Grey_The Infatuation

by Allison White

  As I leave the room to shower, he yells, “Clean freak!”

  ***

  “Turn here—we need milk, cheese, yogurt—” I read off the dairy products needed, but he groans, throwing his head back with a roll of his eyes. “I’m sorry, is this boring you?” I already know the answer, but I want to test him and smack him into the right thinking when he says yes.

  “What? Bored? Me?” He waves a hand and turns the cart. “Shopping for spinach and yogurt is the highlight of my week,” he says sarcastically with a grin. I want to wipe that annoying smile off his face. But I settle with bumping into him before searching for a package of cheese.

  “I don’t get it,” I say. “You’re a fighter—an athlete. Aren’t you supposed to eat healthy?” I find what I’m looking for and add it to the growing cart of healthy products.

  “I don’t need to eat soy cheese to kick ass,” he quips, and I flash him a smile over my shoulder. His eyes trail down to my back, and he rubs his lower lip, lust embedded in his eyes. “But I guess watching you bend for stuff makes this tolerable.” He walks up to me and smacks my ass.

  “Grey!” I stand quickly and look over at the woman regarding us with a wide-eyed expression. I look away nervously and hit his chest. But he just laughs, and I roll my eyes at him.

  “Stop being dirty. We have a few more things to get, and then we can go to Lowe’s for some Christmas decorations.” I also have to get his present. But to do that I’d have to know what to get him. He’s never expressed to me much about what he really likes that will translate to gifts, and I can’t just bring it up without him catching on that I plan on getting him something. I’ll just have to figure it out on my own. Though I don’t have all the time in the world. Christmas is just around the corner.

  He rolls his eyes. “Does that include getting a tree?”

  “We’ll have to go to the Christmas Patch for that, but yes. The tree is included.” What’s with him? Does he not like Christmas? “Is there something wrong?” I ask.

  I can detect something deeper than his natural annoyance to every little thing. I just hope he can talk to me about what’s wrong. That’s what we have to work on, communication. I think we can, but it all does depend on his openness, which isn’t all that easy.

  “My father passed away the day after Christmas,” he informs me, his voice thick. I notice the way his knuckles bloom into a white-hot color as he grips the cart tighter.

  “Oh…I’m sorry. I…I didn’t know.” I look away, my face flushed. “Do you, maybe, not want to celebrate it?” I love the holiday, but I’ll be more than okay with postponing it for his sanity. I know how quickly and deeply he can fly off the rail. And I want to avoid that from happening.

  His face twists, and he laughs. “What? No, of course not. We’re celebrating this together. I won’t let it get in the way of us.” He walks around the cart and wraps his arms around my waist. I smile instantly as he tips my head back and kisses my nose. I’m not all for PDA myself, but that pudgy woman can watch all she wants. I can’t not savor how he tastes or the way my body lights up at his touch.

  “Are you sure?” I don’t want to push; I just want to make sure it’s okay with him.

  “Yes, I’m sure.” He pecks my lips one more time and pulls back but doesn’t let go of my hips. “Now, how many more things on that list of yours?” He glances down at the planner in my hands.

  “Just a few more things. But then we’ll be out of here,” I promise, and he nods.

  We turn out of the aisle and pick up items here and there. He’s mostly quiet. I don’t know if it’s because he’s thinking of his father’s death or the terrible repercussions that followed afterward, but I curl my fingers through his and say nothing. I don’t look at him, but I can feel his eyes burning through me as I aimlessly look around for anything not on the list.

  I’m picking out gelato from one of the freezers when I hear someone say, “Liv?”

  I turn around and find David smiling at me, a lamp in his right hand. And then my eyes fall onto his right, and Holly is holding a handful of hangers, a good-sized ring wrapped around her ring finger. I guess they’re buying things for their new place. How cute! Where did he get that lamp? Oooh, I can just re-design Grey’s loft around that turquoise and—I’m getting off topic here.

  They’re here and I’m surprised, and by the look on Grey’s face, he is too. Guess we both thought they’d be too busy…celebrating their engagement to be out and about.

