Bad Influence

Callie

The sun had barely started to filter through the curtains when I rolled over and checked my phone, 9:14 a.m. Mia was still passed out in her room.

Grayson was already gone, his truck was missing from the driveway. The silence in the house settled over me.

After everything that happened by the pool, I’d half expected to wake up to a confrontation.

Maybe a stern lecture or another round of I-set-the-rules-and-you’ll-follow-them. But nothing. Not a word, not even a single glance when he dropped his coffee mug in the sink before heading out the door earlier.

It was like the moment never happened.

Only it did and I hadn’t forgotten.

I spent the next hour trying to keep myself busy. Cleaned up the kitchen. Sorted my laundry. Scrolled through my phone. None of it worked. His voice, gravel deep looped in my head like a broken record.

“Because the thought of something happening to you makes me lose my goddamn mind.”

He hadn’t said it like a man trying to protect a friend’s daughter. He’d said it like someone on the edge of losing control.

When Mia finally shuffled into the kitchen around eleven, hair tangled and oversized T-shirt swallowing her frame, she blinked at me like I’d been waiting for her.

"You’re dressed."

"It’s almost noon."

"Fair enough," she said with a yawn. "You feel like going out today?"

"Out?"

"Yeah, like actual fresh air. Coffee, mall, maybe meet up with a few people later."

"People?"

"Guys. Chill, it is not that serious."

I hesitated. I didn’t want to admit that the idea of being anywhere near some cocky, local boys made me uncomfortable. Especially not after last night. Especially not when the only man I couldn’t stop thinking about was the one I wasn’t supposed to.

"Sure," I said, grabbing my sandals. "Why not?"

The cafe was crowded when we got there, filled with the sounds of clinking mugs and hushed conversation. We grabbed a window seat and ordered iced coffees, the kind we used to drink every weekend in high school.

It should have felt nostalgic.

It didn’t.

Because sitting across from me was Mia, scrolling through her phone, giggling like we were fifteen again and I wasn’t that girl anymore.

"They’re already here," she said, nudging me. "Ryan and Kade. You remember them, right?"

Vaguely. Ryan was always the charming one. Kade, the one who got suspended for trying to hotwire the principal’s car.

So great.

They slid into the booth like they owned it. Ryan smiled at Mia like she was the only girl in the room. Kade’s eyes landed on me and stayed there.

"Callie, right?"

"Right."

"You look different."

"That will happen."

He grinned like I’d just told a joke. "College must’ve been good to you."

I gave him a tight smile. "Sure."

Mia didn’t notice or didn’t care to. She was already laughing at something Ryan said, leaning closer, hand on his arm. It wasn’t my business. Mia was an adult.

She could flirt with whoever she wanted but something about the way Kade looked at me, like he was calculating something, put me on edge.

"So, you girls down to hang around after this?" Ryan asked.

"Depends," Mia said, swirling her drink. "What do you have in mind?"

"A couple of friends in the backyard with music and drinks. Just something chill."

Mia looked at me. "Are you game?"

Every part of me screamed no. But I didn’t want to be the killjoy.

"Fine," I said. "But we’re driving ourselves."

The house wasn’t far, just a few blocks off the main road but the moment we stepped inside, I knew this wasn’t “chill.”

There were already at least twenty people in the backyard. A cooler full of beer. A speaker blasting hip hop and a haze of smoke that didn’t smell like cigarettes.

"Wow," I muttered.

"It’s not bad," Mia said. "Come on. Let’s at least grab something cold."

We drifted apart as the crowd grew. I sipped a bottle of water I didn’t ask for and tried not to flinch when Kade reappeared.

"Didn’t expect you to say yes," he said, eyes raking over me.

"Neither did I."

"Are you always this uptight?"

"Are you always this annoying?"

He laughed. "Feisty. I like that."

I took a step back. He stepped forward.

"Relax. I’m just talking."

But his hand brushed my arm like it belonged there. Like he had the right and all I could think of was how wrong it felt. Not just because of him but because it wasn’t Grayson.

And then I saw it.

The truck.

Pulled up at the curb. Dark and familiar.

It was Grayson.

He stepped out slowly. No rush. No panic.

But I knew that walk. I knew that look.

He wasn’t here by accident.

Kade was still talking. Still trying and I wasn't listening.

Grayson’s eyes locked on mine and the rest of the world fell away.

He didn’t shout, neither did he storm in

He walked straight past everyone and stopped in front of me. His jaw was tight. His voice was low.

"We’re leaving. Now."

Kade blinked. "Who the hell are you?"

Grayson didn’t even look at him.

"Callie. Let’s go."

"Grayson…"

"Now."

I didn’t argue. I didn’t ask. I just moved.

The drive was silent.

No music. No words.

The only sound was the engine and my heartbeat, still thudding from the way he’d looked at me. Not like a father figure.

His eyes held fur

When we pulled into the driveway, I waited. He didn’t get out.

"You followed us."

Still silent.

"You didn’t come for Mia. You came because of me."

Finally, he looked at me.

"I came because if I’d waited another minute, I would’ve done something I’d regret."

"To him? Or to me?"

He didn’t answer.

I unbuckled slowly. My hand was on the door handle when he spoke again.

"You don’t see what you do to people."

"To you."

His jaw clenched. "To me."

I opened the door, heart thudding.

"Then stop pretending like this is one-sided."

And I left him in the truck, staring after me like he’d finally realized how far he’d already fallen.