Chapter 22

The first thing I saw when I woke up was Barry's face. I wanted to run my fingers trough his hair, like I used to do. But I was afraid it would wake him up. So as quiet as possible I walked downstairs. The doorbell rung. Slowly I stood up and walked to the door. When I opened it I saw Grayson standing there. His tie and the jacket of his tuxedo were gone, his hair was messy and sunglasses covered his eyes. "Grayson? What are you doing here?" I asked. "You were suddenly gone last night. I came to check on you," he said. "A friend brought me home," I explained to him. "Audrey? Is everything alright?" A still sleepy Barry with messy hair stood behind me and looked at Grayson with some suspicion. "Who's he?" Grayson asked. The boys kept looking at each other. "It's fine," I said to Barry. Barry nodded slowly and walked away after giving Grayson one last glance. When I turned back to Grayson I saw his lips had become a thin line, which only happened when something bothered him. "I let you out of my sight for one hour and you manage to find someone to hook up with," he said and laughed humorless. "Grayson, you don't understand it," I tried to explain but he cut me off. "I honestly thought I had a chance," Grayson said. A chance? He was my best friend. I couldn't imagine it any other way. He wasn't a relationship guy. He liked to flirt and party's, and to drink to much at a party and then take random girls home. He wasn't ready to settle down. In a relationship you had to talk to each other, to trust each other. To him was talking a sign of weakness. After his mother died his father learned him that vulnerability or weaknesses shouldn't be showed because people would use it against you. It had took me months to gain his trust and only seconds to loose it again. "Goodbye, Audrey. Maybe I'll see you around," Grayson said and walked away. I stood there with the door open for a little while before I heard Barry again. "Are you okay?" He asked. "I'm fine," I muttered and slowly closed the door. "Are you sure?" He tried again. "Yes. You want breakfast?" I asked. He nodded. We were eating eggs and bacon when my phone rung. "Mr. Donovan, can I help you?" I asked. "Hello Audrey. I'm afraid I have bad news," Grayson's father said. "What's wrong?" I asked him. "We have to let you go," he said. "What do you mean?" I managed to ask. "You're fired, Audrey. I'm sorry," he said before ending the call.