  “David, Holly. Hey!” I awkwardly back up from the freezer, and they laugh. Holly looks up at David with so much adoration, my heart squeezes. “What are you guys doing here?”

  “Getting a few things for the house,” he confirms. “But you got Grey to go shopping? Are you a sorceress or something?” he teases, and I laugh as Grey walks over to us and flips his friend off, a smile twitching at his lips.

  “What’s up, Holly?” Grey nods at her, and she nods back.

  “Nothing much.” She laughs and bounces her eyebrows. “Actually, a lot. Look who proposed!” She flings her left hand out, and I laugh as David rolls his eyes with a smile reaching his ears.

  “Oh, please, tell me more,” Grey exclaims sarcastically.

  I begin to scold him for being rude, but she does tell him more. And she doesn’t stop going on and on about every little detail about how he planned the big surprise. I laugh like a maniac in my head and catch David’s nod. I return it and slowly, very cautiously, back away.

  Grey scowls at me, and I stick my tongue out at him. Serves him right for being sarcastic! He rolls his eyes and leans against the freezer with a strained smile, as to not blow up on his best friend’s fiancée.

  “So you two are really serious, huh?” David says, and I look at him, confused. He nods to the cart next to Grey. He thinks we’re living together.

  “Oh, no! That’s not—we’re not…” I don’t know what to say. To move in together would be a hell of a jump in our relationship. And as much as I love him, it’d be the only jump we’d ever make. He doesn’t want to have a family with me or make the big commitment of marriage. I doubt he’d want me to move in with him.

  “We’re not living together. I’m just helping him with groceries,” I tell him, feeling my heart fracture as I say the words. But I keep a stoic front, because he nods and looks guilty for assuming.

  “I’m sorry, my bad.” I wave it off and try my hardest not to cry. “Christmas is coming up. Find something for him yet? I know he can be a tricky fucker to buy for.”

  I make a groaning sound. “You’re telling me. I don’t know whether to get him socks or the moon.”

  “Maybe both,” he jokes, and I laugh.

  “What are we laughing about?” Grey’s voice booms behind me—I jump and turn around. He looks at me suspiciously, hands on his hips. I guess he escaped the chatter box. Or she saw herself in the freezer’s mirror reflection and began telling herself the glamorous story of David’s proposal.

  “Nothing.” I hope I don’t sound nervous or he’d know I’m up to something.

  He looks at me for a beat before moving his eyes to his friend. “See you around, all right?”

  “See you around.” David nods, and they do a “bro” hug before Grey drags me down the aisle.

  “Never leave me alone with her again, understand?” he whispers harshly in my ear.

  “She isn’t so bad.” I laugh, and he raises a brow.

  “Shall we turn around and have her tell you the story?” he challenges, and I break.

  “No!” I scream and then bump my shoulder with his as he cocks his head back and laughs. “Come on, we still have a tree to chop down.”

  ***

  “I am so getting a happy ending from you later,” Grey says, panting as he struggles with dragging the pine tree through the elevator door. I roll my eyes and listen to him complain as I carry in a load of grocery bags on my forearm.

  “Oh, hush. I thought you were a big, strong fighter,” I tease him
with a snort. “You’re telling me a tree is going to take you down?”

  He glares at me through the dark and begins to chase after me, dragging the tree after him. I guess all he needed was a little “pep” talk for him to quit acting like a baby. When we break through the foyer and I quickly set down the bags, he grabs me by my waist and lifts me in the air.

  “Grey!” I laugh and wrap my arms around him to avoid falling.

  A voice clears, and I jump and whip my head in the direction of the living room.

  “Mother?” I gulp.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  I am struck with so many emotions, I can’t even move. The questions burning through my mind are ridiculous. What the hell is she doing here? How does she know where Grey lives? Where I would be? Is she here to pick yet another fight? Or, doubtfully, to make up and hug? Better question: How did she get in? I may not know her well, but I do know that she isn’t juvenile enough to know how to pick a lock.

