2:29 AM

Chapter Fifty-Four

"Do you have to go?" Brandon asks, leaning against a wall as I pack my stuff.

"Yeah, I think it's time. I have a friend that I can stay with," I tell him. Flemings walks over to where we are.

"Come on, Andy, don't go. We just started to learn how to cook," he says. I smile. We've been using cookbooks. The first time we tried a recipe, we almost set the kitchen on fire. We've been getting better.

"I know, but it's time. I've been staying with you guys for like two and half weeks," I say. I've been hanging out with Greyson at school. I haven't talked to Colton much, other than polite smalltalk in Biology.

But Bryce.

It's been painful to see him around school. To not be able to talk to him. I miss Bryce.

"We don't mind," Cross says. "It's been nice to have you around." I smile.

"Yeah, but I still have to go," I say. I zip my duffel bag up. "Thank you for letting me stay. I'll see you guys at the hospital." I give Flemings a hug then Cross. I hug Brandon last.

"Bye," he says.

"Bye," I say as I grab my stuff and walk out to my car. I'm going to miss those guys. But it'll be good to stay with Greyson.

Prom is on Friday. Greyson and I are going together. He and Christian aren't doing great. Both of our relationships are fucked.

I follow his instructions to get to his house. My mind drifts to Bryce as I drive. He looked hurt when we broke up. I turn on the radio and try to focus on something else.

I get to Greyson's house a couple of minutes later. I park and then text him: Hey, I'm at your house. Should I just go in?

My phone buzzes: I'll come out to meet you. My parents are home.

I get out of my car and grab the rest of my stuff. I lean against my car while I wait for Greyson to come out. He walks out and smiles when he sees me.

"Hey," he says. He grabs some bags from my hands.

"Hey," I say.

"Okay, uh, my sister isn't home. She usually crashes here on weekends," he tells me. I nod. "Christian doesn't stay here much anymore."

"Okay. Are your parents going to interrogate me?"

"Probably not," Greyson says as we walk into his house. We walk through a couple of rooms before we find his parents. They're sitting at the kitchen table. "Mom, Dad, this is Andy," he says. His parents look up.

"Hi," I say. I'm not sure what else to say. I don't know if I should tell them about my situation at home.

"Hi, dear," his mom says. She has a warm smile and the same gold eyes that Greyson has. "I can show you your room, if you'd like." I smile and nod.

"Thank you for letting me stay here," I say. She smiles and gets up. I follow her as she leads me upstairs.

"You'll be staying in the guest bedroom. You're welcome to help yourself to a shower and the pantry," Ms. Huttner tells me.

"Um, thank you. I know this might seem a little bit odd," I say.

"It's no trouble I'll let you unpack your things. Dinner's at seven," she tells me. I smile and she leaves. Greyson walks into the room and sets my stuff down.

"You're mom's really nice," I say. Greyson nods.

"Yeah, she's sweet," he says. "My dad's a dick."

"Right," I say. "So what do you want to do?" I ask. He shrugs.

"We can hang out in my room. I was gonna sketch," he says. "Uh, my sister has a big collection or romance novels, in case you wanted to grab one."

"Sure," I say.

"Cool. Her room's right across the hall," Greyson says. I nod.

"Where's your room?" I ask.

"It's on the third floor," he says. I nod. I grab my phone and walk into his sister's room. Her room is covered in photos. The bed and everything else is neat except for her walls. I walk over to the bookshelf. I grab a random book and then walk upstairs.

The third floor is small. The stairs lead up into a narrow hallway with two doors. I walk into the room to the right. Greyson's looking out the window. "What's across the hall?" I ask. He turns around.

"Christian's room. Her room has a bathroom joining it," he tells me. I nod. He sits down at his desk and grabs his sketchbook and charcoal. I sit down on his bed and start reading, trying to get lost in the story.

The book turns out to be good and everything else fades. I don't even realize that Greyson's gone. I hear him talking and I set my book down.

"What are you doing here?" I hear him says.

"Look, Greyson, I want to be here about as much as you want me to be. But my roommate has her family staying with in our apartment and there isn't space for all of us. She's been good to me and I owe her this," I hear a feminine voice say. I'm guessing it's Christian.

"I don't care. Go stay with Trevor," Greyson says.

"I'm staying here and there's nothing you can do about it," she says. I walk out into the hallway.

Her eyes flick to me. "Uh, is everything okay, Greyson?" I ask. "I'm Andy, by the way."

"Christian." She's really pretty. Full lips, dark blue eyes, collarbone length dark blonde hair. She's also tall.

"Dinner's ready!" Mrs. Rollins shouts up to us. Greyson mutters something and then walks downstairs. I follow him.

"You okay?" I ask quietly. He nods. I sit down next to him at the table. Mrs. Rollins sets down bowls of food. Christian sits down across from Greyson. It's awkward. Food is passed around.

"So, Andy, you're in Greyson's grade?" Mrs. Rollins asks. I nod and grab a roll of bread, passing the basket to Greyson. "What are you majoring in, dear?' she asks me.

"Pre-med. I'm uh, going to Harvard," I tell her. She smiles.

"Maybe you can learn something from her, Greyson," Mr. Huttner says. "I won't have my son go to art school. You might as well be a highschool dropout."

"Give it a rest, old man," Greyson mutters. I push food around on my plate.

"How do you like teaching, Christian?" Mrs. Huttner asks, trying to change the question.

"It's good," Christian says. "I like it a lot." No one says much after that. Greyson and I go back up to his room after dinner.

"So, that was um, interesting," I say. I know he feels. Mother always told me I'd never be good enough for Med-school. "If you wanna be alone, I totally get it."

"You don't have to go," he says. He's trying to be nice. I smile.

"It's cool. I need to unpack anyways," I tell him. He nods. I grab the book from his bed and walk down the stairs to the room I'm staying in. I set my duffel bags by the dresser and hang the dress up I got for Prom. After I'm done arranging everything, it's nine. I sigh and grab my little toiletry bag and walk to the bathroom.

I lock the door and set the bag down. My mind drifts to Bryce as I shower. I think about the first time we kissed, the first time we had sex. I think about how he called me sweetheart and the way he looked at me. And then I'm brought to how hurt he seemed when we broke up.

I wish I could get him out of my head. I finish showering and towel off. I get dressed and then walk back to my room. I change into a big t-shirt and shut the lights off, crawling into bed.