When Our Worlds Collide (Our Worlds #1)(97)
And with that I’m walking out of my parent’s house once again after dealing with my drunk of a father. I don’t have time to stop to peer in a mirror to see what damage he has done. I know it’s bad by the way it throbs with shooting pain through my face every time I move any muscle.
Kennedy isn’t going to be happy when she sees me. This is what she was talking about earlier. She’s scared for my well-being and it’s a well-deserved concern. This isn’t the first time I’ve showed up at her house with some sort of bruise or cut. She’s been far too observant. Of course she would notice when I’m hurt without me having to explain it to her. She’s just been kind enough to ignore it until now.
Chapter FortyFive
-Kennedy-
“How are things going with you and Graham?” my mom asks. She must have been in the mood to chit chat because she very rarely comes into my room and sits on the bed. She’s making herself comfortable. It’s already twenty past eleven. Dad must have been asleep by now, which means she’s either bored or she came in here with a purpose.
“Great,” I answer quickly. I wasn’t sure where this conversation is going.
“You guys are pretty serious then?”
“Come out and say it Mom. I know you’re trying to get at something.” I sat up a little straighter to prepare myself for where this is headed.
“You love him?” she asks with a smile. I can see the concern and the hopefulness in her eyes as she the words slip from her thin lips.
“Yeah, I do. He’s a lot different than what people think. He has this reputation that follows him everywhere. Most of it is true, unfortunately. It’s just…when I look in his eyes I know there is something more to him. He’s smart and compassionate. No one else knows that side of him. It sounds crazy, doesn’t it?” I explain honestly surprised at what I’m saying to my mother.
“No it’s not. He loves you too. That’s obvious,” she pats me on the leg trying to be supportive.
We sit on my bed for a few minutes just talking about anything and everything when we hear a tap on the window. It makes us both jump then laugh at how ridiculous we are. I know without looking who it is. I frantically try to come up with an explanation for my mother who’s now getting up to check the window where Graham will be waiting. Why’s he here in the first place? I grab my phone to make sure I didn’t miss a text from him. Nothing.
My mom opens the window and stares out at Graham. It’s too dark to see him fully. I have a feeling. Something’s wrong. I jump up from my bed taking the few steps to stand in front of the window nearly knocking my mom out of the way. I need to see him.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Conrad. I’m sure this looks really bad, but I have to see Kennedy,” Graham says in a slow quiet voice. Something is definitely wrong. The fearfulness is in his voice.
“Mom, please let him in,” I say almost to a near panic.
“What the hell is going on exactly? I feel like I’m missing a piece of the puzzle,” my mother questions us both while looking back and forth between where I’m standing inside my room and where Graham is hiding in the shadows outside my window.
“Mom, please.” I beg for her to let him come in. I need to make sure he’s okay even though I can tell he’s not.
“Graham, get in here but I want an explanation.” She steps back from the window and paces the length of my room.
“Yes ma’am,” Graham whispers ashamed. He steps through my window as I back up to give him room. When he stands, my mom and I both take in a lung full of air when we see it. It’s hard to miss. There was no way of hiding this one, unlike a lot of the others.
“Graham. Honey, what happened?” My mom goes to get a better look. He seems uncomfortable under her watchful gaze. Someone else is going to know his secret now. I know he’s not nearly ready for all that will entail.
“Come sit down, baby.” I grab his hand to guide him over to my bed. My mom watches us with a fascination in her eyes. She’s just as observant as I am. She already senses something is going on and she knows now that I’m aware of it already.
“If you are going to sneak in my daughter’s window in the middle of the night then please explain to me who did this to you.” Her voice is soft with sympathy.
“Mom, if he tells you…” I plead. Graham tries to protest my suggestion. I wave him off. “If he tells you then it stays between us. This has to stay between us.”
The room falls silent for a few minutes. You can practically hear my father snoring from across the house. Graham reaches over to grab my hand interlocking our fingers. He traces a small circle on my thumb with his. He’s nervous. He’s never told anyone besides me about his father. There isn’t an option anymore.
“Mrs. Conrad, my father…” he lets the thought trail off looking up at my waiting mother. She smiles sadly at him knowing where the confession is going. “He drinks. He drinks a lot. It started when I was eleven I think. He only does it when he’s drunk which tends to be more and more these days. No one knows because of my mother. Somehow she loves him still. I don’t know if it’s the cushy lifestyle he gives her or if she truly can’t stop loving him. I learned at a young age that if I let him take it out on me then he would leave her alone, so that’s why I’ve never told anyone. That is until I met Kennedy.”