  “Mother…what are you doing here?” My voice comes out watery, and I feel like I’m drowning in them, struggling to break through the surface.

  Her red lips twitch into a small smile, like a calculation made by a fashionably dressed robot. “I’m here to inform you that you will be spending the holiday with your family…” Her eyes, blue and shimmering, cut over to Grey, who glares through her, and she smiles a tad bigger. “Where you belong,” she finishes.

  “Before we start this shit-show, tell me how the fuck you got into my apartment,” Grey booms, seething with anger. I would be pissed if a known psychopath broke into my house, too. “I would talk real fast before I call the cops.”

  “I’m not so sure you, of all people, should do that.” Her tone is clipped and laced with venom. “That is, unless you’d like to re-visit a jail cell.”

  Grey tenses next to me, but I link my fingers through his and give him a sense of support. We can face her together. We have before. And this time, she will not break the bond we have worked so damn hard to build and strengthen. Receiving a blank expression, but eyes that speak a language only I can interpret, I smile softly before shifting my eyes to my mother.

  Her face lights in condescending amusement as she steps around the coffee table and walks over to us, the slimming red dress that clings to her wide hips and big chest, which I inherited from her, making her appear as the devil in six-inch heels.

  “What are you doing here, Mother?” I reiterate.

  Her eyes cut from Grey, to me. “I am here to save you, Liv.”

  Save me? What does she have to save me from? Grey?

  “I’m not leaving Grey, Mother,” I inform her with a firm grip on his hand.

  She glances at our interlocked hands, and her jaw twitches, her fingers curling just the slightest—her tell-tale sign that she’s getting pissed.

  “As you have cried so many times before,” she mutters.

  “You still have yet to answer my question, lady.” Grey takes a step toward my mother, and her eyes flick up, her mouth corner widening. She’ll call the cops, even though she was the one who broke into his apartment, and he’ll get arrested. And Lord only knows the wound that would re-open. I step forward and yank him back.

  “Answer him, Mother,” I order.

  She glares at me but doesn’t drop that nefarious smirk of hers. “I informed you I was coming here in person, but you didn’t reply, so I took it upon myself. I was worried about my daughter when she wouldn’t answer my calls or texts, so I informed her phone carrier. And what do you know, they were so very helpful in informing me where she and her device was. Would you imagine my surprise it’s here in this not-so-safe neighborhood? I mean, you only proved how much you don’t love or care to protect her, bringing her here to corrupt her in a ratty apartment complex, where the landlord just opens apartments to anyone.” She shrugs.

  She really is evil. How did I not see it before?

  “And I thought my mother was crazy,” Grey blurts without any shame. “Listen, I don’t care how underhanded or insane you are, that doesn’t give you the right to just track her down like she’s an animal and break into my fucking apartment.”

  Wait…

  “I didn’t get any calls or texts from you recently…” My blood pricks with fire as I look at Grey. He has his head tipped back, eyes averted. “You blocked her, didn’t you? When I found you last night, you blocked her? Answer me, Grey.”

  “Fine, what if I did?” He shrugs like it’s no big deal. But it is. Because it gave her enough reason to come and search for me. It’s why she’s here right now. If I had seen her calls about coming here, I would have been able to let her down about Christmas and avoid having to face her here, now, in his apartment.

  “Don’t be mad at me,” he pleads.

  “I’m not mad!” I snap and take a deep breath, ignoring Mother’s smile. She’s enjoying this, but I will not give her any more satisfaction, seeing us fight. We can talk about what he did later. But right now, I need her to leave. “Mother, what is it that you’re really here for?” I ask with as much calmness as I can muster.

  “You,” she says. “You have gotten out of control. A little too out of control. You’re living here in this dump with him?” She gestures to Grey without even looking at him.

  He makes an animalistic sound, but I put my hand on his chest, maintaining eye contact with my mother.

