Seth & Greyson (The Coincidence #7)(33)

“Everyone has a choice,” I snap. “You made yours the moment you showed up in that truck with your so-called friends. And trust me, I regret my choice of not reporting what you guys did to me to the police. ”

“What the hell did you expect me to do? Tell them the truth?” he hisses, stepping toward me.

I raise my hand in front of me. “I’m not going to get into this with you. I don’t want to talk to you, see you, or have anything to do with you ever again. I’m so over it.”

“Seth,” he starts, but I don’t want to hear it.

Turning my back on him, I push open the door and step into the flurry of snow drifting from the sky.

“Are you still there?” Greyson asks as I hike across the parking lot.

“Yeah, I’m still here.” My breath puffs out in front of my face. “I’m headed back home to get my stuff and hit the road. Stay on the phone with me for a little while, though, okay?”

“Of course,” he says like it’s the easiest thing to do. “You know I’m always here for you.”

I shuffle through the snow toward the neighborhood where I grew up. “I know you are.”

Even after all the drama of the day, I manage to smile as the truth warms all the cold around me. It may feel like I’m completely alone right now, but I’m not. Callie was right. I do have people in my life that love me for who I am.

Chapter 13
Greyson

“What’s with the frown, my beautiful little boy?” My mother is melting butter in a pan on the stove as I enter the kitchen, preparing to cook her favorite brownies.

Every room in the house has its own unique style, and the kitchen is no exception. Painted on the far wall is a mural of the beach. The rest of the walls are blue to match and the cupboards are yellow like the sun. It’s a little strange, but somehow it works.

“Nothing.” I move beside her and stare at the sizzling butter. “Need any help?”

She glances up from the pan with worry on her face. “Greyson, don’t lie to me. I can tell when there’s something bothering my little boy.”

“I wish you’d stop calling me that.” I lean against the counter. “I’m almost nineteen.”

“Oh, the big nineteen.” She holds up her hands in front of her, mocking me. When a laugh escapes me, she lowers her hands, satisfied. “Just so you know, you’ll always be my little boy, even when you’re ninety.”

I don’t point out that she more than likely won’t be around when I’m ninety, since it would lead to a very long story about how she’ll find me in her next life.

She picks up a spoon and stirs the bubbling butter. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

I open the cupboard, grab a glass, and fill it with water. “It’s Seth. That guy I told you about? Some stuff happened while he was at home and he left to go back to school early.”

I take a sip of water, trying not to think about Seth enduring the rest of the holiday alone on campus, trying to work through what happened by himself. It hurts thinking about him being alone after all that horrible shit happened while he was at home.

“I hope everything’s okay.” She reaches to turn down the temperature of the burner.

“I’m not so sure that he is, even though he says he’s fine.”

“Can I ask what happened?” she asks, wiping her hands on a towel.

I blow out my breath and recap all the details that I know. By the time I’m finished, I feel sick to my stomach, thinking about what he must be going through right now and how badly I wish I was by his side.

“That poor boy. To go through all that… And shame on his mother. Mothers are supposed to love their children unconditionally and always be there for them.” My mom moves the pan off the stove and takes my hands in hers. “If you’re really serious about this boy, you should bring him home with you during your next holiday. I don’t want him spending Christmas alone or, worse, at his house where he can’t possibly feel safe.” She reacts exactly the way I knew she would.

Although she might be a little on the crazy side, I’m lucky to have her as a parent.

“I think… Or I’ve been thinking that maybe I could fly back early.”

She doesn’t say anything. Instead, she opens my hand and studies the lines of my palm. “As much as I hate the thought of us cutting down our time together, I think you should go back early, too, and be there for Seth.”

“Is that what the lines say?” I joke.

“They do,” she replies, deadly serious. “Just like my dream told me you were going to meet someone new when you went off to school. You should know by now that my predictions are always right.” She closes my hand. “Go pack your stuff and I’ll see if I can get you on a flight.”


“Thanks, Mom.” I wrap my arms around her. “And I mean for everything. For not kicking me out of the house. For supporting me through everything. For making me feel okay about being who I am.”

“You’re welcome, honey.” She kisses me on the cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I pull back and head to my room, eager to pack my stuff—eager to get to Seth.

***

Ten hours later, I’m walking up to Seth’s dorm building. I haven’t been able to get ahold of him, so as soon as I dropped off my bags at my apartment, I headed straight to the dorms. I try his number again, but it goes straight to voicemail.