He makes breakfast while I get ready, my weekend bag unpacked, my things put away in the spaces he cleared out for me in his dresser and bathroom. Why does the sight of my toothbrush next to his make me feel like I could rocket into space?
It looks like it belongs there.
I don't know if I've ever felt like I belonged anywhere other than my parents, and nothing has come close to this. But here? With Grey? A sense of rightness settles over me, an inevitability that clicks with recognition. I love this. I love it so much, I could explode into rainbow marshmallows.
We eat in a hurry and Grey drives us, dropping me off and kissing me goodbye so thoroughly, I almost crawl into his shirt with him and beg him to take me back to his place.
"Later," he whispers against my lips with a chuckle. "Go on. I'll pick you up after school and take you back to my place before practice."
Pouting, I cup his jaw, stroking his beard. "I should have just driven so you don't have to go to so much trouble running me around."
One of his brows arches, his lips rising in a smirk. "Babygirl, the whole reason I offered is so I can kiss you goodbye and hello two extra times a day. It's selfish, really."
I chuckle, kissing him softly once more before sighing and sliding across the seat to my door. "I'll see you this afternoon then," I say as I haul my bag out.
"Can't wait."
With a final shared smile, I shut the door and watch him drive off with a happy sigh. My love bubble is pink and shiny and shimmery, floating me into school, high on Grey. I greet the front desk ladies and head for the teacher's lounge for another cup of coffee.
The second I pass the threshold, the bubble pops with a snap. Reality is cold.
I hate it.
Conversations stopped mid-sentence. Eyes dart away. Several teachers put their backs to me. The body language of everybody in the room is hostile. Cass glares at the room on her way to me, but when she meets my eyes, she softens, smiles, sparking the tiniest hope in me.
"Hey, need a hand to the library?"
Thank god she came to me with an out. I was about to turn around and walk straight out, which somehow would have made it even more awkward.
Once we're in the hallway, I exhale.
"You okay?" she asks.
"I'm starting to wonder if this town burns witches."
"Not in at least a couple hundred years," she teases, but I don't laugh. Anxiety's making my skin crawl. "Chin up, cutie. Now that it's official, they'll get all this out of their systems. It's just a little fallout, nothing to run to the bunker for."
"I want to believe you, Cass, but so far, everything we've tried makes it worse."
"Then statistically speaking, you're due for a win."
I shake my head, the corners of my lips rising just a touch. "Should I be worried that my cynical friend is all sunshine and roses?"
"Maybe," she says on a laugh. "I think that seeing my sunshine and roses friend gloomy is freaking me out. I feel compelled to cheer you up. What else can I do? A jig? I can jig like nobody's business. Maybe some coffee?"
"Coffee," I say, relieved. "I think I'm gonna avoid the teacher's lounge today."
"Then consider me your coffee bitch. Say the word. I will brave that alligator infested swamp for you. Want me to yell at them? I totally will."
I set my bag on the big counter in the library with a thunk. "I know you will. No, don't yell at them. Will you…will you tell me if…I don't know. If there's something I need to know?"
"Absolutely," she says, pulling me into a hug. "Can I yell at them after if I do?"
A laugh escapes me. "All right. I'll allow it."
With a good, solid squeeze, she lets me go. "Don't worry. It's all gonna work out. I promise."
I'm skeptical as she walks away.