  “I’m not living with him, Mother, even though that’s none of your business.” I straighten my posture, giving Grey a look to keep calm without my having to touch him, and he rolls his eyes. I smile inwardly and keep my expression impassive as I face my mother. “I’m just spending a little time with my boyfriend. And there is nothing wrong with that.”

  “Yes, there is, actually!” she snaps, losing her cool. I raise an eyebrow as she runs her palms down the front of her tight dress, a smile twitching on her full lips. When she opens her eyes, I swear the cerulean shade swirls with frost surrounding her irises. “You’re beginning the long trail to heartbreak. But you’re too deep in his lies to realize it. I care for you, more than he ever will!”

  “You do not care about me!” I cut her off. “If you did, then you would see how happy I am, how much I love him, and leave me be!”

  “Love?” she scoffs and rolls her eyes. “What you’re feeling is lust, not love, darling.”

  “Stop it, just stop!” I plead and shake my head, losing my composure. “I do love him, Mother. And you’re just stepping in the way…” I gulp and suck on my lower lip to regain composure. “Look, I do love him. It’s not lust, and I’m not crazy. Why can’t you see that?”

  “Why can’t you see that he’s using you?” she fires back. Then she takes a deep breath. “I came here to confirm you’re coming for Christmas. You will be picked up at nine. Be ready before the driver gets here. And dress presentable…” She looks me up and down with visible disgust. “You have changed so much…I only wish I could go back in the past and keep you from attending that wretched school. I had no idea he would be there to mess everything up. If I did, you’d be studying in New York.” Shaking her head in disappointment, she brushes past me, headed toward the elevator.

  Funny, she thinks this is the last of the conversation.

  “Sorry to shit on your parade, but Liv is spending Christmas with me,” Grey announces with a proud smirk, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

  My stomach tightens, and I cling to him, anxious for her reaction. I was going to tell her, but I had to gather the stomach and confidence to so. Unfortunately, I didn’t have either. She can be like a volcano. Dormant for long periods of time but explosive when one thing has enough power to disrupt her façade.

  She stops short of the still-open elevator door. “What was that?”

  “Grey, I don’t think—” He stops me from speaking by placing his palm over my lips. I glare up at him, and he sends me a wink before turning to my mother, who slowly pivots on her red-bottomed heels.

  “You heard me right,” he gloats w
ith a wide grin. “She’s staying here, spending that glorious family holiday with me.”

  Smack a sticker that says, “Take that, bitch!” on your forehead, why don’t you.

  I push his hand off of me and face my silently fuming mother. “Thanksgiving didn’t go well. Things won’t be any different this time around. And I thought I could, maybe, spend it with…him?” I ball my hands together and fiddle with his charm between my fingers.

  “Have you lost your mind?” she screams, a vein throbbing in the middle of her forehead. Green and prominent, it makes me flinch and cower into Grey’s arms. She stomps over to me and gestures wildly with her hands. “He’s just using you, you stupid little girl! Why can’t you see that? You will not be spending any more time with him. We’re leaving right this instant! The nerve!” She grabs my wrist and tugs me forward. I nearly stumble and fall. Tears well in my eyes, and all I can do is cry.

  I am transported to the time I messed up when practicing the violin with my tutor, and my mother dragged me out of the pristine white room, promising that I would go nowhere in life if I didn’t do better.

  You always need to do your best and better, Olivia.

  I thought you were my bright girl, so stop messing up!

  Really, Olivia, couldn’t you have chosen a more…appropriate dress?

  They all flood my mind, leaving me writhing in pain and tears.

  “No!” I scream, but she just keeps tugging and tugging and tugging—

  “Get your fucking hand off of her!” Grey yells.

  Suddenly, I’m on the floor and my chest is on fire. I frown, confused why she would ever let go of me, why she would ever stop trying to control me. When I look up, I gasp and am rewarded my answer.

  Grey has my mother pinned against the wall by her shoulders, and he is shaking in rage. So much so that I’m afraid he’ll hurt her. And then the cops really will need to be called. And I’ll be damned if I let him go to jail for something—someone—not even worth it.