That Night √

37» That Eternity

« THEN »

"I'm leaving, Mum." Grace yelled on the top of her lungs, racing downstairs and taking two steps at a time. Which clearly was a mistake since Grace had been acting quite clumsy the past few months.

Just as she was about to step on the last one, she stumbled and fell forward. Thankfully, Jordyn came right on time to grip her shoulders.

"Careful, Gracie. I told you not to run on the stairs." She gave Grace a little glare. "Where is your scarf? You'll catch a cold."

Grace pressed her lips together and nodded. "It's on the couch. I need to leave now, Mum. They all would leave without me."

Stepping away from eleven-year-old Grace, Jordyn shook her head before tying her shower–drenched hair in a loose bun.

"Luc won't leave without you."

"But then we both would be the last ones to reach the park!" Grace ran over towards the couch, looking around for her grey woolen scarf. "I hate being the last one."

Jordyn muttered something but Grace was too busy picking up the cushions, looking around for her scarf. When she failed to find it, she shrugged and went towards the door.

"See you later, Mum." And before Jordyn could've stopped her, Grace opened the front door and went outside.

A small shudder escaped her lips as she stepped outside under the morning sky. It was freezing out here, but not much since the sun was out.

Rubbing her gloved hands against each other, Grace pulled her jacket closer against herself and skipped towards the fence, before opening it up. Almost immediately, she saw Lucius.

"They left." Lucius looked over at her as she came beside him. He was wearing a blue jacket with a soft, black scarf wrapped around his neck.

"What?" Grace's eyes widened at that. "Why didn't you go with them?"

"I couldn't have left you behind." He grinned before rubbing his nose which was turning a bit red in the cold.

Grace frowned sadly and started walking beside Lucius. "I came out quick, didn't I?"

Lucius nodded slowly. "A little late."

"I wasn't late!" She frowned even more at Lucius, who seemed to not like it.

"I mean, of course. You weren't late, Gracie." He replied, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

It was a typical snowy morning in Hayward. And since it was the school holidays, Grace and her friends always went to play in the snow at Sundays. However, apart from Lucius, no one ever seemed to wait for her before going over to the nearby park.

Especially, Meg.

The girl who seemed hell bent on making Lucius her best friend. At least, that's what Grace thought. And she did not like her even a single bit.

"They could've waited a minute longer." Grace muttered to herself. "Just a minute. I would've been out in just a minute."

Lucius chuckled lightly, both of their snow boots making crunching noises as they walked along the white fallen snow across the street.

"Meg was impatient to leave."

"Without me." Grace grumbled, looking down at her boots. A cold breeze blew across Grace's face, making another small shudder escape her lips.

"Where's your scarf?" Lucius asked, glancing behind them.

"I don't know." Grace stopped when they reached the entrance of the park, and stood on her toes as she peeked at the kids running across the grassy ground filled with fresh snow.