Eleanor & Grey(94)

So, I did exactly that.

We lay down in the bed, facing each other. We weren’t touching, but I swore I felt him. I felt his heartbeats. When he hurt, my heart cried. When he was in pain, my eyes were the ones to weep. That’s how close the two of us were. Our love story was so much more than a romantic tale. Our story was about friendship. About family. About looking out for those who always looked out for you.

His soul was born to be loved by mine.

We fell asleep that night, and whenever he awakened from night terrors, I would be there to soothe him. I held him tightly as he hurt with empathy for his daughter.

I needed him to know it was okay to break. To fall apart. To crash and burn. Then when it came time for him to stand again, if he ever needed a hand, I’d always give him mine.

“Still here, Grey,” I whispered as his head lay against the curve of my neck.

Still here.





52





Greyson





“Daddy, wake up! It’s morning and Grandma always makes us chocolate pancakes on Sunday mornings.” Lorelai walked into my bedroom, yawning. I was exhausted, and could’ve easily slept for a few more hours. But, Lorelai kept talking, and her next words forced me to open my eyes. “Why is Eleanor in your bed, Daddy?”

My eyes shot open and I looked to my left where Eleanor was still sound asleep. My arm was wrapped beneath her body, and when I sat up a bit, she stirred.

“Lorelai, what did I tell you? Just let Dad sl— What the hell?” was muttered, and I knew it wasn’t from Lorelai’s mouth. Karla stood in the doorway behind her little sister, but they both held such different expressions.

Lorelai stood there with wonderment while Karla wore the strongest look of betrayal.

“You and Eleanor?” she breathed out quietly, stunned.

“No, it’s not what it looks like,” I bellowed, yanking my arm from beneath Eleanor’s body. “Eleanor, get up,” I said, nudging her arm.

She stirred a bit more before waking up, and the moment she collected her whereabouts, the moment she saw the girls, panic filled her eyes.

Tears welled in Karla’s eyes and she repeated herself. “Oh, my God! You and Eleanor?!” she hissed, this time pissed. “How could you?” she pressed me. “How could you do that to Mom?” she cried before hurrying off toward her bedroom.

“Shit,” I muttered, standing up from the bed.

Lorelai looked at me with such bewilderment. “What did you do to Mommy, Daddy?” she asked me, scratching her head.

“Nothing, I’ll explain later. Stay here.”

I darted toward Karla’s door, which was already closed, and being blocked by her body. Every time I tried to shove it open, she’d shove it shut. “Go away!” she shouted, and I could hear the heartbreak in her voice.

I laid my fists against the doorframe. “Karla…it’s not what you think,” I tried to promise.

“Oh, so you weren’t just cuddled up in bed with the freaking nanny?!” she hollered.

Well, okay.

It was what she thought.

Eleanor walked up, combing her hair behind her ears. She looked at me with a frown, and then lightly knocked on Karla’s door.

“Karla? It’s me, Eleanor.”

“Go away, whore!” she barked.

I parted my lips to discipline Karla’s words, but Eleanor held up her hand, stopping me in my tracks.

She went back to speaking. “Karla, I know what you’re thinking, but—”

“You’re a liar! All you do is lie! You said you really cared about me, but you were just trying to get to my dad. You don’t care about me or Lorelai at all.”

“That’s not true.” Eleanor sighed.

The door swung open and Karla’s face was covered in rolling tears. She crossed her arms and huffed heavily. “Look me in the eyes, then. If you’re not a liar, look me in the eye and tell me that you two haven’t hooked up at all since you started working here.”

Both of our mouths opened, and Karla began shaking more as she pushed her door closed. “Just go away! I hate you both. I hate you. I hate you…”

We both stopped trying to push her door open, because we were guilty. Me more so than Eleanor.

I’d fucked up.

“Maybe you should go for a little bit,” I told Eleanor, unable to look at her, but I could already imagine the hurt that was in her eyes. “We should just give her time to cool off.”

“If it’s okay, I’ll like to wait in the guesthouse for a few hours—just to see if I can talk to her later and explain.”

“Yes, of course.”

Eleanor nodded slowly, and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, but I still couldn’t turn to see her. “Come get me if you need anything, Grey,” she whispered before walking away.

I lay my hands against the door as my forehead fell against it and I closed my eyes. “I’m sorry, Karla,” I softly spoke. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Deep breaths.

Erratic heartbeats.

I’m sorry.





53





Greyson





“She’s gone,” I breathed out after pounding my fist against the guesthouse front door. Eleanor stood there with a look of concern. My mind was spinning and I hadn’t any tools to slow down the speed at which my thoughts were shooting through my mind. “I just went to check on her, to see if she was ready to talk, and she was gone.”