Damaged -Grayson Dolan-

Chapter Forty-Five

Mina was the first to be finished due to the fact that she'd chosen to get something relatively small. She squealed when I came around the corner, throwing her arms around me. "I did it! I got a fucking tattoo!"

"Show me," I said grinning.

She turned around and lifted up her long blond hair. At the nape of her neck was a small delicate rose.

"I love it," I told her as she turned back around, a smile on her face.

"Okay, show your's." She demanded.

I took a deep breath, flipping over my arms. On the right one, on top of my cut marks, I had the word "breathe" in a script. On my left wrist, Vanessa had created a tree branch over the long vertical slash in my wrist. Emerging from the tree branch traveling up my wrist was the delicate silhouettes of birds flying away.

"Al," Mina whispered gazing at the skin. "They're beautiful."

I opened my mouth to say something but then both the twins came into the room at the same time. Mina spun to Ethan. "Let's see them," Ethan smirked and pulled down his bottom lip. I peered closer. The word "create" was inked into the skin.

"You seriously did not," Mina said.

He grinned. "I seriously did. Let me see your's."

I turned to Grayson and raised my eyebrows. "Please tell me your's isn't on your lip."

He chuckled. "No." He twisted his leg to the side and pointed at his ankle. He had the word "matters" tattooed on the flesh with a line running through it. I looked up at him and he shrugged. "It's so I stop worrying about the small insignificant things in life," he explained. "Nothing really matters- I don't want to get caught up in the stupid things of this life."

I tilted my head and smiled. "I like it."

"What about your's?"

I held out my arms. He looked down at my wrists, taking in the design. He seemed to be frozen, studying the skin. Then he looked back up at me.

"I didn't want to cover them up," I told him. "It's a part of me. So I decided to make them into something else."

Grayson moved, wrapping his arms around me. I breathed in the familiar scent of him. "You're so fucking amazing," he murmured into my ear. "And the strongest person I know."

I closed my eyes and squeezed him tighter. "You helped me get there."

He let me go and pressed his forehead against mine. "I love you."

"I love you too."

~~~

"Okay, everyone start praying now that we do not get stranded in North Carolina for eight hours this trip," Mina announced as we made our way through security at the airport.

"Actually we don't stop in North Carolina this time." I glanced at my ticket. "It says West Virgina."

Mina stared at me for half a second. "Okay, so everyone start praying now that we do not get stranded in West Virgina for eight hours."

I rolled my eyes and turned to Grayson. "How far is our gate?"

He pointed. "Right down there."

"And I see a Starbucks!" Ethan announced.

"Oh thank goodness," Mina pushed past us. "Where?"

"This way," Ethan tugged her arm. Grayson shook his head at the two of them and we followed behind. We entered the Starbucks, both ordering our over-priced coffee. The four of us made our way back to the waiting area at our gate. We slouched into the chairs and I checked the time. 6:09 am. I texted my mom, telling her we were going to board our plane soon.

I shoved my phone back in my pocket and leaned against Grayson's side. He wrapped an arm around me and kissed my forehead. "Ready to go home?"

I let out a laugh. "Not really. Just wait until my mom sees my tattoos. That's going to be fun."

"You're eighteen," Grayson pointed out.

"Yeah try telling her that."

We were called to board a plane a little while later and we all piled in. This time I was able to sleep through the almost the whole flight. We changed planes in West Virginia, all of us crossing our fingers that we would make it smoothly through.

And we did.

It was around eight pm when we landed in New Jersey. I checked the temperature. It was 35 degrees. "Home sweet home," I muttered. Grayson snorted beside me in agreement. We dragged ourselves from the plane and into the airport. All of us looked like we'd been through some war of sorts. I texted my mom to let her know we'd finally landed in New Jersey.

The trek to the parking garage seemed longer than usual and we finally located the car. I threw my luggage in the trunk along with everyone else's and settled in for the car ride home.

We dropped Mina off first and then me. My parents were already waiting by the door as I told Grayson and Ethan bye. My dad helped me with my suitcase and then we went into the kitchen.

"You're so tan!" My mother engulfed me in a hug and then my father.

I laughed. "Flordia tends to do that to you."

My mom spotted my wrists and I held them out. Her eyes filled with tears, a reaction I was not expecting. She wiped them from her face before kissing me.

"You're so strong, Al." My dad said, hugging me again. "You are the most amazing daughter I could ask for. I am so, so proud of you."

We sat around the kitchen table until at least midnight as I told them about my trip. Then I told them both goodnight before finally falling into my bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.