The Warning

Sophie 

As I walk down the stairs, I hear laughter coming from the kitchen. When I step inside, I see Jake and Mom sitting at the table with Grayson, enjoying breakfast and having an easy conversation.

It feels good to see Jake slowly accepting his condition. His tantrums have finally started to fade, and he seems more like himself again.

“Good morning,” I say with a smile.

Jake looks at me with a cheeky grin. “Sophie is sleeping late because of me. She thinks she can skip school.”

I grab an apple from the basket and shake my head. “Honestly, no. I can’t skip school. Our teacher is introducing an important task today, and the marks will count toward our final grade.”

The moment I mention school, Jake’s face falls. I walk over to him, passing Grayson, and wrap my arms around my brother from behind while he’s still sitting at the table.

“Soon my brother will be joining me at school too,” I say before kissing his cheek.

When I glance at Grayson, I catch a slight grin on his face. It disappears almost as quickly as it appears.

“You have to take me to prom, remember?”

Jake laughs at my words. “My God, Mom. Tell her to leave me alone. I already have a beautiful girl in mind for my date.”

A dramatic gasp escapes me, and I walk over to sit across from him while Mom laughs at our little banter. I lean toward Jake, still not ready to let it go.

“You promised me!”

Jake rolls his eyes playfully. “Well, no promises now. You can take Grayson with you.”

His words catch both Grayson and me off guard, and my eyes immediately fall on him.

My heart skips a beat when I suddenly remember seeing Grayson shirtless two weeks ago. The memory flashes through my mind, and I quickly look away before anyone notices my reaction.

I quickly clear my throat, forcing those thoughts out of my head. Jake notices the awkward silence and laughs. “I’m joking, y’all.”

Our conversation turns awkward when Thomas walks into the kitchen, immediately ruining the mood. I quickly kiss Mom and Jake on the cheeks before turning toward the door.

“Wait,” Mom calls after me. “You and Grayson should go together.”

For a moment, Grayson and I exchange a look, but neither of us says anything.

“Are you sure?” he asks, turning toward Jake.

Jake nods. “Since you’re both going to the same place, just go together.”

My smile fades when I glance toward Thomas. He’s already staring at me with a dark expression, and I immediately look away.

“Come on, Grayson…” I say, trying to break the awkward silence.

As he gets up, I catch the deadly look he throws toward Thomas. For a moment, neither of them says anything, but the tension between them is obvious to me.

No one else seems to notice it.

“I’ll pick you up from school,” Thomas says. I quickly shake my head. “Don’t worry. I’ll come back with Grayson.”

Thomas grits his teeth but doesn’t say another word. Still, I can tell he’s furious.

As Grayson and I step outside, he suddenly realizes he left his jacket in his room.

“Wait here. I’ll be right back,” he says before heading inside.

I stand by the door, looking up at the clear sky and enjoying the quiet morning for a moment.

Suddenly, someone grabs my arm and yanks me back. I freeze when I realize it’s Thomas.

His fingers dig into my skin, sending a sharp jolt of pain through my arm. I look at him in fear, my heart beginning to race.

“What the fuck are you doing, huh? You think you can refuse me?” he spits angrily.

My heart sinks as fear takes over. Sweat forms along my forehead, and my breaths become shallow. I don’t know what to say or how to get away from him.

Before I can react, I hear footsteps approaching us.

Someone clears his throat. “Sophie, what’s wrong?”

Thomas immediately puts on a smile, as if he wasn’t furious with me just moments ago. His grip slowly loosens from my arm, and the sharp pain begins to fade.

Grayson steps closer, his frown deepening as his eyes move from me to Thomas.

Thomas lets out a quick laugh. “Oh, Grayson. I was just telling her to come back with you, not with one of her friends, you know.”

Grayson doesn’t look at me. He steps closer to Thomas until they are only inches apart, their eyes locked on each other. I can feel the tension building between them, and my heart starts pounding again.

“Grayson, let’s go…” My voice almost cracks as I wipe the sweat from my face. His eyes remain fixed on Thomas. “Sit in the car. Go.”

His voice is calm but serious, and with every passing second, my heart sinks deeper.

I open the car door with shaky hands and quickly get inside. As soon as I pull the door shut, the sound of their voices disappears.

I sit there quietly, trying to calm my breathing. I can’t hear what Grayson is saying to Thomas anymore, but I can imagine how tense things must be outside.

Grayson clearly isn’t happy about what just happened.

