When We Were Young

LVIII: traitor

I actually drove halfway this time, feeling bad about yesterday. Though Gray insisted that he was fine, I pretty much claimed the driver's seat as mine while he was putting our bags in the back of the car, so he really had no choice.

The only reason we switched halfway was because my eyes were starting to get droopy. Being in the car usually makes me extremely tired, especially on the way back from trips, where I am no longer riding on the excited high of going to a new place. Luckily, Gray noticed and kicked my stubborn ass from behind the wheel so that we wouldn't crash.

Needless to say, I napped soundly for the rest of the way home.

I am awakened in a dark environment with a slight ache in my mid-back. After letting my eyes adjust, I can see that we are in the parking garage of our building.

Turning my head, I see Gray, looking at me.

"This is creepy," I tell him, groggily.

"Sorry," he mutters, realizing that this is, in fact, very creepy. "You look so peaceful when you're asleep."

"I drool." I undo my seatbelt and stretch out my back while rubbing the corner of my mouth.

He chuckles. "True, but you do it adorably."

I give him a glare, but that doesn't mean my insides don't warm at his suggestion.

Before I can get another word in, his hand moves to the back of my neck, entangling into my hair and he pulls me in for a kiss over the console. This one is different from the others that we've shared; it's deep and impassioned, as if he's trying to get a message across to me.

"What is it?" I ask, my lips brushing his.

"I just can't believe it." He pulls back the slightest so that he can look into my eyes. "This trip was to find my family and I did just that in ways I had not even intended. You are my family, Mave, every bit as part of it as Tate and any family we may find. I can't believe I'm here kissing you, something I denied I even wanted until recently."

My gaze softens and I know that I don't need to respond to that. My actions will do it for me.

I climb over the console, surprisingly not hitting my head on the roof of the car. My legs straddle his as I lower my lips to meet his. I give just as good as I am getting, driven by the profoundness of his recent revelation.

Family. I always knew we were family, but after recent events, it means so much more. We are family in every way that counts. We may not share blood, but we are bound by love, shared experiences, and wanting a future with each other prominently in it. Sometimes I think Gray and Tate are the only true family that I have, as horrible as that is to think.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Hey Gray! I really gotta stop finding out about your girlfriends by surprise!"

We freeze, both recognizing the voice too well.

Tate sounds amused, so I don't think she's realized that I am the girl Gray was kissing. For a moment, I contemplate covering my face and just not looking up at her until she leaves. That is definitely wishful thinking because no way would she leave before she meets her brother's new girlfriend.

Slowly, I peel my face away from Gray's and look at Tate from behind the window.

Her green eyes instantly widen in shock and she sputters a few unintelligible words before turning around to Mickey and pointing to us.

"Are you seeing this right now?" Tate exclaims in disbelief, her voice louder, but still muffled by the car door.

Only now do I notice Mickey standing a few feet away from Tate. He looks only a little less taken aback by this and in fact, a little bit smug for always predicting that this would happen. "Yeah, I'm seeing it."

Tate whirls back to us. "Open the door!"

Both of us hesitate to move, feeling protected in the car. She asks again, voice a bit higher, before we do as she says. The door yanks open and I move off of Gray's lap, feeling like a high school sophomore getting caught by her parents.

"When did this happen?" Her interrogation begins.

"This weekend, Tate, I swear." My armpits start feeling a bit moist as I step out of the care, onto the hard pavement. "I would have told you if it happened any earlier."

"I thought you were going home this weekend." Her eyes narrow at me before moving to Gray, who has just gotten out of the car himself. "And you told me you were going to your college friend's place! So, you lied to me and spent the weekend together? And you only just got together this weekend? You really expect me to believe that?"

My mouth opens, but snaps shut, realizing that this was Gray's chance to tell her about what we were really doing. Sure, this is definitely not the ideal way for her to find out, but there's really no other way around it right now.

He runs his hands through the curly hair that my own hands were running through just a moment before. It's clear that he's stressed, but he tells her anyway.

"The past day and a half or so, we were in Hikesburg, following a lead about who my father could be. I want to find him."

Tate is taken aback, not expecting this answer. "Your father?"

"Yes, my father." Gray inhales sharply. "We found a photograph... here." He digs the photo out of his back pocket and hands it to his sister, who's eyes go wide. "We went to that restaurant, Paquette et Marquise, to see if there was anyone there who would know the whereabouts of a former employee."

"How long has this been going on?" she repeats the same question from earlier, pacing now.

"Tate, we really just started looking," I supply.

She glances incredulously between the two of us. "And you didn't think I'd want to know? That I'd want to help?"

Mickey realizes how high her volume is getting, exacerbated by the echoing in the parking garage. He puts his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, why don't we all go upstairs to discuss this and take some time to cool off."

Gratefully, I smile at him, but he doesn't return it.

"I'm not waiting another minute when these two are keeping secrets!" Tate crosses her arms over her chest.