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I nearly sigh with relief. I really thought he was going to say no. “Yes, that’s perfect, thank you. I can’t wait to see you.” I’m a little surprised by how true this is. I might not have always had the best relationship with my grandparents, but it doesn’t mean I don’t miss them. They’ve been the only constant in my life since I lost my parents and my sister.
Familiar sadness engulfs me at the thought, and I start to feel guilty again. I have to stop doing this to myself.
“See you soon, Lily,” my grandpa says as he hangs up the phone. I stare down at the screen for a long minute before putting the phone in my pocket. I know Sebastian isn’t going to like this, not one bit, and I consider lying to him, even just leaving but decide against it. He would be pissed, and the last thing I need is him scouring the earth searching for me.
I’ll just tell him and let the pieces fall where they may.
Two hours later, Sebastian arrives home. I have half an hour before I need to be at the dorms and I’d rather not spend it fighting with him. As soon as he crosses the threshold, he presses a kiss to my lips and deposits his phone, wallet, and keys onto the counter.
“I’m going to take a quick shower, then we can talk about whatever it is that you wanted to discuss.” The grin he gives me causes an entire kaleidoscope of butterflies to take flight in my stomach. How am I going to do this? I can already feel myself being pulled toward him, his gravitational pull too strong for me to fight.
I must be wearing my emotions on my face because Sebastian asks a moment later, “Is everything okay? Would you rather we talk now?”
No. God, no. I need a minute to breathe.
“No. No, it’s okay.” I respond and nervously tuck some hair behind my ear.
Sebastian looks skeptical, “Are you sure?”
“Yes, go shower, you stink,” I snicker, and squeeze my nose shut, wafting my hand in front of it.
Sebastian rolls his eyes and starts down the hall, “Whatever. I do not.”
With him out of sight and earshot, I lean against the table. It physically hurts me to think about leaving him, about how he’s going to react when I tell him what I’m going to do.
The sound of the shower carries down the hall. At the same time, his phone starts to go off. Ignoring it, I walk into the kitchen for a bottle of water. It’s probably Remington, or Lex. Walking back to the table, his phone continues to vibrate, and my annoyance over it mounts.
Who the hell texts that many times? I don’t want to be that nosy girlfriend that goes through her boyfriend’s shit. Sebastian has never done anything to make me feel like he would step out on me, that doesn’t stop me from grabbing the phone though. Whoever is messaging him must really need him. The phone lights up in my hand, a message appearing on the screen.
UNKNOWN NUMBER: If you expect me to keep what you two are doing a secret, you’ll need to pay me more than ten thousand dollars.
It takes me a moment to digest what I just read, but once I do it’s, like I’m a plane nose-diving toward the ground. My heart sinks as I stare at the screen, reading the message ten more times before dropping the phone onto the table.
My head is swimming with questions, and none of them are good. Someone is blackmailing Seb? Because of me, us? Why wouldn’t he tell me, or go to the police? He said he didn’t care if he lost his job, but now he’s paying someone off to keep us a secret. Confusion. Dread. Anger and sadness. They all blend together. Why would he do that? Why would he pay someone off?
My head starts to pound, my mind feels like it’s overloading. Like it’s about to explode, and all I can think to do is run, to get out of here. I don’t allow myself to think on it a second longer, afraid I may change my mind. Running into the bedroom, I grab the bag I’ve already packed out of the walk-in closet and speed walk out of the house, closing the door gently behind me, even when I want to slam it.
Once outside, it feels like I can breathe easier, but my heart and my head still ache. Walking aimlessly down the road, I turn off onto a smaller side road, and then another, and another, in hopes Sebastian won’t be able to find me if he comes looking.
When I come to a small park within the neighborhood, I text my grandpa the address, asking him to pick me up here instead.
