Grey: Everlasting (Spectrum Series Book 6)

by Allison White

  I lean against a wall and cross my arms. “If I promise to stab you with a fork, would you want me to live up to it?”

  “As long as you kiss me after.” He throws a wicked smirk over his shoulder. I make a disgusted grunting sound, and he chuckles and faces the player.

  A few seconds pass.

  “How the hell do you work this shit?” he curses, punching random buttons.

  “Hey, hey—don’t hurt him.” I rush over to him and bump him to the side. I readjust the knobs and glare at him, but he’s smiling at me, mockingly.

  “Him? Does he have a name?”

  I face the player and gently place a record on the turntable. “Maybe…”

  He pokes my rib. “You have to tell me. Now.”

  I roll my eyes and clear my throat. “Henry,” I whisper in a choke.

  “What was that?” He pokes me again, and I bump him with my shoulder. He roars in laughter.

  “Shut up and let me pick a song. Please.” I am blushing so hard. He can be such a bastard. But he’s my bastard, so I should probably get used to it. I blush even harder, and I groan in frustration. I bite my lip and hum as I select which song to play.

  With shining eyes, I slip on Billie Holiday’s “All of Me” and let the needle fall on the record. He watches me as I step back and close my eyes. I drink in the song with an eternal thirst. Her raspy, chocolate-sweet voice croons through the nighttime air, and a smile falls on my face. I’m singing before I even know it. Matching her tone and swaying a little, I let the lively music course through me.

  It feels like an eternity of music-fueled euphoria before I finally open my eyes. Grey is watching me. Not like a predator, but like a man in love. So deep in love, he doesn’t know how to function. How to do anything but love with all he has.

  “Can’t you see, I’m no good without you,” I croon, taking his hand. “Take my lips. I want to lose them…” I continue, letting him twirl me around. And around. Into his chest, swaying. His kiss on my hair, temple, cheek, jaw. I giggle and continue singing, crooning, putting my everything in it and being silly all the same.

  “Beautiful. So beautiful,” he whispers in my ear.

  I blush and keep singing. Keep singing for my mesmerizing man.

  We dance as I sing and play the piano for him all night long. I get swept up in the beauty of the past, falling so deeply in love with a man I’ve already fallen for. But that’s the thing about love. It’s bottomless. Unable to be seen or counted for. It’s a magic that this world was lucky to be blessed with. A magic I’ve been lucky to be blessed with.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The beaming sun, bird song in the trees, and the soft cool breeze greet me as I step out onto the back porch. I layered up in a thick sweater and pajama bottoms and a hat I found stashed in one of the drawers. I have a cup of lavender tea in my hand and a classic novel; I’m prepared to enjoy the slowness of the morning. Grey is knocked out in the bed upstairs. I smile as I sit in the swinging chair that faces the lake, the sun making it glitter with tiny diamonds.

  The relaxing scene is utterly refreshing. I wish I could wake up to it every day. So peaceful. No problems. No obstacles. Just Grey and me. I wish we could just plant ourselves in this environment and forget about everything else. My father’s betrayal. My creepy boss. His past that constantly threatens us. Just…everything. I want a clean slate. Able to truly start our lives.

  Unfortunately, such a thing doesn’t exist. There are no second changes at life. Only a resume button. Right now, we are pausing all the fucked-up things in our lives. This is our little escape from reality. But sooner or later, we will be forced to press play and jump right back in the shit storm we barely escaped.

  If only I could throw the remote out altogether. Jump onto another channel: of us living out our dream careers, getting married, and having little Greys and Livs years later. Of us smiling at each other as we wake up. Because in that moment, we know that we made it. We know we’re in the middle ground of life. The exciting, the calm, the everything wrapped in one beautiful, underrated color. The Grey.

  I sigh and set down my tea. I walk over to one of the large columns and lean against it, staring out at the water. I close my eyes and let the sounds and the warm sun on my face consume me. Endure me. Slowly, in and out…

  I believe in it. In this. In us. This will be our happy ever after, our future. Us with absolutely no more obstacles to overcome. We will be happy, and I can’t wait for when it happens, but for now, we will get over what we need to, and we will come out as victors. We can make it. I’m just praying that we can get over anything that dares to step in our way of a perfect ever after.

