I really hate to say this but.......This is the final chapter. I'm really going to miss this book. But, make sure you read the author's note at the end. (:

Chapter 31

Grayson was released from the hospital three days later. Evidence was found for the shooting so both Dedrick and Devon was put in jail. Since the shooting was intentional, Devon was tried as an adult. If only those two idiots knew that there was a camera from the café showing the alley because apparently, a lot of shady things happened there.

Things were different at school. Since Belle was my friend again, the whole school didn't hate me anymore. It was weird to say the least.

Word got around that Devon was involved in Grayson being shot and a lot of people were asking if he was okay. He hated the attention.

"How could you still get more points than me?!" I asked, staring dumbfounded at the TV screen.

"Talent," Grayson said with a smile. We were playing Call of Duty and were killing some zombies, yet Grayson scored way more points than me. His arm was in a sling, so he had to hold his control to the side, which was quite difficult in my opinion. "I told you I would score higher than you. Now, I believe you owe me something." He tapped his pointer finger on his cheek. I sighed, leaning forward to give him a kiss on his cheek. However, right before my lips made contact, he turned his head so my lips pressed against his.

"You're such a cheater," I said, shaking my head.

Grayson's cell phone rang, so he picked it up to answer. "Hello?......No way. I'm not going to one of those......Elliot, nothing you will say will convince me to go.......Because I'm in pain. Ow, my shoulder. It hurts so much." The sarcasm in Grayson's voice made me roll my eyes, but I was a bit curious as to what his cousin wanted him to go to. "Fine! I'll go, but I'm bringing Poppy with me and you're going to have to pick us up at her house. That's where I am right now......Yeah, whatever. You owe me big time."

"Thanks for asking if I wanted to go," I said sarcastically.

"Elliot wants to go see her friend's boxing match," Grayson explained. "But her dad doesn't want her going alone. Usually she goes with her best friend but for some reason she isn't going tonight."

I raised an eyebrow. "A boxing match? I don't want to go to that."

"Too late," Grayson said. "Besides, I saved your life a few days ago. You owe me big."

I rolled my eyes. "Does everybody owe you big?"

"Yes," Grayson said. "Elliot should be here soon."

"Darn, that means I can't beat you in another game." I put the controllers away before turning off the game system. Grayson and I then went upstairs. Dad was reading the newspaper, a warm mug of coffee in his hand. "Dad, I'm going to go out with Grayson."

Dad nodded, not looking away from the newspaper. "And what time will you be back?"

I looked at Grayson for an answer. "Before ten, for sure," he replied. "Is that fine."

Dad looked at Grayson for a bit before nodding. "Yeah, that's fine. Have fun."

Grayson and I went outside of my house to wait for Elliot. She pulled up in the driveway in a very old, rundown car. "Thank you so much for coming," Elliot said as Grayson and I climbed into the backseat. "Laughlin nearly freaked out when I told him I wasn't able to come if I couldn't find someone to go with me." I guessed Laughlin was her friend that was boxing.

When Elliot started driving to wherever the boxing match was, she asked, "So, Grayson, how's your shoulder?"

"Believe it or not, I've been through worse," Grayson said and I knew he was talking about how he was almost beaten to death when he was thirteen.

"That's right, you were in the hospital when you were thirteen. Mugged, right?" Elliot asked.

Grayson snorted. "Not even close. Let's just say your uncle isn't what he seems." Grayson looked extremely angry thinking about the memory, so I held his hand.

"What?" Elliot asked. "Uncle Gary did that to you?"

"And Graeme," Grayson said. "But you didn't know that because my dad told everyone that I was mugged."

"Are you serious?" Elliot asked. "That's horrible! And nothing happened?"

"I live with just my mom now," Grayson said. "And my little sister. I still hate my dad and brother for it."

"I'm sorry that happened," Elliot said as she pulled in the parking lot of the boxing place. "Why didn't you tell anyone when it happened, though?"

"Um, because I was almost beaten to death," Grayson said. "I was afraid they would do it again. Let's no longer talk about this."

The three of us got out of the car and went inside the boxing place. "I'm going to wish Laughlin good luck before the match starts." Elliot took off to wherever her friend might have been.

I looked at Grayson, who looked a bit tense. "You okay?" I asked.

Grayson sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine, I just hate talking about what happened with my dad and brother and me. But I thought that Elliot should at least know."

I rubbed Grayson's shoulder --the one that wasn't injured, and the tension was immediately released. "You're so brave, you know that, right?"

"Brave? Yeah, right." Grayson snorted and shook his head. "If I was brave, then I would have told the authorities who really beat me up. If I was brave, I would have fought them back right away."

