Pentatonix: Was I Mistaken?

Chapter Eleven

Mitch's P.O.V

We were sitting in the hospital cafeteria. It was the waiting that made it unbearable. Not knowing if Grace would be okay.

I had my head in my hands, tugging at my hair with my fingers. I don't even know what the others are doing.
I don't care.
All I care about right now is Grace.

What if she's dying right now?

What if I'm just sitting here doing nothing and she's already dead?

What if-

"Oh thank God!"

I had been so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn't noticed the nurse come in and talk to Kirstie.

The nurse came over to me.

"Mr. Grassi?"

"Yes?"

"She's been asking for you. Come with me."

Relief washed over for me. If Grace has been asking for me then obviously she's not dead. I followed the nurse through the winding hallways. Eventually we came to a quiet part of the hospital and stopped outside a small door.

"If you need anything, I'll be right out here. Good luck."

And with that the nurse opened the door and gently pushed me inside.

The room was dimly lit and quiet. In the middle of the small room stood a bed. In that bed was...

"Grace!"

I ran over to her and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. She didn't say anything, even when I pulled away and looked her in the eyes.

"Gracie?"

She looked down at her hands.

"I'm sorry." Her voice was barely a whisper.

I gently stroked her hair.

"Why did you do it, Grace? Why did you take the pills? You knew what would happen."

She shrugged and looked up at me. 

"Are you mad at me?"

I shook my head.

"No. I'm not mad. I'm just confused."

She sighed.

"Me too."

Just then the door opened again. Kirstie popped her head through and then raced over to the bed. She jumped onto the bed and pulled Grace into a hug.
When she pulled away, Kirstie didn't say anything about what had happened and just looked Grace straight in the eyes.

"How you doing girl? I've been missing you! It gets tiring being the only girl around you know."

Kirstie nattered on, and I'm sure Grace was more than happy to just listen. The others slowly trickled into the room some of them joining in on the conversation. We all knew what Kirstie was doing. It was a distraction. One that we all needed.

A couple of months passed. Grace was getting better. She was on anti-depressants but she was slowly being taken off of them.

I still hadn't talked to her and told her that I loved her. Every time I went to do so... I just couldn't. I'm not even sure why.

About three months after Grace left the hospital, she dropped another bomb on us.

She called a group meeting at Kirstie's house where she had been staying.

We were all sitting in Kirstie's living room, waiting for Grace to speak.

"I... Well... I don't know how to put this gently." She said while playing with a hair tie on her wrist.

"Just blurt it out girl! Wait, you're not pregnant are you? OH MY GOSH if you're pregnant-"

"Kirstie!" Grace was laughing by now. "I'm not pregnant! I promise."

She sighed, and then spoke two words that almost made my heart stop.

"I'm leaving."

I swear everyone froze. There was about a minute of silence as everyone digested this new information.

"You're... leaving?" Scott's voice cracked on the word leaving.

Grace nodded. I swallowed around the lump forming in my throat.

"Where are you going? And when are you coming back?"

For the first time that day her eyes met mine. She held my gaze for a moment and then dropped her eyes to the floor.

"The thing is... I love you guys, and I'm so grateful for everything you've done for me. But..." She trailed off.

"But..?" Kevin asked

She took a deep breath.

"But I've got all these memories haunting me. I know I can't run from my problems, but that's not what I'm doing. I'm starting again. I'll move and change my name and get a job somewhere and start a new life. I'm sorry."

"You'll still keep in touch though, right?" My voice was even higher than usual.

She looked up at me again. She shook her head and my heart plummeted.

"I'm letting go of everything. That includes you guys. I'm sorry."

Over the next week, pretty much everyone burst into tears at least once. Except me.

I was in denial. It wasn't until Kirstie came back from dropping Grace off at the airport that It finally hit me.

And when it finally registered that Grace was gone, I collapsed on the ground with tears streaming down my face.