Page 23 of Return to Us
“Yeah, I’ll take Jess back home and stay with her for a bit.”
“Gray that’s not . . .”
“Daddy, can I come with you?” the little girl asks.
“Daddy is going to make sure his friend is okay and doesn’t need to go to the hospital,” he explains.
Jesus. This is not okay. I will be fine, I just need to sleep.
“Is she going to need surgery?”
“No, sweet girl, I just want to make sure she isn’t in pain.”
“So, you’ll be there to watch her and make sure?”
“Grayson,” Winnie cuts in again, “this is really not necessary.”
The little girl’s voice is musical as she says, “It’s okay, Winnie. My daddy is a fireman and he saves people. He can help.”
Winnie laughs. “Yes, I guess he does.”
“Do you know his friend?”
“I sure do,” Winnie says. “She’s my sister.”
“I wish I had a sister!”
Someone clears their throat. “You be good for Winnie and Auntie Stella.”
“I will, Daddy. Will I get to play with Auntie?”
“You sure will.”
“Jess is going to be so pissed at us,” Winnie says.
“I’m sure she’ll let me know.”
I count, trying not to focus on their conversation because the pain is throbbing again. I keep the jacket that smells like Grayson over my head, keeping myself in total darkness.
When he gets in, I struggle to say it loud enough so he can hear but not loud enough that it will make the headache worse. “Medicine.”
Grayson is out of the car a moment later. Thankfully he doesn’t close the door, but I hear him yell for Winnie.
After another eighty-three seconds, he returns. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I have water and the pill Winnie got from your purse. Can you sit up to take it?”
I have to. I keep the jacket around my head, opening it just a little. I extend my hand, and he gives me the pill and water bottle. I toss it in my throat and chug the water. He lays me back down carefully before awkwardly buckling me into the seat.
I start counting backward from my starting point again, and I drift off, letting Grayson’s scent surround me and knowing that, when this is over, I’m going to have to bury myself to avoid the embarrassment.
Chapter 6
Jessica
The ache is back, but it’s nothing like it was before. I shift to the side, nestling into my pillow, which causes me to open my eyes, not knowing where I am.
When I do, it all comes back, the pain, the headache, Grayson carrying me. The light causes my eyes to slam back shut. Too fast and too much to process. If there is a God, he will make sure that Grayson Parkerson is not here. That he dropped me off, my sister came, and she’s the figure I swear I saw in the corner.
This time, I open my eyes slowly so as not to cause the headache to return with a vengeance. Once I’m acclimated a bit, I look around, avoiding the area where I know someone is, still praying it’s Winnie, but there is no God because Grayson is there.
