never be the same | grayson dolan

fifty nine

"Madison." A light whisper fills my head as a soft groan escapes my mouth. "Madison." Grayson's husky voice gets a little louder as he places his hand on my shoulder. I open my eyes and look at my boyfriend leaning over me. He shakes my arm with a little more force as he moves some of my blonde hair out of my face. "Time to get up, beautiful. It's a big day."

"It's too early." I mumble and bury my face into my pillow.

"It's eight thirty." He begins to softly caress my bare skin. "You need to start getting ready for graduation."

I sit up and place my hand on my forehead. Getting in at four thirty last night was not a smart decision.

"How's your stomach?" His nurturing voice is filled with concern. "Are you still in pain?"

I lift up Grayson's black tank top that is placed on my body. I peer down at my freshly pierced belly button. "It's sore." My voice indicates I'm still half asleep.

"And your finger?" He gently holds my hand.

"The stinging stopped." I shrug and look down at the left side of my index finger. A small infinity sign tattoo now takes up the space on my skin. Ava and Christopher got one in the same spot, it is to symbolize our friendship is for infinity.

"I can't believe you got your belly button pierced and got a tattoo all within an hour from each other." He chuckles as he stares down at my flat stomach. "You were incredibly sexy last night."

"I just felt like being spontaneous." I defend my obnoxious choices. "And I wasn't even drunk."

"I'm not complaining." He places his hand on the side of my stomach. "You have the perfect body for a belly button ring." His mouth suddenly touches the top of my stomach as he places little kisses above my piercing. I giggle and run my fingers through his hair.

"I wish I could stay in bed with you forever, but I can't." I sigh and stand up from my spot. "I need to go shower so I can put a cap and gown on."

"I can finish packing for you." He looks around to my luggage on the floor. "You can't forget the pink bunny I won you at the fair." He picks it up from my bed and looks at it.

"Or the scrapbook you gave me for Christmas." I motion to it on my dresser.

"I can put everything in my suitcase so you have more room." He looks up at me.

"Sounds good." I widely grin.

"My little graduate." He smiles and rises to his feet. "Your dad is going to be blown away when he sees you like that, he did with me."

"I still feel so terrible I couldn't be at your graduation." I sigh and look up at him.

"It's okay, baby." He gently places his hands on my shoulders. "Your dad was there to support me and that made me really happy. Now, go get ready so you can be at the school on time."

He kisses my forehead as I step away from him and jump into the shower. This is one of the most exciting days of my life. I am finally moving on and stepping into the real world. The minute you enter high school, you immediately countdown the days until graduation. It always seemed so far away, and now it is taking place in three and a half hours. Once I am out of the shower, I put on a maroon flowy dress and black sandals. I straighten my hair and put some light makeup on. I walk over to the white cap and gown that is laid out on my bed.

I stare down at it for a moment before putting the gown over my body. I zip it up then pick up the cap. I place it over my head and move the tassel out of my face. I stand in the mirror and let out a deep breath. There is a knock on the door as it begins to open. My father steps into the room and stares at me with his mouth hanging low.