BRIGHT

Chapter 41- Greyson POV- Resilient Return

Today was the day. Finally, after two weeks, I got to go home. I felt amazing. I knew I was better and now in control of myself. The therapists had really helped me, and I was ready to go home. Was I scared? Of course. I had to face Maggie, who was, according to my parents, still terrified of me. After what had happened, she had gone to therapy too to try and help her because I terrified her. My parents had told me it was helping, but she was still acting very conservative. I hoped she would not be like that forever. My main counselor, Wen, had helped me rehearse what to say to Maggie when I saw her, which helped my nerves slightly.

The door opened and I saw that it was one of my nurses, Kelly.

"Hi Greyson," she said nicely.

"Hi Kelly," I replied. She gave me a smile.

"Today's the day! I brought you some street clothes, no more scrubs!" she exclaimed.

"Finally, thank you," I commented, taking the clothes from her.

"This is the last I'll be seeing of you Greyson. I am really proud of what you have accomplished after staying here with us. You did a great job," she complimented me.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it. And thanks for everything you did for me, you really helped me a lot," I expressed. 

"It's my job, good luck with everything, Grey," she said. She gave me a quick hug and walked out of the room. I removed my scrubs and pulled on the clothes she had brought for me, a pair of jeans and a black V neck t-shirt. I sat on my bed, anxiously awaiting for Wen to come to tell me my parents were here. My mind raced to Peyton. Seeing her terrified me too. I still loved her, but I couldn't tell her that. She didn't want me anymore, and getting over it was harder than I thought it would be. It didn't help that she was Josh's little sister too because I knew I would be spending time at her house. Josh's house was like a second home to me, his parents were always like my second parents. 

"Greyson," I heard a voice say, followed by a knock. The door opened and I turned around to see Wen.

"Wen," I greeted.

"Everything is set. I have assured your parents you are no longer a threat to be with. I have faith in you Greyson, and when things seem to go wrong, just do the things I told you. I know you can do this. I am happy to send you home, I know you must be excited," he explained.

"I'm ready," I said confidently.

"I know you are, let's go," he said. He led me through the hallways into the reception area. I noticed my dad waiting for me. I briskly walked over to him and hugged him. Neither one of us said a word. 

"I'm proud of you, Greyson," my dad said as we retrieved.

"Thanks, Dad," I replied. We walked up to the desk and my dad checked me out.

"He really did a great job, I expect him to go back to the awesome life he had before any of this happened," Wen encouraged.

"I plan to," I told him. My dad smiled at me. We walked out of the building and got into his truck. The ride home was quiet and my dad nor I knew what to say. I began to get nervous as we pulled into our subdivision.

"Look Greyson, Maggie is better, but she's still pretty rough. She hasn't gone to school since what happened, so I don't want you to be distraught if she treats you differently. She's been extremely introverted lately," my dad clarified.

"I deserve it if she treats me poorly. I'm going to do what I can to get close with her again, but I'm not going to scare her. I will never, ever, do that again," I confirmed.

"I know you won't," my dad said confidently. We pulled into the driveway. Home sweet home. I took a deep breath.

"It's going to be okay," my dad encouraged. I nodded and got out of the car. I walked into our house, which felt strange since I had not done it in so long. I heard the TV on and walked towards the living room to find my mom and Maggie watching a movie. My mom turned around.

"Greyson!" she exclaimed, switching off the TV. She got up from the couch and hugged me.

"Hi Mom," I said.

"I missed you, my baby," she whispered, not letting go. I looked at Maggie over her shoulder and as soon as our eyes locked, she left the room. My mom let go and I stepped back.

"Maggie, why don't you," my mom started to say, but then noticed she was gone. "I'm sorry, Grey, she just isn't doing too well." I nodded.

"Should I talk to her?" I asked.

"Give it a little time, maybe tonight," my mom suggested.

"Yeah, I understand," I said. We all sat on the couch.

"Your therapists and nurses were all impressed with your progress, we are proud of you Greyson," my mom complimented.

"Thanks, I feel a lot better now. I just want to say to both of you, I was not in control of myself before I went to therapy and now I know I am. I'm sorry for what I did and I promise to be better," I expressed.

"We appreciate you saying that Greyson. We hope you can understand that we are going to be running a much tighter ship around here for a while, at least until we know we can trust you again," my dad explained.

"I understand, I made some huge, almost unforgivable, mistakes," I replied.

"We are happy you understand, you really scared us Greyson. But, we are proud to see that you are turning yourself around," my dad said.

"I will do whatever it takes," I assured them.

"I know you will honey," my mom said.

"When do I get to go back to school and football?" I asked.

"Well, school, Monday. But, you have been suspended from football for the week, so no football. But, Coach said he was happy to have you back the following week. The team has been struggling without their star QB," my dad told me.

"I miss it," I said.

"I'm sure. And the doctor even suggested you continue with football, even spending more time in the weight room or practicing. It is a good way to channel any distress you have," my mom added.

"Am I allowed to go to the weight room this week?" I asked.

"We want you to come straight home every day this week, okay? Remember, you are getting our trust back," my mom instructed. I nodded. I heard a timer go off.

"Oh, that's the food, time to eat. Greyson, could you go get Maggie for dinner?" my mom asked.

"Are you sure?" I questioned.

"It might be a good way to break the ice, go," she commanded. I nodded and walked up the stairs. I knocked on her bedroom door. There was no response. I gently turned the nob and opened the door. Maggie was reading a book in the corner of her bedroom. She didn't look up when I came in.

"Maggie, it's dinner time," I started to say. She looked up and tried to walk out of the room. "Wait, please, let me talk to you!"

"I don't want to listen to you," she shot. I put my arm in front of the door frame.

"Maggie, please," I pleaded.

"I'll call Mom and Dad and you'll be locked up in that therapy prison forever if you don't stop!" she threatened. I took a deep breath and moved my arm away. She stormed out of the room. She hated me and wanted nothing to do with me. But what did I expect? I hurt her and that would stick with her for the rest of her life.