Forever And Ever

17. Emery

When I wake up, I grab my phone to check the time. 10:49. So I've slept for almost four hours since Grayson tried to wake me up.

I check my messages next, completely ignoring all of the ones from numbers I don't have saved.

Aria: How come you aren't here?

Aria: Is Grayson here?

There's also one from Devyn.

Devyn: You aren't supposed to miss any more school.

Devyn's going to be pissed when he gets here.

I walk into the living room and see Grayson sitting on the couch.

"You're still here?" I ask, sitting down next to him.

"Yeah," he says.

"Devyn texted me," I murmur hesitantly.

"Yeah, he texted me too," he sighs. "He's going to kill me."

"Sorry," I giggle.

"Why didn't you want to go to school?" He asks.

"Because I have more classes with Jack today," I whisper.

"Emmy, you should have told me this morning," his eyebrows knit together in concern.

"Well I just kind of figured that it wouldn't—"

"Don't fucking say it wouldn't have mattered," he cuts me off and puts his finger under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. "Because it would have."

"Okay," I smile softly. "Then I won't."

"I got you something," he murmurs after a few minutes.

"Mm?" I hum.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bracelet. It's a silver chain with beads in different shades of blue. I have one that looks similar to it, just a different color, that Devyn gave me when I was a couple of years old.

"Gray," I gasp as he slides it on my wrist. "It's beautiful. Thank you."

"Of course," he smiles when he gets it on.

"You want to watch a movie?" He asks, handing me the remote.

"Yeah," I say.

I put on The Lion King, but only watch a couple of minutes before I fall asleep again.

I wake up to the sound of the front door opening.

Grayson gets up and walks to greet them while I rub my eyes.

"How come Emery stayed home?" Devyn asks.

"She said she wanted—"

"I don't care what she wanted," Devyn frowns, cutting Grayson off as I get up and walk toward him. "She can't miss anymore school. She's missed too much."

"Don't be upset with him," I tell Devyn, slipping between him and Grayson and pushing him away from Grayson a little bit. "He tried to get me to go."

"But you can't—"

"I know," I cut him off. "But Grayson didn't. It's my fault, not his."

"Fine," Devyn mutters. "But if you miss another day of school, it will be his fault."

"Okay," I fight a smile.

He turns and walks back to the front door.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"With Leia," he smiles sheepishly.

"Have fun," I call as he shuts the door behind him.

"What do you want to do now?" Grayson murmurs.