stay with me

Chapter 20

Grey:

I feel Sam shaking me awake and I hear her voice in the distance telling me I need to wake up. At first I feel slightly panicked but then I hear her say that we were at my house and I relax. Everything was okay.

"Well hey there sleepyhead" she says as I open my eyes and look at her.

"Hey" I say back groggily. I was happy the pill I took knocked me out for the entire ride but I always hated how I felt groggy afterwards. "Sorry, have you been trying to wake me long?" I ask as I stretch.

"Nope we just got here a couple minutes ago so no need to apologize. My parents carried your stuff inside and now they are talking to your parents" she says and I can tell that she's glad I was able to sleep the whole ride too. That's why she told me not to apologize.

"Alright" I say unbuckling my seatbelt. "I guess we should go inside" I say a little unsure.

"Are you ready?" Sam asks me and I can tell she is asking me if I'm ready to be back here, not if I'm ready to go in my house. "I mean I know you don't like to talk about it and that's why I haven't mentioned anything but I can tell this is hard for you."

"It's just a few days right?" I say trying not to make this a big deal. "I can handle a few days. I mean yes it is hard being back here but I carry Jason with me everyday no matter where I am." I surprise myself by saying this. Jason's name felt strange on my lips. I hadn't said it in a long time because it hurt too much.

"Well you know Nate and I are always here for you right?"

"I know" I say back to her and offer a smile as I reach over and grab her hand. The gesture surprises her because since I lost Jason I never really initiate contact with anyone, but I want her to know how grateful I am to have her and Nate. I'd be lost without them. She squeezes my hand and smiles back at me. "I love you Sam" I whisper.

"I love you too Grey" she says as tears well up in her eyes. "Now come on" she says as she pats my knee. "I bet your parents can't wait to see you."

I get out of the car and follow her up to my front door. As we walk I take in the large house. We haven't even lived here a year so I was still getting it used to being home. After I received the settlement money I decided to buy my parents a new house because I felt like they deserved it but also because I couldn't bear to stay in our old house any longer. It held too many memories.

Once I reach the front door I pause before opening it. Part of me feels like I should knock but I know that's ridiculous. Technically I own this house. I take a deep breath and I can feel Sam behind me but she doesn't rush me and I appreciate that. I open the door and walk into the giant foyer and it's just as beautiful as I remember it. I can hear voices coming from the kitchen so Sam and I walk through the long hallway that eventually leads into the kitchen and once we are there I see my parents and Sam's parents talking. They all stop and look over at us when we enter.

"Grey" my mother says softly as she exhales a breath. She walks away from the others and comes over to embrace me. "We missed you" she says as I wrap my arms around her. It feels good to back in her arms.

"I missed you too mom" I whisper into her hair.

When we pull apart from one another I see my father right behind my mom. "Hi daddy" I say offering him a small smile.

"Hey baby" he says lovingly and then he takes me into his big strong arms and hugs me close to his chest. I wrap my arms around his large frame the best I can and rest my head against his strong chest. I feel safe.

Sam's parents then take that opportunity to excuse themselves and we all say goodbye. I'm sure I'll see them again before I go back to school. Once they leave it's just my parents and I. It's strange before the accident I could tell them anything. I always shared every detail of my life with my mother but after the accident I felt like I couldn't anymore. I felt like what was going on inside me would scare them too much.