As Taylor drives me to Escala I phone mom. She has just finished her shift at the hospital and is driving to Bellevue. She is going to take Mia to see our grandparents later. I tell her that I'm on my way to Christians and that I think Elliot is coming here as well later. She's going to drop some clothes and stuff off for me when she's out with Mia.
As we pull into the garage I notice my car is already here. So he did move it! As we travel in the elevator I ask Taylor if he knows where the keys for my car are. He looks uncomfortable so I tell him that I don't want to put him in an awkward position and that I'm not going to drive it but my gym and swimming gear are in the trunk. He smiles and tells me he will fetch the items for me. Christian must have told him not to give me the keys.
Mrs Jones is in the kitchen and she greets me warmly, asking if I want anything to eat or drink now as dinner won't be until 7.30pm. I decline politely and play a couple of tunes on the piano but as soon as Taylor returns with my sports gear I head to the leisure suite in the apartment block. With everyone at work the gym and lap pool are empty so it is a luxury to work out alone.
After a couple of hours I head back up to the 30th floor. Mom was just about to leave after dropping off my clothes. She likes my new haircut and asks if I'm staying here tonight, but I shrug and look at her warily. She hugs me and tells me it will be good test before California to see if I'm happy away from home and her at night. Vacations I can cope with because she is close by, if mom is away on conference then I'm still at home with dad. I've only stayed at Christians a few times but he's either ended up driving me home in the middle of the night or sat on the bed talking to me until I'm calm after the nightmare and fallen asleep again. Mom is very reassuring and says it's a good time to try with Christian and probably Elliot being here. She then hugs and kisses me goodbye and disappears in the elevator. I go into the spare room next to Christians to shower and change.
After amusing myself on the Xbox for an hour Christian appears with fruit juice for us both and sits on the sofa next to me.
'Is this a good time to chat' he says.
'Lecture?' I reply.
'No, I want to you to talk to me about this morning' he answers.
'Here? Not the study?' I ask
'Yes here, you might relax more and open up. Start at the beginning and tell me everything, even the parts I might not want to hear' he replies gently.
Deep breath, here goes. I explain to him about arriving at Grey House, being totally mesmerized by Olivia the intern and that I think I fancy her. Being upset when he was busy, disappointed and angry with his text so that I just walked out and didn't realise that I'd left the car keys behind on Andrea's desk, to which I add an apology. I tell him how I walked and walked, meeting Franco, the haircut, the walk back and all about the security pass. I also mention that even though I like Ana I'm worried that she'll take up all his time so we won't get chance to do things together anymore and that I'm so so scared that everything's changing so quickly.
After I finish Christian opens up and tells me his version of this morning. He was busy with Ana, spending time with her before she went to her Mom's in Georgia. He likes her a lot but he's not sure about the commitment yet as it's all happened so quickly. Whatever happens he will always have time for me along with the rest of the family. He then goes into semi lecture mode. I cannot have a relationship with any of the staff so Olivia is a no go area! Andrea had phoned shortly after I left because she was worried that I was upset. He'd tried to track me but my phone was off. He knew about the haircut because Mrs Lincoln had phoned him after she'd seen my name in the appointment book at Esclava. He said that the press would have a field day if they knew the youngest Grey was wandering the streets of Seattle aimlessly because he was upset with his brother. Apparently if I'm going to keep wandering especially if he can't trace me he will get me my own security.
I ask him why Mrs Lincoln would phone him, why Franco was scared of losing his job and why I didn't have to pay, so he tells me he owns a chain of salons with her as a side-line. I'm surprised at that as I though he was only interested in shipbuilding, telecommunications and agriculture. We talk about the Edwards incident, how he's now been fired and probably won't work in Seattle again. I will still work in accounts but Christian also wants me to work with Barney in IT for a few hours each week. He's also going to get me another pass that will give me access to all floors but I should keep the other for whilst I'm in the accounts department.
We also talk about my fear of things changing. He asks if this is why I still get nightmares and why I'm maybe worried about leaving home. It's my turn to open up now and tell him yes, change scares me so much even after all these years after mommy and daddy were killed. It's why I've planned the few days away in California with my school friends to see if I can cope with being away from family, and hopefully if I can cope with that then I can maybe think about going away to university. I haven't told anyone until now with Christian that Harvard have already offered me a place to start this year but I didn't think I was ready emotionally ready. Then I murmur quietly 'I thought you would think I was weak, babyish and not good enough to be your brother and part of the family'
Christian is shocked, almost angry that I hadn't told him earlier but he's managing to keep calm for me. He says he wouldn't have thought any less of me and he would have helped me overcome all these fears. He tells me we'll work on all this together through the summer so that I'm totally ready to go surfing away from all the Greys and still have a great time.
Elliot arrives in his usual loud, enthusiastic way, landing on the sofa with a thump.' Xbox or pool' he says to put an abrupt end to mine and Christian's conversation. 'Pool' we both reply together. We all get up together and go to the library, or 'balls room' as Elliot calls it. Out of Elliot's earshot Christian does ask if I'm ok and that he's always free if I need to talk. I smile, nod and thank him.
Christian's thoughts must be elsewhere as both Elliot and I beat him easily in the first couple of games. He accepts defeat good-naturedly which is strange and a first! He leaves me and Elliot to play together as he watches; his blackberry constantly vibrates in reply to his texts. Every time it goes off Elliot and I look at each other, roll our eyes and say 'Ana, again!' Christian just smirks at us.
Mrs Jones call out that dinner is ready when we are so we go to sit at the dining table. As we do Christian asks if we're staying over tonight seeing as Elliot is going away tomorrow so it's the last chance for a boy's night in for a while. Elliot whoops enthusiastically and heads to the fridge for the beers. I shrug, not sure what to do. Christian hands me a beer and says 'We want you to stay; this is the start and will be good for you'
The chicken stew followed by apple pie are really good, Mrs Jones is a great cook! The banter at the table is light-hearted with both Elliot and Christian teasing me mercilessly about my chair spinning incident earlier today. Christian says my face was a picture when I realised he was watching and tried in vain to stop quickly.
We end up relaxing stretched out comfortably on the huge sofas in the great room, having a few more beers, reminiscing about holidays and where else we'd like to travel to. Elliot briefly calls Kate, Christian has another text conversation with Ana but I find I'm not jealous or angry anymore. I'm just very happy to be here, spending time with my brothers.