Safe Hands

43. Reckoning!

The car ride home was silent and tense. Grayson stared out of the window, the weight of the day pressing down on him. He could feel Alex's anger radiating from the driver's seat, the kind of anger that made the air in the car thick and suffocating. He knew what was coming, but that didn't make it any easier to bear. When they pulled up to the house, Alex parked the car and took a deep breath, as if steadying himself for the confrontation.

As soon as they stepped inside, Alex let it drop. "What the hell were you thinking, Grayson?" he demanded, looking into Grayson's eyes. Grayson, however, refused to speak. "A gang fight? At school? You're suspended until further notice, and from what I hear, you're on the verge of getting expelled!" His voice was loud and harsh, echoing off the walls.

Grayson opened his mouth to say something, but Alex cut him off sharply. "Don't even start! I don't want to hear any excuses right now that might make this worse than it already is. Go to your room and think about what you've done. You'll have a lot to explain when I come up."

Grayson clenched his jaw, his shoulders sagging under the weight of Alex's disappointment. Without a word, he turned and trudged up the stairs, every step feeling like a march to his own execution. He had never seen Alex that angry; usually, he was calm and composed.

Grayson shut the door behind him as he walked into his room. He went to sit on the edge of his bed, his thoughts racing. He had messed up again. The familiar feeling of self-loathing gnawed at him, and he wondered how much more his uncles could take before they decided he wasn't worth the trouble. He couldn't shake the memory of Miles' words echoing in his mind: "You're nothing. Just a pathetic son of a bitch! A big mistake!"

He didn't blame Alex; he understood that the man was worried sick about his expulsion. Getting expelled again was not a good thing, and Alex had tried very hard—Mrs. Turner mentioned it.

An hour later, Grayson heard voices downstairs. He knew Damien had come home, and the real confrontation was about to begin. He tensed as he heard footsteps approaching his room. He wiped his sweaty hands on his gray T-shirt. His knuckles were bruised and darkening; he could say the same for his stomach, but the pain couldn't sink in just yet. The door to his room creaked open, and Alex and Damien walked in. Alex looked calmer now, but his hair was disheveled, a sign that he had been running his fingers through it—a habit he had when stressed. His eyes held disappointment. Damien, on the other hand, was barely containing his fury, his face stone cold, and his eyes sharp and stern.

"Grayson," Damien began, his voice low and controlled, "What the hell happened today?"

It felt like a sharp arrow and a tricky question. Grayson opened his mouth to answer, but the words caught in his throat. He couldn't find a way to explain it that wouldn't make things worse. They were both mad; saying anything would make matters worse.

"Speak up!" Damien snapped, stepping closer. "You better have a damn good reason for throwing a chair at another student, narrowly missing his head!"

Grayson swallowed hard as he felt a chill wash down his spine. "They started it. This kid, Miles, cornered me and hit me," he finally managed to say, not wanting to include Julian in the equation—it would sound like an excuse, and he feared Julian might get in trouble. "I couldn't just stand there and do nothing."

"That doesn't give you the right to beat the crap out of him or use weapons!" Damien's voice was rising now, and Grayson could see the muscles in his jaw tightening. "You could've seriously hurt that kid or worse. And now you're facing expulsion! Do you even understand how serious this is? How Alex here labored to get you into Mervin High and how you're laboring every day to prove his efforts futile?!"

Grayson looked down at his hands, feeling cornered and overwhelmed. "I'm sorry," he muttered, but the words felt hollow even to him.

"Sorry can't fix this!" Damien shot back. "This isn't the first time you've been in trouble, Grayson; you have it on your record! Worse, you keep making the same mistakes, and I'm starting to think you don't care about the consequences."