“I lost everything,” he told me one night. “I thought running away was my only option.”
“Maybe we’re both running.”
Grant studied me.
“I’m done running. And you?”
For the first time, I realized I was no longer hiding from Kyle. I was building a life that had nothing to do with him.
“No,” I replied. I’m gonna start over.
Our friendship deepened little by little. Grant repaired Aunt May’s porch railing, changed broken locks, and installed motion-sensored lights without making me feel helpless. He never tried to control my decisions. He just stood by me while I took them.
Aunt May approved.
“He doesn’t stand in front of you,” he said. “He stands by your side.”
One afternoon, when I got home, I found the front door open.
Grant arrived in a matter of minutes and searched the house. Someone had opened the drawers from the desk and pulled money out of a jar.
