2:29 AM

Chapter Thirty-Five

I've been sleeping at Colton's apartment for the past five days. I haven't worked up the nerve to go home yet. Colton and his Mom have been fun roommates. Alex makes Colton sleep on the couch, but he always crawls in next to me and then jumps back to the couch before Alex catches him.

I haven't talked to Mother. I've called Dad a couple of times. He thinks I'm staying with Auntie. I've eaten lunch and hung out with her a bit.

It's a big mess. The only thing that makes sense is that I like Colton. It's stupid, but I actually really like him.

I shake my head as I walk to my locker. I think way too much about Colton. I have about five minutes before Biology starts. I just need to grab my text book. I unlock my locker and grab my book along with a Vitamin Water I stashed.

I slam my locker and start to walk towards Bio. Something slams into me and I drop my books. "Thanks a lot, jackass," I say as I bend down and pick them up. The guy hands me one of my notebooks.

"Sorry," he says. I look up.

"Oh, hey buddy," I say to Greyson as I stand up. "How's it going?"

"Good," he says. He has a faint smirk playing on his lips. "What class do you have?"

"Biology with Burton," I tell Greyson.

"I'll walk you," he offers. I nod. "How's that crazy dude of yours?" Greyson asks. I laugh.

"He's good...we're good, better than good." There's this dopey smile on my face. Greyson smirks.

"So you guys fucked, huh?" he asks.

"Not exactly, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happened in the near future," I say. Something flashes across my mind. "Oh, so uh, remember last week when you get me and my boy out of detention?"

"Yeah," Greyson says. "Why?"

"Well, we kind of saw you," I say, lowering my voice, "In the supply room." Greyson stops walking and his eyes flash.

"Oh," he says quietly. "Can we go talk?" I nod. I pull out my phone and text Colton: Hey, I'm gonna be late to Bio. Cover for me. Tell Burton I'm having feminine troubles and stuck in the ladies room.

My phone buzzes: no prob. U ok?

I text back: I'm good. I'll explain later.

"So, where are we going?" I ask Greyson.

"There's a hidden stairwell that doesn't have cameras," Greyson tells me. I nod and we walk there in silence. Once we're in the stairwell, Greyson drops his satchel to the ground.

"So, uh, maybe I saw something wrong," I say, leaning against a wall. Greyson shakes his head.

"No, you saw right." Greyson runs his hands roughly over his face. "Look, I don't how to explain it. Christian-Ms.Rollins-and I...it's complicated," Greyson says.

"Go on. It's cool, I'm not gonna judge you," I say. He nods and then starts pacing. I move and sit down on the stairs.

"Christian...she and my sister, Mac, are best friends. So, she was always hanging around my house, you know? Always teasing me. We were always messing with each other. Sometime in the last year or two...I dunno. Something changed," Greyson tells me. I nod.

"Suddenly it was like the world finally made sense, right?" I ask him.

"Yeah. I guess something changed for her too. Last summer I was trying to do everything that I could to stay away from her. So I didn't fuck things up, right? But one day my sister and my parents were gone. I don't really know what happened, but we ended up being together, right? We were both confused. She was older than me by four years. I was her best friend's kid brother. And I was confused as hell too, I mean, literally I could have had any girl. But we were stuck together." Greyson looks at me. He yanks his hands through his hair.