The Death of Me by Yolanda Olson Read Free Book Online Page A

even more obvious that I refused to back down on that. Two weeks to sin with him was more than enough and then I would go back home and erase the memory from my mind. I would act like this never happened and I would learn to stop looking at the fucking obituaries hoping for a familiar death.
    Grandma's house wasn't far from the hotel. She lived in Burbank ever since I could remember and was too stubborn to leave it. Not that I thought anything was wrong with the place, I just knew that trying to convince her to move down to Florida with me would probably be out of the question. My heavy sigh got Garrett's attention and I felt his hand suddenly on my leg. 
    "What's up?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the road.
    "Nothing important," I replied quietly. I shifted in my seat in a way that it would knock his hand off and kept my eyes trained out of the passenger window all of the way to our destination. Garrett chuckled; he probably knew that us sharing that moment that we did before leaving, meant little to nothing to me.
    I'd never love him, and to be quite honest, I wasn't sure that I ever did. I never said it to him when I was younger and I wouldn't say it to him now. It's just how I was; the only person that had gotten an "I love you" out of me recently had been my grandfather and he wasn't even alive to hear it.
    "How are we presenting ourselves?" he asked, when he finally saw the city limit sign for Burbank.
    I gave him a confused look and he shook his head.
    "Never mind," he sighed.
    Hm. Wonder what that's all about, I thought as I turned to look back out of the window again. I knew it wouldn't be long until we reached my grandparents' house and I didn't want to enter her home with any obvious tension between myself and Garrett.
    "You can pull into her driveway she said," I told him, pointing as we approached the modest two story home. I smiled at the yellow panels that lined the outside of the house, the wooden steps that I used to love sitting on as a child, and the tire swing that still hung from the lone maple tree in their front yard.
    I went over to the swing, smile still on my face, and gave the tire a gentle push. I found myself wondering if Scott had been on this swing at any point in his life, just once, and it made me turn away. It made me climb the stairs to my grandparents' house and ring the doorbell. There was a reason Grandma wanted me to come over today and I wondered if it had anything to do with him.
    I waited patiently until I heard the sound of Grandma's cane making thudding noises across the floor. She peeked through the old curtains on the small side window and smiled when she saw me. A few seconds later, the front door was pulled open and she was holding an arm out toward me.
    "Hi Grandma," I greeted, with a gentle hug.
    "Oh Zaydee. My darling Zaydee," she said happily. "I'm so glad you came."
    "I never could say no to you," I replied, pulling away. "Garrett came with me; I hope that's okay."
    "Of course it is!" she exclaimed looking past me. "Come here and give me a hug, young man."
    Garrett's face turned slightly red as he stepped forward and hugged Grandma. I smiled when I saw her hand grip the back of his shirt, before she pulled away and told us to come in. I waited until he walked past me so I could close and lock her door. Grandma and Grandpa always insisted that the deadbolt be locked first then the doorknob. They said that way, if they ever forgot to lock the bottom one, the stronger of the two would always be set in place.
    "Young man," I teased him quietly, as I caught up to them.
    Garrett shook his head, an embarrassed grin spreading across his face as we sat down in living room. I watched as he helped Grandma get comfortably into her chair before he came over and sat down next to me.
    "Thank you," she said to him with a nod. "I put the tea kettle on, so hopefully it'll be ready soon."
    "Thanks Grandma," I said, clasping my hands on my lap. She smiled at me and set her cane next to her