand and then wrap his arm around Teresa’s shoulder in a side hug.

“Luke. He’s so big.” She smiles with tears in her eyes as she bends down to Grayson’s level. “Do you remember us?”

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