Alone [G.D]

~15~

"Are you okay, walking down the stairs yourself?" Grayson asks, as I slowly sit up from the bed. "Dinner is ready." He says.
My feet touch his carpeted floor, as my head pounds. "Shit." I mutter, as I press my fingers against my temple.
"You definitely need help. That's the first real curse word I've heard you say." I put my arm around his shoulder, as he slips his arm behind me. "My mom doesn't know about this yet, but you can't tell her who did it." He whispers, as I slowly push myself up.
"I know." I snap. "They might as well kill me instead of torturing me." I say, as we take small steps to the door.
"Don't say that, Madi." Grayson says, as his arm around me tightens. I roll my eyes, as we finally make it out of his room. Claire, Liz, James, and everyone deserve to rot in hell.
"Guys, hurry up!" Lisa calls from downstairs.
"We are!" Grayson yells back, clearly annoyed. "She's going to be pissed." He says to me, as we take one step at a time. I grab a fistful of his shirt in my hand, as a wave of pain goes through my head. I let my head hang forward, stopping Grayson from moving. "Maybe, I shouldn't drag you down there. Here stay here, I'll talk to my parents, and I'll bring you up some food." He says, as I let myself fall back onto the steps. His loud footsteps disappear, as I look up at the white ceiling.
"What the heck do you mean she got beat up? Who beat her up? We need to file a report!" I hear Lisa yell at Grayson.
"How can we file a report if we don't know who did it?" I hear Sean ask, making my stomach turn.
"We have to do something." Lisa says, the clatter of spoons and forks falling to the floor.
"I can ask her again, but right now, I think she just needs some Advil." Grayson says. I close my eyes, as the darkness consumes me.

"Madison." Grayson says, as I feel him poke my hand. "Wake up."
"Mm, no." I say, as I keep my eyes closed.
"I have medicine, and dinner. It's in my room." He says, as I feel his arm slip under me, picking me up from the steps. "I can't believe you're making me carry you." He chuckles, as he carries me to his room, once again.
"I'm sorry." I moan. The smell of stew lingers in the room.
"Don't be." He pulls a blanket over my lap, and hands me a glass of water. "Here." He hands me two pills, and pulls up his desk chair. I put both of the pills in my mouth, and they start to dissolve leaving a bitter taste in my mouth. I quickly down the glass of water, and set it next to me.
"That smells so good." I say, eyeing the bowl of white stew and bread.
"Then, eat it." Grayson says smiling, as he hands me the bowl and spoon. "I'll give you the bread when your ready." He says, as he scoops some of the stew from his own bowl into his mouth.

~~~

The sound of my alarm blares in the background, as my eyes flutter open. Ugh, school. I grab my phone, turning off the alarm, as I get up. The smell of cinnamon filled the air. I walk downstairs, and Lisa was making French toast.
"Good morning." I say smiling.
"Morning." Her back facing me. "How are you feeling?" The toast sizzled in the hot pan.
"A lot better, thanks to you and Grayson." I say, as I sit myself down at the counter.
"Are you sure you want to go to school today? I won't force you, I can call you in sick." Lisa says, as she turns to look at me, dark bags rested under her eyes like she hasn't gotten any sleep.
My mouth hung open in shock, before I quickly closed it. "Its okay, I missed Friday." I say. "And if you're tired, you can go back to bed, I can finish cooking."
She gently nodded her head, as she put the spatula down. "I'm just worried about you." She whispers.
"I'm okay."
"No, you're not. I need to know what's bothering you, what's making you do this." She begs, as she closes her eyes.
"I'm handling it." I lie. "Everything will be okay."
"If you can't get it handled by the end of the week, tell me." She says.
I nod my head, as I pick up the spatula from behind her, and flip the toast. "Good night." I say. She walks out of the kitchen, and up to her room, dragging her feet behind her.
I stacked the toast onto a plate, and cleaned up the mess. "Morning." Grayson says, as he grabs a plate from the cabinets.
"Good morning, Gray." I say, as I lean against the counter. His head whips around to look at me, as if I said something amazing. "What?" I ask laughing, as he drops the plate onto the counter.
"You just called me Gray. No one called me that except Eth." His hands held my arms, as he looked into my eyes.
"Oh, sorry, I-."
"No, I like it coming from you. It sounds nice." His smile was wide and contagious.
I smile, as he runs his thumb across my cheek. I lean forward, as I try to kiss him, but he stops me. "I told you I wanted to ask you properly before we start anything." Grayson says, as he drops his hand from my lips.
"We better eat or we're going to be late." I roll my eyes playfully, as I grab his plate, piling some French toast on it.