Page 8 of Grim's Gem

He looks up at me, pulling the aviators off his face, and gives me that earth-shattering smirk… and I run to the bathroom and puke. Yup, that’s when my stomach decides it would be best to empty everything.

“Fuck, baby, are you okay? Shit, you must have gotten what I had. I'm so sorry,” he mutters as he brushes a curl from my forehead and holds it back out of my eyes.

Whelp, this is officially more embarrassing than him finding me on the side of the road. When I get my stomach under control, I look at him, making sure my mouth—and breath—are fully tilted down and away from him.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, surprised. It's been nearly a month without a single word from him.

“I came to get my girl. I told you you were mine. You ran off on me, though,” he says, and I can hear the hurt in his voice.

Well, shit.

“I thought it was a one-time thing. I thought…” I can't get more out because my stomach rolls again, and my face is firmly planted back in the toilet.

“Come on; I'm taking you home. I’ll nurse you through this shit,” he says, bending and picking me up, carrying me out of the bathroom.

“Seriously, Gray, put me down. I weigh a ton. You are going to pull something.” I try to wiggle out of his arms, but he has a tight grip on me.

“Don’t you ever talk down about yourself in front of me. Plus, look at me. Does it look like I'm struggling even a tiny bit?” he asks. When I turn in surprise, I can't do more than shake my head.

“You might as well get used to it. I want you in my arms as often as you’ll let me,” he says, smiling down at me again.

“Oh, I like this one. You have my blessing, young man. Take care of my baby girl,” my mama says, sweeping hair from the shop floor.

“Mama! You can't just give me away like that!” I screech.

“Baby girl, I've seen that look before. It's the same one your daddy gave me when he carried my big ass to the courthouse. If I don't give my blessing, it won't stop him. Plus, I’ve heard a lot of good things about you, Doctor Adams. I’ll take your clients over for the next week, Jade. Call if you need me,” Momma says to me before she turns back to Gray. “Keep my baby girl close and safe. She’s all I got left.”

That has tears bursting through my defenses. I’m not a crier. At all. But that hits me because it's true. I’m all she has, and she’s all I have.

“I'm fine, really. You don't have to carry or care for me,” I try again. Gray just looks down at me, smiling.

“I don't do shit I don't want to do, baby. I can promise you that.” He carries me outside and down past the hardware shop next door.

“Hey, Mister Conley,” I yell and wave as we walk past. The ladder he used to change the shop's outdoor light is still propped against the building, and Gray walks toward it. No way. No way in hell this man is stupid enough to walk under a ladder. That's like the one superstitious rule everyone knows. Yet, he continues getting closer until I can't take it anymore.

“Where are you going?” I ask, holding on tight to his neck.

“Uh, I'm taking your ass to my bike, then we’re headed back to my place where I'm going to chain you to the bed so you can't escape again,” he says in aduhtone.

“I meant… wait, chain me to the bed?” I shake my head at where my thoughts go and get back to the point at hand. “Never mind. We’ll come back to that later. I meant, what are you doing? You’re about five seconds away from walking under that ladder.”

“Uh… so?” Gray asks, looking at me, confused.

“That's bad luck. You can walk under it all you want, but you better not carry my ass under it. Put me down,” I demand, wiggling fiercely. Finally, he lets my feet hit the sidewalk but doesn't let me go.

“You can't seriously believe in all that stuff, can you? There's no such thing as bad luck. It’s all just life's shitty ways and karma. Look, I'll show you,” he says, walking under the ladder as I gasp.

“You better cross your fingers until you see a dog. I'm telling you, that's not something to play with,” I warn again as he takes my hand and leads me to his bike.

“Those superstitions only hold power because you give it to them.” He shrugs, and I scoff.

“Fine, but don't come crying to me when life busts you in the ass.”

Oh, this is going to be so fun to watch.

Chapter Seven

Grim