  My phone buzzes.

  I pull it out and glare at the screen. My father’s calling me. I have half a mind to chuck my phone into the lake. Maybe him too.

  He just ruined everything. We weren’t perfect before, but he just screwed us up even more. I didn’t know he could be so deceitful. I always thought he was the sweetest man on the planet. Never thought he could do such a thing. I can only imagine what my mother is feeling…what she felt when she found out.

  How did she find out? Was he finally man enough to tell her? Or did she have to find out for herself, catch him in the act? The thought makes me shiver in disgust and anger.

  “Ugh.” I rub my face in a desperate, pathetic attempt to ease the rage growing in me. But after a few minutes of rubbing and grunting, I decide this won’t go away. I stand straight and take deep breaths. In and out. In and out…

  I look around at the beautiful atmosphere around me and let it take me again. How can I get upset in a place like this? If I were a painter, I would paint the scene right now. The sun slowly rising into the peach-colored sky, the yellow rays peeking through the evergreen trees. I take a long inhale, smell the pine and dew on the freshly cut grass. Feel the soft breeze ripple through my curls.

  After a few more deep breaths, I jog down the stairs that lead to the backyard. I stroll to the edge of the lake. I bend down and wade my fingers through the water. It’s cold enough that my fingers might freeze off.

  I pick up a handful of pebbles and toss them at the water, one by one. They bounce and skip and sink, over and over. I do this on repeat for what feels like an eternity of days, until I have cooled down. No longer filled with rage and resentment toward my father.

  Jonah and I used to do this. Throw pebbles to see who could get the most skips on the water. I was a pro at it, but I always let him win. The smile on his face, the happiness radiating from his big blue eyes always got me. Always made him rubbing his win in my face worth it. Even as a little girl, I was obsessed with the boy with the blue eyes.

  “I win again! Take that, Liv!” he’d exclaim and roll his tongue at me.

  “I guess I should start taking lessons from you then, huh?” I joked, rolling my eyes and concealing my amused smile.

  “Yup! Starting at five dollars, please,” he said, his missing front tooth making his “please” sound like “pleats.” He even held out his hand and batted his eyes at me.

  “As if!” I stuck my tongue out at him and turned on my flats, running toward the forest just beyond the lake. “Gotta get me first, loser!”

  “Hey! Come back here!” He chased after me, his here sounding like “heyo.”

  Now, in the present, I laugh at the memory. Tears blur my eyes, and I swipe my finger under my eyes. I shiver despite the warm clothing I have on.

  “I’ve got you.” A warm cloak-like fabric is laid over my shoulders. I smile as Grey kisses my cheek before standing beside me. I recognize the fabric as his leather jacket. The one with the G engraved, the gift I gave him last year for Christmas. He wears it more than his other jackets and makes me smile every time I see him wearing it. I swear, it’s like this boy just reads my mind.

  “Thank you,” I tell him.

  He looks down at me, clad in pajama bottoms he found in a dresser and long white t-shirt that is one size too small, but just enough to
fit around his strong biceps and sit on his toned stomach and back.

  “You’re welcome.” He nudges me with a smirk.

  Blushing, I look out at the water. Silence falls between us, but it is comfortable in every sense of the word. But it isn’t so quiet. I let the lively chirping of birds in the distant trees surround me like a cocoon. Watch the water glisten and the feel my skin warm up under the sun’s rays.

  “Why are you out here?” Grey breaks the sweet silence. I look into his eyes. He looks confused, lips bunched to the side, a frown marring his golden skin. “It’s, like, the crack of dawn out here.”

  I laugh at his deception of time. “It’s seven-thirty,” I correct him.

  He gives a noncommittal shrug. “Same shit.”

  “Different shit,” I mock.

  He pouts. Nudges me. “What’s wrong?”

  I sigh and move my eyes to the water. “Nothing is wrong, per se.”

  “Has to be. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be standing out here in the butt-ass freezing cold.”

  “It’s not that cold.” I cross my arms and lean against his. He automatically opens them up, lets me fall into his chest. He rubs his arms up and down my shoulder, and I nearly coo at the warm sensation. I can just feel his smirk as I slightly shiver into his touch.

  “Yeah, right. And you give bad head. Are we done speaking complete bullshit now?” he spits out.

  “Grey,” I mewl into his chest.

  “Liv,” he mocks me.

  I pull away and shift the pebbles in my palm. “I…I just wanted to relax a bit. The morning is always gorgeous around here.”

  “Nothing compared to you.” He shrugs, winking at me.

  I just smirk at him and shake my head. He can be so charming. I blush and toss a pebble at the water. One, two, three, four skips before it plunges into the depths.

  “How the hell did you do that? I wanna try,” he exclaims, jaw slacked. He bends down and snatches up a few pebbles. I laugh as he throws a pebble at the water, only for it to go straight to the bottom. He pouts and glares at the water like it tried to make a move on me. Cutie.

  “You have to flick your wrist, like this.” I show him the technique, and we watch as it bounces five times before descending into the water.

  “Okay. Let me try again.” He tosses the pebble, and…it sinks. “The fuck? You’re cheating. Why are you cheating, Liv? I thought you were better than that.” He gives me the stink eye like I’m the reason he sucks at making pebbles bounce on water.

  I gasp and playfully nudge at him. “There is no cheating. Only talent. It’s either you have it or don’t.”

  “I have the talent, just…you know…teach me how to make it bounce…like your ass bounces on my di—”

  My hand covers his mouth before he can finish. “Don’t be so nasty,” I say, but my laughter contradicts my command. He opens his mouth and licks my palm. I shriek and pull back, wiping his spit on his arm. He laughs and watches as I glare up at him.

  He leans down and pecks my lips.

  “Teach me, master,” he whispers again my open mouth.

  I bite my lip, slip my tongue out, and lick his lower lip, then nod. “For a price.”

  “What price is that?” He lifts an eyebrow, leaning back to tower over me in all his tall glory. I have to crane my neck back to look into his eyes. Such a tall giraffe, my man is.

  I tap my chin as I think of a price. It takes a couple of seconds, but when it hits me, I smirk up at him and he gulps, looking nervous. “You have to carry me on your back for an entire day, any day of my choosing.”

  He lets out a relieved breath. “That’s it? Babe. I thought you wanted, like, my soul or something.”

  “Why would I want that rotten thing?” I joke, curling my lip at him.

  He gasps and hip bumps me. “Excuse you?”

  I snort in laughter as I bend down, scoop up some pebbles. “Do you want me to teach you how to skip rocks or not?”

  “Fine,” he mumbles.

  Smiling, I tug on his hand before moving us a step closer to the edge of the water. I show him a few times how I toss the pebbles. He tries on his own, but they end up sinking in the water each time. He grows frustrated, but I promise that he’ll be a master at it if he’s patient. I don’t know how long I spend teaching him, but I am grateful for the distraction from my previous thoughts. Gladly enough, he hasn’t brought up the reason for my early rising.

  I not only woke up to enjoy sunrise, but because an upsetting dream woke me. I was begging for Grey to hold on to us, to me. We were hanging onto some planet in the middle of space, with a blackhole behind me. I was barely holding on. I could have been saved, but he got so scared and couldn’t hold me. I woke up just before my body met the cold vacuum of the blackhole that would make me freeze and my body to implode on impact.

  My heart was in my throat, and I was unable to sleep after that. The dream is obviously trying to tell me something; all of my dreams do. Like a premonition before the bad. But I can never decipher the message. If I do beforehand, it’s always too late. The bad already happens, and all I can do is brace for impact.

  “Oh, shit! It’s happening! Babe, babe! Look—it’s skipping like a motherfucker!” Grey’s exclamation rips me out of my perplexed thoughts.

  I turn and watch as the stone drops in the water.

  He looks at me, frantic and excited beyond relief. “I fucking did it!” He picks me up and twirls me around and around, until I feel sick to my stomach. But my baby did it! He made it skip a few times!

  “I’m so proud of you!” I squeal into his neck, and he sets me down. His lips meet mine in a beautiful collision of lips and teeth and tongue and passion and everything in between. I cup his face the same time he does to me, and we laugh into each other’s mouths. I link my arms around his neck and pull him down, pushing up on my toes.

