Edges of Gone (The Gone Series Book 2)

by Jessica Gouin

  I bite my lips to keep from laughing.

  “Alright guys, sit tight and we’ll get you out soon.” The voice is obviously less humored.

  I rush over to the speaker and press the button myself. “Hey, my name is Scarlett Stone, can you tell Dr. Stone that his daughter is in here and I’m okay.”

  “Sure, no problem, kid.”

  I walk back to the other side of the elevator, sigh and slide to the floor wondering how long we’re going to be in here. Probably a lot longer thanks to Grayson’s juvenile response. He sits against the opposite side of the elevator and bangs his head back against the wall. “Well the important thing to remember is now we know for future reference that when there’s a raging storm outside, choose the stairs. Always choose the stairs.”

  “Mental note made,” I mumble, wishing my nerves would fade.

  I pull my cell phone out of my bag and wave it in the air trying to get service. Chloe will worry if I don’t show up for my shift. No signal. “Damn it,” I say under my breath, tossing it back into the bag. I glance up to see Grayson staring.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Besides the obvious? I’m going to be late for work and I can’t pick up a signal on my cell to call the café. I don’t want Chloe to worry about me being stuck out in the rain or something.”

  He shrugs. “I’m sure we’ll be out of here before you even have to start your shift.”

  Twenty minutes later, I glare at Grayson who stands to stretch. So much for being out of here soon. With arms extended above him he asks, “So, what’s new with Scarlett Stone?”

  Great, small talk. “We’re going to do this? Really? Alright, well here we go. Besides the whirlwind that is my life, I’m stuck in an elevator with my annoying neighbor who wants to make small talk while I’m trying not to freak out.”

  His eyes go wide and his smile grows. “Wow. I didn’t think I was that annoying,” he feigns being hurt. “Anything else new?”

  This guy is just full of jokes, isn’t he? “Nope, that’s it for me. If you really want to small talk though we could always discuss your recent break up. That’s something new.”

  Grayson eyes me carefully. Jokes over. “I see what you did there. Thanks, but I’d rather not talk about her. Like I said, we’re done. Nothing else to it.” He exhales looking a little pissed with my comment. The last thing I want is to do is upset him or cause tension while being stuck together.

  I let out a puff of air. “I’m sorry Grayson, I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. I’m on edge being stuck in here.”

  Grayson shrugs casually. “No worries, I’m really hard to offend.”

  “I get you don’t want to talk about what happened between you and Kayleigh, but I have a hard time believing the rumors are true, so I have to ask once and I’ll drop the whole thing and never bring it up again. Did you cheat on Kayleigh with Taylor Sanders?”

  He looks at me for a while before looking away. “No.”

  I stay silent, kicking myself for saying anything at all. To my surprise, he continues instead of shutting down the way Hunter typically does when I pry. “Kayleigh was becoming clingy. Not usual girlfriend clingy but something... more. I can’t explain it, but I didn’t want to deal with it anymore. It was getting to be too much. So I told her it was over. Whatever we had, if you would even call what we had a relationship, was done. She didn’t take it very well. Hence her attitude and all the rumors.” He stares at me with all seriousness on his face. “I never touched Taylor.”

  My eyes narrow. “So all the stories floating around school?”

  “Are just that; stories.” He shoves his hand through his hair the same way he always does when he’s frustrated. I understand why he’s irritated with me prying in his personal private business, but what I don’t understand is why he wouldn’t put a stop to the rumors spreading through the entire school like wild fire.

  I stand up slowly and, against better judgment, ask one more question. “Why haven’t you set the record straight and told everyone the truth? Kayleigh is bad-mouthing you to everyone, not to mention Taylor’s reputation is being destroyed. Why would you let everyone believe it’s true?”

  “Everyone made up their minds about the type of person they assume I am a long time ago. Nothing I say now will change that. Taylor and I discussed the rumors, she knows the truth and doesn’t care what other people think of her.”

  “So you’re just going to let everyone believe Kayleigh’s lies?”

