Loving Grant

Woman in the Mirror

All I want is to wash the day off my body. I worry about leaving Grant alone if I were to shower and showering with him is too risky right now. I am human after all. I convince myself to trust Grant and his word. "Grant, I need you to relax while I shower."

He sits on the couch. "Okay."

I can't help but be proud of how cooperative Grant's being. "Thank you, I'll be quick."

"We had a deal, so take your time." He turns on the TV and flips through the channels until he finds a race. "I'll just be out here, picturing you naked."

"I'll be in there, daydreaming of you not jeopardizing your recovery."

He waves me off. "I always make your dreams come true, no matter how crazy. Go shower."

The hot water feels heavenly. I take my time, knowing I need to be relaxed if I'm going to keep Grant relaxed. I've decided tonight I'm going to tell him I've taken his diary. It's been killing me to be going behind his back like this.

I get out of the shower and wrap myself in a towel. I'm as calm as I've ever been. I grab my toothbrush and wipe the mirror. I'm about to brush my teeth when I see her. I scream and drop the toothbrush.

Grant is on the other side of the door. "Rinnie are you okay?"

I take a deep breath, meeting the golden eyes staring back at me. "Yeah, sorry I thought I saw a spider."

He laughs. "What is it with you and spiders?" When I don't respond, I hear his footsteps moving away from the door.

The girl in the mirror looks pleased. I'm not sure if she is behind me or actually in the mirror at this point. "I'd be so mad if he called me Rinnie, that's a terrible nickname."

"Who are you?" I keep my voice low.

She smirks. "I'm one of Grant's exes."

I groan. "Another one?"

"I'm no happier about it than you are, trust me." She takes a step, showing me she's in fact behind me.

I force my fear down. "Well, one of Grant's exes, why are you watching me shower?"

"My name is Carsyn." She rolls her golden orbs. "What can I say, I like girls with no boobs."

I turn around, seeing her in person. She's small but intimidating. Her hair is the deepest black I've ever seen, and her eyes shine with devious intent. Why does  everyone Grant dated have black hair? Should that concern me?

"I came to warn you. Grant isn't a good person Zephyrine." She looks serious as she speaks. "He's lying to you." The room burns with her anger. "You know he's been lying to you."

"He's going to hear you and come in." I turn away from her.

"Only you can hear me."

"Why on earth would I trust you over him?"

"Because, I'm dead and he's alive."

My mouth falls. I face her. "You're dead?"

"Touch me." She urges.

Goosebumps cover my skin. "I'm good."

She doesn't accept this, reaching her arm out to me. "Touch me!"

I lift my trembling a hand to hers. It passes right through her. "You're not real."

"Ask him how I died." She says as she dissolves into nothing.

Her words are on repeat in my mind. Ask him how I died.

My heart drops to my stomach. What I'm thinking can't be right, there's no way. He didn't kill her.

I process this as I quickly get dressed. What just happened?

I move softly out of the bathroom. My eyes find Grant sitting on the couch and I freeze. I breathe deeply as I near him. "Grant."

He shifts towards me. "Hey."

I make my way beside him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." I can tell he's on to me by the intensity in his voice. He knows something's wrong.

"Did you have an ex named Carsyn?"

He goes pale, which isn't a good sign. "Yeah, why?"

"How did she die?"

Grant looks like he's about to throw up. "Let it go Rinnie, please."

My blood boils. "How. Did. She. Die?" I break up each word, furious.

He closes his eyes like he's blocking out the memory. Or as if he thinks shutting his eyes will make me disappear. "I don't want to talk about it or how you know about her."

I scuff. "Right, why would you?"

"I need a drink." Grant says as he walks out.

My blood turns cold. "Oh, how nice. You just overdosed."

He laughs, bitterly. "I'm grabbing a Coke Rinnie relax."

His phone vibrates. I know I shouldn't answer it, but I am so mad at him for leaving me in the dark. I pick up the phone.

"Grant? Thank God you answered! Is it true you lost custody of Prince? Is that why you haven't asked me to watch him for weeks?" I know immediately that I'm talking to the girl from V's bachelorette party. Her voice is not something you hear everyday.

I see red. "Actually, this is Grant's sister, who's this?"

"Oh, are you? That's so weird because I'm Grant's triplet sister and I don't remember you." She giggles.

Crap. "I'm Grant's girlfriend."

There is an uncomfortable silence. "Wait a second, Zephyrine?"

"You know my name?" I can't help but be happy that Grant told her about me.

"Umm, yeah. This is wild." She sounds confused.

I am so embarrassed I can barely speak. "I'm sorry, I swear I'm not usually this crazy. It's been a long day." The thought of Grant's sister hating me freaks me out. I'm desperate to make a better impression. "Can we start over? I'd love to meet you."

"Don't worry about it but I agree that we'd better meet up." We exchange numbers. I am thrown off by how much I like her. She has a happy-go-lucky energy that I really appreciate.

"Is that my phone?" Grant is standing behind me, arms crossed.

I push down my shame. "Yeah, your sister called."

He races in front of me. "You talked to my sister? You shouldn't even know about her!"

"Your girlfriend shouldn't know about your triplet sister?"

He looks at me in a way that feels like he hates me. "If I didn't tell you about her, you shouldn't know about her."

"I need to step away before I say something really mean." I storm into the bedroom.

He calls out after me. "Rinnie, what is going on? I feel like I'm on the Ghost of Girlfriend's Past. Who is telling you all of this?" He sounds broken. "I thought you trusted me."

I stop, squeezing his diary in my hand. Can I trust him? I want to, but I could feel her anger. It was real and even if Grant had nothing to do with her death, he could be in danger. So, right now I only trust myself. I opened his diary to the next page and started reading.

I find out that she did date him but then they broke up because she had a "thing" with his brother. Grant wrote that he felt dark around her and didn't like who he was becoming when he was with her and now, he worried that his brother was changing too. He writes, "I'm more worried than I'm angry with him."

My mind spins and I feel dizzy trying to keep up with all of this. I fall to the floor reading the last line.

The only way I can save him is to get rid of her for good.

Right as I read that line, Grant busts into the room.