Shattered Asylum

Chapter 68

I wake up to the warmth of Grayson's body next to mine, his arm draped lazily over my waist. His breaths are slow and deep, the quiet rhythm of someone lost in sleep.

My body aches in the best way, every inch of me still buzzing with the memory of last night. The way he touched me. The way he took me.

But as the haze of sleep fades, so does my certainty of what this means. Was it just physical for him? Something that will never happen again?

Before I can dwell on the thought, a knock at the door shatters the quiet. The creak of it opening sends a spike of panic through my chest as I realize... we're still completely naked.

"Shit," I mutter, scrambling to pull the sheets up, but it's useless. Grayson has most of the blanket under him, and I'm left exposed, half of my body on display, just enough to make my skin prickle with vulnerability.

The blanket barely covers my chest and hips. My legs are fully out, one of my thighs bare, half my hip and stomach visible, and there's nothing I can do to fix it without completely yanking the covers off him. Worse, my body aches from last night, a constant reminder of just how much he's claimed me.

Kristina and Jessica stand frozen in the doorway, eyes wide, taking in the scene. Kristina's jaw drops as she glances between me and Grayson, her expression teetering between shock and something dangerously close to amusement. But Jessica... her face is a different story.

Pure devastation.

"What the hell, Grayson?" Her voice wavers, thick with hurt, but frustration sharpens the edges. She steps forward slightly, her fists clenching. "Why are you in her bed instead of mine?! You told me last night that you were mine!"

Grayson stirs, propping himself up on one elbow as he rubs a hand over his face. He groans, still half asleep, clearly not in the mood for this conversation. "Get out." His voice is rough, thick with exhaustion.

Jessica doesn't budge. Her nails dig into her palms, and her breath hitches. "Why her?" She demands, voice cracking.

Her chest rises and falls unevenly, emotions spilling over. "You picked her over me?" The disgust in her voice stings, like she's grasping for anything to make herself feel superior to me.

I mean, she probably is better than me, but damn, did she have to call me out in my own room?

Grayson sighs through his nose, jaw tensing, before he finally sits up fully. The blanket slips, falling dangerously low on his hips, exposing the hard planes of his torso.

Kristina and Jessica's eyes flick down instinctively.

Their smugness vanishes.

Deep, ugly bruises litter his skin, dark purple and blue marks standing out against his tanned complexion. Some are fresh, still angry looking, while others are fading, the kind of bruises that tell a story of a fight he didn't walk away from unscathed.

Jessica visibly swallows, her face pale. She's still staring at him, still processing. Then, softer now, her voice barely above a whisper, "Baby... what hap-"

Grayson makes a sound in the back of his throat, disgust, frustration, done. His patience snaps, his voice rising so sharply it makes even me flinch.

"GET. THE FUCK. OUT!"

Jessica startles, a single tear slipping down her cheek before Kristina grabs her wrist and yanks her back. The door slams shut behind them, and the silence that follows is deafening.

I exhale shakily, pressing my face into my hands, my skin burning with secondhand embarrassment. "Oh my gosh," I whisper. My heart is still hammering from the scene that just unfolded.