Saving Gracie | ✓

Chapter Thirty Eight: Why Are You Crying?

Grace's P.O.V

"Wow, you look like you haven't slept at all." Nicole comments as I walk to my locker which Nicole is standing at. I open my locker and nod.

"Thats because I haven't." I reply quietly, beginning to place my books in my locker. I close my locker and turn around to see Nicole with a small frown on her face.

"Are you okay?" She asks and I wave her off.

"Everything will be better soon." I say as we begin to walk to our first class. It feels weird talking normally with the person who used to bully me everyday. Well, why would it feel normal anyway? Wait, could Nicole be up to something? Is that why she suddenly asked to be my friend again?

Ugh, I don't need a repeat of the past.

As I enter the classroom, a certain blonde haired boy catches my eye. Luke is sitting at the back of the class with his hood over his head and his eyes looking down at his phone which is on the table. Usually, I wouldn't be worried because this is what Luke usually does but the way his eyes look makes my heart clench.

They don't look like the usually blue eyes I used to get lost in everyday. They look bland and I can see the small hint of pain in them. What I didn't miss though as I took my seat is the small amount of red around the blue which tells me that he either hasn't been sleeping or he...

No, he doesn't do drugs. I mean, he hardly even swears!

I slide my bag off my shoulder and take out my equipment for today's lesson. As the class starts, I can't help but keep glancing over at Luke who is still on his phone, not paying attention to a word that the teacher is saying. When his head begins to move over to my direction, I quickly look away and direct my attention onto the teacher who is standing at the front of the class.

"Okay so we will be going on a school trip soon-" The class erupts into cheers while a few of us, including me, sit in our seats not saying a word. When I say some of us, I mean Luke and I.

"Settle down. Now, the trip will be in two weeks so make sure you pay the money by the end of this week." The teacher announces, beginning to hand out what must be the notes for the trip.

I take a look at the note and Nicole gasps. "To the ranch? Oh hell yes!" Nicole says and I let out a small chuckle. I place the note in my bag and once again, I find myself glancing over at Luke. When someone knocks at the door, I quickly look away in case I get caught and look at the door. The teacher opens the door and the school's councilor walks in.

"Can I borrow Luke for ten minutes?" The councilor asks and the teacher nods. All eyes snap to Luke but I don't look like everyone else. Instead, I begin to wonder why Luke is going with the councilor. I feel a small tug of pain in my heart as I watch Luke walk out the door.

I hope he is okay.

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"So, the girls and I are going to the mall this afternoon to buy some new clothes for the school trip." Nicole says and I nod.

"Cool," I say and Nicole nods.

"Indeed. Did you want to come?" Nicole asks and I look up at her and frown.

"Why would you want me to join you and your friends-"

"Grace," Nicole starts. "Your my friend. I am asking you because I would like you to come with us." Nicole says and I let out a sigh.

"No thanks. I have... stuff I have to do this afternoon." I say and Nicole raises her eyebrow.

"Like?" She asks and I pinch my arm, trying to come up with something that is somewhat believable. Sadly, my mouth opens but no words come out, making Nicole grin.

"Okay, I'll pick you up at four." Nicole says and I nod, looking away from Nicole. I take a chip into my mouth and begin to get lost into my thoughts.

Ever since Luke went with the councilor, I haven't stopped thinking about him, especially when he didn't come back to class. The councilor did say ten minutes so why would he be gone for an hour? Has he been having a rough day? Is it because of me? Oh god, it probably is.

Am I the reason why Luke looks so... depressed?

Ugh, I need to talk to him.

"I need to go to the bathroom." I say and Nicole nods, waving me off.

"Do what you need to do." Nicole says and I nod, getting out of my chair. When I aim about to walk into the bathroom, I look back at Nicole to see that she is on her phone, not paying attention to anything around her. I turn away from the bathroom and head for the cafeteria doors.

When I walk out, I look around the empty hallways. "Where are you?" I ask quietly as I begin to walk around, hoping that Luke will be around somewhere. I walk up two flights of stairs and as I get lost into my thoughts about how there are so many stairs in this school, I find myself at the top of the building where I was close to ending my life.

A gasp escapes my lips when I see Luke sitting at the edge with his feet dangling off of the building as he sings quietly to a song. What I found myself gasping at though was the tears that I noticed falling down the side of his face.

"L-Luke?" I manage to say and Luke let's out a sigh, bringing a hand up to his face to wipe away the tears that are still falling. I walk closer to him, waiting for him to push me away or say 'stop' but he doesn't. I take a seat next to him and look at Luke.

"Why are you crying?" I ask and Luke shakes his head.

"No reason." He mumbles, looking ahead at the field. I sigh and do the same, trying to push the past to the back of my head.

"I'm sorry." I say and Luke looks over at me.

"For?"

"For hurting you. I mean, you obviously had your reasons that you couldn't tell me straight away about my father and even though it made me angry, I still didn't think of it from your point of view. I even pushed you away that night when you were at my house and I said some mean things that probably made you angry at me and when I saw you today-" I get cut off by Luke's finger on my lips.

"Stop talking and breathe." Luke says calmly, taking his finger away from my lips and I do as I am told. I run a hand through my purple hair and sigh.

"I'm sorry." I mumble and Luke shrugs.

"Don't worry about it." He says and I look down at his hand that his on his leg. I reach out and grab it, holding it in mine. Luke sends me a weird look but I ignore it, sending him a small smile.

"I'm here for you now, just like when you were there for me. So, if you need to get anything off your chest, you can-"

"My father died."

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