Stone Circle Woulda been gone like a wayward wind

For a moment, Grayday simply sat there, blown away by her airy response. Hurt and confusion punched through his gut in the moments before she tacked on her second question, and then Grayday could only wince as he realized that he would have to make himself say it all over again. It'd been bad enough the first time, and considering how much he'd thought about this, he probably should've settled on something more expansive to start with.

"No, we're not leavin' just yet," he replied, slowly to buy himself time. By the time the sentence was over, he still hadn't quite struck up the nerve to say more, and when he'd finally composed himself, he had to clear his throat to get the words out. "It's gonna be a long trip," he said, and then quickly realized that still wasn't enough. He cleared his throat again. "A few weeks. A month, maybe."

He made himself look at her when he said it, not wanting to miss any hint or cue. This girl had been his everything for so damn long, now, but he still couldn't predict her. "You can come, if you want," he said, not wanting her to think he was trying to leave her behind. "I always want you with me - but I understand if you don't want to leave Easthollow again for so long."