Senior Year with My Protector | Protector 1.2

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

I woke up sometime early on Sunday morning to the sound of my mom getting ready to go to work. Some days, she was quiet. Others, it was like an elephant was storming through the house, making as much noise as possible.

When I finally heard the front door close, I sighed and tried going back to bed. It was nearly impossible for me, so I decided to be an awesome girlfriend and bug Grayson.

I got up from my bed and walked to the guest room, where the door was opened just a crack. I slowly opened it, wincing at the creaking it caused. Luckily, Grayson was still fast asleep on the bed, snoring softly.

I walked to the bed, decided how I should wonderfully wake him up. I smiled to myself, yanking the pillow out from under him. He woke up suddenly, propping himself up on one of his elbows and blinked a few times before looking at me. "What the hell, Poppy?"

I smiled, resting my hand on the crook of his neck before pressing my lips on his. When I pulled away, he looked a bit less irritated. "Is this how you'll wake me up every day?" he asked. "Because if so, I might never want to leave."

"It was just for today," I said, which made Grayson frown. "My mom's loudness as she got ready for work woke me up. How didn't it wake you up?"

Grayson shrugged. "I had a rough night. When I'm asleep, my hearing blocks everything out."

I sat down on the edge of the bed. "Are you okay?"

"I've been better," he said honestly. "My phone was ringing a lot yesterday. There was my mom, Gale, my mom again, my dad, my mom, my mom, my mom....You get the idea."

"They're just worried about you," I said. "You could at least call your mom back. Tell her you're okay."

Grayson shook his head and held up his wrist. "See this? She caused it. She allowed my dad and Graeme back into our house after she found out what happened. I never want to go back there."

As much as I wanted Grayson to have a relationship with his family, I didn't want him to get hurt anymore. His dad started beating him and got his brother to join. His mom left, which caused Grayson to almost get beaten to death. And now, they were all back in his life. The two people that caused his depression were back. It could cause his depression to worsen and he might actually succeed in doing the one thing I didn't want him to do.

And that was why I was telling him my idea. "You're eighteen, you know," I said. "And in this state, it means you can legally move out. And you can move in here."

Grayson stared at me for a bit. "Wait. Seriously?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'll have to talk to my parents about it, though. I'm sure they'll agree if they know exactly what's going on."

"Are you sure they'll be fine with it?" Grayson asked. "I would love to move in here, but I'm not sure they'll allow it."

"Grayson, I'm positive they will," I said. "My dad is probably making breakfast right now. We can ask."

Grayson nodded, slowly getting out of bed. I held his good hand and pulled him downstairs. Dad, in fact, was making breakfast. He looked over at us from his position at the stove and smiled. "Good morning you two," he said. "Fancy some breakfast?"

"Yeah, sure," I said. "But there's something I want to ask you. Would it be okay....if Grayson....moves in here? Permanently?"

Dad looked at us with a raised eyebrow. "Move in here? Why?"

I looked at Grayson, giving him a nod to start explaining. "My depression is actually caused by my dad and brother," Grayson said slowly. "After my mom took me to live with her, I thought I'd never see them again. But my mom....She let my dad and brother move back in. I can't live with them. Not after...." He stopped there, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"Something bad must have happened, huh?" Dad asked. "Would your parents let you move in here?"

Grayson shrugged. "Probably not. My mom wants me and my brother and dad to get along, but I can't."

"But Grayson is eighteen," I pointed out. "He can move out if he wants."

"Grayson, if you don't mind me asking, what happened?" Dad asked.

"I, uh...." He sighed, looking at me. "Poppy?"

"It started when he was ten," I said for Grayson. "His dad came home one day, drunk out of his mind and he beat Grayson. And to make things worse, his brother joined in. His sister found out and told his mom, but then his mom left. And the she left, they almost beat Grayson to death. He was in the hospital for a long time. After that, they still continued until Grayson learned to fight back. Then his mom came back and now, we're here."

"Wow," Dad said, looking extremely shocked. "Grayson, I am so sorry to hear that. And because of it, I'm allowing you to move in here. It won't be fair for you to be near the people who caused that."

"Really?" Grayson asked. "Thank you so much."

Dad smiled. "Anything for you, Grayson. You were there for my daughter through her assault, so we're going to be there for you."

"Thank you for letting him move in Dad," I said.

"There will be a few rules, however," Dad said. "We'll discuss them later."

Grayson nodded. "I'm just going to run home and grab all my things. Hopefully nobody's home right now."

_______________

I know it's short, sorry about that. The next chapter will probably be as short, but it will be in Grayson's point of view. (: I'm going to get started on it right away.