Page 219 of Bound By Crimson
“Yeah. I heard all of that.”
She covered her face with both hands, mortified.
“Great,” she mumbled through her fingers.
“No, it was sweet. You’re not insane or hearing things.”
A pause.
The air between them felt thin, breakable.
Then:
“I’m Grayson.”
She didn’t answer right away.
Her mind raced.
A thousand questions and alarms went off inside her.
Who are you really?
Is this a trap?
Are they watching me right now?
Am I stupid for standing here?
She wanted to run.
She wanted to stay.
She wanted to believe someone could be kind without wanting something back.
But the Thornwicks had beaten that belief into dust.
Her voice shook when she finally spoke:
“I… can’t tell you my name.”
The words tumbled out jagged and wrong.
Her lungs burned.
It felt like confessing a crime.
“Fair enough,” Grayson said gently.
Another pause.
Not awkward.
Not heavy.
Just quiet.
He spoke again, even softer:
