Page 66 of Lessons In Grey

His eyes flicked to his hand wrapped around the steering wheel and back. “I got into a fight with some of Eris’s dealers.” He offered me a sideways smile. “I won.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his grin. “Good.” I turned back to the street. We had finally made it to a normal street, able to go the speed limit without fear of hitting someone. We drove for some time, heading right for my house, reminding me that he had been there once before.

“Stop a block away,” I told him when we were nearing it.

He did without question and parked the car, the silence deafening.

I stared down the familiar street for a long time, chewing on my lip. Once I said it out loud, the universe would hear it, just as it had heard me telling Ash about him. That was it. It’d be a done deal, I supposed.

I turned to my hands, picking at them again before finally clearing my throat. “I, um…I wanted to talk to my dad about moving out. I found a place.”

“You should,” he said, pulling my attention over.

His eyes were soft, tired, but not in the ‘needs more sleep’ kind of way. I think the adrenaline from thefight he was in was wearing off. The adrenaline I had felt from Isaac trying to spike my drink was wearing off too.

“Do it, talk to him,” he encouraged. “Send me the address.”

I released a breath-filled laugh. “What, so you can inspect the area and make sure it’s safe enough?”

A small smile touched his lips. “Kind of. You’re getting out, Emily. You’re getting out. That is a big step, and I am proud of you.”

My chest tightened, my eyes filling. “I haven’t done anything yet.”

“You’ve made the decision. People always think that ‘taking steps’ is so literal, but it can be as simple as making up your mind. That’s what you’ve done. You’ve made up your mind. Everything else comes next.”

I searched his eyes, and as embarrassing as it was, his words would be tattooed across my soul for all of eternity.

I am proud of you.

How stupid. How stupid that they meant so much to me. How stupid of me to have fallen so far.

I turned back to the street, swallowing the emotion. Shit. I wasn’t drunk, but I was too drunk for this. “Thank you for picking me up. I’ll text you tomorrow.”

“Emily.”

I paused, hand on the car door, my heart thumping. My eyes found his again.

“Thank you for not hiding from me.”

My brows furrowed as I looked down. It was just a dark red tank top. He couldn’t even see my breasts, and it was a size too big, but I guess it was far better than the sweatshirt that was four sizes too big.

“That’s not what I mean.”

My eyes lifted back to his, the darkness revealed in his exhaustion.

“In the last week or so, when I ask you a question, while youstill hesitate, you always tell me the truth. You don’t hide from me anymore. I get all of you.”

I sucked my lips in, the guilt eating away at me as my shoulders fell. “Not all of me, Rags, not yet. Goodnight.”

I left without another word. I untied my jacket and pulled it back on, zipping it back up as I headed down the block. There were still things he didn’t know about me, but he was right. I couldn’t hide from him anymore. I wanted to believe it was because I was too tired of fighting, but honestly? I just liked talking to him. I liked that he knew things about me nobody else did, and I liked that I knew things about him very few knew about.

One day, the truth would come out, but notyet. Not yet.

18

Grey

November 1st, 2021