Page 31 of What If I See You

I snap my head toward him. “Article? What article?”

“In Sports News Now,” he tells me, lifting his phone and showing me the headline. “August sent this over.”

HOCKEY STAR MARRIES IN SHOCKING PRIVATE CEREMONY.

“Fuuuuuuck,” I whisper loudly.

What do we do now?

How do we reverse this?

How can I make this go away?

Can’t I just sign another paper and poof? Gone?

Wait…

Shit. I can’t sign divorce papers!

My dad…

Shit…my parents…

“Don’t come crawling back to us when you inevitably fuck up your life.”

“If you think we’re going to help you out of every fucked-up situation you get yourself into…”

“If you so much as think of doing something that will embarrass your father…”

My pulse races as a sudden dizziness starts to set in. My skin is clammy and my hands are shaky.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Griffin says softly, noticing me about to have a panic attack. “Breathe. Breathe, Layken. In…and out.” He does it with me.

“In…and out.”

I follow his instructions focusing on his sapphire blue eyes.

“In…and out.”

“Griffin?” His name is a squeak out of my mouth.

“Yeah.”

“If we do anything to reverse this…problem,” I say, referring to our newest nuptials, “the paperwork will go right across my father’s desk and he’ll know everything.”

“What? Why? What do you mean?”

“My dad. He’s a…a…a family court judge in Anaheim and because that’s where we live that’s where the paperwork will go and he’ll be the one to have to sign off on it and I can’t…” I try to breathe but the air in my lungs feels heavy. “I can’t…” I shake my head patting my chest as if that will give me the extra air I need to breathe. “I can’t…”

Griffin’s hands cup my face and his eyes pierce mine. “Breathe, Layken. I need you to breathe.”

Nodding adamantly, I inhale a deep breath, remaining focused on Griffin’s expression as he tries to calm me down and then we exhale together. My phone dings on the nightstand next to where I slept but I don’t stand up to answer it. Mainly because Griffin hasn’t let go of my face just yet.

“I need to say something to you and I need you to hear me and not panic, okay?”

Oh God.

Nobody says that and expects you not to really panic, right?

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