A minute or two later, Thomas storms back into the house, taking heavy steps before slamming the door behind him.

Grayson watches him disappear inside before finally walking toward the car.

When he gets in and settles behind the wheel, I take a deep breath, gathering enough courage to ask the question that’s been bothering me.

“What were you saying to him?”

He doesn’t look at me. His hands tighten around the steering wheel, and I can tell from his expression that he’s still annoyed.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” he says, his voice clipped.

“What’s his deal with you?” His question makes me gulp.

I force myself to stay calm and pretend I don’t know what he’s talking about. “What do you mean? He cares about me.”

Grayson starts the engine, letting out a quiet, mocking scoff. “Oh, sure.” I frown at him. “What? You think I'm lying?”

He turns toward me, his eyes settling directly on mine, and my heart reacts instantly.

His cold blue eyes don’t leave mine as he asks, “Give me one good reason to believe you, Sophie.”

I stare at him, unable to come up with an answer that won’t make things worse. My arm is still aching where Thomas had grabbed me, but I refuse to let Grayson see how much it bothers me. 

The last thing I need is for him to start asking questions I don’t know how to answer.

“He was angry because I refused his ride,” I finally say, keeping my voice as calm as possible. “That’s all.”

Grayson gives me a doubtful look. “That’s all?”

“Yes.” I look toward the windshield, hoping he will drop it. “Thomas gets protective sometimes. Jake was in the hospital, I’m going to school, and everything is a mess right now. He probably just wanted to make sure I got there safely.”

I know I’m making excuses for him. 

I’ve been doing that for years.

Maybe if I say them enough, they’ll start sounding true even to me.

Grayson doesn’t seem convinced. His fingers tighten around the steering wheel as he studies me from the corner of his eye.

“I saw the way he was holding you.”

My heart skips.

“He was angry.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re shaking.”

I immediately look down at my hands. They’re trembling slightly in my lap, and I quickly curl my fingers into fists.

“I’m not shaking.” I hate how easily he notices everything.

I pull my sleeve farther down my arm, covering the faint red marks his fingers left behind. “Can we just go? I’m going to be late.”

Grayson doesn’t start the car, Instead, he looks at my arm again. “Did he do that?”

My breath catches. “No.”

The answer comes too quickly, and we both know it.

Grayson leans back against his seat, his expression becoming harder to read. “You’re a terrible liar.”

I glare at him, mostly because I don’t know what else to do. “And you’re extremely nosy.”

“Maybe.”

He finally looks away, but his voice remains serious. “I’m not trying to get involved in your family.”

“Good.”

“But I saw what happened.”

I swallow.

The words sit at the back of my throat, begging to come out. I could tell him that Thomas isn’t always like he pretends to be. I could tell him that sometimes I don’t know what mood he’ll be in when he comes home. 

I could tell him that there are nights when I stay in my room just to avoid crossing paths with him.

But then I think about Jake….About Mom…About everything that would change if I said too much.

Grayson watches me for another moment before finally turning the key.

The engine comes to life, but the tension between us doesn’t disappear.

I stare out of the window, trying to convince myself that I’ve handled everything perfectly.

Then I hear a knock against the passenger window.

My body stiffens.

Thomas is standing beside the car. I lower the window slightly.

“You forgot something,” he says.

I frown. “What?”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small black taser.

My stomach drops.

“You left this upstairs.”

I stare at it without moving.

“I don’t need it.”

Thomas gives me a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “You should keep it with you.”

“Why?”

“You never know who you might run into.”

Something about the way he says it makes the back of my neck prickle.

I slowly take the taser from his hand and place it inside my bag.

Thomas keeps his eyes on me for another second before looking at Grayson.

“Just making sure she’s safe.”

Grayson’s expression remains cold. “Safe from who?”

Thomas’s smile falters for barely a second before returning.

“Everyone, Grayson. You know how dangerous the world can be.”

Grayson doesn’t answer.

Thomas steps away from the car, but before he turns around, he looks directly at me.

“Don’t forget what I told you.”

My fingers tighten around the strap of my bag. I know exactly what he’s talking about.

Grayson silently watches Thomas walk back toward the house before turning to me.

“What did he just tell you?”

I stare straight ahead.

“Nothing.”

His eyes narrow.

“Sophie.”

I finally look at him.

His expression has changed completely.

He’s no longer teasing me.

He’s not annoyed either.

He’s suspicious.

And for some reason, that scares me more than anything Thomas could have said.