Page 130 of Bitter Truths

He’s frozen, staring into my eyes before slowly the cool hue warms. Taking my hand, he clenches my fingers in his grip and asks, “What do you mean? What about . . . before?”

My chin wobbles and I groan, frustrated by my tears, but his gaze softens and he leans his forehead against mine. “Hals?”

Sucking in a breath, I say, “I lied. I lied because I didn’t know what else to do. Griff, I love you. You’re the one.”

He leans back so rapidly I flinch before he grabs my cheeks, searching my expression. My lungs expand, and I suck in air when he touches my cheek.

“You’re the fucking one,” he breathes, and my heart fucking spasms before beating once again—for him.

Epilogue

I can live without you . . . but I don’t want to.

HALSEY

The summer sun bathes my face through the window and I breathe in the fresh air before turning back to the canvas.

It’s the final piece in my collection and I can’t help the smile that curls my lips. After everything, I’ve finished our story and I couldn’t be more pleased by the outcome.

Griffin stares back at me with a bright grin, his eyes hooded. He’s standing under an arbor with a vibrant red cape around his shoulders. Behind him stands a beast holding a single yellow rose.

I’m standing beside him in a simple white dress, wearing the yellow necklace which gleams in the light. The beast is gazing at me greedily and I’m reaching for his hand, for that yellow rose.

Griffin is my beast and I’m his princess, although we’re perfectly flawed.

With a glance at the clock, I drop my brush in the water and wipe my hands. Griffin will be home soon.

After the fiasco with my therapist, I took the remainder of the semester off from school, but I couldn’t be home any longer. It was fucking stifling. I know Mom was trying to make the situation better, but I had to work through it at my own pace, much like before it happened. Although Mom protested vehemently, I’m now back near the campus. I just couldn’t stay with her and Dad. Those days are over, and I need to move on.

It’s been a struggle because sometimes I just want to lie in that fucking bed and never emerge, but with each new day, I get stronger. If I’ve learned anything from this shit show, it’s that life is short, and I can either dwell on what could have been, or I can seize the fucking day.

Griffin was forced to stay at school to maintain his football scholarship, and although he said he didn’t care, I refused to let him give in. This is his dream, and I want it for him, now more than ever.

While I was at home, we talked every day and he came up every weekend, where we just spent time together. I’m grateful because, without him, I do think I might have slid further into the hole I was stuck in, and it scares me because we may be better than we’ve ever been, but we’re both supremely broken people. Somehow, I have to figure out how to exist without needing him. I just don’t know how.

He almost lost himself again when he found out about Dr. Marks, although I’ve never shared the extent of my actions. What would it do but send him further down the same hole?

Now, he’s a more subdued version of himself, which I think has much to do with how he treated me all these years. Although I now understand why he acted so poorly, I also see that it’s a pattern we have indulged in. We lash out with pain and let the broken pieces fall where they may. It hasn’t done anything for us but create fissures that we’re still struggling to heal.

In this, he needs to grow, and so I leave him to it, just as I am trying to push past the instinct to lash out. We’re all in pain, but if nothing else, we can learn from everything that’s happened and finally treat each other like decent human beings.

I’ve chosen to move in with Griffin, which may be a bad idea, but I’m doing it anyway. There are moments when I have a visceral need to see him and just hold on to him because he keeps me grounded. I’m afraid that without him, I might float away.

Although Aaron understood, I think he was disappointed, and in a way, I am too. But I can’t live without my person, and Griffin is that for me. He always has been.

Max hasn’t returned to school. After the fiasco with Patch, I think he decided to attend community college instead. He has a long road ahead of him. Addiction isn’t something you get over, but I hope he will find his peace with time.

He was right about the necklace. I combed seven different antique stores before overnighting a necklace that came as close to resembling the original as possible.

At the time, I didn’t plan on living to see the consequences. Now, I’ve set it aside. If I ever see that fucker, Patch, again, I know I’m strong enough to fight back.

I’m making dinner when Griffin finally comes home, but my heart drops at his wary look before I push through the familiar self-doubt and say, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just a long fucking day. How are you?” he rumbles, pulling me into his arms.

Relaxing into his chest, I breathe him in and exhale slowly, so very happy to be here with him now. We could have never had this. We could have screwed it up. Thank fuck we came to our senses.

“Good,” I say, tipping my head back and smiling. His hazel eyes light up with fire, and I suck in a breath before letting it loose when he kisses me softly.

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