  Grayson sneers. “I fail to see how that’s any different from what you’re doing.”

  From what I’m doing? “What the hell are you talking about?”

  He takes a step forward toward me. “Oh come on, Scars. You walk around on autopilot all day telling everyone you’re fine when anyone who gave a shit would see through your lies. They would see you’re one bad hair day away from breaking down completely. You’re not okay and that’s okay.”

  Huh, someone actually sees through the bullshit I throw into the universe daily. I’m kind of impressed. I never thought it would be Grayson to notice my mask though. But he’s right. Anyone who cared to look deep enough would notice the girl whose life altered so horrifically, she lost any chance of recovering. Any chance of being the girl she used to be, the girl who had all those hopes and dreams. The girl who knew exactly what she wanted. Now she just tries to get to the next day. She’s confused and scared and alone. There’s no clear planned-out future anymore. There’s no happy or innocence. It left with her.

  “Like I said, people will believe what they want. Sometimes for good gossip, sometimes to make themselves less uncomfortable around others. Sometimes people can even make themselves believe lies to get through the day.”

  “What makes you think that no one cares enough to see through my lies?”

  The only reaction I get from Grayson is a blank stare.

  “Why do you all of a sudden give a shit about me? You’ve barely spoken to me since we were twelve.” My voice is hardly above a whisper, heart racing in my chest and I’m not even sure why. Why would I asked him that?

  Grayson takes one step closer. “Scars, I’m the only one who always gave a shit. I never stopped caring about you.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask, half afraid for him to answer, half afraid for him not to answer.

  Again Grayson runs his hands through his hair and lets out a long breath. “I can’t believe I’m about to say this. Scars, since we were in preschool… no, for as long as I’ve known you, I’ve cared for you. More than friends. I always had the intention of telling you how I felt some day but something always seemed to get in the way of me doing that. Like for instance when my cousin moved to town, and you fell in love with him. The first time you and Hunter met I knew that I would never stand a chance. I would have given anything for you to look at me that way. I came to terms that there was no hope for us, so I sealed everything inside a box. Hunter is supposed to be the one to make you happy. He’s the one you wanted, so I walked away without you even knowing I was there. I walked away because all I wanted, all I’ve ever wanted, is for you to be happy. I always gave a shit.”

  I can’t breathe.

  Want more? Get the entire story Losing Scars

  About the author

  Jessica Gouin hates talking about Jessica Gouin. Especially in the third person. I’m a fairly normal person from Windsor, Ontario. I was born here, grew up here, met my hubs here, and had my children here. I really couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. More than anything, I love watching my children grow every day. They amuse the hell out of me. I swear they were sent to earth to provide my life with comedic relief.

  When I’m not enjoying my mommy-life, I’m writing. Writing is my stress reliever. I go a little mad when I’m not creating an escape path for the characters that don’t ever stop whispering to me in my head (I realize this sounds bat-shit crazy, I swear, I’m normal).

  I love, love, love to read. I’m a reader first and I always have be
en. I try to expand my horizons and read all types of genres, but I always seem to come back to those epic love stories. I’m a sucker for a great kiss. When I need breaks from the literary world, I have a few shows that I watch with the hubs; The Walking Dead, Chicago Fire, MD, and Nashville are my favs. I have a slightly obsession with Teen Mom 2. I love a good rainstorm, a deep laugh, a strong cup of coffee, sleeping in, new pens and notebooks, my purse collection, and anything with chocolate. I hate mean people, heights, and centipedes. That’d be my dating profile, HA!

  I genuinely become ecstatic when I receive a new like on my Facebook page, or when someone reaches out to say they enjoyed one of my books. So, thank you for stalking me because I love it! There are so many great books, and authors, in the world today which makes it super hard to keep track of every new releases or any other news. If you don’t want to miss any important updates from me, sign up for my newsletter HERE. I’m not at all spammy and I promise to only send out emails when I have something to say.

  Happy reading xo

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