Things Change

Chapter 6:

Riley:

I don't know how or why but Grayson convinced me to stand on the railing of the bridge. I hug the metal beam beside me shaking my head. I glance down and regret it immediately. "I want down." I say. Grayson rolls his eyes, "So get down." He says irritated. I shake my head, closing my eyes hugging the beam tighter. "All you have to do is jump." He says causally as if it were no thing. I look over at him like he's crazy. "Honestly, is there some brain imbalance I should about because this is insane." I ask. He laughs, reaching out to touch me but I shrink away yelling. "Don't touch me. I swear, I will hurt you." I threaten him. "Don't threaten me with a good time." He winks. I narrow my eyes and shake my head looking down at the water once more. Grayson inches towards me and I squeal. "No. Don't." I beg. He puts one hand up in surrender. "Look at it this way, you can do this now and look back a few months or years from now and feel accomplished. Or you can stay here while I jump down and regret it for the rest of your life." He says. I feel myself relax for a moment taking in his words but then I remember what he is asking me to do. "Give me your hand." He says. I shake my head. "Riley, your hand." It's the first time he calls my name and I feel my heart thumping even more than it was before. He holds out his hand for me to take, "Riley, look at me." He said. "Look at me." I look over at him and he smiles. "I won't let anything happen." He said. "Promise?" I ask. "Promise." He agrees. He holds his hand out again and I hesitate. I had two choices, get down and wait for him back in the car. Or take his hand and trust that he will keep his word. Neither seemed appealing to me. I didn't want to back down because I didn't want to seem weak to him but I also didn't want to risk the chance of falling to my death. I take a deep breath and muster as much courage as I can taking his hand. He laces his fingers with mine and looks over at me. "Do you trust me?" He asked. I let out a shaky laugh as I talk. "Oh, God no." I say. "On the count of three." He said. "One." He starts and I count with him. "Two." We say together. "Three!" He yells and we jump. My stomach drops and tingles as we fall. The wind whips around me then I'm suddenly engulfed by the water. I let go of Grayson's hand swimming to the surface. I can barely see him but I can see the outline of his head and the top of his shoulders. He swims towards me and laughs. "See. It wasn't that bad." He said. "Wanna go again?" He asked. I laugh splashing him with water. "Ahh, no. Once is good for me." I say. He splashes me back, "Okay. Honestly what's the most thrilling thing you've ever done?" He asked. I ponder on telling him but I fell the need to tell him. "I got a tattoo."

"Really? Where?" He asks. I reach forward and run my finger across the top part of his rib cage under his arm. His body heat is warmer than the water. I pull back but stay near him since I can see him a little better. "Can I see it?" He asks. I laugh, "That requires taking off my shirt." I state. He raises his eyebrow, "I don't mind." He says. I roll my eyes, "Could you be any more perverted?" I ask splashing him with water and he gasps splashing my back. I laugh swimming away from him and he starts laughing too. I turn my head when he splashes me again. My hair covering a small amount of my face. "Truce!" I call out still laughing. Grayson stops swimming towards me. "Baby," He grins at me and I can't help but smile back. He reaches forward pushing a strand of hair away from my face. His thumb brushing against my cheekbone. I feel my breath hitch and I look at him. He stares at me for a few moments before the smile disappears from his face and is replaced by an unreadable one. "We should get going, it's getting late." He said swimming towards the shore and I follow. I stand up and realize that I'm not wearing my boot. "Grayson?" I whisper his name and he turns sharply facing me. I can't see him anymore but I know he's looking at me. "Come here." He walks towards me letting me get on his back. He hooks his arms under my legs and I loosely wrap my arms around his neck. The parts of my body that touch his feel hot as he leads the way up the side back to the bridge. He nearly slips cursing under his breath and I can't help but laugh. "It's not funny." He grumbles. I nod, "It kinda is." I say. We reach the bridge and he sets me down when we get to the car. I get in pulling my foot back into the boot and he starts the drive back into town. His mood has changed and he doesn't seem playful anymore. His expression is serious and he's poster is tense again. We reach town, "Where do you leave?" He asks sharply. "506 Devineshire." I whisper. He doesn't say anything and I shiver. I don't know if it's because I'm cold or because he's being short. He pulls into my driveway and parks my car. He turns it off and hands me the keys. We sit in silence for a moment then he gets out and I follow. "See you around, Clover." He winks heading down the street. I watch him disappear around the corner then head inside. I take off my shoe and start heading upstairs when my mom stops me. "Do you know what time it is?" She demanded. "It's almost eleven at night." She states annoyed. "I can't believe that you went against your fathers orders and-wait..why are you all wet?" She asked. I look down at my clothes and smile. "Night swim?" I say sheepishly. "With your clothes on?" She asked skeptical. I press my lips together and nod. "Who were you with?" She asked. I shrug, "Some friends." I say walking towards the stairs. "We aren't done talking about this." She crosses her arms. I turn and face her already half way up the stairs. "Mom, I'm tried. We both have to be up early tomorrow. So if your going to ground me, then just ground me." I say. She walks towards me and shakes her head. "Fine. We'll talk in the morning. Go shower." She said. I head into the bathroom turning on the warm water. Grayson was still on my mind.