Page 101 of Never Have I Ever
“Then you have to cut it off,” Madi says.
My head snaps up. “What?”
“You’re going to hurt even more if you drag it out and fall more in love with him. And then, when it ends, you’ll be crushed.” She gives me a sympathetic smile. “But if you end it now, you can get over it, Rosie.”
“I don’t want to do that,” I say, almost whispering. "I don't want this to end with Grayson. I don't want to be away from him. I want him near me all the time.”
“I know,” she says. “But it’s the only solution.”
I stare at my phone on the table, thinking of the last time I tried to avoid Grayson, and he still showed up at my place, wanting to see me. He trusted me enough to tell me about his uncle and his father. He let me in. I want more of that, and I don't want this to end.
I also want him to love me, and he can't do that. If I can't be with him, the least I can do is help him. He wants to leave Redfield and his parents, and he needs money to do that. He might not have any, but I do.
If I can't tell him how much I love him, I can show him instead.
33
What did she just say?
Grayson
The chair scrapes against the floor when I take a seat at the island. The delicious smell seeping into my nose as soon as I enter the kitchen. “What you making?” I ask Aiden.
He turns and faces me, laughing as he shakes his head. “It’s almost two in the afternoon. Did you just wake up?”
I shrug. “I was tired.” The lie rolls out of my mouth so easily. I barely slept, I tossed and turned all night, unable to shut my brain off. My uncle was my father. Everything I knew was a lie.
I still can’t wrap my brain around it. I can’t get over the betrayal. I’m on my own now. I have no one. I couldn’t even get out of bed long enough to go to class yesterday, so sue me for wanting to stay in bed all day on the weekend.
What I really want to do is go to Rosie’s again. That night, I slept like a baby with her arms wrapped around me and her head tucked into my chest. I can't sleep without her. I could go over there, but it doesn't seem like she wants to see me anymore.
She isn't answering my calls. I thought I made my feelings clear last time. I want to keep seeing her, but apparently, she doesn't want the same. It was a dumb thing to tell her what happened.
She doesn't care about my life or any of that stuff. She got what she wanted from me and is done with me. She deserves someone better, someone nice, someone that will treat her well and make her the center of their world. God, I wish I could be that someone. I think I could make her really happy.
“Smells good,” I tell him, grinning when he pulls out a bowl and fills it with his mac and cheese, sliding it over to me.
I don’t know where the hell he learned it from, but dude can cook. “Where did you learn to cook?” I ask him while shoving a spoonful into my mouth.
He fills another bowl for himself and sits on the other end of the island. “Myself,” he says, digging into the food.
I don’t push him on the subject. Everything Aiden has told me about his life was on his terms, whenever he wanted to tell me. So I stay silent and enjoy the food. I feel for the guy. I want to make sure that he's okay, but he clams up whenever I ask, so I let it go.
My phone lights up with a notification from my bank, and I inwardly groan. What now? I drop my spoon when I open up the app, seeing $50,000 has been added to my account. What the fuck?
I lift myself off the stool, staring at my phone, wondering where the hell the money came from.
“You good?” Aiden asks.
I don’t bother looking at him. I see the payment came from New York, and I narrow my eyes, heading out outside and calling her.
She picks up on the second ring. “Grayson. Honey, it’s so nice to hear from you.”
“What the hell, mom?”
There’s a pause. “Grayson? Is everything okay?” she asks.
“Why?”
