Perfectly Wrong | Grayson Dolan

13

Grayson

Seeing Brooklyn as scared and on-edge as she was after she received that note broke my heart.

I hated that she was terrified, and I have to admit that I was worried about it too, but I couldn't let it show. She was scared enough, and she knew if I was scared too, it would scare her even more.

I just wanted her to feel like she was safe, and I hated the fact that she didn't.

There was nothing I wanted more than to find her dad and fucking beat his ass, or even worse kill the guy.

But that would only put me in jail.

The football season was over, so I kept close to Brooklyn. She seemed a little less stressed if I was with her, and she was starting to get a little less worried about her father finding her.

Ethan and I have been keeping an eye out in case we noticed anything strange or suspicious. Brooklyn was able to get a new locker at school too, so hopefully that would help.

My uncle was able to give us a cheap used car that was all fixed up, so Brooklyn had something new to drive. New license plates made sure that her dad couldn't track her down that way.

Soon enough it was Christmas time, and things were mostly settled down again.

"I wanna thank you for everything you've done for me, Gray. I don't know how to thank you. You've done so much to help me feel safe again, and I'm so grateful for that," Brooklyn said, giving me a hug.

Squeezing my arms around her, I hugged her back. "I always want you to feel safe. Especially when you're with me."

Brooklyn laid her head in my chest. "I feel the safest when you're with me. I love you, Grayson."

I smiled. "You love me?"

"I never knew I could feel this way about someone, but yes. I love you, Grayson."

"I love you too, Brooklyn."

She pressed her lips to mine, letting my tongue glide against hers as her hands traveled up my chest and around to the back of my head.

"Ooh, too much PDA," Ethan said, barging into my room.

I pulled away from Brooklyn, glaring at my brother.

"Shut up, Ethan," I said.

He smiled. "I'm just messing with you guys. Might wanna shut the door before anything else happens."

"Okay. Bye, Ethan," I said, gently pushing Ethan towards the door, and shutting it once he was in the hallway.

Brooklyn laughed. "You guys are so goofy."

"I'm just happy that you feel safe again. It broke my heart to see you worried."

"I don't know if it'll ever go away until he's gone, but I know I have you."

"And you also know that I'll do anything and everything in my power to keep you safe."

"I think I want a new tattoo," Brooklyn said, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Would you wanna come with me?"

"Sure. But I'm not getting one."

Brooklyn laughed. "You don't have to, Gray. Just hold my hand while I do."

"Of course," I said. "When do you wanna go? I'll drive you."

"There's still three hours until dinner. We could just go now."

"Sounds good," I said. "Let's get our shoes on."

Since we lived in Missouri, the weather was still pretty warm in the winter. Jeans and a hoodie was enough to keep you warm.

Brooklyn and I got our shoes on, and Ethan asked where we were going.

"Brooklyn's getting a new tattoo. Wanna come with us?" I asked.

Ethan jumped up from the couch, turning off the tv. "Sure. I have nothing else to do. Kylie's busy, so she couldn't come over today."

"Alright. Hurry up, E. Let's go," I said.

Once we were in the car, I gave Brooklyn my phone so she could play music on the aux. She didn't have a phone and wouldn't let my mom get her one, so I let her download all of the music she wanted onto my phone.

Brooklyn smiled at me as my favorite playlist started playing, and I rested my hand on her thigh as I drove to the tattoo shop.

"Brooklyn, do you know what you're gonna get?" Ethan asked as I drove through the rain.

"I think I wanna get the lyric 'lights will guide you home' by Coldplay on my shoulder. It symbolizes how Grayson found me, and how I feel so much safer now that I have you guys."

"Awe. That's so meaningful," Ethan said. "I hope you know how much we enjoy having you stay with us. You're like a sister to me now."

"Thanks, Ethan," she said. "That means a lot to me. I'm not sure I'd be here if it weren't for you guys."

"We're always gonna have your back, B," I said. "Especially me."

I parked the car, and we all went into the shop. Brooklyn picked a font for her tattoo, and the girl made a stencil for her before Brooklyn confirmed that was what she wanted.

Sure enough, I held her hand the whole time that she was getting the tattoo. She didn't even flinch at the needle, which took me by surprise. Aren't tattoos supposed to be painful?

Brooklyn's one of the toughest people I know. I can't even imagine the terrible things she's gone through. She still hasn't told me much about her previous home life, but that's okay. She'll open up when she's ready, and I'm never gonna force it on her.

I texted my mother, asking if she wanted us to pick up a pizza for dinner, and she said yes, so Ethan ordered from the pizza place near our house.

The drive from the tattoo shop to the pizza place was the perfect amount of time for the pizza to already be ready when we got there, and then we went home to eat dinner.

I'm happy that Brooklyn's feeling safer again. She deserves peace in her life. Out of everyone I know, I think she might just deserve it the most.