I'm hanging onto him so tight, so thankful, so sad, so everything.
I barely remember going to sleep, but I'm grateful it was dreamless. When I open my eyes, the sun is high, late morning maybe, early afternoon.
I lean back so I can see him, find his eyes tight with care and bright with relief. He brushes my hair from my face. I touch his reverently.
"I missed you," I croak, my voice shredded.
"I missed you too," he whispers. "I should have told you I was coming to Louisville. I'm sorry I didn't."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was coming home either. I thought it would be the best surprise."
He kisses my forehead. "It would have been. I talked to your parents."
Emotion shoots through me. "Why bother?"
"Because it was important to you. Because it was hard on you, and I wanted to do my part to help. Even if they didn't listen, I had to try."
"Did they? Listen?"
"Your mom did. Your dad threw me out."
Of course he did. "How did you even get in the door?"
"Your mom let me in while he was resting. We talked in the kitchen until he heard us." His hand trails up and down my back. "I said what I needed to. Told them how much I love you. Your mom cried. Your dad told me to get out."
My heart fissures. "Grey," I whisper, his name cracking in my throat.
"I called him out. On the heart thing." A grim smile flickers across his face. "Told him it was interesting how he could yell at me, but you weren't even allowed to talk to him."
A bitter laugh escapes me. "What did he say?"
"Told me to get out again." He pauses. "Your mom followed me out. That's when she told me about Danny. About what happened when you were little."
My breath catches. He holds me closer.
"She was…desperate. I told her to call you right then and tell her yourself, that if she didn't, you'd never forgive them." She did—when I finally got to my phone to call dispatch, there were dozens of missed calls and texts from her and Grey. A hard swallow, the knot in his throat working. "Oh, and your dad's fine, by the way. Jumped up and chased me out of the house. His heart held up just fine."
"Of course it did." The knowledge makes me feel so tired.
"But then I tried to call you, over and over…" Somehow, he holds me closer. "I knew something was wrong."
"I thought he was you. I heard Carlin in the kitchen and thought…he was you. He…he made a key. Came in after you changed the locks and took my spare and made his own key. He's been coming into my house for months, since the teacher league started, since he saw us spending time together. I tried to get all the details from him, tried to keep him talking. I knew if he took me somewhere, you'd never…you wouldn't be able to…"
"You did so good," he whispers, holding my face. "You did everything right."
"He said he wanted me to be happy, that he'd do anything to make me happy. Thathe knewwhat would make me happy, even if I didn't. I knew it was too easy when he acted like he was fine with you and me. I knew that he was upset that we were together. He started the rumors, Grey. All of them. The kiss at the game, he kept going at The Horseshoe that night. And afterhe saw us come out of the bathroom at the bar…I think that's what broke him. Seeing us together like that. He started the library rumor. And he whispered everything to Wade before the game." My voice wavers. "He did it all to break us up. And when it didn't work, he planned this. He's been coming into the house and…things were missing, moved, but I didn't want to tell you. I figured I was just being forgetful. I should have told you."
"You didn't do anything wrong, Molly," he says softly.
Something in me sighs, easing when he says it. I continue, "When I left town, he thought we broke up because of the fight and my dad. He's been watching us, I don't know for how long. I found the tracker in a tiny extra pocket in my purse I never use. Not that it matters anymore. He's in jail." I stiffen with the thought-- "He's still in jail, right?"
"He's still in jail. They'll arraign him today probably, but they're not going to let him go on bail, not after all this."
My body relaxes a little. "I knew he wanted to be more than friends, but I was so relieved when he said he was happy for us, I didn't think twice about it. I just never thought he'd…"
"Who would? He's always been a loner, only joined the team because his mama threatened him with eviction if he didn't. But of all the guys who've been puppy dogging around after you since you moved here, he was the only one I thought was safe. You couldn't have known. None of us did."
"We were friends. I thought I knew him."
