The next day...
Grace didn't get it. She didn't understand how Max had suddenly had such a change of heart and decided so out of the blue that he wanted to be apart of Brinley's life.
A year ago he had run away while he got the chance, yet now he was acting like he was a changed man. He wanted to prove himself to her and show that he wasn't messing around but that was so difficult to believe.
Grace wanted to talk to someone about it. She desperately wanted to let out everything she was feeling and get a second opinion but she couldn't. The one person she wanted to talk to was not the best option right now.
Harvey didn't know that Max was Brinley's dad and if he found out, he would be fuming. He wouldn't be angry at Grace, he would be angry at Max for everything he did to her. Therefore, Grace knew that when she did finally tell him, she would have to do it gently and in a well thought out manner, not just when she was in desperation for a little bit of advice.
"How are you finding it?" Grace asked Harvey, as she walked into town with her phone held against her ear.
"What I've seen of this city is amazing but I haven't really had much chance to explore. It's been busy." Harvey replied and she could hear the tiredness in his voice.
"Busy with work?"
"Yeah, I've just been trying to figure everything out and get to know everyone."
"Have they shown you around at all? You can't just be stuck in that garage, Harvey."
"Yeah, yeah, they have. We're going for drinks tonight or tomorrow I think, probably down by the river." Harvey began before pausing for a moment. "I wish you were here... I think you'd love it."
Harvey's words caused a strong sense of longing to flow through Grace as she felt that exact same way. She wished she was there with him too. She wished she could escape Brighton and go and spend the next 2 months with Harvey, to forget about her reality here. However, she also didn't want to push for anything. He had gotten the chance to invite her but he never did, so maybe there was a reason for that.
Grace knew that Harvey was obviously going to be working hard, so maybe that was the reason, but either way she didn't want to push it.
"I wish I was too." Was all Grace said, trying to hide the true emotions behind her voice. "I bet it's beautiful."
"You could come and visit at some point, if you like? I'll be home this weekend though."
"Really? This weekend?"
There was an obvious lift to Grace's voice, as her excitement did not go unmissed. Although she wanted to see him now, knowing she only had a matter of days caused so much relief for her. With the stress of the Max situation, all she wanted to do was be able to cuddle up in his arms and sleep, feeling safe and reassured. He always gave her that.
"Yeah, probably Friday night. I can't wait to see you." Harvey smiled, even though she couldn't actually see him. He also became very aware of the fact she hadn't responded to his idea of her coming here to visit, causing him to be even more wary of whether that was moving too fast. However, at the same time, he was doing everything to keep his dad's advice in the back of his head and not let such a minor thing sway his thoughts.
"I can't wait to see you either." Grace breathed, smiling to herself too as she headed down the street.
"Are you doing much today?" Harvey then asked and that question wouldn't usually cause such panic in Grace, but right now it did as she didn't feel like she could be honest.
She was currently on her way to meet Max in a coffee shop so they could talk, yet telling Harvey would cause many more questions to follow.
"I'm just going into town. I might go for a coffee or something." Grace answered simply, feeling guilty that she had missed a crucial detail out.
"Cool, well I've gotta go babe." Harvey replied as some voices began shouting him in the background. Although Grace didn't want this phone call to end, she knew that it was for the best right now or she'd be cornered into lying to him more. "I'll call you later or something."
"Yeah, okay. Have a good day and don't work too hard."
"I won't."
With that, Harvey had quickly ended the call, leaving Grace feeling empty and lost for a few moments. She felt guilty too, like she had just committed a horrible crime and she knew that no matter what, she was going to have to tell him about Max at some point. It would drive her completely insane if she continued to keep it from him.
"You're on time. That's a shocker!" Max suddenly creeped up behind Grace, sounding full of life, the complete opposite to her right now.
"No, we're both just late." Grace replied while glimpsing down at her phone.
She knew never to trust Max's instructions of time because he never stuck to them. Therefore, she always made sure she was around 20 minutes later than he told her.
"Oh shit, my bad. I woke up late." Max responded so casually, as he began leading the way into the coffee shop.