  Before it can last any longer, my phone buzzes in my pocket.

  “Let it ring,” he commands, pulling my body flush against his.

  I nod excitedly and smile before pressing our lips together again. His lips taste like clover cigarettes and pancake syrup, heavy with fullness, and smooth. I run my tongue along his bottom lip, ready to widen the kiss, when my phone begins to ring again.

  Slightly irritated, I pull away from the bone-squeezing kiss and pull out my phone. “What?” I snap, not bothering to look at the contacts. It’s probably just my father bothering me with his bullshit again.

  “Liv, i-it’s Julia,” Jaimie cries into the phone; my blood runs ice cold. “Please. Come back. She—s-she got into a car accident. Please. I need you.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The drive to the hospital is nerve-wracking. My worry for Julia intensifies with every mile the car eats. She got into a car crash on her way home from a study group. Jaimie was waiting at home when she got the call that her girlfriend was involved in a head-on collision that left her unconscious and badly beaten up.

  Nausea creeps into my stomach, sickening me with the thought of her not making it. I don’t know how serious this is. But I know that is an option, one that physically pains me to think about. Jaimie is freaking out, and the desire to be by her side, to hug her, is indescribable. One of my best friends, who feels more like a sister, needs me right now. And I step on the pedal even harder.

  “Everything’s going to be fine,” Grey says as we ride up in the elevator to Julia’s room.

  “You don’t know that,” I snap out of the raging nerves. I wring my shaky hands together. Then I look over at Grey. He averts his gaze. I sigh and walk over to him. “I’m sorry. I just…I’m so worried about her. You know?”

  “I know, it’s okay. I get it. You’re scared.” He holds my trembling hands, and tears fly out of my eyes. “Hey, don’t cry.” He holds my head to his chest. I close my eyes and try to calm down, listening to the silent but clear thumps of his steady heart. “She’s going to be okay.”

  I shake my head and wrench away from his warm embrace. “Jai
mie must be losing her mind.” I dart out of the elevator when the silver doors pry open. “You have no idea how heart-breaking it is to get a call that the one person you love the most in this world is hurt. That they may not make it. And I—I just have to—I have to be there for her, and—”

  “Stop. Please. Liv.” He grabs my wrist and twirls me around into his chest. I break into sobs that feel never-ending. I should be with Jaimie, consoling her, but here I am, crying because I am reminded of that night I was notified of Grey’s accident. I thought the worst and cried for five whole minutes before Lily finally got me to un-furl from the ball I’d fallen into on the ground.

  “I just…do you know how fucking broken I felt? I thought you had died. I know you’re not supposed to think that, but it was so damn difficult and…and I don’t want to lose you. Please. Never go. Don’t leave. Ever. Screw death, you’re mine forever. Please promise me that,” I desperately plead.

  He rubs my back and laughs softly, then it’s silent with the exception of scuffling and doctors being paged. “I promise to never scare you again. I promise to never leave you. Babe.” He lifts my chin up to meet his eyes; my bones melt, just a little. And then he smirks, and my heart soars into the clouds. “There is no place I’d rather be. I want to be here with you forever and—”

  “Always,” I whisper.

  He nods, eyes raking my face. “Okay?”

  I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and nod. “Okay.”

  “Good. Now, let’s go support your girl.” He holds out his hand with a little smile that does wonders to my stomach. It flips and flips, like a pancake of his before smacking the floor.

  “Let’s.” I smack my small hand onto his larger one. His easily swallows mine as he pulls me to his side, leans over his skyscraper height, and plops a sweet kiss on the top of my hair. I breathe in the heavy scent of him and let him guide me to the room.

  Jaimie’s exiting the room, weeping and holding herself against the wall. My heart completely breaks into a million pieces. I run over to her and throw my arms around her. She’s shocked for a second before realizing it’s me and squeezes me in a hug. We stay like this, each holding on for dear life, until I’ve memorized how she smells strongly of strawberries and chocolate cronuts, and her hair is free of knots after I’ve run my fingers through her hair.