Start off Fresh (Glee)

Chapter 28: Sore

"Hey babe. Do you feel okay?" Ryder asks as he walks into mh room with a tray of food. I smile and I kiss him.

"Thanks babe, and I kinda feel better," I said and I look down at my delicious breakfast. He made scrambled eggs with bacon, toast, and hash browns. He sits next to me while I eat. I see him staring at the food. He must be hungry. He made this for me but he must of not made any for him. I pass him a piece of bacon. "Eat it. I can see that you're hungry," I said. He shakes his head.

"No, I'm not eating your food. You need to get your energy up," he said with a weak smile.

"Ryder, have it. If you won't eat, then I won't eat," I said and I cross my arms. He rolls his eyes and he takes a piece of bacon. I smile. "Thank you," I said with a giggle. He smiles. I then start to eat one of my hash browns.

"Are you going to school on Monday?" He asks and I nod.

"Yeah. I can't just not go to school. I mean, my brothers would do that, but not me," I said and I then finish eating my hash brown.

"That brings me to my second question. Why are you living with Jake and Puck? Don't you have a house to go to?"

"No, I moved out. It reminded me too much about my mum. So, Jake helped me move. It was scary, you know, trying to put all of her things into boxes without crying."

"I'm sorry. Where's her stuff now?"

"In a storage shed, and when I'm ready, I'll go through her stuff."

"You are amazing. Your life is filled with sadness, but you still have a reason to live."

"Yeah, it's you...and my brothers, but mostly you." I kiss him.

"Am I interrupting something?" Jake said at my bedroom doorway.

Why does he have to interrupt us?

"You are Jake, but I forgive you. Come in," I said. He jumps onto my bed.

"I need to do something downstairs," Ryder said and he kisses me on the forehead before he leaves.

"How are you?" Jake asks.

"I've been worse," I said, remembering what he did to me earlier in the year.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there with you. I feel so stupid that..."

"Hey, hey. You're not stupid," I said and I give him a hug. "It's my fault. I agreed to have one dance with him. He said he was going to leave me alone after that, but I could tell that he was going to do something," I said with a tear.

"Hey, it's okay. You're safe now. Come here," he said and he pulls me in for another hug. I start to cry.

When I'm with Jake, I'm emotional. I feel like I can tell him anything. But, when I'm with Ryder, I am myself, the fun girl.

He hugs me for a while. There is now a big patch on his t-shirt from where I was crying. I pull away from our hug and I wipe the rest of my tears away.

"Thank you Jake," I said with a weak smile. He smiles back.

"Anytime Gracie."

"Hey, do you guys want...babe, have you been crying?" Ryder said when he enters my room. I nod and he runs over to me. "What happened?" He ask with worry.

"It's just that I'm wondering if the memories will come back when I go back to school. They'll haunt me, Ryder," I said with a scared look on my face.

"It's okay. You have me and Jake there to help you get through it, and you can't forget about the Glee Club," he said and he grabs my hands. He kisses them which makes me smile. "I love you," he said.