Saving Grace (editing)

32: Elliot ~ Lego Blocks

Chapter Thirty-Two

"Ewiot! You have to put the red block on top of the blue block silly!" Susie giggled.

He put his hands up in surrender.

"Alright! I've got this!" He reassured.

Susie giggled and readjusted her sparkly tiara before reaching to grasp a yellow Lego piece from the pile on the floor.

"Oh Ewiot," she sighed.

"Um Elli! Can I have a hand?" A nervous voice called out from the kitchen.

"I'll be right back, okay little fairy?"

"Okay!" She beamed before looking down again at her arrangement of blocks.

Smiling, Elliot stood up and carefully tip-toed his way out of the room, ensuring to not step on any Lego pieces.

He had tragically done so before and the pain was excruciating.

However it seemed that little Susie only giggled at his moment of agony and took it as an excuse to play Nurse.

When people said that feet and Lego didn't mix, it was so correct that it wasn't even funny.

His feet had guided him to the kitchen where Grace was leaning against a kitchen bench with her back facing away from him.

He silently made his way over and inspected the unprepared food resting on the bench.

It was a clutter of pots and pans, ingredients spread across the entire surface of the granite bench-top.

"Oh god you're really getting into this cooking aren't you?" He teased.

However Grace didn't respond to his remark and he furrowed his forehead in confusion.

Peering over her shoulder, he saw her idly staring down at a sweet potato with the knife left untouched.

"Grace..."

She sighed and not looking up at him.

"Her favourite food was sweet potatoes..."

"Oh Grace I-"

"And I don't know... maybe I'm just paranoid but its like every sharp object I see is mocking me... But it's like nature is really trying to mess me up... like I read the recipe and it says chopped sweet potato and I think I have enough willpower to get on with it but... I can't..."

"Here let me help," he offered.

Elliot stood behind her and with one hand on top of hers, he gripped his fingers on her delicate cold skin. He felt her take a slight intake of breath.

With her hand in his, he guided it to hold the knife and directed it on the vegetable.

"Alright?"

"Alright."

Slowly, the knife guided down in the middle and he felt Grace's hand tremble slightly.

He rested his head on her shoulder, comforting and wiping a stray tear with his free hand.

"Sh, Grace I'm here, I'll help you fight your demons it's alright..." he whispered.

Breathing in deeply, she nodded to continue.

Ever so slowly, the knife cut through the skin and flesh of the sweet potato. Only the sound of their breathing and the contact of the knife to the board was heard at that moment.

Chop after chop, they were done.

"You see? It's not that bad," he stated, looking at their result of the pile of vegetable.

"Yeah... and besides, we did a decent job didn't we?" Grace replied, smiling.

Elliot hadn't moved his hand off hers yet.

"Thanks Elli,"

"Always here for you,"

His fingers glided on her arm and felt the bumps of previous scars.

"I used to self harm so much after Lily died and my parents were fighting... I hated myself you know, like I didn't want to live... I regret it now though," she sighed.

Elliot nodded.

"Just promise me one thing,"

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever cut again,"

"Alright."

She looked up at his gaze and held it.

Somehow they had moved to face each other.

Up close, Elliot noticed that her eyes were even more mysterious and breath-taking in the sunlight.

They were blue, but specks of purple filled her opal and around the ocean of blue was a hazel ring.

They were staring at each other for too long but Elliot didn't notice.

He felt himself leaning in and Grace's eyes widening for a fraction before half closing, looking down.

He knew what was going to happen next and he knew that she did too... yet none of them hesitated or denied of this moment.

This was it...

Something flashed in Grace's eyes and she pulled back abruptly before stepping back.

What?

Elliot tried to not seem too fazed from what just happened.

"I better clean up this mess now before I serve up..." she apologized. "Sorry..."

He nodded and made his way back to Susie's room but he knew that Grace's apology wasn't just for that reason...

~

"Goodnight little fairy," he said, stroking Susie's hair.

"Goodnight Ewiot... say goodnight to Grace for me too please...." she whispered.

He nodded and quietly closed the door behind him.

He slowly walked to Grace's room to check up on her but it was closed shut.

He knocked once.

No response.

He knocked twice.

No response.

Worry grew through him.

"Grace?" He said, knocking on the wooden door again.

He tried turning the doorknob but it wouldn't budge.

"Grace, open the door." He said.

Was she alright?

Oh no...

"Grace!"

At a final attempt he pushed against the door, trting to budge it open.

Please be okay...