My father wasn’t brave. He was desperate. He chased my mother because he couldn’t survive without her, and when she refused to come back, he collapsed in on himself like a dying star.
That’s not me. I’ve already proven I can survive without Griffin. I built a career, a practice, a life. I don’t need him.
But wanting someone isn’t the same as needing them. And choosing someone,with your eyes open, knowing the risks, knowing they might hurt you again isn’t weakness. That’s the bravest thing there is.
I pick up a stone from the shore and turn it over in my palm. It’s smooth and cool, worn down by years of water.
Griffin was wrong. He knows he was wrong. He’s spent five years writing letters to a woman who would never read them, and branding my name on his skin because he couldn’t bear to let me go completely.
That’s not a man who didn’t love me enough. That’s a man who loved me too much and didn’t know what to do with it.
I throw the stone. It skips three times before sinking beneath the surface.
My walls kept me safe. They kept me sane. But Grandma Dot was right, they also kept things in. They kept in the anger that should have been released years ago. They kept in the grief I never let myself feel. And they kept in the love that never really went away, no matter how hard I tried to bury it.
I’m tired of being safe.
I pull out my phone and stare at Griffin’s name in my contacts. There’s been days of silence between us. Days of him waiting, wondering, and probably convinced he’s lost me for good.
My thumb hovers over the call button. But I don’t press it.
Instead, I type a text to Vivi.
Me:What time is the gala tomorrow?
Her response comes almost instantly.
Vivi:7pm. Why? Are you actually coming? Everyone’s been talking about you and Griffin.
Me: I’m sure they have.
Vivi:You threw a coffee on him in the middle of town and went viral for it. Can’t blame them for being interested lol.
Me:Yes I can. But I’m coming anyway.Save me a seat.
I think about Griffin standing in that ballroom alone with the whispers that are probably flying around town about the two of us. I’m not going to do that to him.
It’s time we start facing things together.
CHAPTER 14
DELILAH
@MagnoliaLandingSocialite 72.2K Followers
Transcript of Viral Video
CALLAHAN SIGHTING: OUR BOY IS NOT OKAY
Besties, I need to talk.
I just saw Griffin Callahan at the gas station on Palmetto Boulevard, and I am... concerned.
You know how some people have a resting bitch face? This man had a DEVASTATED face. It was giving sad boy autumn vibes. He was filling up his truck and staring into the middle distance like he was contemplating his entire existence.
He didn’t even notice me recording. That’s how checked out he was. Griffin Callahan, the man who used to wink at every camera within a fifty-foot radius, didn’t even LOOK UP.
Now. I have been doing some investigative journalism, and by that I mean harassing everyone I know for information, and here’s what I’ve pieced together.
