no control | dolan twins

forty five

I grip onto the steering wheel as my entire body fills up with nerves. I enter the small town of Charlotte, knowing I am minutes away from him. What will he say? Will he even want to see me? Will he slam the door in my face? Will he pull me in for a hug? My mind is racing with different scenarios, different things I want to say to him.

Where has he been for three months? Why hasn't he contacted me? Does he still love me? Did he ever? I shake my head from my overflowing brain. My main goal is for him to know that he has been innocent this entire time. He needs to know that there is justice for him, a chance for his life to go back to normal.

I turn onto the semi-familiar block as my stomach aches. I pull up on the sidewalk in front of the beautiful home. There are no cars in the driveway, which worries me. I look at myself in the rearview mirror, taking in the deepest breath. Whatever happens, happens.

I can never say I didn't try. I turn the car off and force my feet to step out of it. I walk up the long driveway, thinking of what to even say. I know I'm going to want to pull him in and kiss him, but I would never actually do it. Standing at the front door gives me major anxiety.

I press my finger against the doorbell, knowing there is no turning back now. I swallow hard as I patiently wait for an answer. After a few minutes of nothing, I begin to knock as hard as I can.

Again, nothing. I look around the yard, wondering if he is even home. I let out a deep breath as I shake my head. Of course he isn't here. I turn away and begin to walk over to the car when a noise causes my feet to stop. The creaking of the door opening fills my ears, followed by a low voice.

"Taylor?"

I slowly turn around, my body is shaking uncontrollably. Grayson is standing there, his eye wide with surprise.

He looks so different. Stubble is taking over his chin and his cheeks, causing him to look older. His hair is pushed all the way up and he no longer has his cute little flop. His arm muscles are bulging, they are a lot bigger than they ever were.

"Hi." My small voice says.

"What are you doing here?" He looks me up and down, taking in my appearance.

"There's something I wanted to show you." I awkwardly walk closer to him, pulling my phone out of my purse. "It's important."

He nods slowly, almost completely speechless. I hand him my phone once the video is pulled up. "Watch it, please."

He takes in a deep breath as he presses the screen, watching it closely. "What is this?"

"Just keep watching." I bite my lower lip and look down.

"Wait, that's what you used the coke for?"

"Of course. My brother is an asshole who didn't deserve the life he was living. I couldn't fuck his chick, so I got him to leave. He shouldn't have left his backpack laying around the art contest like the moron that he is. It was the easiest shit to pull off."

Grayson is completely speechless. He is frozen, unable to speak. "Holy shit."

"This is hard proof that the entire time you were innocent. You didn't need to get kicked off of campus. Ethan was behind this the entire time and I have evidence of him saying it.

"When did you record this?" His eyes look into mine, causing my stomach to turn.

"This morning." I stammer. "I knew if I called you wouldn't answer, so I took the trip over here."

His jaw clenches as he replays the video. The shock on his face turns to pure hate. His cheeks turn red as his fist tightens. "Where is Ethan now?"