Page 101 of Come Back to Me

Violet remains calm. “I’m not. I’m your…” She pauses, moving her mouth closer to my ear. “Girlfriend.”

“B-be c-careful. Y-ou d-don’t w-want B-Blake t-to h-hear t-that.”

“Why do you think I whispered it in your ear?”

I laugh so hard that I end up losing my balance and banging my head on something solid behind me. And everything turns blurry.

I was in the hospital for three days.

The doctor said I was lucky I didn’t severely injure myself. They told me it would be in my best interest to stop drinking for good. Oh, if only I listened to them, but I was a seventeen-year-old dumbass with a developing brain, so I thought I knew what was good for me.

Violet told me I banged my head against a wall, which ultimately caused a concussion.

When I was in my late teenage years, I thought alcohol was my friend. It turned out to be my worst enemy and brought out the darkest parts of me. Ultimately, I did stop drinking for the sake of my health and safety, but also for the health and safety of the people I care about.

My hands end up on my knees as a way for me to catch my breath, but my ass ends up on the outsidestep into the house.

As my vision makes the world spin, I hear the sound of a woman’s voice coming towards me. “Grayson?” Then, I realize the voice belongs to Violet. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere.” She quickly examines me as she sits down beside me, gently rubbing my back with her hand. “What’s going on?”

Without making any eye contact with Violet, I answer her. “I-I had a f-flashback.”

“It’s because of the song that was playing before this one, wasn’t it?”

I nod. “Y-yeah.”

“Are you okay?”

I meet her gaze, her mesmerizing blue eyes making it difficult for me to look away. “Now that you’re here, yeah.”

She smiles. “I’m happy to hear that. Do you want me to drive you home?”

“You don’t have to.”

“I know I don’thaveto. Iwantto. There’s a difference.”

“That would be nice. Maybe we can continue our trip down memory lane when we get back?”

“Yeah, we can do that.”

“I’ll have one of my teammates drop off my truck sometime tomorrow. I’m not in a great mental state to be driving right now.”

“And are you sure you’re okay with diving back into our past when we get back?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, let’s get you home.” She gets up, grabbing my hand to lift me off the step.

“Can I say something?”

“Of course.”

“I’m Team Captain. I’m supposed to be strong and put together, but I’m not.” I take a deep breath. “I’m an alcoholic. I have days where it feels like I’m screaming into the void.”

“You should be proud of yourself for reclaiming controlover your life. You’ve been through so much, and you’ve become stronger from those experiences.”

“Not by choice.”

“Sometimes, there are moments in our lives that transpire. We don’t choose for them to happen, but we learn and grow from them. Everything takes time. You’re going to be okay.”