Choosing You (Gravity Hill #3)

18. Chapter 15

I can’t stay here.

I can’t be here.

The air outside is cold, and since I wasn’t planning on being outside, I don’t have a jacket. But I’m not going back inside. I don’t want to see any of them, not after Banks tore out my heart and stomped it into pieces that I’m not sure will ever glue back together.

Not while my family watched and did nothing.

The barn lights are on, and while I didn’t plan on coming down here when I started aimlessly walking the property, I think the calm of the horses will help. Daisy and Rambow are in their stalls when I slide the doors open. Blanket jackets line their backs, and Rambow’s brown head pops out of his stall when I pull the doors shut.

He chuffs and returns to munching on the hay in his stall.

“Nice to see you too,” I mumble through the tears still falling from my eyes. Daisy nudges my shoulder with her nose, her hot breath tickling my neck, and I imagine she’s telling me not to worry about her grumpy son. “Hey Daisy.”

Running my hand up and down her nose, she neighs a satisfied sound. Her wet nose meets my cheek, mixing with the wetness already there. “Think you have it in you to heal another broken heart?”

Leaning against her head, I allow my tears to fall freely until they dry up and my face feels like it’s going to crack open from all the pressure in my head.

“How could he do this to us?” It’s a whisper, born from a broken heart. Grabbing a brush from the wall I carefully unlock her stall and start brushing her neck where it’s not covered by the blanket.

She preens, stretches, and snorts happily as the brush grips the loose hairs of her shed.

My phone rings, Koda’s name flashes on the screen once I dig it out from my pocket. I don’t want to speak to him. I don’t want to speak to anyone–at least not to anyone that can speak back.

Letting his call go to voicemail, I continue brushing Daisy, shoving my phone back in my pocket. It rings again, leaving only a moment's pause between.

“Hello,” I answer, just in case it’s serious.

“Henry! Hey, I’m so sorry to call this late,” Koda’s cheery voice belts through my speaker. “Could you open the cafe tomorrow? I know you aren’t scheduled to come in until nine, but Cam is sick, and I have class.”

“Uhm,” looking around, I figure it’s not a bad idea. It would be a Sunday, which are slower days. It beats sitting around here avoiding the people who claim to love me.

“Are you okay?” His question brings me out of my thoughts, and I remember I’ve been crying. I can never hide it.

“Yeah,” I croak, “I can open, but could you come get me? I came home with my friends, and we only have one parking pass…”

“Oh! I forget you’re a freshman. I’m sure I can get Opal to come get you, is that okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll text you the address. It’s not far from Gravity Hill University, you don’t think she’ll mind?”

“Nah, Opal’s great. Thank you!” He shouts before ending the call, and as promised, I text him the address. It’s not a long drive–around twenty minutes from campus–so hopefully, Opal won’t mind. She doesn’t seem like the type to pry.

Hiding in the barn for another twenty minutes, scrolling through my phone to kill time, an unknown number pops up and I answer, hoping it’s Opal.

“Hello?”

“Henry! Hey! I’m like ten minutes out, Hannah’s with me. I hope that’s okay.” Her words come out in rapid succession, and I have to pause for a minute to let them sink in.

“Yeah,” I answer after a pause. “Yeah, that’s fine. Let me know when you get here, and I’ll open the gate.”

“Okay!”

I didn’t bring anything, so I don’t have anything to take back. Hiding in the barn until they get here feels like the best option, so when they arrive, I can sneak around the house and meet them in the driveway.

Putting the brush away and petting Rambow, I check the clock and figure it’s close enough. When my feet hit the back patio, my phone pings with a notification from Opal. Perfect timing. Now, I only hope I can get to them before someone in the house notices that I’m slinking around outside.

Hitting the button on my phone to open the gate, I walk around the side of the house and wait by the fountain in the front. Headlights illuminate the statue, and the front door opens. I groan, hoping and praying it’s not Dad.

“Kid,” Diego’s rumble feels like a shot to my already fragile brain. “Where are you going?”

“School,” I don’t think I’ve ever used such a disrespectful tone with any of our dads before, but I just don’t have the capacity to care.

“He’s just doing what he thinks is right.”

“Well, it’s not.”

His eyes dart to the car, and he freezes. It’s so subtle I almost miss it. I don’t have time to contemplate why, so I walk to the car. Opal clicks the locks, and I open the back door and get in without another word.

I should have said goodbye to Dad and told him that I’m going back to the school so that he doesn’t worry. Just as I’m about to get in the backseat, he bursts through the front doors, arms wide and outstretched, palms turned up.

“Henry!” He shouts my name, and my chest constricts into knots, seeing him standing there.

“Does he live in a house full of hot older dudes?” Opal whispers to Hannah in the front, and fresh tears well in my eyes. Those hot older dudes keep each other from crumbling, every day they choose to keep going, and I’m running away like a coward.

“Just go, please.” I murmur before I duck my head and close the door.