** REWRITING ** Tidal Wave

Chapter Twenty-Four

I walked out of the bathroom twenty minutes later dressed in my basketball uniform. Kiera didn't ask what happened. She already knew.

I set my bag back down on her bedroom floor. She looked up from her laptop on her desk. "Want me to do your hair?" she asked softly. She knew I loved getting my hair braided. I nodded and walked over to sit on her bed. She sat behind me and her gentle fingers began to work.

She separated a section of my hair from my hairline and I felt her divide it into three equal pieced. She crossed the strands over and over again. Never hesitating, never slowing down. She was confident in herself the way I wasn't.

Her fingers brushed over my scalp again and I shivered. It reminded me of Grayson. Everything reminded me of him these days. I squeezed my eyes shut.

No more thinking about him, Ellie.

"Done," Kiera whispered. Her voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I walked over to her vanity. The girl in the mirror gave me a small smile. I turned back to Kiera.

"Thanks, it looks great."

She smiled in return. "Anytime, Ellie. And.." only now did she hesitate to continue, "... no more Grayson talk, okay?"

"Okay." I sat back down next to her on the bed.

"He's not worth it," she said, “no guy is."

I felt the need to defend him. "But Grayson is--"

"No buts," Kiera firmly interjected, "Grayson doesn't deserve your sympathy." I just stared down at my hands. "Elizabeth Hall Parker! Don't you dare tell me you're thinking about it again!"

I flopped down on my back. "I just can't help it!" I cried out, "Everything reminds me of him! Grayson is just...just..." I couldn't describe the way I felt about him. The way every time I heard his name, I got all tingly. The way I felt like I was floating when he looked at me. Kiera huffed and pulled out her phone.

"I don't want to do this, Ellie, but look." I knew what she was about to show me. I rolled over.

"No, Kiera," I groaned, "I don't want to see that."

"You have to, Ellie. You have to remember." I slowly sat up and took Kiera's phone in my hand. I stared down at the picture that was forever imprinted in my mind. It was of Grayson and her.

If I put my hand over the right side, all I saw was a shirtless Grayson sleeping soundly in bed. I was perfectly content with looking at that all day. "Ellie, move your hand," Kiera said. I did as she told me to and that's when I felt the pang in my chest.

It was Maya. In her itty, bitty, annoyingly lime green bikini. Her head was rested against Grayson's shoulder and her arm was sprawled across his stomach. I knew exactly when it was taken. October 31st.

I looked away and handed the phone back to Kiera. "Ellie," she said. I kept staring blankly at the wall. "Ellie," she repeated again. I sighed and looked back over at her.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Kiera. This... this is not your fault."

"I know but I just want you to know this; I love you. I love Grayson. I love the idea of you and Grayson together. But I don't love what he did."

I didn't want to think about it. I didn't want to think about how he might have feelings for another girl. To me it was impossible to have feelings for someone else. Even Jason. He was cute, nice, funny, but not Grayson. No one was.

I couldn't even compare something else to what I felt for Grayson. I would say it's the feeling I get when I see my food coming at a restaurant times a million. One touch from him made my stomach do flips. I couldn't focus on anything else when he was around. He consumed me.