Page 249 of The Art of Almost Losing It
Piper:WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU
Piper:SHIT IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN
“Crap. I need to go.”
“I’ll take you back,” Finn offers.
“Do you have a tarp? I don’t want to ruin your car.”
“It’s actually Grayson’s car, so…” He shrugs.
I try to call Piper, but there’s no answer.
I hope there’s time to shower before whatever this emergency is about.
48
GRAHAM
“Graham!” My brothers call my name as they chase me through the woods.
“Leave me alone. I’m leaving. I can’t be around her!” I shout.
“Why are you being such an idiot?” my brother yells.
“I hurt her!” I holler over my shoulders.
Aaron comes out of nowhere and tackles me into the snow. It sprays up on Spencer.
“No.” I struggle under him.
“Listen,” Spencer says as he joins Aaron in pinning me down. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
“I’ll never see Dani again.”
“She seems pretty dope. She’s wearing clothes from Costco, so I bet she’ll take you back if you bring her a cheese platter,” Connor tells me.
“You don’t understand,” I groan. “I can’t be around her. I’m not safe for her.”
“You got off scot-free,” Aaron argues. “Everything’s going to be fine. You heard Frank—he’s going to kill the investigation. It’s going to be like none of this ever happened.”
“So all’s well that ends well!” Connor chirps.
I shake my head. “But I’ll know it happened. I fucked up. I am fucked up. I do deserve to be in prison.”
“Well, I can’t have you in prison,” Grayson says sharply. “So just cut it out.” He kneels down next to me. “You’re not a bad person. You just… Things got out of hand.”
“I’m taking responsibility for my actions,” I groan.
“Let’s have him take a sabbatical. Try again in six months,” Grayson says definitively.
***
I’m wedged in the back seat of the car between Connor and Spencer while Grayson drives and Aaron rides shotgun, arguing with him about the best route back into the city.
“It’s morning rush hour,” Aaron tells him. “Don’t take the Lincoln Tunnel.”
“There are only three ways to get back onto Manhattan,” Grayson retorts. “I might as well take the tunnel.”
