Page 110 of Hold Me Before You Go

Little did I know, it would be for the last time.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Carrie

It was cold.

It was dark.

The beautiful coastal town I’d fallen in love with almost a year ago was quiet tonight, so much so that I could hear the ocean from where I stood. Snow was falling, the streetlight giving me just enough illumination to see the flurries fluttering down from the black sky above caressing the blanket of snow already on the ground.

I was freezing, but I kept my eyes on the home in front of me. The dark and light blue paint added to the beauty of winter all around me, the white trim covered in a fresh layer of snow, the red door in the center of the porch like a beckon.

Blue Beauty stood before me, tall and proud, waiting forme.

As I stared up at her, the crunching of snow behind me registered in my ears, and then I felt Grayson at my back, his lips against my ear. “Go inside, Sunshine.”

My body moved then, doing as he commanded, my feet carrying me up the snow-covered walkway and porch steps. I held my breath as I pulled out my keys, holding them in the center of my pink gloves. Grayson had gotten me a new coat, the same one Monica had stolen from me, this time in a baby pink that reminded me of my dishes—with matching gloves.

I’d only been gone less than three weeks, but it felt like a lifetime. I wasn’t the healed Carrie I was when Brandon attacked me. My scars had been ripped open, exposed, and more darkness was poured into them. I would never be free of Robert now. He would haunt me for the rest of my days, and he’d done what he promised me. He’d ruined me and my life.

I released a breath, letting the vapor float up and around me, unable to move.

Had all of it been for nothing?

My eyes were so focused on the set of keys in my hand, I didn’t even hear Grayson come up the porch steps until he rumbled my name, causing me to jump. I twisted my neck to look at him, finding his silhouette staring down at me. Even in the shadow, I could feel his stare. Memories bubbled up to the surface then.

Him standing under the lamppost, watching me from the shadows, both of us captivated, mesmerized by one another as we let time pass us by.

Him coming back for me.

Our first kiss.

His promise.

I’ll always come back for you, Sunshine.

“You got it?” Grayson asked gently, pulling me from my thoughts.

A lump grew in my throat. “You’re supposed to be behind me every single time I open this door,” I murmured sadly. “For the rest of our lives. That was my plan. We were supposed to grow old in this house, Grayson.”

My heart cracked as my words hovered in the freezing air between us.

He said nothing for a few long, stretched seconds. “I’m here now, Carrie. Let’s make the most of it, okay?”

Tears stung my eyes, but I faced forward and put the key into the door, twisting the lock before I nudged it open. It swung wide, gently hitting the door stopper as my eyes landed on the seagull painting, my breath catching at the pinks, oranges, and purples, like I was seeing it for the first time again.

Swallowing, I stepped inside, feeling the heat of the home, and like clockwork, I placed the keys into the bowl. As I took in the living room, Grayson shut the door, dropped our bags, and set Tic-Tac’s carrier down beside me.

“You folded the blankets,” I croaked, my eyes on the neatly folded blankets on the back of the sectional. The morning I was taken, I remembered coming downstairs to find them in disarray from the movie night Grayson and I had the night before. I had made a mental note to straighten them up after work.

Tic-Tac was freed from his carrier, and he zoomed by me, turning and running straight up the stairs, the sound of his little paws hitting the hardwood echoing through the house.

I turned to find Grayson staring at me with furrowed brows, sadness lingering in his eyes. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I did. Right after I dropped you off at the bookstore.”

My face crumbled then, and in an instant, I was sobbing into his chest, my tears staining his shirt as my fists clung to the sides of it. “This is it, isn’t it?” I cried out, the question coming out muffled.

“I’m not leaving you until you make the choice, baby,” he said softly, pressing a kiss into my hair.

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