Shattered Asylum

Chapter 41

Listen to this song while reading<3

I wake up Friday night to my phone ringing. Why is Grayson calling me at 1 in the morning?

"Hello?" I ask, my voice groggy.

He's silent over the phone for a moment, long enough for me to pull my phone away from my ear to make sure he hasn't hung up.

"Grayson? Can you hear me?" I ask, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. If he woke me up for no reason, I'm going to strangle him.

"I listened to the video." He said so quietly I almost don't hear him.

"Could you hear anything?" I ask, sitting up.

I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't, my phone was in my pant pocket on the ground.

"Yeah," he says. His voice sounds... off. Sad, almost.

"Well, that's good. You can use it against Daniel," I say, switching on the lamp on my nightstand.

He doesn't reply. I can hear his soft breaths through the receiver, so I know he hasn't hung up.

"Aven, I heard... everything," He says after a long pause.

I freeze, my fingers hovering over the edge of my blanket. My stomach drops to my feet as my mind races.

Everything?

I push myself out of bed and start pacing around my room. Why the hell didn't I listen to it first? I gave him everything, raw, unfiltered.

"Oh," I manage to choke out.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Can we talk?" He asks.

Aren't we already talking? I bite my nails, trying to think of an excuse to avoid this conversation. If he knows what really happened, will he ever look at me the same again?

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" I ask, my voice tight as I sink into the chair at my desk.

"In person," He says, his tone leaving no room for argument.

I hesitate, gripping the edge of the desk.

"It's pretty late," I counter weakly, doodling absently on a scrap of paper.

"Please," he says, the word sounding raw and heavy.

Am I ready for this? I know he has questions but do I want to answer them? Trust him with my heart again? I do know, I don't want to ever go through heartache again. He hurt me so bad, I'm scared he'll do it again.

Daniel is still in the picture, he isn't going to just let this go. I don't want him using Grayson's feelings for me as a threat anymore. I owe it to him to tell him about Daniel and how low he can really go. I don't want Grayson going in blind when it comes to him.

"Okay." I whisper. I hope I don't regret this.

"I'll be there in ten minutes." He says, and the line goes dead.

I blow out a breathe, my heart hammering in my chest. What am I doing?

I grab a gray hoodie and sweatpants from my closet, pulling them on quickly. A beanie hides my greasy hair, and I spritz myself with perfume to mask the fact I've been asleep for hours.

I sit down in the dining room, scrolling aimlessly, nerves twisting in my stomach. I can't believe I'm sneaking out to talk to a guy. I never thought I would do something like this.

His text arrives: I'm here.

My heart flips as I head for the door.

"Dove pensi di andare a questa tarda notte?" (Where do you think you're going this late at night?) Grandpa's voice cuts through the silence, startling my so badly I nearly drop my phone.