Damaged -Grayson Dolan-

Chapter Two

"I'm home!" I stepped through the front door and into my house. Cold air rushed in behind me and I shivered, pushing the door shut.

My mom came around the corner, drying her hands on a dish towel. She was still wearing her scrub bottoms from the hospital. "Hi honey, how was it?"

I hung my keys on the rack and slipped my shoes off. "Not bad."

"No incidents?"

"No, mom." Annoyance trickled into me, but I pushed it away. She was just worried. "Everything was fine."

"Well, that's good." She leaned against the wall. "Your father will be home around six and I've already started dinner."

"Okay," I said with a nod. "I'm going to go get started on my homework."

"I'll call you down when it's ready." She turned around and headed back into the kitchen. I started up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I turned past my parents' room, steps slowing as the closed, grey door loomed before me. My feet seemed to pause of their own accord as I stared at the piece of wood that stayed permanently closed.

I blinked once, twice and then shook my head at myself pushing past the door. I entered my own room and set my backpack on my desk chair. I plugged my phone into the charger, turning the ringer off so I wouldn't be distracted. My Pre-Calc homework was easiest by far so I did that first. English wasn't bad either but Psychology gave me a little trouble.

Eventually, my mom called me for dinner and I clambered downstairs. The smell of chicken and potatoes wafted through the kitchen and my stomach growled. "Hi, honey," My dad greeted me, loosening the tie around his neck. "How was school?"

"It was good," I grabbed the bowl of potatoes and set it on the table. My mom whisked past, planting a kiss on my dad's cheek and set down three glasses of water. We each took our seats and passed around the food. Our talk consisted mostly of my parent's work-related issues and the occasional question about school for me.

Once we'd finished and the dishes were in the sink, I excused myself with the excuse of wanting to get to bed early.

"Wait- Alanna, don't forget your medicine." My mom handed me the pill container labeled with the days of the week. I fished out the pills, swallowing them dry. Then I told them both goodnight before returning once again to my room. I showered and climbed into bed with my phone. I scrolled through my twitter feed before getting onto Instagram. I noticed I had a new follower notification. I clicked on the message.

Grayson Dolan has requested to follow you

I blinked. Grayson wanted to follow me? I tapped the accept button before hopping over to his account. It was private as well. My finger hovered over the follow button. You're overthinking this, as usual, Alanna. I clicked the button requesting to follow him back. Then I turned on my alarm and set my phone on the nightstand. I tugged the blankets around me and closed my eyes.

My dreams consisted of smoke and heat and oppressive metal. The same way it was every night.

I was a little ashamed to admit that the first thing I did when I woke up was check to see if Grayson had let me follow him on Instagram.

And I wasn't disappointed.

I scrolled through a few of his photos, noting the many of him and Ethan together. They seemed to be really close. I felt an empty pang in my chest at that but I pushed it away. There were plenty of pictures of him alone. Even a few shirtless. I clicked on one and chewed on my bottom lip. Damn, he was in shape.