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Shoving a hand through his thick hair, he pulled on a chunk and sighed. "As much as I want to tell you, I promised Tex that I'd wait until we got back before we started in on what wefound."
I frowned, narrowing my gaze on his face. "Tex?" Since when did he call Texas by hisnickname?
Grayson shook his head and retook my hand in his. "Comeon."
I followed him down another set of steps, around the side of the building and towards a student walkway leading towards the other side of campus. For a second, I let myself look around and take in the college. Tall brick buildings. Rich green grass. Dozens of trees lining the pathways. Students on bikes, students in workout clothes—jogging past. If things had been different, maybe I would have been here under different circumstances. I wonder, briefly, if this is what my brother experienced when he went to college in New York. I haven't spoken to him in so long, sometimes I think back and feel as though I dreamed our entire childhood. Sometimes he's just a shadow in mymemories.
"Hey," Grayson's fingers appeared in front of my face, "you okay there,Babydoll?"
"Huh?" I blinked, reaching up to shove his fingers away. I stopped when I realized that our hands were still connected. Dropping my hand, Grayson's fingers squeezed mine. "Yeah," I answered. "Justthinking."
"'Bout what?" he asked as we started into acrosswalk.
I stared down at our twined hands. Grayson would get it, wouldn't he? He had a brother just as distant as mine. Maybe not geographically, but...I wonder how hecoped.
We reached the corner and I opened my mouth. "My brother doesn't call me," I admitted. Grayson froze, one foot on the edge of the concrete and the other on the pavement. When he turned, I scrambled to explain. "I mean, he used to—call me, that is, but I haven't seen him in four years. My mom kind of threw him out and he left, and he used to call to check up on me, but he doesn'tanymore."
"Okay..." Grayson's brows were drawn down, darkening the shadows over his eyes. "And that bugsyou?"
I bit my lip. Did it? I wouldn't be thinking about it so hard if it didn't, right? I nodded. "Yeah," I finally said. I looked up at him. "Doesn't it bother you that your brother doesn't come to you for help? Mine barely talks to me. It's like he doesn't even want to admit that we're family, or he only called out ofobligation."
Grayson stiffened when I mentioned his brother but didn't let that stop him. "Does he know about you joiningIris?"
I shook my head. "No way," I scoffed. "My mom doesn't even know—not really. I told Michael that I’m working now, and things are better, and since then, it's been harder to reachhim."
"And you're just now realizing this?" Grayson snapped. "If he's your brother, why don't you callhim?"
Shock ricocheted through me. I dropped his hand and stepped back, both feet on the pavement. "I-I—"
"It sounds to me like all this bullshit with my brother is reminding you about the shitty relationship you have with your brother. Don't use me to fucking constitute your familyrelationships."
I clenched my teeth. "I wasn't," I snappedback.
A car turned down the street a block or so up, the headlights crossing over Grayson's face as the sun sunk below the horizon. His eyes were on fire, blazing with an anger that I didn't understand. Once again, Grayson had completely turned—flipping on some unknown switch. Trying to navigate his damn emotions was like trying to walk through aminefield.
"If you're so worried about your brother's distance, why don't you call him?" he asked. "At least youcan."
"I—" The sound of my voice was cut off by the sound of an engine revving. Just as I turned towards the noise, the headlights from the car came crashing towardsme.
"Shit!" Grayson's hands latched onto my wrists, yanking me towards him. My feet collided with the edge of the pavement, sending tingles of pain up my tendons. Air shot over my back and the heat from the car's front end was so close that I could feel it through the fabric of my clothes. My heart thudded against my ribcage—a trapped bird, terrified but unable to takeflight.
Grayson cursed again and flung himself backward as my legs crumpled against his and I landed, my face smacking into his chest as the car raced away. I blinked into the smooth cotton, my limbs trembling as I slowly came down from what almosthappened.
"Are you okay?" Grayson's voice was gruff with irritation. I clenched my hands in his shirt as he began to sit up. "Harlow?"
Tears burned at the back of my eyelids. “What—” I gulped down air, but it stopped in my throat, choking me. Still, I tried. “What… justhappened?”
“I think some idiot just tried to run us over,” Grayson said, groaning as he shifted a hand over his lowerback.
“On purpose?!” I asked, finally lifting my head. I noticed the placement of his hand. “Are youokay?”
Grayson waved away my concern as he frowned, looking past me in the direction the car had gone. “I don’t know,” headmitted.
“You don’t know if you’re hurt?” I tried reaching for his hand again, leaning around him as my legs slid to either side of his hips to pull it away from the spot on his back. This time he let me. I pulled up the shirt slightly. There was a blotchy red mark against his tan skin that I was sure would eventually darken. I paused when my fingertips touched his side. When I pulled his shirt up to reveal what was most definitely a developing bruise half on his back and half on his side, I also unveiled his abdomen. I took a shaky breath and pulled the shirt back down, even though the flutters in my stomach cried foul. He was hurt, I reminded myself. Drool later. Worry now…but those damn abs. I shook myhead.
With gritted teeth, Grayson cursed, drawing my attention back to the matter at hand. “I should have gotten their fucking license plate number. Even if that was an accident, they should be punished. They could have killedyou.”
“Even if itwasan accident?” I ignored the last thing he said—killed…me…almost died…I couldn’t think about it or I would have dissolved into a puddled mess and we didn’t have time for that. “So, you don’t think itwas?”
