State Of Grace

Chapter 34 - Bad Blood

If it weren't for his bigoted views and the possibility that he was abusing his son, Gracie might have liked her birth father. He was friendly and cheerful, interested in everything Gracie said, and he spoke proudly of Jasper. He seemed like a perfectly normal guy, despite his money he was humble and extensively apologetic for having not known about Gracie for years.

When they got home, Gracie went straight up to her room, successfully avoiding further questions from her mom. Maia was sitting at her vanity putting on makeup and getting ready to go out, she always had some kind of social event to attend on weekends, "Oh hey," Maia turned away from the mirror, "How was it?"

It had been a long day, and Gracie was exhausted, but she managed not to snap at Maia, "Can we talk about something else?" Gracie said, laying back on her bed and kicking her shoes off with a huff, "Where are you going tonight? Another party?"

Maia put down her makeup, "Actually, I'm glad you asked," she sat at the end of her bed, facing Gracie, "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Gracie sat up, crossed her legs, and looked at her sister curiously, Maia was rarely this serious. "What is it?"

"It's about Jason," Maia gritted her teeth, "He asked me out."

Her confused expression quickly turned to surprise, "Oh," was all she managed to say.

Maia scanned her sister's face, trying to gauge how she felt, "And I said yes," she continued, hoping Gracie would give something away.

Eyebrows still raised, mouth slightly open, "Oh," she said again, but a blank stare remained in her eyes.

"I can still say no if you don't want me to go," Maia said sincerely, but she was biting her lips, clearly hoping for a more positive response.

Gracie realized she hadn't said anything of substance yet, "No," she said, shaking her head, "No, you should go," Gracie said, finally getting her head around it.

"Really?" Maia asked, "He's your ex, and that's kind of the golden rule of sisterhood, don't date each other's exes."

"Maia," Gracie laughed knowing Jason was a far better match for her older sister anyway, "It's fine, really," she insisted.

Maia stood up and hugged her, "Thank you," she smiled, "I was so worried that you'd be mad," she sat down next to Gracie.

The last time Maia was nervous to talk to Gracie was right after she was stabbed. "So, you really like Jason?" She smiled as she watched Maia's cheeks flush red at the sound of his name. "When did this happen?" Suddenly she was excited to be talking with her sister about something so normal.

"I was trying to flirt with Mikey Wilson after the soccer game last week, but he barely noticed I was there," Maia explained, then her face softened in the same way Gracie's did when she thought of Rachel. "And then Jason just came up and said hi, and we started talking."

"About what?"

"I don't know, nothing really, everything? The next thing I knew, everyone else had gone home, the sun was going down, and hours passed in the blink of an eye. I had never felt like that with someone before, so I kissed him."

Gracie smiled, and hugged Maia again, "I'm so happy for you." She wished she could tell her sister about Rachel, but the voice in the back of her head told her it was a bad idea.

The following Friday morning was quiet, Gracie woke up early to get ready for the day, she was getting more nervous by the second. It was finally time to introduce her girlfriend to her best friend.

"Are you still hanging out with Sarah today?" Danny asked through a mouthful of toast.

The older kids in the house liked to sleep in a lot later than the rest of the family, and Stella wasn't home from her night shift yet, so, at breakfast, it was just Gracie, Danny, and Lilah.