What is Home

Chapter Fifty-Eight

"Charlee are you going to be in the talent show?" Harlow said sitting down next to me during last period, the very last time I'd sit in this class room until the new year.

I laughed. "Do I look like I have any talents?"

"You have to be good at something!" She smiled at me.

"Making messes. That's my talent." I couldn't contain the chuckle behind my statement.

"Oh come on." She spoke with so much enthusiasm and happiness. No wonder Reece fell for this girl.

"I took a pass this year. Maybe next." I smiled. "What about you? You doing anything up on that stage tomorrow?"

"Cheerleaders are performing, so yes." She glowed as she spoke about her team. "It's my favorite thing we do every year. All the schools come together. All ages from Pre-K to Seniors get up on that stage. It's honestly the best day of school, I think for everyone."

"Well I'm excited to get to witness what everyone seems to have been talking about for the past three weeks since we won the game."

"You are going to love it. I know it." She got distracted from our conversation when my brother entered the room.

With it being our last day of actual classes before break, all teachers were just giving us a free period, to talk or do whatever we wanted. Harlow spun her chair around to join Reece and Pierce in conversation. I had been avoiding Pierce as much as I possibly could, hoping that maybe giving him the space he should have truly been getting, would give both, him and Ally, the closure they needed. That way I could finally get him to myself when the time was truly right.

I doodled circles in my notebook as I listened to the three of them speak behind me. I got lost in listening to their conversation. They were all so happy, so untouched by my poison without me around. This is what it was like before me.

I looked up from my page to glance at the smiles of three people who had gotten me through the end of this year. Seeing them smile made me smile. Before I could get caught by them, I looked away going to direct my attention back to my book, when the figure of my blonde haired boy standing in my classroom doorway caught my attention.

He motioned for me to join him in the hall and I did just that. Today there were no rules and we could come and go as we pleased.

"Hello my Charlee girl." He smiled as he grabbed my hand, walking me down the hall a bit away from the open doors to classrooms.

"Sneaking away from class as always it seems Gray." I rested my head on his arm as we took a slow pace down the hall.

"They never notice when I'm gone." I looked up at him, keeping my head on his arm. A smile played on his lips knowing that was far from the truth. "Okay maybe they do, but it's okay. I just want to come and stop by to see my favorite girl sometimes." He stopped us in the middle of the hallway to pull me into his arms for a hug.

I rested my head on his chest wrapping my arms around him as well. "You always know when I need to get away. You always show up when I need you the most. Thank you for that."

He moved one of his arms so he could place a finger under my chin to make me look at him. "I'm trying." I knew I was his charity case. I was the person he was trying to fix because he couldn't fix Emery. He was too late. He was trying so hard to not repeat the past.

"That's the thing though. You don't even have to try it just comes so natural to you. You protect everyone. You can sense someone's sadness from across the room. You don't disappear until they are happy. That's how everyone should be. You are incredible Gray. Don't sell yourself short."

"But not incredible enough to date." Sadness flooded his eyes for a few seconds.

"Hey." I stood up on my tippy toes to place a soft kiss on his lips. Happiness instantly filled his eyes again. "That is not on you. I'm just a fucked up mess. You deserve someone who can give you their all, okay?" I ran my hands through his hair, breaking its perfect hold, as I seemed to always do by the end of the school day.

"You're my beautiful mess though." Both his hands rested against the small of my back as his eyes studied mine.

"Your beautiful mess of a best friend." I dropped my forehead to his chest before pulling myself tighter to his body.

"Exactly."

"Thank you for making me so happy, for making me laugh when I need to. You have truly been a blessing to me, Grayson Tyler." I said as I listened to the light breathing in his chest.

"And you are mine, my Charlee girl." He kissed the top of my head. "Should I get you back to class before the bell rings?"

"Probably." I giggled as I interlaced my fingers with his.

We walked back to my classroom in silence. We took the walk just as slow as when we were walking away. Sometimes I wondered if Grayson needed this just as much as I did. He was broken like I was. He just wanted to feel whole again.