Page 58 of Ever After
“Listen, lady, I don’t know who you are. There’s no way I’m meeting—”
“Grayson, it’s Sarah,” she cuts me off.
My heart pounds in my chest, and I jump off the bed, pacing the small space in the room. “Sarah? What? How?”Bullshit. Sarah’s dead.
“I can’t explain over the phone. Where can I meet you?”
I glance at Finley, who’s still curled in a ball. I don’t feel right leaving her, but she doesn’t need to hear this. I walk into the living room for a private conversation.
“Not possible. Sarah’s dead. Why should I believe anything you say?”
She sighs. “When we were eleven, you peed on an electric fence and got electrocuted. You were too scared to tell your parents about it, and John and I made fun of you. We told you you’d never be able to pee again.”
I sag into the couch and run shaky fingers through my hair. My heart is beating so hard and fast, I fear it’s going to jump out of my chest. It’s difficult to breathe, like the air goes into my lungs and gets lodged.
It’s her. No one else but John and Sarah know that story. We made a promise not to talk about it amongst one another after that day. “Sarah, where have you been all these years?” My voice drops to a whisper.
“I can’t tell you any of that right now. Where are you?”
I feel like I’m under water—I’m drowning. My breathing is erratic, and I drop my head between my knees to keep from passing out. Finley joins me in the room and watches me. I glance up at her and give Sarah our address then hang up.
“Grayson, what’s wrong? Who was that?”
“Sarah, my missing cousin.” How is any of this possible? Why is she contacting me now? Why hasn’t she come forward sooner? Finley reaches down and places her small hand on my shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “We should probably get some clothes on. She’ll be here soon.” She takes a deep breath and nibbles the flesh on her lower lip. “Are you sure you trust her?”
“What motive does she have to lie to me?”
“I hope you’re right,” she says under her breath.
We change into comfortable clothes and wait for her to arrive. I’m going out of my mind with questions. Did I make the right choice by giving her this address? How did she know about us? She has to have some sort of connection to all of this to know we’re in New York and to know about Finley. I’m going to wear a hole in the floor if I can’t stop pacing and rubbing my neck. My entire body is stiff with tension. Finley watches me but doesn’t offer any words of comfort.
There’s a knock on the door, and I stop. I look at Finley, and she gives me a small nod, encouraging me to open it. Looking through the peephole, I see Sarah standing there, looking straight at me. I unlock the deadbolt and open the door, cracking it open just a few inches.
“Hello, Grayson.” She smiles warmly. “Are you going to invite me in?”
“Holy shit.” I open the door wider and pull her into my embrace. I want to cry, I’m so happy to see her. I thought for sure she was dead or stuck in some other country being abused. In my moment of weakness, I didn’t look around the hall for anyone else.
I hear the cock of a gun and freeze. “Let go of her.” I release my grip and focus my attention on Chris, who’s now pointing a gun at me. She takes a step back toward him, and my blood turns to ice in my veins.
Without breaking eye contact with him, I tell Finley to go. She knows she’s supposed to go to the panic room. She hesitates, and I hear her breathing increase. She knows it’s Chris; she heard his voice, too. I need her to focus on the plan.
“Now!” I yell out.
She scurries out of the room and slams the bedroom door closed.At least I know she’s safe.
“Nice to see you again,Chase.Or rather, should I call you by your real name? Grayson?” Chris steps into the apartment. He looks around and nods in approval. He hands the gun to Sarah and walks past me to the closed bedroom door. I keep my eyes trained on his every move.
“Grayson, look at me,” she whispers. I glare at her. I want to rip her to shreds. How can she turn on me like this? I’m fuckingfamily,for God’s sake! “I need you to trust me.” I scoff and shake my head, watching Chris at the door again. “I promise you both will get out of this alive, but you have to trust me. I have a plan.”
“Oh, great, so thisisn’twhat it looks like?” My sarcasm gets the best of me.
“I’ll explain later, justtrust me,” she pleads.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Finley
I run into the bedroom and lock myself in the panic room. I sit on the ground and pull my knees to my chest, rocking back and forth as tears stream from my eyes. Lights turn on after a minute, and a phone starts ringing. I’m not sure where it’s coming from, but it’s on speaker.