On The Edge

Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Used To

"Share a drink, sleeping bag, anything like we used to. Wish I could lose myself in you like I used to."

Melanie Beaumont

I heard a soft knock on the front door and I shot up from my seat that I was sitting in, rubbing my hands on my jeans to try and get rid of my nerves.

I went and opened it to find Grayson standing there, his hands shoved into the pocket of his jeans. "Hey." His voice came out breathy as he took me in and I had to keep myself from squirming under his intense gaze.

I wasn't wearing anything hot or even remotely sexy. Just a pair of ripped jeans with a cream turtle neck tucked in paired with cream colored Vans. And yet he was looking at me like he could push me against the wall and take me right then and there.

"Hey, I just have to grab my purse really quick, come on in." I say, my voice just shaking slightly as he walks in while I shut the door behind him before running up the stairs into my room.

The house was exactly the same way that I remembered it to be. Beth hung up a couple more picture frames after I had left but it was nothing crazy.

When I made my way back downstairs, Grayson was staring intensely at a picture frame. I knew the one he was staring at. It was one of the few that were still up. The ones that I couldn't force myself to bring down.

It was a picture of him and I. One of our little outings as kids. Hiking. We loved hiking growing up and luckily for us, our town had trails that ran all over the place. We were both hugging each other, me smiling with a missing tooth and him grinning, giving a thumbs up.

"I remember this day." He murmurs as he picks up the frame. The house was filled with pictures of us, at least one in every room. It was my mother's doing. The memories that I couldn't bear to let go.

"I- yeah. The trail near the park... It was pouring out but we insisted on going. I'm pretty sure we both caught a cold after." I say and he snickers, nodding.

"Good times." They were. It was a time before we had to ever worry about anything. All that mattered then was the fact that we had each other and a juice box.

The more you inspected the house, the more memories you were able to see. Even though Grayson was two years older than me, it never stopped us from becoming best friends. His family and mine were close for years until his family grew greedy. Power hungry.

There were pictures, height marks, photo albums... the house was filled with memories of us up until the moment he left me.

"Your mom was always too nice for her own good. Spoiled me rotten." He moves to the one that was just of him and her. He was right about that. She would've given him whatever he wanted. He was like the son she never had.

My parents wanted more kids... but there were some complications during my birth and my mom couldn't get pregnant anymore... It was just me. Me and the boy next door.

"Come on, we should get going." I needed to get out of here. The memories were suffocating. The memories. The pained look on Grayson's face. The regret. It was all too much at once. I couldn't breathe.

"You're right." He sets the picture frame down, placing it in the exact spot that he had picked it up from. "Come on."

I made sure to lock the door before we hopped into his car.

"Blinky's Diner?" He suggests and I chuckle nodding. It was our place, one of the few diners that we had in town.

"Aren't you worried about people seeing you?"