18. Griffin
EIGHTEEN
I wasn’t expectingto see Meghan at this party. Even if she had heard about it, I didn’t think she’d have the guts to show up, but here she is. She looks the same, except she has a fringe now. The light of the bonfire reflects off her brown skin. Despite looking the same, everything feels different.
I feared that I would see her again after all this time and despite everything she’s done to me, I’d still feel love. But, as she stares at me through her large square glasses, I realize that I feel nothing at all except fear that she’ll find a way to hurt Eliana.
I finally let go of her clammy hand once we reach the dead tree log and we sit down, side by side. My eyes flicker up to Eliana who is watching us with a curious expression. I feel guilty for leaving her behind and taking Meghan’s hand in front of her, but I needed to get her away from Eliana. She’s proven to be a dangerous person and I won’t take any chances when it comes to her.
“Why are you here, Meghan?”
“Oh, I see I’m just Meghan now? Not Babe, Sweetheart, or even Meg?” She crosses her arms and pouts like a child, something I used to find cute.
When I don’t entertain her, she rolls her eyes and stretches her long legs out in front of her.
“I came here to talk to you.”
I sigh. “What is there to talk about?”
“I don’t know, the fact that you walked in on Colton and me?” She shrugs.
My body goes numb, and my heart feels like it might launch right out of my chest. She’s talking about it like I did something wrong by finding her cheating on me. I feel bile make its way up my throat, but I force my expression to remain unbothered.
“I don’t think there’s much to talk about, Meghan. You cheated on me with my best friend instead of just breaking up with me first. No explanation or justification is needed, we’re done.”
She places a hand on my bicep and my skin turns ice cold. I bite my tongue so hard that I taste blood pool into my mouth. I look back up at Eliana and feel like someone just dumped a bucket of ice water on me as I see her talking to Colton.
“Did you bring him here?” I ask through barred teeth, my lip pulling back.
“Nope. He’s been following me around like a lost puppy ever since you came back to town.” Meghan sighs.
My nostrils flare. “You both need to get out of here and stay the fuck away from me and my team.”
I scramble to my feet, fists clenched as I take a step towards Colton and Eliana, but Meghan runs in front of me and pushes me back with her palms.
“Are you seeing her now?” She almost sounds hurt, but I know her well enough to know that she’s putting on a show.
My skin itches from where she touches me and I take a step back, watching as Eliana and Colton walk towards the ocean together.
She shouldn’t be alone with him. Where the fuck is Koa?
“Is she your girlfriend?” Meghan hisses.
My reply gets trapped in my throat as I look down at Meghan who glares at me like she’s ready to kill me…or Eliana. She never did like not getting her way. I convince myself that there are enough people around to keep Eliana safe if Colton tries anything, so instead I focus on putting out the Meghan fire first.
I sit back down and pat the spot beside me, waiting for her to sit. “Okay, let’s talk.”
“I miss you, Finnie. I want you back. I want us back.” Meghan whines.
The switch in her mood is jarring and it’s at this moment I realize something isn’t right with her. She has a dangerous look in her eyes as she stares up at me, but I refuse to let her scare me. She needs help, professional help, I can see that now.
I clasp my hands in front of me. “I’m not getting back together with you, Meghan.”
“Is it because you have a new girl now?” Her gaze cuts into mine.
“I know what you’re doing,” I sigh. “Is this another one of your creative news stories about me? What is the headline you’re thinking of doing this time, Griffin Jones returns with new girlfriend?”
She fidgets with her hands. “Are you confirming that you have a new girlfriend?”
“You’re unbelievable.” A bitter laugh crawls up my throat.
I finally stand up and walk away, digging my feet into the sand with each step to help ground myself. Not knowing if Meghan is still watching me, I decide not to seek out Eliana right away and instead find Koa beside a cooler, reading the labels of two bottles of alcohol.
“Why did you leave Eliana?” I growl.
He drops the bottles back into the cooler and looks me in the eye. “I thought she’d come with me, but she chose to stay and talk to Colton.”
“I swear to God if he does anything to her?—”
Koa points a finger over my shoulder. “They’re right there if you want to keep an eye on her. I’ve been watching them this whole time.”
I twist my head around and spot Eliana and Colton walking along the old boat dock. An uncomfortable feeling settles in my stomach as I watch them walk further and further from the party. Although Eliana is completely capable of taking care of herself, I decide to get closer to where they are, just in case. I never would have expected Colton to do anything to her but I don”t know if I can trust him after what happened with Meghan, even if what he told me is true.
As I near the dock, I hear a loud crack and Eliana shrieks as the end of the dock breaks off from the rest, throwing her and Colton into the water together. A chorus of gasps surrounds me as the rest of the party watches the scene unfold. I yank my shirt over my head and toss it to the sand as I run towards what’s left of the dock.
“Griffin!” I hear Eliana shout from the dark waters.
When I reach the end of what’s left of the dock, I find her struggling to stay afloat while holding an unconscious Colton.
“Griffin, help!” She shrieks again.
Without a second thought, I dive into the ice-cold water and swim to where she is, pulling Colton onto my back and wrapping an arm around her waist to help her stay afloat.
