State Of Grace

Chapter 28 - We Were Happy

Stella and Lilah did their best to help Gracie process the news of her long-lost brother, but there was no handbook for this kind of thing, "If you want to meet him, we can arrange something," Lilah suggested.

Gracie didn't respond, there were too many thoughts in her head, "He could be anyone, I could have passed him in the street, both of them," she squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to shut her brain off.

"Gracie," Stella grabbed her daughter's hand, "How do you-" she struggled to find the right words, afraid to say the wrong thing because she knew how fragile Gracie could be, "Are you okay? I know it's a big shock, but love, you need to say something."

She hadn't realized how long she'd been silent until Stella's touch brought her out of her head, "I don't know," she murmured as her eyes struggled to make contact with anyone else's. "Can I just go to my room?"

She barely waited for her mother's reply before she turned and walked up to her bedroom where Riley and Maia were both doing their homework, she had hoped that with it still being the weekend her brothers and sisters would all be out of the house so she could have some space, but with exams coming up soon, they were all knuckling down.

Gracie slid off her shoes, climbed into bed, and started mindlessly scrolling through her phone. It was all she wanted to do all week, but now that she was finally able to take some time to wind down, she found herself getting restless.

"Gracie, I can't focus with your leg bouncing up and down like that," Maia said, she always got cranky when she was studying, especially now that her exams were approaching.

Gracie couldn't take it either, so she put her shoes back on and walked out of the front door, muttering something to her mothers about going for a walk and that she wouldn't be long. She'd run away a few too many times.

She walked aimlessly for a little while, listening to music on her phone and trying to quiet her brain. It wasn't until she noticed that the cement floor beneath her feet was getting sandier and sandier that she realized she had walked to the beach, specifically to the lifeguard tower where she and Rachel would frequently meet.

Rachel was just one of the things that pained Gracie to think about it, but unfortunately, she was also one of the things that wouldn't leave her head. If she had just kept her mouth shut about the adoption, she and Rachel would be fine.

"Maybe I should have run away with her, at least then it would be my choice to leave."

"Hey," a voice came from behind her, making her jump, "Sorry," it was Jasper again. "I didn't mean to scare you," he climbed up to the deck and leaned against the handrail next to Gracie, "And the other day, I didn't mean to freak you out with all of the questions."

"It's fine," she said, almost relieved not to be alone because she didn't trust where her mind was going, "Were you following me?" She was half kidding.

Jasper chuckled, "No, I was walking home from therapy and I saw you heading this way, looked like you might need to talk."

"No offense, but if I wanted to talk I would have done it in group," Gracie wasn't mad at Jasper, she just didn't understand why he seemed to be around every corner lately.

"Okay, then I guess I'll leave you to it," Jasper turned to leave.

After a quick moment of thought, Gracie reached out and touched his arm, "Wait, you don't have to go," she might not have wanted to talk about her feelings, but maybe Jasper did.

Jasper and Gracie sat down together, now that she was closer to him, she could see a bruise forming under the collar of his shirt, and when her eyes darted back to his, he tugged on the shirt, concealing the bruise from her sight.