Rolling my eyes, I nodded. “You’re gonna have to sneak out the back!”
Grayson stood up as he reached down for his shirt and put it back on as I stood up. I could feel her stare as I looked down and saw Claire shooting daggers at me.
I wasn’t sure why I said it, but I regretted it the moment it slipped from my lips. “Your friend Claire is here.”
Grayson turned and looked directly at Claire who smiled and waved. I quickly turned and started toward the side of the stage that led to the back. Grayson was right beside me within seconds as he took my hand and led me straight toward the back door.
The moment the cold air hit my face, I sucked in a deep breath. I hated that she still had some sort of control over my actions.
“Tell me how you know Claire,” he said as he looked at me with a concerned face.
Trying to get my senses straight, I stalled with a question. “What?”
“I never said what her name was. You knew back in Texas her name was Claire. How do you know her?”
Something came over me and I pulled away from him in anger. “Why haven’t you asked her?”
Grayson’s eyes softened as he placed his hands on my arms. “Because I’m asking you. The first time you saw us that day, when we were at lunch, I saw your face, Meagan. Please talk to me, baby.”
Swallowing hard, I looked away. Grayson placed his finger on my chin and pulled my eyes back to him. “Meg?”
“I know her from Baylor.”
A look of recognition passed over Grayson’s face. “Shit, that’s right she mentioned graduating from there. Damn it, I didn’t put two and two together.”
My eyes searched his face as I took in a deep breath and slowly blew it out. “She didn’t . . . um . . . she didn’t say anything to you about me after that day?”
Grayson looked at me with a dumbfounded face. “No. She didn’t utter a word to me.”
I either kept pushing this off, or I faced it head on and told Grayson the truth. It was time to put my past in the past. There was no way in hell I was ever going to let that bitch dictate my life again.
“My freshman year of college I started dating this guy, James was his name. He took me to his frat party and Claire was there with some friends. She was his ex girlfriend, but apparently she hadn’t gotten that memo. It was her and another girl who ended up making my life a living hell.”
Grayson’s eyes widened. “The bullying?”
Chewing on the corner of my lip, I slowly nodded. “Yeah.”
“Was it bad?”
Tears built up in my eyes before I pushed them away. I’d never shed another tear because of those girls. “Bad enough that I changed my degree plan and vowed to fight against bullying.”
“Baby, I’m so sorry.”
With a shrug of my shoulders, I plastered on a fake smile. “It’s over. I made it through and I’m a stronger person for it. I won’t lie and say I don’t have my moments where I get shaken, but there is so much more to life than the rumors and lies those vile girls spread about me.”
Grayson placed his hand on the side of my face. “Surely Claire realizes what she did.”
My stomach dropped and I instantly felt sick. “I doubt it.”
“I mean, that was college.”
I swallowed hard as I realized what Grayson was doing.
This is not happening.
Grayson
MEAGAN STOOD BEFORE me with a stunned expression on her face. “I’m ready to go home, Grayson. I’m sure you’re exhausted.”
Turning, she headed down the alley toward the parking lot. I reached out and grabbed her arm and pulled her back to me. “Wait. I’m not trying to lessen what Claire did to you, Meg. I’m just saying people change and she seems to be really nice and . . .”
“And she doesn’t seem like the kind of girl who would send guys to my dorm room telling them I gave out free blowjobs. All hours of the night my freshman year of college, they were at my door. I couldn’t walk to class without some asshole approaching me about sex. So, forgive me if I just don’t have the heart to forgive her or think someone that vile would ever change.”
With a yank of her arm, she pulled away as she started walking.
I pushed my hands through my hair and cursed. “Fuck.” This was not the way I wanted our night to end. It started snowing harder as I took off after her. Rounding the corner, I must have hit a patch of ice because I instantly went down and landed on my ankle wrong.
“Shit!” I called out as Meagan spun around.
“Gray! Oh my gosh are you okay?”
She was by my side in less than two seconds, helping me up. My ankle was fine, but I decided to put a plan of action into place. “I think I sprained my ankle.”
“No! Oh shit! I’m so sorry.”
I draped my arm around her shoulder as she helped me back to the truck. “It wasn’t your fault. It was mine. I didn’t mean what I said, Meagan and I would never say something if I knew it was going to hurt you.”