Karma is a strange anatomy; you hope it'll serve it's way into others lives when they've committed a wrong towards us. But when you've done something you shouldn't have, deep down you pray that karma won't come back round to bite you in the ass.
Luke had done far to many wrongs to ever deserve a right, at least that's what I'd been telling myself for the last two weeks since his court date had been arranged. Hunter, Liam, Leo and I had been working day and night at our local pub doing pot washing to pay for my new lawyer. Jame's was the best of the best in our small town and we all had high hopes that he would convince the jury that Luke was guilty of domestic abuse and attempted murder.
The amount of evidence against Luke was beginning to pile up, it turned out that quite a few students in our school had witnessed Luke being aggressive towards me, violent and verbally abusive. It even turned out that the school had CCTV footage of the time Leo had walked in, witnessing Luke trying to strangle me to my death. All in all, the odds looked good in my favour - at least that was what my lawyer had advised me just yesterday.
It was the final night before the verdict would be decided; and Hunter had insisted on the four of us spending the night together at Liam's and I could not imagine spending it any other way.
I'd spent most of the day lounging round in my favourite pink pyjamas, eating junk food and binge watching all of the soap operas I had missed during the week. But the minute the clock struck 4pm, I jumped up to get ready. Within half an hour I was out of my pyjamas, and dressed up in blue jeans and a cropped white t-shirt. It wasn't exactly a party, we had nothing to celebrate yet but it was the start - the beginning of the rest of my life. No matter what the verdict tomorrow, it was a fresh start for all of us.
Full of excitement I decided to curl my hair, letting them fall in tight ringlets. After much decision I applied some light pink lipstick, and my favourite Calvin Klein perfume. As I stood in front of the long mirror that hung on the wall of Liam's spare room, I let myself stare at the person looking back at me.
It was the girl who had brown hair, who smiled everyday and had friends. It was the girl who had a life, a future and felt excited about what that involved. It was a teenager full of hopes, dreams and happiness. It was Grace, it was me. The old me. The person who I had waited years to return, she was back; and never again would she let anything or anybody stand in her way of being herself.
***
"You know this party would've been much more fun if you'd of actually let us invite more people!" Liam groaned, selecting another song to play through his speakers.
"This isn't a party, num-nuts! We haven't got anything to celebrate yet, this get together is for Grace." Hunter reminded him, his choice of nickname making me giggle.
My eyes lingered round the kitchen, wondering where all the so called 'party' necessities had got too.
"Liam, where's all the alcohol?"
Liam's stare trailed round the room, starting with Hunter and ending on Leo.
Oh boy. Here we go again.
"Well," Leo began, standing up and walking towards me in a slow motion. "After what happened we just assumed alcohol wouldn't be the best thing to have."
"We?" Liam laughed, holding his hands up in the air in front of him. "You decided that! Don't drag us into this."
Sighing, I walked towards the sofa. Letting my body slump down onto the fabric, I don't know what was worse - the no alcohol tonight, or the fact Leo insists on treating me like some alcoholic.
"You really do not trust me, do you?" I stated, staring towards the blue eyes which once made me feel happy.
"Of course I trust you-"
"You obviously don't. So what if I drank for a few weeks straight? Wouldn't you if you'd gone through something traumatic. Leo it was my coping mechanism, something that made me feel secure and better inside." My arms flew up in the air, before thudding back down towards my thighs.
"Exactly, you used alcohol to cope! That's not normal Grace-"
"How do you know what normal is for me? Jesus Leo, I don't even know what normal is for me anymore. I'm supposed to go to court tomorrow, and stand up in front of the boy who tried to kill me and give evidence to send him to prison! Do you think any of this is normal for a girl my age?" I choked, suddenly feeling emotional.
All of this was still a mess, even when I pretended it wasn't. Of course I was happier Luke was now being seen as the bad guy, people had now seen his true colours and were in fact now taking my side. But it still didn't stop the flashbacks, the memories and the nightmares re-appearing every now and again.
"I just thought that I was helping-"
I began to laugh uncontrollably, "Well guess what, I was doing fine until this. Hunter and Liam are treating me like I am a normal human being, that's how I told you specifically how I want to be treated. But since that day you came up to that room, you've treated me like I'm a broken record. I'm a person, I'm still me... I'm still Grace."
Leo's face sank, his smile and usual glint in his oceanic eyes disappeared. It was as if the sun had set beneath the waves of his soul, his insides turning into the dark depths of the night. Tears began to stream from my eyes, and all I wanted was today and tomorrow to be over with; finished.
My body quickly collapsed to the floor, and within a matter of seconds I felt all three boys wrap their arms around me in one gigantic bear hug. Eventually when the final song played from the stereo, the room fell silent except from Leo's continuous whispered apology.
All four of us hung onto each other tightly, praying and hoping that tomorrow Luke would be gone out of our lives forever.
YOU ARE READING
Saving Grace | ✓
Teen Fiction"He put me through hell, and I called it love." The devil doesn't come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns, he comes as everything you've ever wished for. Grace has never had an easy life, in fact it's been complicated from the moment she was bo...
