Dysarthria | Dialogue Story ✔

Chapter 37: I'll Miss You Too

Chapter 37: 𝓘'𝓵𝓵 𝓜𝓲𝓼𝓼 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓣𝓸𝓸

He tensed up when Jake started singing. He had his hands on her waist and kept pulling her closer to his chest. He was looking Gracie up and down like he was hungry and she was the last piece of food left on this planet. Cory couldn't stand the way he was touching her and he couldn't watch any further.

He stood up from his seat, his anger building up as he walked up the steps to the stage and punched Jake in the face.

-

One punch in and he was already being escorted out of the house by the rest of his teammates. The images of Jake's hands all over her - her waist and cheek and her hair infuriated Cory.

He didn't want to see anyone else's hands on her. He yanked one of the boys' hands off him and ran his hands through his dripping wet hair. Rage gripped him; his jaw was clenched and his chest was heaving up and down.

He-who-shall-not-be-named slammed the front door open hard enough to hit the wall. "We were just singing together! What the hell did you do that?!"

"Just singing? If that actually were the case, that'd be fine, but your hands were all over her!"

"Oh, come on! That meant nothing! It was a sexy song-"

"That you chose!"

Rain was still being dumped from the sky, thunder was booming loud enough to drown out the rest of the argument and lightning was brightening up the whole sky. Wind was blowing so fast, palm trees and cactuses were swaying and birds were flying everywhere, desperate to find shelter from the storm.

Gracie remained inside, but stood behind Jake with a perfect view of Cory. She'd never seen Cory so angry. His piercing eyes directed toward Jake and the heat that was spreading to his face in fury reminded her of her father. Growing up, she learned things at a slower pace thanks to a certain brain injury.

She remembered that for the longest time, she'd still hold her fork with a fist - much like a baby would when they're first learning to use eating utensils. If she was at an age where she could remember that, she was too old.

Her dad wasn't the most patient man. He never hit her. It never became anything physically violent, but when she wouldn't respond to him, he'd scream and curse at her, the veins popping out of his red forehead. Gracie only wouldn't respond to him because she was always intimidated by him. She feared she'd say something that would unleash the monster hidden within him.

There was one day when she realized how scary her dad was. She couldn't think of what it was that started it, but her and her mom were in their bathroom as she was fixing her hair. They were getting ready for her older sister's basketball game at their middle school.

Dad came in. He was livid. He screamed at mom to get out of his house, her mom recoiling against the shower door. Her voice saying that she was sorry, on the verge of bursting into tears always haunted Gracie whenever dad would get angry. She would imagine herself in mom's position with his face inches away from hers and feel the horror wrapped around her chest.

Now there stood Cory with a familiar look and now Gracie was trembling with fear. Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears at the memories but she quickly wiped them away with her fist before anyone could see them. She wouldn't want to cause another scene and ruin their party even more.

"You know what? Fuck you! Don't ever let me catch you with your hands all over my girl-I mean her again!" He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to take deep breaths, focusing his attention on Gracie who was still inside as she watched the fight. A small smile touched his lips. "I'll meet you in the car, Gracie! I want to make sure you get home safe!"