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What kind of fucking twisted story am I living in? Am I seriously going to let a mob boss, or kingpin, or whatever the hell he is justify why he kills people?
I'm just confused. It makes no sense. I get that Andrew has no degree, but neither do Ethan and I. We're doing our best to get by without killing people. Greyson claims it's his legacy, but what the hell does that even mean? Daddy got too old to kill people and now it's his turn?
He claims he doesn't kill innocent people. But who's "not innocent" in his eyes? Anybody that crosses him? Does that mean I'm next?
I guess I've decided to let Greyson explain more for myself. Maybe it'll give me peace of mind... as fucked up as that sounds.
I look at my phone on my nightstand. I thought about calling earlier but decided it'd be best to wait until I'm alone, away from Carter.
I grab my purse, phone, and keys and head for the door. I'm gonna call him on my way to work and let him tell me what the fuck he does.
I say my goodbyes and jump in my car. Before I shift gears, I press Greyson's contact... lowkey hoping he won't answer, but to my surprise after the first ring I hear--
"Hello?" His deep voice makes me jump.
I don't respond at first, kind of scared of the answer I'm gonna recieve when I ask about his job.
"Brooke? Are you there?" He asks again.
"Greyson." I greet him, trying to stand my ground.
"I'm glad you called," He says, more softly this time.
"You want to explain what you meant by you only kill people that aren't innocent?" I cut straight to the point. My knuckles are white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. My eyes are focused intently on the road in front of me. Thank God for bluetooth or else I probably would've already crashed from my nerves.
He chuckles. "No small talk, got it." And then he sighs. "Brooke, I don't expect you to understand what I do... not at all. My business--"
"Your business?" I interupt, disgusted by his choice of wording.
He sighs again. "Look, the people we handle... they're not good guys."
"Care to elaborate?" I say, bitterness all in my words.
"First of all, we don't mess with women and children. That's not my style. I would never hurt a woman or kid."
I laugh. I laugh. God, what has my life come to?
He stutters. "Truly. We handle the men that think it's okay to hurt women and children."
"How do you expect me to believe that?" I roll my eyes even though he can't see it.
"You don't have to, Brooke. But what you saw that day--" He starts.
"I don't care, Greyson. Thank you for your... explanation or whatever, but I think I'm done here." I hear him sigh after I say the last part. I thought I could do this, but I can't. I don't trust him.
"I understand. Thank you for letting me explain. I hope this has given you some sort of relief. I would never put you or Carter in harm's way, and I would never allow Andrew to either," He says seriously.
My voice breaks. "Thank you."
I appreciate that he still thinks of Carter, but I can't be with someone who deals with things like that. Not when I have a son to think about. Not when I already have what I have to deal with.
--
It's been two weeks since my conversation with Greyson, and I won't lie... I've found myself missing him. I hate that I miss having someone. I opened my heart to someone and, once again, I've been fucked over. I've been lied to.
Andrew and I haven't spoken much either, but I miss him.
I go by his door, where he's sleeping. He worked all night last night, undoubtly doing things I don't want to know about.
I back up and stand in front of his door. I think about knocking but decide to just bust in.
"What the hell?" He groggily mutters, rubbing his eyes.
I jump on his bed, catching him off guard. "Brooke?"
"Andrew, I miss you."
His shirtless body sits up. "I miss you, M, but--"
"I forgive you. And honestly, after all this time with me not knowing, maybe we'll be okay," I say. "And besides, maybe it'll be beneficial to have someone of your... caliber on our side."
He laughs and wraps me in a hug. "Thanks, M," He says. "What about Greyson? Have you talked to him anymore?"
"I haven't... but I've been thinking." I pull from his hug and sit up straight. "I haven't felt the way I feel with him in a long time. I wish he didn't do what he does, but I'm starting to think maybe it isn't so bad?"
Once again I say, what the fuck has my life come to?
"I'm not going to justify anything we do, but honestly? It's not that bad." He sighs.
I laugh. "Okay, please explain how. He says y'all get the 'bad guys.'"
"I mean... yeah? When I joined, Greyson explained that before the business was his, his dad used it for drug dealings and hurting people for no reason," He says, and my eyes widen. "But when his dad decided it was time to pass it down, Greyson changed everything."
"How the hell did he do that? He changed a gang? Do you hear yourself right now?" I laugh. I can't stop laughing.
"I don't know, Brooke." He shrugs. "All I know is that we get people who do bad shit. Rapists, child predators, shit like that."
I don't say anything, I just sigh a breath of relief. At least he's not that bad of a guy, I guess...
"He used his power for good. I like knowing that if someone were to hurt Carter, our group would help bring justice to him by ending that sorry son of a bitch's life."
My eyes widen again. "That's kinda... I don't know... morbid?"
"You understand though," He says. "We're not out to hurt random, innocent people."
I nod. "Yeah, I guess I do."
I hug him again, harder this time.
"Damn, Brooke. Can I have some air?" He struggles.
"I love you, doofus."
"Me too."
"Well, shit. Can I get a hug?" I look over to see Ethan leaning against the door frame. "I'm getting FOMO."
"FOMO?" Andrew asks, confused. His eyebrows all furrowed.
"Fear of missing out, dipshit. Keep up." Ethan shakes his head and jumps on us.
--
I'm looking at my phone again, contemplating calling Greyson. On one hand, I feel bad. I miss him. But on the other hand, he leads a gang. He leads a fucking gang.
I get it's like a good gang or whatever... if that's even a thing. I sound stupid even saying it. It's like a fucked up Disney movie: Son changes dad's evil gang for the better!
Fuck it. After all I've been through, I deserve to be happy. I guess I'm just now realizing that. Greyson is the only man who's made me feel like I have a shot at actually doing that, though.
I pick up my phone and press his contact. I stare at it for a moment before pressing the call button.
After a few rings, he answers. "Brooke?"
"Hi," I say softly.
"Hi," He says, and I can pratically hear his smile.
"I was thinking," I start. "We could start over."
"Start over?"
"Andrew explained everything to me, and honestly, as goofy as it all sounds, I'm just going to give you another chance. YOLO, ya know?" I say, nervously. God, I sound dumb.
"YOLO, huh?" He chuckles.
"Yeah, I want to trust you." I fall back onto my bed. Carter's been asking about Greyson. I feel like I owe it to him to try and give him a chance. I trust Andrew and Ethan more than anything, so if Andrew still has me, then... yeah, YOLO.
"I want that too. I miss both of you," He says.
Both of you. I hope I'm not being an ignorant dumbass here. A fucking gang leader...
"Us too." *Insert me internally sighing.*
