HIRAETH [1] || Grayson Hawthorne

Chapter 43- Cherry pies

"Smoking is no joking matter." -Alisa Ortega

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Grayson went back to his room after we ate the food last night, thankfully he didn't stay. If he did then I wouldn't have been able to fall asleep at the thought of having him in my room with me. Was that what he felt the night I slept over? Maybe it's why he dashed before I even woke up.

I swung my legs to the side of my bed, letting it dangle. "Rory, wake up." someone walked through the door that joined me and my sister's room. "Oh, you already are." Alisa said, looking a bit surprised. "Good morning." I greeted her just for the sake of it. Alisa didn't care to acknowledge what I said.

"Do you remember the stunt your sister pulled?" she asked but I just shrugged, "The one where she said she knew why the both of you were given the inheritance." she refreshed my memory. It was the time Drake was outside the gates and we were just coming back from the office, I think. "What about it?" I asked Alisa, not bothering to thank her for a short stroll down memory lane.

"In an attempt to do some damage control, I arranged for your debut in Texas society to take place this weekend." she informed me, sounding robotic. "Do I have to ride a horse or something?" I asked, standing up and tying my hair into a bun at the nape of my neck. "There is a charity benefit that you and Avery will be attending this evening." she disregarded my horse comment.

I pursed my lips, "Okay." the word sounded distasteful, I was excited to go to an event but I dreaded the talking to other rich people part. "I'm taking the both of you dress shopping in--" she paused to look at her watch, "25 minutes." she finished her sentence. At least I get to wear something pretty.

"Wait, hold on. What about our shooter?" I frowned, walking over to my balcony doors. I pulled the curtains to the side, Orion barked. "Someone out there still wants to kill us, and don't forget about Harper." I opened the glass double doors, immediately feeling the heat of the sun on my skin. My dog ran out and hurried to the edge, he sniffed the ground in curiosity before licking something off of it.

"Mike and Oren signed off on us leaving the estate." she continued. "You have media training at one and then hair and makeup at four." she started walking towards the entrance of my bedroom, "You have twenty-three minutes left to go change." she gave Orion a little wave.

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Thea came with us but she and Avery took another car, Mike's orders not mine.

I sat cross-legged while facing the window, "Are you excited about shopping?" I asked Mike while he drove, "Nothing I'm not used to." he replied. I frowned, was his old client someone who shopped a lot? "Who's bodyguard were you before?" I asked, not really remembering if there was any mention of his previous client during our time together. "That's confidential." he told me, looking very stoic in the rearview mirror. I had always just assumed he was Tobias Hawthorne's.