Six Days: Book One in the SIX Series (19 page)

           
Steve quickly put me down and I turned to face Griffin.
His hands were shoved in his jean pockets and his eyes stared directly at me.

           
“Addie, I’m sorry. I should have called,” Griffin
responded, turning his attention towards Steve.
“Really, man?
You’re my best friend, what are you doing?” he asked, a hint of anger in his
voice.

           
“Nothing,
Griff
, we just went
to dinner. What are you doing here?” Steve asked, still caught off guard to see
him.

           
“Well, I came to see Addie. I got out on bail today,
until the trial, and she was the first person I wanted to see. But apparently I
have ill timing,” Griffin replied, shaking his head at Steve.
“Really?”
He gestured towards me.

           
“Griffin, we just, I mean, I, it’s nothing,” I stammered.
“He’s just bringing me home from dinner.”

           
The awkward silence felt infinite.

           
“I’m going to go. You guys obviously need to talk,” Steve
said, walking backwards towards his car. “Addie, are you okay?”

           
I nodded, keeping my gaze directly on Griffin's face. I
could tell he was mad, and that bothered me.

           
“I’m sorry, Addie, I guess I shouldn’t have come. Why is
he here? Shit, Addie, I haven’t even been gone a full week,” Griffin said,
running a hand through his thick dark hair.

           
“It’s nothing, Griffin. He’s just been keeping me
company,” I responded.

           
“I’ll bet he has,” Griffin muttered.
“My
best friend, Addie?”

           
“No, nothing has happened Griffin. I just, well, you
left,” I continued to struggle getting my words right. “Why are you mad at me,
Griffin, you left
me
.
You completely sucked me
into your world, and then you left. You realize I’m pretty used to that
scenario, right?”

           
“Addie, what are you talking about? How is
this the
same thing?” Griffin asked, sounding annoyed.

           
“That’s the whole point, Griffin. Everyone leaves,” I
said angrily.

           
“That’s not true, Addie,” Griffin’s tone softened.

           
“Yes it is, Griffin. Maybe no one leaves you, but
everyone leaves
me
. That’s all I know. My father left me. He went to
prison too, remember? That was a happy time. He never even called me or sent me
a letter. Not one. And, in all fairness, if he didn’t know where I was, why
didn’t he ever make an effort to find me? He literally just left one day, and
that was that. And then my mom, she chose sleeping pills over choosing to stay
with me. How about all of the foster parents I went through every year, maybe
two? I was pregnant before I moved here, how about that? There’s an adventure,
right? Even that baby knew I was worth leaving, Griffin.” I tried to hold back
my tears, but they slowly slid down my face.

           
“Addie, I’m sorry. I didn’t know all that,” he said, his
eyes pleading with mine. “But you really don’t see how this is different? Your
family, they
chose
to leave. Your dad chose to gamble on the life he had
with you and your mom by doing something wrong. Your mom chose to leave her
life behind. That was about her, not you. And that guy you were with before you
moved here? He chose not to love you the way he should have. I didn’t choose to
leave you, Addie.”

           
My tears felt hot on my face.

           
“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Griffin continued, taking a
step towards me. “Do you really think I did something illegal?”

           
“I don’t know, Griffin. How would I know? I’ve only known
you for what, a month or two? Not even that long. Six days, Griffin. I've only
really known you for six days. How am I supposed to know?” The tears continued
to slowly fall down my face.

           
“Addie, that’s why I’m
here
.
They let me out on bail. I mean I’m not cleared yet, but I was able to give the
attorneys enough information to show that I had nothing to do with this. About
a month ago, one of the employees came to me because she suspected something
was up. She had worked for the company forever, and she didn’t know who else to
go to about it. So I promised her I would look into it to see what I could
find. To see if anything she suspected was true,” Griffin explained.

           
“Steve mentioned something about that, actually,” I
replied softly.

           
“Well I found some files in my dad’s office just a few
days before all of this happened. I really think those files have enough
information in them to show who was involved with this and who wasn’t. The
morning my dad showed up at my house when you had no pants on,” Griffin smiled
briefly as he said it, “my dad knew he was going to get busted. He wanted to
talk to me about helping him. He wanted me to lie for him.”

