Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
Grayson
I couldn’t believe she was here. Seeing her hurt me all over again. She looked just as beautiful now as she did the day everything changed. She was way bigger with a bigger attitude. Hell, I didn’t blame her. But she still never entirely said why she came here.
I could barely look at her. Every time I did, it reminded me of what I’d done and how badly I hurt her. I came to Montauk because nobody here knew who I was, and I wanted to put the past behind me. To make a fresh start.
After turning on the generator, I sat at the table and continued eating my dinner.
“So, what do you do here all day?” she asked.
“I’ve been working on the house. It needed a bit of updating.”
“Oh. I didn’t know you could do things like that.”
“I learned.”
“I have a question for you, and I want an honest answer,” she spoke.
“What?” I looked straight at her.
“Why did you deposit that money into my bank account?”
“For you and the baby.”
“Did you think you could just buy your way back into our lives?”
“Damn it, Harper!” I slammed my fist on the table and got up from my chair. “That’s not why I did it. You quit your job!”
“Yeah, because of you!” she shouted.
“I know that. I know that I’m one hundred percent responsible for that. But I want to ensure you and my daughter are taken care of without you worrying about finances. It’s the least I could do after what I’d done.” I turned away and threw my bowl in the sink.
“Why, Grayson? How could you do that to me?”
I placed my hands on the counter and looked down.
“Because I let my fears get the best of me. When my parents died, I suddenly had all this fear. I acted out, and I rebelled. You name it, and I did it. Don’t get me wrong, my grandparents were good to me and raised me the best they could, but they weren’t my parents. I felt like I’d lost everything when they died. Almost as if a part of me died with them. I couldn’t control what happened to them, but I could do my best to control my own life. I felt the need for such control out of the fear that consumed me. And that same fear led me to do what I did. I know you don’t believe me, but I’m not that man anymore, and I have you to thank for that. I don’t ever expect you to forgive me. I don’t deserve your forgiveness, nor will I ever forgive myself for what I did to you.”
Harper
“You act like you’re the fucking victim here, Grayson.”
“I’m not the victim, Harper, nor do I pretend to be. You wanted to know why, and I told you. I'm sorry if my telling you the truth isn’t good enough. I’m going upstairs. Take whichever guest room you want,” he spoke as he began to walk away.
I got up from the chair, took a few steps, and froze as a pain tore through me, and I felt something warm travel down my legs.
“Grayson,” I spoke in a panicked tone.
He stopped, turned around, looked at the ground, and then up at me.
“I think my water just broke.” I clutched my belly. “Oh, God.”
“Shit,” he said as he ran over to me and grabbed hold of my arm. “Come on. Let’s get you to the couch.”
“No. I’m soaking wet.”
“Sit down in the chair for a minute. I’llrun upstairs and get you one of my shirts. I promise I’ll be back in a second. Okay?”
I nodded my head as I sat down. Within a moment, he was back with one of his t-shirts. One I used to wear all the time before I had kept extra clothes at his house. He helped me from the chair and into the bathroom.
“Let me help you change out of those clothes,” he said.
“No. I can do it. I think you better call 911.”
“Right. I’ll go grab my phone.”
I stripped out of my clothes and slipped on his t-shirt. This wasn’t happening, and I started to panic. When I walked out of the bathroom, I sat on the couch. Suddenly, another cramping pain fired through me.
“Oh, my God!”
“They’re sending an ambulance as soon as possible, but the roads are washed out, and they don’t know how long it will take to get here.”
“It’s too early, Grayson. I’m not due for another four weeks. I can’t have her yet. It’s too soon.” I grabbed his arm.
“Shh. It’ll be okay. Everything will be okay. I will notlet anything happen to you or the baby. They’ll be here.”