“Are you okay?” I shout over the loud ocean waves.
“My legs are cramping,” she whimpers.
Panic claws at my chest when I realize I won’t be able to hold them both up, but I shove the feeling far away, needing to stay focused.
“I’m not leaving you, sunshine.” My voice cracks as I pull her in tighter and use all my strength to keep her and Colton afloat while I tread water.
“Fin, catch this!”
I look towards the voice coming from my boat and spot Maliah and Kairi. They throw in a lifebuoy, and it lands directly beside Eliana.
“Grab onto that.” I push her towards it, and she quickly grabs on, relief engulfing me.
“Griffin, I don’t think he’s breathing,” Eliana says, voice trembling, as she looks at Colton hanging over my shoulder, “he hit his head on a piece of driftwood when we fell in, and I found him floating face first. Leave me and take him to shore.”
“I’m not leaving you,” I say stubbornly, though I know Colton won’t make it out of here alive if I don’t get him to the shore fast enough.
I try to pull her along with me as I swim towards Koa who is cutting through water like it’s nothing, but Colton’s weight slows me down.
When Koa reaches us, I pass Colton over to him and we swim our fastest and hardest towards the shore, Eliana dragging behind us as I pull the rope attached to the lifebuoy.
Koa tosses Colton onto the dry sand and starts to perform CPR on him as Maliah and Kairi run from my boat onto what’s left of the dock, holding dry towels for us. Eliana is shaking profusely in my arms, and I try to shield her from everyone else that is watching us, her dress sticking to her body like a second skin.
When they reach us, they toss a towel over her and take her from me, wrapping their arms around her shivering body to warm her up. I run over to where Koa is and take over the chest compressions while he counts beside me.
Colton is lifeless under me, his face paling and his lips turning blue. The thought of losing him this way lights a fire under my ass and I put even more pressure in my compressions before I blow more oxygen into his mouth. I won’t let him get off this easy, he owes me for all the pain he caused, and a part of me wants our friendship back.
When I lower myself back down and blow into his mouth, he responds with a watery cough. Koa and I quickly roll him to his side and Colton spits out water before coughing and gasping for air as he sits up.
I fall back onto my ass, resting my hand on my knee as I watch the color return to his face, my breathing ragged as the panic claws at me chest. I look around at all the eyes on me and feel it building, reaching overwhelming levels. It reminds me of my accident; I assume this is what it looked like too when I was being resuscitated by the medical team. When Colton finishes coughing and his breathing evens out, he looks up at me with a horror-filled expression.
“Did you kiss me?” he asks in disgust, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Oh, fuck off.” I scoff, but I can’t hold back the smile that pulls at the corners of my mouth as the panic begins to fade away.
Koa laughs beside me, and I join in until all three of us are laughing. This moment reminds me of what it was like between us when things were good, when we were as close as brothers. Sadness replaces the relief that I feel, and my laugh dies away, both of theirs following shortly.
The crowd cheers as Koa helps him up, and Colton being the crowd pleaser that he is, takes a bow before turning back to me. He holds his hand out for me to take so that he can help me stand up. I stare at it for a moment, considering whether I’ll burst into flames from touching him, but I take my chances and accept the help, feeling the familiar ache in my leg. Blood trickles down his forehead from a cut on his head where the driftwood must have smacked him.
“You’re bleeding.” Kairi runs up to Colton, grabbing his chin and angling his face so that she has a better look at the cut.
Her expression is filled with worry and anger as she frowns up at him. Her relationship with Colton was always complicated, just like her relationship with Zale.
“I’ll take us back to The Shredder House, you can take my bed for the night. I’m going to stay on the boat with Eliana tonight,” I mumble, returning to Eliana’s side.
Kairi throws me a thumbs up as she loops her arm around Colton, supporting him as they walk towards the dock and board my boat.
Eliana trembles against me so I bend down and pick her up bridal style as she buries her face in my neck, her cold nose pressed against my skin as I walk us towards the dock. I’m careful with where I step, afraid that the whole thing will fall apart.
We make it onto the boat safely with Koa, Maliah and Zale following closely behind. I walk us up to the bridge, pressing the button that raises the anchor from the ocean floor.
“Are you okay?” I ask Eliana as I carefully place her on the cushioned bench before I start up the boat and steer us away from the cove and towards the direction of The Shredder House.
“I’m okay,” she says through chattering teeth.
I let out a deep sigh. “Let’s get you showered and changed into something dry. You”ll get sick if you stay in those clothes.”
I call Koa over to take over the steering and help her up as we make our way to the lower deck where the master bedroom and ensuite bathroom are located. As I help her out of her wet clothes, I notice my hands shaking. I pause, holding them up and staring as they tremble. I must be coming down from an adrenaline rush after everything that happened tonight.
I almost lost her, and the thought alone makes my throat feel like it’s sealing shut. As I usher her naked and cold body into the shower, she reaches back and grips onto the fabric of my soaked shirt.
“Please don’t leave me,” she whispers.
I don’t hesitate as I strip down to nothing and climb into the small shower with her, holding her cold, naked body against mine as the warm water beats down on us both.