           
“So what did you do?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know
in case it was bad news.

           
“I told him I couldn’t do it.
That my
mother, clearly not him, had raised me better than that.
When I met him
in the office that afternoon he told me I had to lie for him, or else the whole
thing would come crashing down on me too. We argued about it for
awhile
, and shortly after that the place was raided and we
were arrested. A bunch of us,” Griffin said, looking at the ground. “The only
thing I know is that I had nothing to do with it Addie. I’m ashamed of my
father, ashamed I ever even worked for him. Ashamed that I ever left you that
day thinking I had somewhere more important to be. Look, I can’t change
anything that has happened, I know that. And honestly I can’t tell you how the
rest of this is going to play out.”

           
“So you may be leaving again?” I asked quietly. “I just
don’t know what to do Griffin. I don’t understand any of this. I don’t
understand how I am supposed to feel about you. I don’t know what I’m supposed
to do. Every chance, every moment I feel like I’m about to get handed a normal
life, it all falls apart. I just don’t know how long I can do this. Every
single person I’ve ever cared about walks away from me, Griffin. I think the
world is right and everything is okay, and then they’re gone. I just don’t know
how to do this anymore.” Warm tears continued to pour down my cheeks.
  

           
“What did you really wish for that night when you saw the
shooting star?” Griffin asked, confusing me with his change of subject.

           
“Griffin, not now,” I said, shaking my head.

           
“It matters, Addie. Those things matter. What did you
wish for?” he asked quietly. He stood right in front of me, putting his hand
gently on my face.

           
“That I could be with you,” I answered softly. “And then
the next morning it was on your note, and I had never felt more certain about
anything in my entire life.”

           
“So how has that changed? What do you want me to do,
Addie? I promise you, right now, I will do anything you ask of me. You said
‘yes’ to me every time I asked it of you. Now ask me. Tell
me.
Tell me
what you want, Addie.”

           
I stared up into Griffin’s penetrating eyes, seeing a
boyish sadness in them, wanting to fix him.

           
“I mean it, Addie, anything. If you asked me to skip
town, to leave the country with you tonight, I would do it.
Without
hesitation.
I have friends with a plane. I promise you, I would fly
anywhere with you, right now.”

           
In that moment, I thought back to
Ardell
and the angel wings. Her promise to me that someday I could choose to just fly
away, somewhere to a world where my life was anything but what it had been.
A calm
came over me, feeling like this choice was finally my
moment to decide what kind of life I would have.

           
“Addie, what do you want?” Griffin whispered one more
time.

           
I thought of my life, of everything that had happened to
me.
All the heartache.
All the
praying that someday someone would care enough about me to want me to be
theirs.
Someone who cared what I did,
who
I was. Someone who just
wanted to experience life with me so I wouldn’t have to be alone anymore.

           
“Same as I wished for,” I replied.
“To
be with you.”

           
Griffin leaned down and brushed the hair back from my
face. “
Arany
masodik
,” he
said softly into my ear. His lips paused less than a whisper away from mine,
lingering. Finally, he kissed me passionately. I believed him in that moment,
that the brief second before his lips touched mine was more powerful than any
other decision I could ever make.

           
“I don’t want to leave though,” I whispered as my mouth
pulled away from his. “That could end up worse for you, for us. Just promise me
this will all end up okay, Griffin. Promise me you’ll choose not to leave me,”
I said quietly, the tears still pooling at the corner of my eyes.
 

           
In one swift motion, Griffin scooped me up in his arms,
walking towards the front door of my apartment.

           
“I promise you, Addie. Even if you ask me to, I promise
not to go anywhere.
Ever.”

           
Griffin held me tight and carried me into my apartment,
laying me down on my bed. There, on my pillow, rested a single pink daisy and a
note card.

           
Day 8:
 

           
The rest was blank.

           
“You get to write this one,” Griffin said, kissing me
softly.

           
“Good. I want to go to the beach.”