Hoverfly Girl by Parker Wren

Author:Parker Wren [Wren, Parker]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-08-27T22:00:00+00:00

“Not possible,” he said, but I could detect the doubt in his voice.

I stood up and wiped sand off of my pants.

“Grayson,” I said. “I’ll tell you the worst part first, okay? But then you have to promise to listen to the whole story.”

Grayson nodded, saying nothing. His eyes were fixed on me. The fire created shadows on his face that shifted. I could no longer read his expression.

I took a deep breath and swallowed.

“I was never Dom’s girlfriend. I was sent here to spy on Henry.”

There was silence. I expected Grayson to get up, to start pacing, or at least make some expression of shock. Instead, he said nothing as he stared at me.

“Go on,” he said, his voice cold.

I had lost him. I had lost Grayson. The feeling was like a punch in the gut. But I also knew that I deserved it. I deserved it the way that any person who has lied to someone they care about deserves it.

I deserved neither sympathy nor pity.

I told Grayson the whole story. I started from the beginning—when Manuel approached me, my poorly-thought rationale for going through with it, everything with Dom, my guilt about investigating Henry. I explained how Dom and I were convinced of Henry’s innocence and were trying to prove it to Manuel, but it wasn’t easy. I told Grayson about breaking into Henry’s office and computer.

Grayson’s face contorted into something resembling disgust and embarrassment. “I can’t fucking believe you people.”

I sat down and nodded. “I know,” I said. “I thought if I could just show that Henry had nothing to do with it, then I could be done with it. And I am now, Grayson,” I said, turning to him. My voice was pleading, desperate, and I hated myself for it. Grayson shouldn’t even have to hear my pleas.

“I have never lied to you about anything else. I know you have no reason to believe me since I told you a lot of lies, but it’s true. Every moment that you and I have had together—that’s been real. All of it.”

Grayson stood up, repulsed by my presence. “I find that hard to believe. Wasn’t I a target too? Henry’s best friend? I’m sure you were trying to work me, too.”

I shook my head. “No,” I said. “I’m sure I was supposed to. But no.”

I fought back the tears that were building again behind my eyes. The lump in my throat was so large that I struggled to swallow.

“I knew,” Grayson said finally.

I turned to him in shock. “What?”

He paced around to the side of the fire, hands in his pockets. “Well, I didn’t know all of this, but I knew something. Suspected something. The night that those guys showed up—put a gun to your head—I heard you, Ariel. I heard you tell them that you were ‘here for Henry.’” That was right after I had called the cops and was running down the stairs.

“I didn’t know what you meant at the time. I thought maybe you were just trying to get these guys away from you, but it was such an odd thing to say.

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