Him & I

Only You

Once upon a time we had it all
Somewhere down the line we went and lost it
One brick at a time we watched it fall
I'm broken here tonight and darling, no one else can fix me
Only you, only you
——Only You, Cheat Codes And Little Mix

Cait stared at her phone. She wasn't sure she agreed with Chitana. She'd always considered herself a bit more independent than most. She loved Grayson. And she knew she needed him, had known that for a while.  But he couldn't solve all of her issues, could he?

She'd thought she could fix this alone. That she needed to fix her problems alone. But Chitana had made her think. Could she get through this without him?

She wasn't sure. But she'd promised to call him so she punched the contact.

"I miss you." His deep voice made her tear up.

"M-miss you too, Gray," she sniffled out.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I, uh, I had a rough morning," she admitted.  "I spent a lot of time at my mother's grave.  Dad came and found me."

"Cait," Grayson closed his eyes, "I know this is hard for you.  And I clearly made it worse.  Is there anything I can do?"

"Just be patient with me," she whispered.  "Please, Grayson.  Just give me a little time to figure things out.  I love you.  I do.  I just need, uh, well, I don't know exactly what I need.  But I'm trying to figure it out."

"I love you too," he said softly. 

*****
December 29, 2018

Grayson had a shoot around, even though he was out again tonight. At least he'd been able to start ditching the stupid boot.

He'd known that they had no reason to rush him back.  And he'd have company on the bench tonight. Jae was out with a sprained thumb.

Grayson had been taking care of his business as best he could, doing the things he was supposed to do, but he wasn't engaging much with his teammates off the court, simply spending quiet time with his parents, who were leaving the next day. 

Sherry had been telling him that he needed to deal with his feelings and he was trying.  He really was.  But it wasn't easy.  He still had an ankle that needed treatment, still had to keep up with his other obligations.  But on the rare occasions when he was able to find time to be alone, he was starting to process everything.

He was headed back to his car after attending the shoot around and getting treatment, thinking about all that, when Jae grabbed him from behind.  "What's with you?" he asked with a frown.  "You've been grumpy."

"Gee, I don't know," Grayson returned.  "Why would I be grumpy?"

"G, I know you and Cait are going through some stuff-" Jae started.  But Grayson cut him off. 

"No, you don't know, Jae," he snapped.  "Cait left.  She went to Colorado.  Because I listened to you.  You made me doubt her by asking if she got pregnant on purpose and I just blurted it out to her.  She was already hurting and I just hurt her worse.  And I can't even take my frustrations out on a rim or in the gym right now.  So forgive me if I don't feel like cutting up with the boys."