Before following him, Grace let out a long breath. She needed to be ready for this conversation, not really sure where it would go. However, one thing she knew for sure, was that she needed to stay strong throughout. She couldn't let anything he said or claimed, alter her judgement.
...
"We need to talk about last night." Grace insisted, as her hands rested either side of the mug in front of her. "I didn't know if you'd had a drink or not, so I'd rather do this completely sober."
"I hadn't drunk anything." Max immediately refused. "I was sober. I meant every word."
"But did you though? Do you realise what you said?"
Grace was finding it so hard to believe that this guy was genuine. She knew that he wasn't an awful person, he had been one of Harvey's best friends for years, plus, she and him had always got on well. However, what he had done a year ago had managed to change her perspective on him and she was now finding it difficult to believe that he was being real with her.
"I realise what I said and I mean it. Honestly, travelling has all different impacts on everyone and for me, it completely changed my mindset. It gave me so much time to think."
"So you spent your gap year thinking about being a dad? That just doesn't seem realistic to me."
"No, I spent it thinking about you." Max corrected and his words, plus the sincerity in this voice captured Grace off guard.
She felt her heart begin to pound against her chest, as she just watched him in confusion. She didn't know what he meant by that or if she had taken it completely wrongly. However, the look on his face confirmed quite a lot.
"I was thinking about how you were doing, I was worrying that you were struggling, I felt bad for leaving. I was thinking about how I had fucked up and I was replaying everything in my mind over and over again. I was thinking about what I left behind and how stupid I had been."
"Max..." Grace trailed off, desperately wanting to tell him to stop but he didn't let her.
"No, it's true. I know it was just a one night stand and I made that very clear to you but you've always been fucking awesome. I began to realise what I had left behind me and what I had fucked up. I realised that things could have been so much different."
"But you left. You left me to deal with this shit alone. That's the decision you made, Max." Grace spat, raising her voice in the process and capturing the attention of a few surrounding people.
"I know I did and that will always be my biggest regret."
"You can't change that now! You can't come back here, just click you fingers and hope that everything will magically be okay. It doesn't work that way."
"I'm aware of that which is why I want to prove it to you." Max stressed and this was the first time Grace had seen him so desperate.
He usually held up such a front and wanted everyone to think he was this 'cool' and 'chilled out' guy, but he was anything but that right now.
"Who are you trying to prove yourself to here, Max? Me or Brinley?" Grace exasperated, finally asking that one question that he was not making clear.
There was a few second of silence while he said nothing at all, before Max dipped his head slightly.
"Both of you." He whispered. "I want to prove to you that I'm a decent guy and not a complete twat. I want to prove to you that we can go back to the way things were, when we actually got on and had fun together. But I also want to prove to Brinley that I can be a good dad and be there for her. I want to get to know her but I also want to get to know you, more than just what I know about you in the bedroom..."
Max's last comment caused Grace to roll her eyes as he was incapable of holding himself back from saying something inappropriate. However, everything he had said also caused her head to spin in confusion. What was he saying exactly? What was he trying to imply here? It didn't make much sense to her. Every conversation they seemed to have left her feeling dizzy and exhausted.
Nothing was proving to be that easy.
"I'll give you one chance, that's it." Grace bit, saying the words and not being able to stop herself. She didn't know why she was agreeing to this, or why she was making it so easy for him.
"What? Really?"
"We need to talk about this properly, like when it's going to happen and that, but I'll let you meet her just once."
"Thank you, Grace. I promise I won't fuck it up." Max stuttered, suddenly seeming both nervous and excited. He had lost all composure.
"Yeah, well, we'll see."
"I gonna prove to you that I've changed and grown up. I'm not that idiot who ditched you a year ago, I mean that."
Nodding her head, Grace hoped he was right because she had just agreed to something huge. She didn't know why she had done it but for some reason she wanted to give him that chance.
When he had mentioned 'family' the previous night, that had been the thing to initially pull her in. She wanted Brinley to have a family, a real one that wasn't complicated or messed up.
She had grown up with a family that was a little confusing, to say the least, so she didn't want that for her daughter. She wanted Brinley to live a normal life and by allowing Max into hers, that would hopefully with provide her with that stability.
....
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