Page 74 of Eleanor & Grey

I much preferred when Lorelai was around, because I dreaded the silence that came when it was just Karla and me.

“So…how was school today?” I asked Karla, glancing toward her through the rearview mirror. She looked up for a split second before looking back to her cell phone.

I’d been completely ignored, though that wasn’t shocking.

“Sounds wonderful,” I muttered to myself.

We pulled up to the physical therapy center and headed inside. The front desk receptionist checked us in, giving big smiles to us both, and then she had us go into a back room where Karla’s appointment would take place.

It seemed her physical therapy was to keep up her strength. They performed a lot of muscle exercises, and Karla was extremely good at almost every one that was tossed her way.

I waited by the door where chairs were placed for family members.

When the door to the room opened, I was a bit shocked when I looked up to see Greyson walking in. He had on the same hard expression he always did and was dressed in yet another tailored suit and tie, of course. He walked over to the empty chair beside me.

“Greyson, hi,” I said breathlessly, sitting up a bit straighter. “I didn’t except you to be here.”

“At my daughter’s physical therapy appointment? Of course I’d be here,” he replied dryly.

Right. Of course.

Uncomfortable silence. I wondered if it was uncomfortable for him, too, or if I was just overthinking it all.

I had a tendency to overthink certain subjects at times.

“She’s doing really great,” I commented, nodding toward Karla. “Both of the girls are really. Lorelai had a fantastic week so far, and she’s been talking about how she’s really looking forward to going to her grandparents’ house this weekend. I think it’s nice that the girls get to spend that much time with their grandparents.”

He didn’t speak a word.

So, I kept yapping, because the less he talked, the more nervous I became. “Lorelai seems to be really into art. I looked up some art programs in the area if you’d be interested in me forwarding the information to you.”

Was I speaking out loud? Were words even coming out of my mouth? Because Greyson was reacting as if I were a ghost, and he couldn’t hear a word I was saying.

“She’s really talented and—” I started again, and I watched his body physically cringe.

“We don’t have to do this, Eleanor,” he interjected, still not looking my way.

“Do what?”

“Engage with each other.” He ran his hand along his jawline before dropping it and clasping his fingers together.

“Oh, right. Sorry. I just figured you’d want to be updated on my first week.”

“I already received updates from Allison.”

“Right, of course, but just so you know, I’m completely okay with updating you each day, since we are around one another. I can stop by your office before I head home. Going through Allison is good and all, but I feel that sometimes she just relays the information without giving you the heart of things. I think us communicating would be wise. Plus, if you think about it—”

“No,” he cut in.

“What?”

“I said no. That’s not going to happen. You will report to Allison, end of story.”

“But, Greyson—”

“Please, Eleanor,” he pleaded. He begged me to stop talking. As if the idea of me reporting to him was too much, as if interacting with me was a huge burden.

I took a deep breath, feeling my skin crawl. He was definitely not the boy I’d once known. “Sorry, Greyson. All I am saying is, I really feel like you should be involved with everything.”

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