Page 132 of Accepting Fate
I took a leave of absence from work, starting immediately after the time my vacation was supposed to end. Laura had that shit approved within a day and right now, my return date isn’t determined.
Telling Harper was one of the hardest parts of all of this so far. She came over to check on me the day after I got home, and I knew it was time to tell her everything. Harper has her own secrets, but she saved my fucking life. That’s not why I told her though. She deserved to know because I’m no longer hiding, and the first step is talking about a big chunk that makes me,me.
Her reaction was expected. She wanted to go and kill Mike herself, but she didn’t once ask why I took so long to tell her. Harper was more than understanding and asked about a million times if there was a way I could subtly tell her where Mike was. I told her he was getting what he deserves but I will never tell her what actually is going on because that would expose Grayson and his brothers, and that’s not my story to tell.
I tried calling Allie again but no answer. On top of the constant worry I’ve been having in the back of my head, I didn’t want to have a big conversation like this over the phone. Grayson said when I get the clear to travel from the doctors, he will go to Florida with me to see her.
All my scans have been normal, but the migraines are debilitating sometimes. I think my recovery now is my PTSD and panic attacks being worse than they have ever been, and I know this talk with Mike is going to most likely make it worse.
Willow jumps up into my lap as Grayson parks the truck. She has been exactly what I needed. With how brutal panic attacks and nightmares have been, and with the help of Oliver, she has picked up on how to help me through them.
I overheard Grayson talking on the phone last night. I didn’t catch all of it, but I heard Landon mention that Wes is getting really deep in his methods with Mike. So I’m glad Willow is here just in case I can’t handle what I’m about to encounter.
Grayson hops out and goes around the truck to open my door. In one sweep, he picks up Willow and me. Setting us down, he takes Willow from me and sets her on the ground.
He has been very protective since we got home. I can’t even walk to the bathroom without him hovering. I accidentally snapped at him when he tried to follow me in one time. I felt so bad, and I love him for wanting to take care of me, but following me into the tiny half-bathroom was a little much.
Willow looks up at me, seeking permission to go run and I give her the go ahead and she chases after a butterfly in the field.
Grayson tucks me into his side as we watch Willow. "Angel.”
I look up at him. "Grayson. I promise, I’m ready. You need to have a little faith in me. If it gets to be too much, I will leave.”
"I do, baby. You’re the strongest person I know. I just don’t want to see you hurt more than you already are. If it were up to me, the fucker would have had a bullet in his head the second Noah and Wes found him.”
Wrapping my arms around him and resting my chin on his chest, I take in his concerned face. "Bear. I get it. I need to do this. You said it yourself. Mom’s death doesn’t make sense. What if he did something and we never know? I know it’s wrong, but there were days where I was so pissed that she did this and left me alone in this world with that demon of a person. If there’s more to the story, that means I can finally let all that anger go. I also want to look that asshole in the face and let him know he will never hurt me again.”
Grayson crashes his lips down to mine and I’m winded when he pulls back.
“What was that for?” I ask breathlessly.
A big smile spreads across his face. "I’m so fucking proud of you. You have proven everyone wrong and survived. I’m just happy I tricked you into loving me, so I could be here to see it.”
Winding my arms around his neck, I ignore the pinch in my side. "You didn’t trick me, Bear. You didn’t give me a choice. It was either love you or love you.”
"Damn right!”
Pressing a quick kiss to my lips, he whistles. "Willow.”
She comes running and walks right beside me as we head inside.
When we get in, Noah is sitting on the floor taking the plastic off a dog toy. I round the side of the couch and then I see it.
"Noah, what the hell?”
His head whips around and doesn’t even try to look guilty.
A giant pink fluffy bed sits next to the couch and is full of about twenty dog toys.
"What? My dog niece needed to know who loves her the most.”
Willow looks up for permission again and I give her the okay. She takes off and jumps headfirst into the bed of toys.
Grayson rolls his eyes and walks to the fridge, grabbing an armful of water bottles out.
He looks down at Noah playing with Willow. "You know she is probably going to tear all those up by the time we get back up here, right?”
She hasn’t once torn up a toy in the week she has been with us, but I know he’s just annoyed he didn’t think of doing this for her first.