It's been a few weeks since Lora and Aika settled in. Grayson has been watching Lora from the ceiling and following her from a distance, in a hoodie in a dark shade of yellow-orange. The first few days, Lora didn't notice. She had just gone about her new routine after giving the company two weeks' notice, then moving on to publishing some stories she had finished. A few grew popular almost immediately. In the fourth week, she began to notice the hoodie. Near the end of the day, while out and about, she caught sight of Grayson's face. Upon seeing him, she froze. She thought she had gotten away from him. She backed away slowly, unaware of how close she was to the road. Grayson saw something behind her and ran over fast. Before she could get far, Grayson grabbed her by her waist and pulled her into him as his hood fell, and a car zoomed past. Lora's hair whipped in the wind as the car passed. She trembled, shaken by the car's loud engine as it passed.
"That was close," Grayson spoke low into Lora's hair. Lora pulled away from him and moved to the side of the road.
"Why are you here, Grayson?" Lora demanded to know.
"You left. Again," Grayson said, acting like this was normal. "I wasn't planning on letting you go again..."
"..." Lora watched him warily.
"Lora," Grayson continued, "I never once saw you as my sister. Or a family member."
Lora stiffened, hearing this. She knew they weren't family by blood, but it still hurt her to hear, especially from Grayson, out of everyone she thought was family. Grayson would always be the one to protect her. To defend her. To be what she needed whenever they grew up together. She experienced internal conflict. It hurt to hear it, but she felt oddly relieved to hear this. But no matter what she tried to reason with herself inside, it all made no sense.
"Lora, I never saw you as a sister, because... I guess deep down, I knew we weren't blood related," Grayson continued to explain. "And before I knew it... I was in love with you."
"..." Lora was stunned into silence. She knew that Grayson was possessive of her, but didn't think he believed what he felt was love that wasn't platonic in any way. She couldn't wrap her head around what was happening anymore. Lora especially couldn't understand why Grayson was telling her this after stalking her. His actions frightened her, following her to another country, especially after what he did back at the family home. Lora stood there in silence, looking at the man who had been raised beside her as a brother. She heard him say that he never saw her as just a sister and internally knew somehow that they weren't siblings.
"Lora, please say something," Grayson begged.
"..." Lora was silent and couldn't quite understand what was going on, still with the conversation to bring up. Lora was confused, more than at the start. She wanted answers, but this only made her question everything around her more than ever. "I have to go, I can't think straight."
Lora almost ran off, Grason calling her name as she left. She couldn't understand what was happening. Her life was only getting more tangled, more of a mess, and much more of a complete tangled mess of dead ends, and many more questions that overwhelmed her inside. She kept going on foot, never stopping for anything, not even giving herself a break, until she found her way to her apartment. She didn't waste time and headed inside the building, her mind foggy, and she couldn't understand what was going on, especially with how messed up this situation is.
The moment Lora entered her apartment and shut the door, she pressed her back against the closed door. Aika was out since she had a job interview. Lora remained alone in the apartment, and her mind buzzed with thoughts. Questioning what to do, how to handle this, and why this had to happen at all. No matter what Lora tried to do, she couldn't silence her mind, no matter what she tried to do. She went to her room automatically, flopped onto her bed, and rubbed her hands over her face. She was tired and wanted this mess to be over so she could move on. But life never goes how you want it to. Especially with family, and finding out they were never blood family. She thought back on her life. Her time with the people who raised her, her life growing up with Grayson. And now she knows how Grayson feels about her. Lora rubbed her eyes, frustrated with herself inside and tired outside. She was done, and wanted all this to stop before it went too far into this toxic, frustrating, destructive mess.
"What the hell is happening anymore?" Lora spoke softly, too tired to stay awake anymore with all this. "Why did this have to happen? Why did this have to be so god fucking damn messy? I hate this, I hate the situation, I hate these thoughts... What do I do about Grayson?"
Lora lay in her bed, tired, confused, and exhausted by the surrounding mess. She knew something had to be done, but there was no answer to what it was. Lora couldn't think what to do.