Safe Hands

20. The Aftermath

Grayson spent the entire ride home staring out the window, the weight of the detention slips burning a hole in his pocket. The other boys chatted about their day, with Julian excitedly recounting his experience training Aunt Lauren's puppies, while Russell interjected with occasional snide remarks aimed at Grayson. Damien, though silent for most of the drive, would occasionally glance at Grayson his eyes probing and suspicious.

When they finally pulled into the driveway, Grayson was the first to leap out of the car. He hurried up to his room, his heart pounding with anxiety. He needed to think of a plan, and fast. The thought of Damien finding out about his detentions sent chills down his spine. He tugged on his tie as he ran a rough hand through his hair.

"I would be dead meat if he finds out, think, Gray, think, there is a way out," He muttered as he spaced back and forth taking off his suit jacket and untucking.

Grayson rushed through the stack of files on his desk rummaging through the drawers, where Damien's signed files were kept, the ones he had asked him to study, the were related to the law and Damien had signed them. He found a stack of them, and after carefully comparing the signatures, he began practicing on a piece of scrap paper. It took several attempts, but he finally produced a passable forgery. With shaking hands, he copied the signature onto the detention slips and tucked them back into his bag.

Feeling a small sense of relief, he descended the stairs for dinner, the smell of roast chicken wafting through the house. He entered the dining room and took his seat, avoiding eye contact with everyone.

As they ate, the tension in the room was palpable. Damien's eyes flickered to Grayson occasionally, his face inscrutable. Russell, however, wore a smirk, his eyes glinting with mischief.

"So, Grayson," Russell began, his tone deceptively casual. "How do you see our school? Made any friends?"

Grayson gritted his teeth, not liking where this was heading. "Prison," he muttered, focusing on his plate.

"I guess," Russell pressed, leaning forward. "Because it didn't seem like it earlier in Mr. Harris's history class."

Grayson's fork froze midway to his mouth. He glanced at Damien, whose expression had hardened. "What do you mean?" he said, trying to sound nonchalant.

Julian, sensing the rising tension, tried to change the subject. "Did you guys hear about the new science project we're starting? It sounds really cool—"

"Quiet, Julian," Damien interrupted, his eyes fixed on Grayson. "What happened in History class?"

Grayson's heart sank. "Nothing, nothing happened," he said, his voice rising slightly as he shot Russell a glare.

Russell snorted. "Nothing? Poor Mr. Harris, you refused to introduce yourself properly, embarrassing him, and you were just being rude, even saying you came from nowhere, that does not ensure seriousness."

"Russell, that's enough," Julian said, his voice trembling slightly. "Maybe Grayson didn't mean to be rude."

Grayson shot Julian a glare but quickly looked away when he saw the anger in Damien's eyes. "Is that true, Grayson?" Damien asked, his voice dangerously calm.

Grayson swallowed hard. "No, it is not! He doesn't know what he is talking about. I did introduce myself, and I don't like talking about myself so I asked if I could return to my seat, if it was rude and Mr. Harris was upset about it I would have gotten a punishment."

Damien's gaze bore into him with scrutiny. "We'll discuss this later," he said finally. "But know this: you better not be lying."

Grayson clenched his jaw, his appetite completely gone. The rest of the meal passed in strained silence, and as soon as he could, he excused himself and went back to his room slamming the door.

The next day at school, Grayson handed in the forged detention slips, his heart pounding with fear while he tried to act cool. The secretary glanced at the slips and then at him, her eyes narrowing slightly. Grayson shrugged, hoping she wouldn't look too closely. After what felt like an eternity, she nodded and added the slips to a pile on her desk.

Grayson let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and hurried to his first class. He had barely settled into his seat when Russell sidled up to him, a serious expression on his face.

"You're going to get caught, you know," Russell whispered. "And when you do, Dad is going to be so furious."

Grayson glared at him. "Mind your damn business, Russell. You don't wanna mess with me, I could ruin your life."

Russell's grin widened. "I doubt you could do that, orphan."

Grayson clenched his fists, but before he could retort, the teacher called the class to order. As the lesson began, Grayson tried to focus, but his mind kept drifting to Damien's stern face and the threat of punishment hanging over him.

During lunch, Grayson found a quiet corner outside and sat down trying to finish up with the notebook task Damien had asked him to complete, fortunately, he didn't ask for it, trying to collect his thoughts on what Damien could consider negative behavior he scrambled roughly on the paper. He hated the feeling of constantly being on edge, of always looking over his shoulder. But as much as he wanted to avoid trouble, it seemed to follow him everywhere, it was too late to be a good child, he was too used to survival and getting into all those bad habits. He reached into his pocket touching the cigarette pack, he needed relief.

"Hey, I thought you might be hungry," Julian's voice rang above him.

Grayson looked up at the boy before rolling his eyes, "What do you want, Bleached face?" He asked in a calm tone.

Julian paused before inhaling, "Bringing you lunch you don't have to be rude about it." He stated as he held the sandwich and water up.

Gray snatched it while rolling his eyes. "Leave." He urged.

Julian stepped back, "Why do you sit alone?" Julian probed.

"Why do you look so fair? Your hair does not help, you look like a bulb with those light Blond hair." He remarked hoping to get rid of the boy.

Julian shrugged, "My mum is fair, very fair." He added.

Grayson bit into the sandwich, chewing slowly. "That's why you look like a girl."

Julian rolled his eyes. "Try saying thank you and stop messing with people." He crossed his arms.

Grayson snorted at that. "Yeah, right. And I love you while at it? Right? Stupid, get out before I bite you."

Julian frowned, "You're disgusting and irritating."

Grayson glared at the boy, "You really want me to redesign your face with my fist? Don't you?" He said as he slowly rose up.

Julian backed away, leaving Grayson's presence. "Stupid son of a fair woman." He muttered as frustration crept up to his chest. He gathered his lunch making his way to Mr. Martin's class just before lunch was over.

As the day drew to a close, Grayson braced himself for the detention with Mr. Harris and the clear possibility of Damien finding out.

A/N

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