Close As Strangers » (Ashton Irwin a.u.)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Heaven Isn't Too Far Away

They finally release Grace from the hospital, reminding us to be delicate with her mind. We were excited to have some good news for once, and Grace was excited to leave the smell of disinfectants and lavender, one of her most hated scents, behind.

And some time during the week someone showed up and dropped off a new car for me. The note inside said it was from Mrs. Holland. I called her and told her to take it back, but she refused, saying it was Grace's old car and they just fixed it up for us.

If only she knew I am too scared to drive Grace anywhere in fear of something else going wrong.

She walks with me to the car and gets in on her side. I nervously slide in behind the wheel. I start driving as she shuffles through CDs scattered throughout the car. All of the ones we had are gone. Maybe I have some more.

"Is the weather always this nice?" she asks. It's a bright, warm afternoon, the wind cooling down from time to time. Autumn is slowly making its way here, and it was Grace's favorite time of the year.

"Sometimes. You enjoy autumn," I tell her.

"The colors are nice."

The car is silent except for the CD she had put in earlier quietly playing. Some old song I'm not familiar with is playing.

"Do we live together?" she asks.

"Yeah. For almost two years."

"What happened? Why did we move in together so early?"

"You wanted to leave your home. You were tired of your dad, so we agreed while we were first dating that after graduating high school, we'd move in together. We've kept up our jobs, and it's been great."

"Sounds like it."

"I like it. You're happier there."

"What made me so unhappy living with my parents?" she asks.

"Mostly your dad. He's strict on you, and he told you he wouldn't allow us to date, but we did anyway. He doesn't like the music you listen to or the movies and shows you watch. He doesn't like the books you read or the friends you have. And he especially doesn't like me dating you."

"Why?"

"He thinks I'm going to hurt you."

"He sounds like he'd hurt me more than you ever would," she says.

"You told him that."

"And what'd he do?" she asks.

"Well he didn't really do anything. You stayed at my house for about two weeks."

"Oh wow."

"Yeah, but you don't have to worry about him much. I've been taking care of you."

"That's really nice of you," she says softly. "I don't think most people would do those kinds of things for each other."

We get to the house in silence. Her face lights up as she sees presents on the porch. Though the flowers have died and the balloons are deflated, she still smiles widely.

"People did this for me?" she asks.

"Yeah. Nice, right?"

"Yeah. We should probably get it inside before it blows away or something."

I help Grace carry the envelopes and small gifts inside. We have to throw away the flowers and balloons, and she was a little sad about that. But she sits down and reads a few cards before doing anything else.