Cuffed

Chapter 39: I Miss Us

Song//What's Good by Fenne Lily
Highly recommended// put on repeat

Isabella's POV
"I know mom. Yeah, everything is taken care of. Yeah. Thanks." I said before ending the call between my mother and I.

I stared at the boxes around me and sighed. It's been a few days since I admit my feelings to Grayson. After that, I did something I never thought I'd ever do in a million years.

I called my mom for advice.

She told me things that made complete sense and actually got me thinking. Things I never recognized whenever I was with Grayson. They made me come to a realization.

All of a sudden, a strong knock came from my front door. I looked to where the noice was coming from and got up from where I was sitting.

I passed the sofa couches and stepped over a few loose items on the floor before finally reaching the door. Once I opened it, I saw the one person I was afraid to see.

Grayson.

He looked like he had just finished crying. Which is a rare sight. A sudden rush of butterflies squirmed in my stomach as we made eye contact.

Everything I've had pent up inside of me, against him, suddenly dropped. I was so angry at him for everything. On the other hand, all the ignoring he did, made it easy for me to forget about him.

But now everything came back. All the emotions I didn't know I had, were still there. Just bottled up I guess.

"Do you need something? I-I thought you got all your stuff?" I stammered.

"I did." Grayson nodded.

"T-Then...why are you here..?" I asked him with a slow and unsure voice.

"To talk. We need to talk." He explained vaguely with a sniff of his running nose.

"I tried talking to you last week. You didn't seem fazed by it." I mumbled with insecurity booming in my tone.

We stood silent for a moment. I fiddled with my fingers as Grayson looked down to his shoes with regret. Why is he doing this to me?

Didn't he hurt me enough?

Grayson cleared his throat to spark our conversation back up.

"You know it's hard for me to open up. So, just, bare with me." He sighed with pain in his voice. I nodded in sympathy.

"My parents always liked Ethan more. He was the one who got all the awards, he always had good grades, he never got into trouble, people liked him more. He was just...perfect." Grayson started as I leaned my head on the door frame.

"At school, everyone liked him more. Even when I was being myself, they didn't except me. Ethan would have to threaten his friendships with people if they didn't let me play or hang out with them. I've always been a second choice. This eventually lead up to competition." He continued.

I'm glad he feels comfortable enough to talk to me about these things, but why now? Why all of a sudden? I wanted to keep my distance from him, just a little longer.