Spectrum 2

42

Jose's POV

"Fuck!" I exclaim, coughing at the pain from the blow to my back. As I open my eyes, I see Grayson staring down at me, his face almost blocked out by the sun.

"Are you okay?" He asks, reaching a hand out to help me up.

"I think I'm just going to lay here for a minute." I groan.

"Okay..." He replies slowly. "What are you doing?" 

"Oh I was just..." I reply, trailing off. What do I even say to this?

"Jumping my fence?" He asks with confusion laced in his voice. He doesn't seem mad at all. Just...confused. In his defense, I would feel pretty confused right now too. 

"Yeah, I guess I am." I sigh.

"Okay..." He replies. "May I ask why you're jumping my fence in broad daylight?" 

"I was...looking for my wallet." I lie.

"Your wallet.." He replies, seeming unconvinced. 

"Yes." I nod, sitting up gently. 

"Here." He says, offering his hand again. I take it and he helps me up slowly, still waiting for me to elaborate.

"Thanks." I say, brushing off the dirt from my jeans.

"Mind to elaborate on why you think your wallet is in my backyard?" He asks., gesturing for me to come to the front of the house.

"Oh. Yeah." I nod. "I just assumed that it was here. You know...I haven't seen it since the wedding."

"The wedding." He nods. "Nearly three weeks ago?" 

"Yes." I nod.

"And you didn't think to like...check sooner than now? Or call." He asks, still not sounding upset in the slightest.

"I was just in the neighborhood." I shrug.

"Got it." He says, letting out a chuckle of disbelief. "Well, we can go in through the front." 

"Oh great. Thank you." I say, not knowing what I'm going to be doing now that we're heading into the house.

Just tell him the truth, you pansy ass.

"Come in." He offers, unlocking his door and stepping to the side for me to enter.

"Thanks, man." I mutter as I enter the house.

This house is much quieter now without the noise from his family. It's almost eerily quiet. 

"So where did you say you thought you had left it?" He asks.

"Oh....the backyard?" I say, questioning my own lie at this point.

"Well." He says, heading towards the kitchen. "Feel free to look around until you find it." He nods.

"Thanks, man." I mutter. 

"I'm going to go to bed. It's been a very long day." He sighs. For the first time, I see Grayson looking absolutely exhausted. Is this really all because of me? 

Yes.

"Okay, yeah." I nod.

"Just lock the door behind you on your way out. Good seeing you." He says, giving me a small nod and walking back towards his bedroom.

As soon as he's out of sight, I let out the breath that I was holding.

"Fuck." I mutter quietly. I gave up the one opportunity I had to coming clean with what had happened. Instead of telling the truth, I completely lied. Again.

Come on, Jose. This isn't you, man. Do better.

"Grayson!" I call, making my way down the hallway. As I'm about to get towards his room, I see the one thing that could possibly save this entire thing.

The iPad.

"Yeah?" I hear him call back.

"Oh, I just...was trying to figure out how to unlock the door! I got it! Thanks again man, see you later!" I call back.

"Bye." I hear him reply weakly. 

I stop for a minute, checking to see if he was going to leave the room. Thankfully, he doesn't.

I grab the iPad and unlock it, revealing a different picture of him in Natalia. 

I frown as I stare down at the screen. Her bright smile cover the screen, mirrored by his own. He's staring down at her as she laughs. Both of them have green face-masks on. This picture makes me feel more guilty than the one before. This shows the elements of their relationship that I never saw. Truthfully, it's a side that I wish never existed. Or at least that I didn't know existed.

I swipe the screen quickly, unlocking it immediately. Thank God he doesn't lock any of his devices.

"Please be connected to his phone." I whisper. 

Suddenly, a low battery pop-up appears on the screen.

No, no, no.

I go to the contacts quickly and scroll until I find Natalia's. Her name stands out quickly, grabbing all of my attention.

As soon as I press the button, the screen goes black.

"Fuck!" I groan. 

The odds of the iPad dying as soon as I try unblocking Natalia is really the theme of my fucking life.

Maybe it worked? Maybe I pressed it in time. Maybe she's unblocked and I can just pretend that none of this ever happened. 

I go and place the iPad back where I found it and slip out the door, praying that I don't have to have another run in with Grayson ever again.

As soon as I get outside, I feel the relief begin to hit. I did the right thing. As much as I didn't really want to do it, I did the right thing. 

But you should have just told the truth.

"Shut the fuck up." I mutter to myself as I head to my car.

-

Author's Note!!!

Shorter chapter but wow. Jose aw. I'm telling y'all....he really isn't that bad. I promise. I love Jose okay SUE ME.

but this isn't over yet...