Breaking Me Slowly

Seventeen

In the distance, I hear someone calling out my name. It’s a soft, familiar sound.  

“Juliette,” the voice repeats over and over again. “Wake up.”

My eyes flutter open and the first thing I see is Grayson.

I quickly sit up, blinking the sleepiness out of my eyes. “What time is it?”

“Early,” he says. He holds out a hand. “Come with me.”

I slip my hand in his and he pulls me up. Grayson waits for me by the door, his back turned away from me as I slip into a pair of jeans and throw on a sweater.

“Ready,” I say, and he quietly opens the door. I follow him out and down the hall, being as quiet as possible. We make it down the hall at the top of the stairs without making a single noise. We quickly descend down the stairs, making our way towards the kitchen.

Grayson unlocks the back door and holds it open for me. I quickly step out, ducking under his arm. He quietly closes the door behind him.

I follow him down the path. It’s quiet, the only sounds echoing through the air is the chirping of the crickets and the crunch of leaves from under our feet.

The path we’re walking is familiar and I think about the garden that Grayson had brought me to the morning after the first night I had stayed over. But he surprises me when he veers off track and off the path altogether.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

The corner of his mouth lifts. “You’ll see.”

A gust of wind blows by, sending chills down my arms. I wrap my arms around myself, rubbing my hands up and down my arms to create some heat. I was regretting the thin sweater I had picked out and wished I had opted for something a little heftier.

Grayson takes off his sweatshirt and holds it out to me. “Here.”

I eye it. “You’re not going to be cold?”

He shakes his head. “I brought it for you.”

“Thank you,” I say, taking the sweatshirt from his hand. I put it on, immediately being hit with his scent.

“Better?” he asks.

I nod. “Better.”

We continue walking for a few more minutes until we come to the end of the property line. My eyes scan the fence up and down.

“You brought me here to see this?” I ask, confused.

“Yes, I brought you here to see a ten-foot, iron fence,” he says, sarcastically. “No, I’m going to lift you up to the top, wait there for me until I climb to the other side and then you jump down.”

I scan the fence one more time. “Uh… jump?”  

“I’ll be on the other side to catch you.”

Grayson clasps his hands together and kneels down, ready to hoist me up. hesitantly, I put my right foot in his hand and clutch two of the iron bars.

“On three.”

“Okay.”

“One, two, three,” he counts down and pushes me up.

It’s a three-rail fence so I use the second rail to pull myself all the way to the top and climb over to the other side.

Grayson easily climbs the fence and is on the other side within a matter of seconds while I’m still clutching onto the bars for dear life.

“Jump,” I hear him say.

I turn my head back as much as I can to see him standing just below me, with his arms outstretched, ready to catch me.

I push myself off the fence and jump. Grayson catches me without a hitch. My anxiety subsides as my feet hit the ground.

“Are you going to tell me now?”

He shakes his head. “It’s not much farther. We just have to do a little climbing.”

“More climbing?”

“It’s not too bad, I promise.”

 I continue to follow him. A few minutes later, we’re standing at the base of a hill. It’s just a little taller than the wrought iron fence we had climbed just moments ago. Pieces of large rocks were jutting out which made it easier for climbing.

At the top is nothing but a cluster of trees. I glance at Grayson, confused as to why he brought me here to look at a bunch of trees. He walks into the thicket of trees and I follow silently behind him.

And then, the trees began to thin out and I finally see what he intended to show me. we’re at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the entire town plus the neighboring city. The skyline was clear, radiated by the lights.

“This is… amazing.”

“I thought you might like this place.”

I nod, captivated by the view.

“Wanna sit for a few minutes and catch your breath?” Grayson asks, patting the empty space next to him. He had used an old, fallen over tree trunk as a seat.

“How did you find this place?” I ask.

“When we first moved here, I did a lot of exploring and happened to come across it.”

“Do you come up here often?”

He shakes his head, pulling a piece of bark off the trunk. “Not too often. I’ve been here a few times, but it seems like the kind of thing you share with someone.”

“I’m glad you brought me here.”

Grayson smiles, “Sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night but it’s the only free time I have right now.”

I look down at my feet, feeling something off settle over me.

“Juliette, are you okay?”

I work up the courage to look at him. “Why didn’t you take me to the meeting?”

He stares at me, surprised. “How do you know about it?”

I shrug. “Does it matter?”

He looks away, rubbing his jaw.

“We’re you ever going to tell me about it. I mean, I thought I was supposed to be a part of this family.”

“You are.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me about the meeting? It seemed awfully important, yet I wasn’t a part of it. Even Jensen was surprised—”

I cut myself off, realizing I had just thrown Jensen under the bus.

Grayson scoffs. “Of course. I should’ve known it was Jensen.”

“It’s not Jensen’s fault that you didn’t tell me, and you can’t be mad at him.”

“For the record, I don’t blame Jensen for anything, and I can be mad at him if I want to.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s not even the point. Why did I have to hear about it from Jensen?”

“You weren’t supposed to hear about it at all.”

“Why?”

Grayson doesn’t reply.

“We’re supposed to be getting married in just a couple of weeks and I feel like I’m being left in the dark, again.”

“We didn’t tell you because we didn’t think you were ready.”

I narrow my eyes on him. “We?”

He nods. “Me and my family.”

“How can I be ready when you don’t teach me anything. You only ever reveal information when it’s relevant or convenient for you.”

“That’s not true,” he says, finally looking at me.

“How so?” I challenge.

“Look, I’ve told you more things than I’ve told anyone.”

I shoot up to my feet. “Me asking you questions about your childhood and your likes and dislikes does not count. That’s just me prying into your life because you don’t willingly give up anything.”

He’s looking down at the ground.

“You’re not going to say anything?” I sigh. “What am I even doing here?”

His head lifts up. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, why am I still here. Are you just with me because you have to be? Because I can see the future and your family needs that?”

He stands up, taking a few steps towards me. “That’s not it at all.”

“What is it then?” I demand. “Why are you with me?”

“You know why, Juliette.”

I shake my head. “Tell me.”

He takes another step towards me, and I take a step back. “Are we really doing this?”

“I want the truth.”

Grayson sighs. He’s about to answer when a loud snap echoes from the trees. His gaze immediately scans the trees.

I suddenly realize we’re out in the open, the darkness lurking behind us. I quietly make my way to Grayson’s side, slightly hiding behind him like a scared little kid.

“What is it?” I whisper.

He shakes his head and says, “Nothing.”

I’m still clutching onto his shirt as he turns around. He snakes his arms around my waist, pulling me towards him until I’m pressed against his chest.

“I’m with you because I love you,” he finally answers. “And that’s the truth.”