IGNITE

fifty-five.

‹ 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐲𝐬𝐨𝐧 ›

There was a pain in my chest. One so deep, and so raw, that it felt as if it were suffocating me.

It was the kind of pain that made your lungs burn, that made the blood in your veins feel hot and molten, the kind of pain that had your entire world tilting off of its axis, leaving you to crash into the ground.

It was a pain so intense, so all consuming, that I couldn't move.

I was frozen in place, staring at the place she had just stood, where the necklace I had given her lay in the dirt, glinting in the moonlight, mocking me. Piper had just ripped my heart from my chest and torn it apart right in front of my very eyes, and I couldn't move, couldn't breathe.

I was vaguely aware of Ryan and Kai approaching, but I couldn't even look at them. It was as if they didn't exist. Nothing existed. Only the place where she had been, the necklace in the grass.

"Grey," Kai stood a few feet in front of me, where she had been. "Grey, let me take you home, okay?"

Home.

What was home, without her?

"Grey," Kai's voice sounded as if he were a million miles away, his tone gentle, coaxing. "Grey, we have to go. Let's get you out of here, yeah?"

"Okay," my voice didn't even sound like my own, and when Kai's hand wrapped around my arm, gently pulling me forward, I didn't fight him.

Reece, the slimy motherfucker, stood from where he had been previously unconscious on the ground, a bloody smile spread across his face. "You know," he sneered, taking a step towards us, "I'm not surprised. She was always too good for you, and now she's realized it."

His words hit me, and the burning, raw anger returned, spreading through me like a wildfire. I could kill him, here, right now, for what he said. For the truth that was ringing in his words. He was right, and I hated him for it.

Kai's grip tightened on my arm, and Cyrus stepped forward, knocking the fucker out with one hit, the sickening crunch of his nose breaking filling the air. "You guys go," his voice was tight and clipped, and I had a feeling he had some pent up rage to expel. "Ryan and I will take care of...this."

I couldn't bring myself to turn around and look at the mess I had made, knowing that there was no way in hell Piper would ever forgive me, no matter how much time passed.

She was gone.

I was barely aware of my feet moving, of Kai pulling me towards his car, of him opening the passenger side door and pushing me into it, of him buckling the seatbelt and sliding into the driver's seat.

He was saying something, and I knew he was trying to soothe me, but none of it was working. None of his words meant anything, because the only thing I could hear was her voice.

'I can't love you anymore.'

The ride to the house was silent, and it was almost as if everything was passing by in slow motion. The buildings, the cars, the trees. All of it was distorted, and I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't.

It felt as though I had come back to life as we pulled into the driveway, and I slipped out of the car, bursting through the front door. Small, wet footprints led through the foyer and down the hallway, glimmering under the faint moonlight. I wasted no time following them through the house, stopping outside her bedroom and knocking lightly.

When no one answered, I pushed the door open, stepping into her room and shutting the door behind me. The room was utterly silent, the air heavy and thick, her belongs cleared from the drawers and shelves, her bed stripped of the sheets, the bathroom empty.

She was gone.

"Fuck!" The word ripped through the air, loud and guttural as the pain that had settled in my chest exploded, filling the space around me. I was so fucking stupid, so goddamn idiotic.

I backed up until my I hit the wall, sliding down it, pulling my knees to my chest and letting the sobs wrack through my body.

She was gone.

✧

I didn't know how long I sat in that room, surrounded by the smell of her and the memories that had been created in this place, until there was a knock at the door. The bedroom door creaked open, and the light from the hall illuminated Kai, who looked at me with an expression that made me want to scream.

"How are you doing?" His tone was careful, gentle, as if he were talking to a scared child. "Do you want anything?"

"I want her." Kai let out a sigh, and the look of pity on his face made the anger inside of me boil, and before I could stop myself, the words were tumbling out. "Don't look at me like that. Don't fucking pity me."

"I'm not trying to, Grey, I'm—"

"Bullshit."

"I'm worried about you. What happened today was—"

"Don't you dare say 'out of character,' because you and I both know that's a goddamn lie." The words came out cold, angry, and I could feel his irritation with me growing.

"Yeah, okay, maybe it wasn't, but that doesn't mean it was healthy, Grey. It doesn't mean that you should be alone right now, either." He paused, and the look of concern was still etched into his features. "You're my best friend, man. You know that, and you know that I'm only saying these things because I care."

He was right, but I didn't want him to be. "I just...don't know how to fix this." I watched as Kai dropped onto the floor across from me, the look of pity still lingering. "She told me that I'm like her dad." My voice cracked on the last word, and I was thankful that it was dark, the shadows hiding the tears that threatened to roll down my cheeks.

"I'm assuming this is a bad thing?"

"It's the worst. He..." I shook my head. "I think something inside of me broke, man."

"Nothing that has been broken can't be repaired," his tone was soft, and it was clear he was choosing his words carefully. "Sometimes, things have to break before they can be whole. Do you want my opinion?"

I couldn't stop the breathless laugh that left my body. "You're gonna give it to me, whether I want it or not."

"That's right." His lips curled up slightly. "I think that Piper is the best damn thing that has ever happened to you. I think that you help each other in ways that can't even be explained, and I don't think you should let her go that easily."

"She walked away."

"Because you gave her no choice. If you hadn't gotten into that fight, she would still be here, with you."

"I—"

"Let me finish. You can sit here and cry about it, or you can do something about it. You can prove to her that she's wrong, that you can be better. You can prove that you are not her father, and that you are the person she deserves. Because I know you are."

"But how? She won't answer her phone, she's—"

"You show her. Everyday. You show her that you've changed. That you've grown. You've always been a good guy, Grey, and you've been trying so hard to become the best version of yourself, and you have, and I think the only thing you're missing is her."

I didn't have the words to respond to him, the lump in my throat making it impossible to speak. I didn't think that there were any words that would be able to explain how grateful I was for him, for Ryan and Cyrus, for the people that had helped shape me into the person I was today.

"And I know you're going to do it. I know you're going to make her fall in love with you again, because there is nothing in this world that can stop you."

A/N:

this chapter is so short omg I'm sorry.