"And if you weren't brave, you wouldn't have jumped in front of the bullet when I was going to get shot," I pointed out. "Grayson, you were ten when they first started beating you. Graeme was sixteen the day you almost got beaten to death. Even if you fought back, that wouldn't have necessarily made you brave."

"What have I ever done to deserve someone like you?" Grayson said, pulling me into a hug. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," I replied as I caught a glimpse of the boxing ring. "It looks like the match is about to start."

Grayson and I walked over, finding Elliot standing in the front of the crowd. She was talking to one of the two teenage boys standing in opposite corners. He had curly brown hair and bright green eyes. That must have been Laughlin.

When the match started, Elliot stood by Grayson and I. "I'm so torn," she said. "The match is against my good friend and the guy I like. But I'm cheering for Laughlin. I have to."

"So you don't like Laughlin?" Grayson teased.

Elliot shook her head. "No, he's dating my best friend, remember?"

I watched the fight, which seemed like it would be a very close match. However, the boy fighting against Laughlin seemed to be a bit more skilled in boxing.

After it looked like it was going to be a close fight, Laughlin was knocked to the ground by a strong punch. He tried getting up, but Elliot said, "Laughlin, just stay down! You can't take anymore!" I had to agree with Elliot; Laughlin's nose was bleeding and he looked exhausted.

The other boy ended up winning the match by knockout. After celebrating, everyone left the ring area to congratulate the boy.

Laughlin sat at the edge of the ring, his head in his hands. "Laughlin, don't be upset," Elliot said. "You tried your best."

"My best?" Laughlin asked. "Obviously my best wasn't good enough to beat Jerry. I can never beat him."

"You'll beat him eventually," Elliot assured, patting Laughlin's shoulder. "Just keep practicing."

"You did do pretty good," Grayson offered. "Most of the time, it looked like an even match."

"Thanks, Grayson," Laughlin said. "It's nice to see you again, but uh, what happened to your arm?"

"I got shot," Grayson replied casually. "I was really awesome and decided to jump in front of a bullet."

Laughlin raised an eyebrow. "And why would you do that?"

"To save my girlfriend's life," Grayson said, wrapping his arm around me. "This is my girlfriend, Poppy. Poppy, you probably figured out that this is Laughlin."

"Hi," I said. "Like Grayson said, you did pretty good in the match. I thought it was a close match."

"Thanks," Laughlin said again. "Well, I should probably head home. Don't want to stick around and watch Jerry rub it in." He gave Elliot a hug before heading to the change room.

"Hey, Elliot, can you take Poppy and I to the pond near her house?" Grayson asked. "I'll consider it as your payment for me coming here."

"Sure," Elliot said.

"Why do you want to go to the pond?" I asked Grayson.

Grayson just smiled as we headed to Elliot's car. "You'll see."

So Elliot dropped Grayson and I off of the pond that was a mere five minute walk from my house. I didn't know why he wanted to come to the pond, there was nothing interesting about it. Grayson pulled my all the way to the pond, and sat down on the grass. I sat down beside him. "So why are we here?" I asked.

"Because," Grayson said. "Because this was the place I always came to whenever I was beaten by my dad and brother. It was my escape. I always thought this place was so peaceful and beautiful. And now, I want to share it with you."

I couldn't help but smile as I looked around the pond. Colorful flowers were in bloom, planted along the perimeter of the pond. It really was a beautiful place.

"I could get use to coming here," I said. "It's nice."

Grayson smiled. "I love you a lot, Poppy. More than anything."

I leaned forward and pressed my lips gently against his. "I love you too Grayson." In that moment, I could see myself spending the rest of my life with him. What we had was perfect and I never wanted to lose it. I wanted us to last forever. And I strongly believe that we would.

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First, I really hope you guys are satisfied with the ending. If you're not, keeping reading this author note. cx

Secondly, I really really really want to thank the readers that read the book from start to finish. I also want to thank everyone who commented on and voted for the chapters. It really made my day reading your comments or seeing that someone voted for it.

And finally, if any of you are interested, the book I'm writing that is about Elliot and Laughlin might be posted by the end of the week. Poppy and Grayson do make some appearances because I don't want to let them go, however, they won't be characters that are important to the plot. Grayson might be because he's Elliot's cousin.

So, as of me writing this line, it has been eight months since I wrote this, but I decided to write this just in case some of you don't read the next part. Well, let's just say that if you liked this book and wished there was more of Poppy and Grayson, you might want to read the next part, titled Announcement. (: