Author's note: Hey everybody!! First of all I wanna say that I am deeply
sorry for the things I posted here. I shouldn't have. What happened to me
was that when I read those bad reviews I was feeling down and sad and they
made more miserable than I already was. So I freaked out and wrote those
things. I am sorry for that. But I am not that sorry because you guys
supported me. You said really nice things about my story. THANK YOU VERY
MUCH!! I tried to pay more attention to the grammar; I don't if I
succeeded, though. Again, THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH!!! And sorry for making
you guys wait for this chapter. I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as
I enjoying writing it.
P.S: Thank you, Tweeky for the tips.
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Grace spent most part of the night sitting outside Eli's door. Although she was very tired, she didn't fall asleep there, not even once. She was too worried and too scared to allow herself to make such a big mistake. What if she fell asleep there and Eli caught her outside his door? Or even worse, what if her mother or her stepfather caught her there? Thinking about all the tragic consequences of being there, Grace made her way back to her room before the first sunlight appeared. She quietly crept up to her room, lay on her bed and stayed there until it was time to get up...
Lily and Rick were at the kitchen, it was about a quarter to eight in the morning, "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?', Rick placed his hands around Lily's hips, pulling her closer to him.
Lily smiled at his move, saying, "I'm sure! I can do it alone."
"But I want to go with you. It's my Baby too. Did you know that?", he kissed her lips.
"This ain't gonna work.", she pulled back then continued, "You gotta go to work. Or have you forgotten that you have seven mouths to feed?"
"Sometimes I wish I have.", he kidded back at the right moment Grace walked in the scene.
"Gracie!!!", Lily beamed at her as she reached for her purse that was over the island.
"Good morning!", Grace exhaled, not as excited as her mother then headed to the fridge.
"Morning!", Rick replied.
"Grace?! Here!", Lily took out her car keys and threw them to Grace, who caught them as frowns appeared on her face.
"What are these for?", Grace asked displaying the keys.
"In case you need the car...", Lily shortly explained and Grace only mouthed an *oh*, "Rick, hurry!! We gotta go."
"Where you're going?"
"I am going to work.", Rick stated glancing over Lily.
"I've got a doctor's appointment. To check if everything is okay with the Baby.", Lily said, placing her both hands on her womb.
Grace snorted a smile at it and tried to joke a little, "Well, I don't know about the rest but the Baby is probably very healthy. I mean, It's sure being well too fed."
"What's that supposed to mean?", Lily gasped jokingly at her daughter's subtle insinuation that she was fat.
"Nothing.", Grace stumbled, slightly laughing.
"Can we go?', Rick remarked.
"Oh?!!! I almost forgot. Grace, Jake is coming to pick you and Zoe. He's going to take you guys out. Don't ask me where. He's going to be here around nine or so. Okay?? Gotta go!", Lily waved to her daughter then she and Rick took off. After Grace watched the door close behind them, she looked down and for an instant wondered why Lily gave her the car keys. If she was going out with her father why would she need her mother's car for?? She shrugged that thought off and poured some milk.
"Good morning!!", Jessie lowly spoke as she entered the kitchen.
"Morning!", Grace replied and immediately felt the awkwardness of being alone with Jessie. Truth was they never talked about that day in Eli's room. "I. I. I guess I owe you an explan-"
"Where are they?? They left already?", Jessie could feel what Grace was about to do and for some reason she didn't want to talk about what had happened. She truly didn't want to be involved in Grace and Eli's situation, so the best to do was act like she didn't know anything. "I mean, my dad and your mom."
Grace was a little surprised seeing that Jessie was avoiding that conversation as much as she was and for a minute she disconnected herself from the world as she wondered why Jessie was being so *nice* to her. "Oh! Um. Rick went to work and my mom went to the doctor. Jessie, this is something I so don't wanna talk about but, I mean, I think we shou-"
"Mom!!", Grace was interrupted by Zoe, who was coming down for breakfast.
"Hey, Zoe!!", Jessie greeted her smiling. Smiling not because she was actually happy to her stepsister but because Zoe had just saved her from one of the most embarrassing conversations ever. "Lily went to the doctor."
"Oh!", Zoe made a funny face, not getting why Jessie was so thrilled to see her. "Grace?"
"Yes?"
"Mom talked to you?", Zoe asked as she poured some cereal in her bowl.
"You mean, if she told me dad is coming to pick us up?", Grace guessed and Zoe nodded in agreement. "Yes, she told me."
"I can't believe that this our last week of vacation." Jessie tried to start a very casual conversation, which worked because Grace replied her instantly.
"To be honest, I can't wait to get back to school.", Grace got out as she played with her mother's keys and Zoe and Jessie gave her an amazed look. "What?"
"Why a seventeen year old person would be dying to go back studying?", Jessie sarcastically remarked.
"I'm not dying to go back studying. It's just that I-"
"Good morning!", it seemed like it wasn't going to be a great day for Grace. This time the one to interrupt her was Eli. Her heart ached every time she heard him utter her name. Zoe and Jessie greeted him back as Grace awkwardly tried to remember what she was about to say. Eli glanced over her and felt that his presence disturbed her in a way that not even him could imagine. He grabbed a bowl and took a seat by Grace and as he sat down, he intentionally let his forearm touch hers.
Grace pulled back her chair instantly and stood up, "I gotta go."
"Go? Go where?", Zoe confusedly asked.
"It's non of your business.", Grace annoyingly stated while Jessie and Eli watched her weird reaction.
"But what about dad? He's getting here any minute?", Zoe reminded her very nervous sister.
"Tell him I had something to do and that I will see him later.", Grace finished and with her mother's keys in her hand she ran out of there as quickly as she could. Eli and Jessie knew why Grace did that. She didn't want to be near him.
"She's different.", Zoe muttered with her mouth still full. "She's weird different.", Eli heard that and couldn't help but feel responsible. He sighed heavily, stood up and left as well. Jessie noticed the sad look on his face and the feeling of wanting to help him started to overcome her heart. He was he brother and if he was suffering, she was sort of suffering too.
"Why are they so different?", Zoe asked after a few minutes of silence.
Jessie had feel deep in thought and her brain couldn't grasp Zoe's question right away. Jessie blinked a few times then stammered. "Wh- what?"
"Grace and Eli? Haven't you noticed?", Zoe stood up and placed her bowl in the sink. "They're like two strangers. They are acting really, really weird."
Jessie gasped at herself a little then stood up as well. "You're imagining things, Zoe. They're not. . weird."
"Weird or not, dad is gonna be very pissed 'cause Grace is not here.", Zoe didn't have to wait too much long to prove she was right. Jake walked into the house using the kitchen's door as usual, right after Zoe spoke. As his foot touched the place the girls gave him an odd look, which made him noticed something wasn't right.
The smile on Jake's face faded as the two of them awkwardly stared at him. "What?? Is everything alright?? Where's Grace?", Zoe and Jessie exchanged looks then Jessie quietly left the kitchen as Zoe sighed before telling her father Grace wasn't there.
*
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After almost four hours driving around the city, Grace went to BookLovers to see if her father was there. After parking on the street she waited another hour to get in. She knew what time Eli would be out and she thought it would the perfect time see Jake. Grace checked her watch again and got out of the car then headed into the place. As she got in Judy startled up with excitement and went greet her.
"Grace!!!", Judy beamed widely smiling. Grace walked in her direction and they hugged.
"Hi, Judy!"
"Sorry I couldn't be there yesterday. I needed to take care of something.", Judy pulled back and vaguely explained.
"It's okay. Um. is my father around? I need to talk to him.", Grace stumbled, glancing around, searching for Jake.
"You just missed him.", Judy raised her eyebrows a little.
"Oh.", Grace snorted with a sad face then started staring at her shoes. Judy noticing that asked.
"Is. is everything alright, Grace? I mean, Jake told me you guys were supposed to go out this morning but you bailed on him and-"
"I had something important to do. And *yes*, everything is perfectly fine.", Grace interrupted Judy before she could go any further in her questioning. "I'm gonna go."
"But-"
"Great seeing you again. Bye, Judy.", Grace practically ran out of there, leaving a very confused Judy behind.
~ ~ ~
Grace instead of heading home she went to her father's; she really needed to talk to him. Grace felt bad she had spent the last two months out of town and now she was back she didn't even consider spending some quality time with her father. She wanted to tell him she was sorry and that she didn't mean to be distant like that.
Tiffany was changing Maddie's dippers when she heard her door being opened. She quickly finished and grabbed Maddie then headed to the living room, "Jake??", she called assuming it was her husband but when she got there she saw it was her stepdaughter instead. "Oh! Grace!! Hi!!"
"Hi, Tiffany.", Grace smiled at her a little embarrassed then went hold her half sister. "Hi, Maddie. How you're doing?? Did you miss me??"
Tiffany smiled warmly at her act and watched her for a while. Putting Maddie down Grace asked. "Do you know where dad is?"
"Yes, I do.", Tiffany answered, looking down. "He went to drop Zoe at your house."
"I see."
"He's very upset, you know.", Tiffany stated now studying Grace's face, like she was looking for something that was right there, written on her face but for some reason, no one could see it. "We were out of town yesterday. That's why he couldn't be at your welcome party and-"
"It wasn't a party."
"He misses you so much.", Tiffany finished and the two of them feel in silence. Grace didn't know what to say. Tiffany could see by the look on her face that something wasn't right. "Grace, I know I am not your mother but . . I want you to know that you can count on me. You can talk to me . . . about anything.", Grace started nodding after Tiffany's words and she no longer could hold her tears. "Grace!! Oh my God!! Grace!! Grace!!!?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave without dad this morning.", Grace said under her crying. "But he was there. And, and . . He was there!! And I couldn't . and, and. . It hurts, you know. It hurts so bad!!!"
Tiffany felt sorry for her stepdaughter. Grace seemed so confused, lost and deep in pain. Tiffany didn't know what to do to help her. "Grace?? What are you talking about?? Who is he?? Grace??"
"I wanna stop but I can't.", Grace whispered one last time then she started to wipe her tears away.
"Stop what?? What are you talking about?? What's wrong??", Tiffany was getting panic. She felt nothing she could do would be able to help Grace.
Grace took a deep breath to try to calm herself down a little. "Can I spend this week here with you and dad??"
"Of course, honey!! This is your house too. You don't have to ask that.", Tiffany softly stated.
"Okay. I'm gonna drop my mom's car at her work then I'll come back here.", Grace sniffed one more time then continued. "Please, don't tell my father about, about-"
"Don't worry. I won't tell him a thing.", Tiffany assured her.
"Thanks.", Grace snorted a goodbye then left.
~ ~ ~
Grace drove to her mother's work and let her know she was staying the whole week with Jake. Lily thought it was a bit odd because Grace was supposed to spend the week with her and Rick. She even pleaded with her daughter saying she wanted them to be together in those few days left of her vacation. Grace said she wanted that too but she had screwed up with her father that morning and that she wanted to make it up to him. Lily wasn't really cool with that but she had to just nod in agreement and accept it. *Jake is her father. He deserves to be with her.*, Lily reasoned to herself while Grace informed her she would be home on Sunday night.
Before Grace left she asked how the doctor appointment was. Lily told her everything was terrific and that the Baby was very healthy. She also told Grace that she already knew if It was a boy or a girl. Lily jokingly made a little suspense around it and she almost got Grace begging her to tell her if she was going to have a Baby brother or another Baby sister. Lily got tired of that little game she was playing and proudly announced to her daughter she was going to have a Baby girl. Grace jumped up and down with excitement. She was truly happy It was another girl. But Grace sort of stated her concerns towards Rick's reaction. She knew he was expecting a boy not a girl. But Lily eased her concerns by telling her Rick loved being surrounded by women and that he would love the idea of having another one joining his private *harem*. Grace laughed at her mother jokingly behavior then finally went back to Jake's house.
~ ~ ~
When Lily got home she announced to the family she was having a girl. Zoe and Jessie got thrilled with the fact of having a Baby Sister to spoil as much as they wanted. Eli was not very excited, though. He sort of expected a Baby Brother because she felt like he was the odd man out of the house. But deep inside, he loved having a Baby sister. Rick was stunned with the news. He couldn't contain his happiness to himself. He walked to Lily, got down on his knees, gently placed his hands on her womb then kissed it softly while a tear escaped from his eye.
"We gotta think of a name for her.", Lily gently uttered as Rick got back up on his feet.
He was silent for a moment then smiling he said. "Her name is going to be Amanda.", Lily smiled back at him, letting him know she had loved the name then kissed her husband.
That entire scene was very touching but Zoe noticed there was something or someone missing. She asked if anyone knew where Grace was. She said that Grace left early in the morning and still hadn't shown any signs of being alive. Lily made a funny face and informed them that Grace was at Jake's and that she was spending the week there. Zoe mumbled a complaining and even argued that she wanted to be with her father to but Lily didn't pay much attention to her. While Zoe argued and Lily pretended to listen to her Jessie clearly noticed the disappointment stained on Eli's face, Eli knew why Grace wanted to be away and to tell the truth, if Grace hadn't taken the first step on avoiding awkward and painful encounters between the two of them, he would, sooner or later. And that was exactly what he did. On Sunday, at the moment Grace walked in through one door, Eli walked out through another.
The next day seemed pretty normal. The girls were back at school and life seemed to restart. Grace was thrilled, or at least tried to look like she was, because she was finally a senior. She vowed she would be the top student of her class. She even signed to work on the school paper; she got to be the new Editor. She was very excited about that. As for Eli, he continued with his so-called life. It was always from home to BookLovers, from BookLovers to practice then to home again. His band played on two college parties that week, though.
~ ~ ~
Things for the Manning/Sammler family were kind of tumultuate. September was gone and they barely even noticed it. That month was kind of crazy for all of them. Another thing they didn't notice was how the relationship between Eli and Grace was being played out. Things between them were like this, if Grace was spending the week with her mother, Eli stayed at Karen's and if Eli was with his father, Grace stayed with Jake and Tiffany. Jessie knew exactly what was going on but since was no longer *involved* in whatever was going on between them, she was pretty okay with that situation, although sometimes she caught herself wishing things were different for the. And as for the others in the house, maybe the did notice something was definitely wrong about their behavior but maybe they were too busy to voice their thoughts or even vowed to stay out of their lives because every time they tried to help them, they somehow ended up making things worse.
* * *
Saturday evening, everyone was at home, including Eli and Grace. They were all there for one reason; Barbara had spent the whole week with them and she would be leaving at the first hour on Sunday. Lily and Judy wanted to have a goodbye dinner. That was why they needed everybody there, even Jake, Maddie and Tiffany. Jessie invited Katie fearing she would be bored after the first five minutes of dinner and Eli fearing the same invited Coop as well.
"What time are you leaving, mom??", Judy asked while the others quietly enjoyed their dinner.
"Leaving??", Barbara frowned a littler confused. Everyone exchanged glances then Judy asked her again.
"You know. What time you're going back. to, to our house?"
Barbara still seemed a little confused. She put down her fork and with her hands under the table she unfold a small piece of paper then pretending to grab her napkin, she read what was written on it. "Um. I'm leaving at nine o'clock."
"Oh!", Judy only snorted as Lily watched her mother. Lily and Rick knew what time she had to leave but choose to remain in silence, she didn't want her mother to feel embarrassed in front of all that people.
"Dessert anyone?!!", said Lily after a few minutes of complete silence. Lily asked Judy to help her with everything in the kitchen. While the two were in there they discussed if it was a good idea letting Barbara go back home. Both of them agreed it was not but they couldn't go against their mother's will. They had to respect and give her some credit. Barbara was trying hard to adjust to her *situation*, she was living with a nurse now because she didn't want to be a problem for her daughters. The discussion ended and Lily and Judy served the dessert.
"I guess I should get going.", Katie muttered to Jessie, who seemed not to be very thrilled about it.
"Please, don't leave now. Don't leave me alone here.", Jessie sort of joked then gave Katie her best puppy smile.
"Sorry, I can't. I promised my mother I would be home before nine."
"Okay!!", Jessie agreed, standing up. "Lily, Katie is leaving."
"Oh, it's too early. Stay a little more.", Lily politely requested.
"I can't.", Katie shortly replied, placing her purse over her shoulder.
"Okay, bye!!", Lily said and all the others did the same.
While Jessie was outside saying goodbye to Katie, Eli stood up and announced he and Coop were going to his garage. Eli mumbled a goodbye to Barbara and waited for Coop who out of the sudden stopped in the middle of the living room.
"Um. Grace?", Coop called Grace and everybody's attention.
"Yes?", Grace answered at the moment Jessie went back inside.
"I was thinking. Umm. do you have plans for tomorrow night??", Coop asked as everybody's eyes stated at him in a awe.
"May I ask why you wanna know this?", Grace suspiciously asked.
"Coop??", Eli called, his voice had this serious, warning tone.
"Just a sec, Eli. Um, I was wondering if you would like to watch us rehearse or something.", Coop sort of invited her.
Eli was standing on the kitchen's doorway and couldn't believe his ears after his friend spoke. "Coop?!!!!", he called once again but this time his voice was filled with a little bit of anger.
"I'm coming!!", Coop cried back. "He's so impatient. Now, Grace, do you wanna go?"
"Umn. I, I. ", Grace thought that the only reason Coop was inviting her to their rehearsal was because Eli had told him to and now she was trying to find the perfect words to say *no*. "Um.., You know, I'd love to but I'm kinda busy with the school paper right now. I still have to finish an article. But thank you for inviting me."
Eli was relieved to hear that Grace didn't accept the invitation. He thought his friends would be satisfied and leave but Coop didn't do it, he began to insist with Grace. He said that they rehearse four days a week and that she was welcome to stop by any time. Eli was getting real nervous with that situation; so one last time he called his very nosy friend, "COOP!!"
Coop could hear the anger in his voice and so did the others in there, "I guess I better go. Don't forget Grace, you're welcome to watch our rehearsal any-"
"COOP!!!", they heard Eli yell again. Coop made a funny face, waved to everyone and headed to the garage. Eli was standing on his doorway when Coop got there; he grabbed his arms and pushed him into the room.
"Hey man!! Easy!!", Coop stumbled while Eli closed the door.
"What the hell was that??", Eli asked, trying to keep his cool.
"What was what??", Coop played the dumb, pretending not to know what he was talking about.
"What did you think you were doing??", Eli raised his voice.
"I was inviting Grace to the band rehearsal.", Coop said as if it was the most normal thing to do.
"Are you insane?? "
"No!! I just thought it would be a perfect time for you two to talk.", Coop began to explain his reasons. "I thought if you two ere out of here, maybe, maybe-"
"Maybe nothing.", Eli interrupted him, giving him a deadly look.
"I'm sorry, man. I was jus trying to help."
"Well, next time don't!", Eli said, his voice sounded a little more calm now. "I told you, Coop. Things between be and Grace are over. We're done. This whole thing we started was wrong. And I'm glad things ended up this way. It's been more than three months now and we sort of come up with a way to coexist. I don't want to go back."
"K. Sorry.", Coop apologized one more time. But her could feel that his friend was lying but what else could he do??
* * *
Monday after the school bell rang; Jessie went to meet Katie as usual. When the two girls were walking to Katie's car they were stopped by a voice calling Jessie's name.
"Jessie!!! Wait!!", the girls turned around to see who was calling and saw Coop running on their direction.
"Coop?", Jessie frowned, not understanding what he was doing at her school. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Katie!", Coop said trying to catch his breath then taking out a letter from his back pockets he spoke again. "I need you to give this to Grace.", Jessie and Katie exchanges confused looks while Coop stood there, still handing the letter to her. "Please!!"
Hesitating a littler, Jessie took the letter and asked, "Does Eli know about this??"
"Are you kidding??", Coop laughed a littler and the confusion on their minds grew.
"Why not?", Katie jumped in.
"Because I don't think Eli would very cool with the fact I'm hitting on his stepsister", Coop lied, he didn't know Jessie and Katie were aware of Eli and Grace's situation.
"You're saying. . you're saying that you have some kind of feeling for, for Grace??", Jessie confusedly stumbled while Katie couldn't keep her mouth closed.
"Yeah!! Why??", Coop noticed there was something unusual the way Jessie asked him that question but his brain was not fast enough to realize what caused their surprise. "Is there something wrong?"
"No. No, nothing's wrong.", Katie quickly replied as Jessie still tried to grasp all that information. "We'll give it to her.", Katie grabbed the letter from Jessie's hand and threw in her bag and stuttered a clumsily goodbye then dragged Jessie into the car.
~ ~ ~
The girls were at the attic now; Jessie had the letter Coop gave her in her hand. "I still can't believe Coop is interested in Grace."
"Everything is possible.", Katie stated. "What are you gonna do?"
"I don't know. I mean, am I betraying y brother if give this to her??", Jessie was extremely confused and that wasn't all, what she most feared had happened , she once again were involved in Grace and Eli's relationship. "What a cliché!! My brother's best friend is in love with his ex- girlfriend. I can't do this."
"You can't not give it her.", Katie remarked then said. "Come on, give it to me."
"What? What are you gonna do?"
"Grace's home. I'm gonna go down and give her this damn letter.", Katie took the letter in her hand then stood up.
"What if she asked who sent it??", Jessie quizzed still thinking it wasn't a good idea.
"I'll just tell her she has a secret admirer.", with that Katie left the attic and went straight to Grace's door. She waited a second and knocked.
Grace was writing a new article when she heard the knock, "It's opened!", Katie slowly opened the door and said *hi*. "Oh, hi!"
"Um. this is for you.", Katie placed the letter next to her computer.
"A letter??", Grace found it odd.
"Don't ask who sent it or what it is about, I don't know. My job was to deliver it and it's delivered.", Katie didn't say much and began to leave.
Before she closed the door Grace stated, "Thank you!!"
Grace stared at the letter for a while, she was questioning herself if she should open it or not. She feared deep down it was from Eli. She held it in her hands while still questioning herself then put it back on the table and tried to concentrate in her article. But that was a very hard task for her to accomplish, all she could think of was the letter. She took a deep breath and opened it. Her face fell in confusion as she read it. There were not many words in it, just a few and an address.
"What does it mean?", Grace wondered then read the letter one more time but this time she read it aloud. "You know me but I am not who you thin I am. All I can is that I am a friend. Listen to your heart just one more and come to this address on Friday, around 9 or 10 pm. Please be there.", Grace put it down again and wonder what to do.
* * *
That week flew away really fast, it was Friday already. Grace did her best not to think about the letter. She vowed she wouldn't go to that address, she was afraid and she had reasons for that. What if it was joke?? Or what if it was a set up??? Maybe she would be in trouble if she went. She was lying on her bed, it was almost eight-thirty Lily and Rick were out. Zoe was spending the night at a friend's, Jessie was with Katie and Eli was at Karen's, she was all alone in the house. She stood up and opened one of her drawers then took the letter out, she read it again and something hit her; the address was not totally unknown. She searched in her head where she had heard of that street before was that when she remembered, it was the same street that Christine, Mr. Dimitri's friend lived.
"No, it can't be.", she whispered to herself when she thought it had something to do with Mr. Dimitri. "You're crazy Grace!!", she put the letter back in the drawer and went downstairs to watch some Tv.
~ ~ ~
Eli was at Coop's rehearsing. They were finishing some new songs and playing some songs from other bands. "Coop, why do you want us to play that song?? You know I don't like it."
"Come on, Eli. It's a nice song. chicks love it!!", Coop kidded and Wink and Ted laughed. "And I know you can play it!!! You know the lyrics, don't you?", they all started to mock him about it.
"Very funny!!", Eli made an annoyed face. It was true, he did know the lyrics. Actually, this particular meant a lot him; it made him remind of the he loved most and couldn't have. That's why he didn't want to sing it. . It would pain him so much if he did. "Yeah, I know."
"Come, it's not like it's gonna hurt if you play it.", Ted jokingly stated and he only nodded bitterly.
"Shut up, Ted!!", Coop ordered.
"What did I do??"
"Okay, okay! I'll play the song with you.. . But not now. First we gotta practice these three new songs a few more times.", Eli agreed.
"You're the boss!!", Wink smiled and they started playing again.
~ ~ ~
Grace pulled over the car next to the sidewalk. "I can't believe I'm here.", she said to herself while she took a look around. It was definitely Christine's neighborhood, Grace caught vision of her house across the street. "Okay, you're here, Grace Manning. You can't stay all night in the car.", She said those words to encourage herself to find the house she was supposed to go. She closed her eyes really tight, took a deep breath and step out of the car.
~
~ ~
"Eli?? Ready?!!!, Coop asked and the first notes for the song Eli didn't want to play came out of his guitar then with his eyes close he began singing.
*If I give up on you, I give up on me
If we fight what's true, will we ever be
Even God Himself and the faith I knew
Shouldn't hold me back, shouldn't keep me from you.*
. Grace found the house; she looked at it and walked to the door then ran the bell.
"Yes??", a lady around her mother's age answered. Grace kept moving her mouth but didn't know exactly what to say. The lady smile and said, "You're Grace, aren't you?"
"Wha- what?? I mean, yes, I am. ", Grace was surprised. How come the lady could know her name?
"Follow me. They're waiting for you.", Grace walked in and followed her, her mind even more full with questions than before.
*Tease me by holding out your hands
Then leave me or take me as I am.*
As the lady led her to the basement, Grace start listening to a song, it kept getting stronger and stronger as she approached the place.
"They're in there. You can come in.", the lady smiled at her and left.
Grace didn't know what to do but her heart recognized the voice that was singing. She didn't come in, she stayed outside the door and glued her ear on it and listened the song a little more.
*And live our lives, stigmatized
I can feel the blood rushing through my veins
When I hear your voice driving me insane
Hour after hour, day after day
Every lonely night that I sit and pray.*
.Grace couldn't hold on anymore, she slowly opened the door and quietly crept down the stairs, she caught vision of Eli right away; her face was stained with tears. Coop, Ted an Wink saw her as she came in but Eli didn't, he had his eyes closed, eh only kept on singing.
*Tease me by holding out your hand
Then leave me or take me as I am
And live our lives, stigmatized
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We live our lives on different sides
But we keep together you and I
Just live our lives, stigmatized.*
.Eli feeling something was different, slowly opened up his eyes and the first thing he saw was Grace's face, she was crying. He was stunned to see her there but not very surprised. Now everything made sense. The reason why Coop and the guys insisted for him to sing that song, everything. He looked at his band mates and they all had this smirk on their lips, they were glad she was there.
Grace also understood what the letter was about and she didn't know that Coop, Ted and Wink were responsible for that meeting but she didn't care much. All she could see, all she could listen to was the words Eli was singing..
*We're gonna live our lives, we'll take the punches everyday
We're gonna live our lives, I know we're gonna find our way
I believe I you
Even if no one understands.*
. Eli stopped singing, he couldn't. He felt something in his throat. He stared Grace intensively and all he wanted to do was have her in his arms. He step aside and took his guitar off of his shoulder, when he did that, Coop took the microphone and keep on singing the song while Eli slowly walked in Grace's direction.
* I believe in you, and I don't really give a damn.*
. Eli and Grace were face to face; he looked down at her lips then up into her eyes, she softly smiled at him and he gently cupped her face in his hands then passionately kissed her. The guys looked at each other and smiled widely, their plan had worked and Eli and Grace were back together.
*Oh!! Stigmatized!!! Yeah, yeah, yeah
We live our lives on different sides
But we keep together you and I
We live our lives on different sides
We're gonna live our lives
Gotta live our lives
We're gonna live our lives
We're gonna live our lives
Gonna live our lives, yeah.
STIGMATIZED.*
P.S: Thank you, Tweeky for the tips.
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Grace spent most part of the night sitting outside Eli's door. Although she was very tired, she didn't fall asleep there, not even once. She was too worried and too scared to allow herself to make such a big mistake. What if she fell asleep there and Eli caught her outside his door? Or even worse, what if her mother or her stepfather caught her there? Thinking about all the tragic consequences of being there, Grace made her way back to her room before the first sunlight appeared. She quietly crept up to her room, lay on her bed and stayed there until it was time to get up...
Lily and Rick were at the kitchen, it was about a quarter to eight in the morning, "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?', Rick placed his hands around Lily's hips, pulling her closer to him.
Lily smiled at his move, saying, "I'm sure! I can do it alone."
"But I want to go with you. It's my Baby too. Did you know that?", he kissed her lips.
"This ain't gonna work.", she pulled back then continued, "You gotta go to work. Or have you forgotten that you have seven mouths to feed?"
"Sometimes I wish I have.", he kidded back at the right moment Grace walked in the scene.
"Gracie!!!", Lily beamed at her as she reached for her purse that was over the island.
"Good morning!", Grace exhaled, not as excited as her mother then headed to the fridge.
"Morning!", Rick replied.
"Grace?! Here!", Lily took out her car keys and threw them to Grace, who caught them as frowns appeared on her face.
"What are these for?", Grace asked displaying the keys.
"In case you need the car...", Lily shortly explained and Grace only mouthed an *oh*, "Rick, hurry!! We gotta go."
"Where you're going?"
"I am going to work.", Rick stated glancing over Lily.
"I've got a doctor's appointment. To check if everything is okay with the Baby.", Lily said, placing her both hands on her womb.
Grace snorted a smile at it and tried to joke a little, "Well, I don't know about the rest but the Baby is probably very healthy. I mean, It's sure being well too fed."
"What's that supposed to mean?", Lily gasped jokingly at her daughter's subtle insinuation that she was fat.
"Nothing.", Grace stumbled, slightly laughing.
"Can we go?', Rick remarked.
"Oh?!!! I almost forgot. Grace, Jake is coming to pick you and Zoe. He's going to take you guys out. Don't ask me where. He's going to be here around nine or so. Okay?? Gotta go!", Lily waved to her daughter then she and Rick took off. After Grace watched the door close behind them, she looked down and for an instant wondered why Lily gave her the car keys. If she was going out with her father why would she need her mother's car for?? She shrugged that thought off and poured some milk.
"Good morning!!", Jessie lowly spoke as she entered the kitchen.
"Morning!", Grace replied and immediately felt the awkwardness of being alone with Jessie. Truth was they never talked about that day in Eli's room. "I. I. I guess I owe you an explan-"
"Where are they?? They left already?", Jessie could feel what Grace was about to do and for some reason she didn't want to talk about what had happened. She truly didn't want to be involved in Grace and Eli's situation, so the best to do was act like she didn't know anything. "I mean, my dad and your mom."
Grace was a little surprised seeing that Jessie was avoiding that conversation as much as she was and for a minute she disconnected herself from the world as she wondered why Jessie was being so *nice* to her. "Oh! Um. Rick went to work and my mom went to the doctor. Jessie, this is something I so don't wanna talk about but, I mean, I think we shou-"
"Mom!!", Grace was interrupted by Zoe, who was coming down for breakfast.
"Hey, Zoe!!", Jessie greeted her smiling. Smiling not because she was actually happy to her stepsister but because Zoe had just saved her from one of the most embarrassing conversations ever. "Lily went to the doctor."
"Oh!", Zoe made a funny face, not getting why Jessie was so thrilled to see her. "Grace?"
"Yes?"
"Mom talked to you?", Zoe asked as she poured some cereal in her bowl.
"You mean, if she told me dad is coming to pick us up?", Grace guessed and Zoe nodded in agreement. "Yes, she told me."
"I can't believe that this our last week of vacation." Jessie tried to start a very casual conversation, which worked because Grace replied her instantly.
"To be honest, I can't wait to get back to school.", Grace got out as she played with her mother's keys and Zoe and Jessie gave her an amazed look. "What?"
"Why a seventeen year old person would be dying to go back studying?", Jessie sarcastically remarked.
"I'm not dying to go back studying. It's just that I-"
"Good morning!", it seemed like it wasn't going to be a great day for Grace. This time the one to interrupt her was Eli. Her heart ached every time she heard him utter her name. Zoe and Jessie greeted him back as Grace awkwardly tried to remember what she was about to say. Eli glanced over her and felt that his presence disturbed her in a way that not even him could imagine. He grabbed a bowl and took a seat by Grace and as he sat down, he intentionally let his forearm touch hers.
Grace pulled back her chair instantly and stood up, "I gotta go."
"Go? Go where?", Zoe confusedly asked.
"It's non of your business.", Grace annoyingly stated while Jessie and Eli watched her weird reaction.
"But what about dad? He's getting here any minute?", Zoe reminded her very nervous sister.
"Tell him I had something to do and that I will see him later.", Grace finished and with her mother's keys in her hand she ran out of there as quickly as she could. Eli and Jessie knew why Grace did that. She didn't want to be near him.
"She's different.", Zoe muttered with her mouth still full. "She's weird different.", Eli heard that and couldn't help but feel responsible. He sighed heavily, stood up and left as well. Jessie noticed the sad look on his face and the feeling of wanting to help him started to overcome her heart. He was he brother and if he was suffering, she was sort of suffering too.
"Why are they so different?", Zoe asked after a few minutes of silence.
Jessie had feel deep in thought and her brain couldn't grasp Zoe's question right away. Jessie blinked a few times then stammered. "Wh- what?"
"Grace and Eli? Haven't you noticed?", Zoe stood up and placed her bowl in the sink. "They're like two strangers. They are acting really, really weird."
Jessie gasped at herself a little then stood up as well. "You're imagining things, Zoe. They're not. . weird."
"Weird or not, dad is gonna be very pissed 'cause Grace is not here.", Zoe didn't have to wait too much long to prove she was right. Jake walked into the house using the kitchen's door as usual, right after Zoe spoke. As his foot touched the place the girls gave him an odd look, which made him noticed something wasn't right.
The smile on Jake's face faded as the two of them awkwardly stared at him. "What?? Is everything alright?? Where's Grace?", Zoe and Jessie exchanged looks then Jessie quietly left the kitchen as Zoe sighed before telling her father Grace wasn't there.
*
* *
After almost four hours driving around the city, Grace went to BookLovers to see if her father was there. After parking on the street she waited another hour to get in. She knew what time Eli would be out and she thought it would the perfect time see Jake. Grace checked her watch again and got out of the car then headed into the place. As she got in Judy startled up with excitement and went greet her.
"Grace!!!", Judy beamed widely smiling. Grace walked in her direction and they hugged.
"Hi, Judy!"
"Sorry I couldn't be there yesterday. I needed to take care of something.", Judy pulled back and vaguely explained.
"It's okay. Um. is my father around? I need to talk to him.", Grace stumbled, glancing around, searching for Jake.
"You just missed him.", Judy raised her eyebrows a little.
"Oh.", Grace snorted with a sad face then started staring at her shoes. Judy noticing that asked.
"Is. is everything alright, Grace? I mean, Jake told me you guys were supposed to go out this morning but you bailed on him and-"
"I had something important to do. And *yes*, everything is perfectly fine.", Grace interrupted Judy before she could go any further in her questioning. "I'm gonna go."
"But-"
"Great seeing you again. Bye, Judy.", Grace practically ran out of there, leaving a very confused Judy behind.
~ ~ ~
Grace instead of heading home she went to her father's; she really needed to talk to him. Grace felt bad she had spent the last two months out of town and now she was back she didn't even consider spending some quality time with her father. She wanted to tell him she was sorry and that she didn't mean to be distant like that.
Tiffany was changing Maddie's dippers when she heard her door being opened. She quickly finished and grabbed Maddie then headed to the living room, "Jake??", she called assuming it was her husband but when she got there she saw it was her stepdaughter instead. "Oh! Grace!! Hi!!"
"Hi, Tiffany.", Grace smiled at her a little embarrassed then went hold her half sister. "Hi, Maddie. How you're doing?? Did you miss me??"
Tiffany smiled warmly at her act and watched her for a while. Putting Maddie down Grace asked. "Do you know where dad is?"
"Yes, I do.", Tiffany answered, looking down. "He went to drop Zoe at your house."
"I see."
"He's very upset, you know.", Tiffany stated now studying Grace's face, like she was looking for something that was right there, written on her face but for some reason, no one could see it. "We were out of town yesterday. That's why he couldn't be at your welcome party and-"
"It wasn't a party."
"He misses you so much.", Tiffany finished and the two of them feel in silence. Grace didn't know what to say. Tiffany could see by the look on her face that something wasn't right. "Grace, I know I am not your mother but . . I want you to know that you can count on me. You can talk to me . . . about anything.", Grace started nodding after Tiffany's words and she no longer could hold her tears. "Grace!! Oh my God!! Grace!! Grace!!!?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave without dad this morning.", Grace said under her crying. "But he was there. And, and . . He was there!! And I couldn't . and, and. . It hurts, you know. It hurts so bad!!!"
Tiffany felt sorry for her stepdaughter. Grace seemed so confused, lost and deep in pain. Tiffany didn't know what to do to help her. "Grace?? What are you talking about?? Who is he?? Grace??"
"I wanna stop but I can't.", Grace whispered one last time then she started to wipe her tears away.
"Stop what?? What are you talking about?? What's wrong??", Tiffany was getting panic. She felt nothing she could do would be able to help Grace.
Grace took a deep breath to try to calm herself down a little. "Can I spend this week here with you and dad??"
"Of course, honey!! This is your house too. You don't have to ask that.", Tiffany softly stated.
"Okay. I'm gonna drop my mom's car at her work then I'll come back here.", Grace sniffed one more time then continued. "Please, don't tell my father about, about-"
"Don't worry. I won't tell him a thing.", Tiffany assured her.
"Thanks.", Grace snorted a goodbye then left.
~ ~ ~
Grace drove to her mother's work and let her know she was staying the whole week with Jake. Lily thought it was a bit odd because Grace was supposed to spend the week with her and Rick. She even pleaded with her daughter saying she wanted them to be together in those few days left of her vacation. Grace said she wanted that too but she had screwed up with her father that morning and that she wanted to make it up to him. Lily wasn't really cool with that but she had to just nod in agreement and accept it. *Jake is her father. He deserves to be with her.*, Lily reasoned to herself while Grace informed her she would be home on Sunday night.
Before Grace left she asked how the doctor appointment was. Lily told her everything was terrific and that the Baby was very healthy. She also told Grace that she already knew if It was a boy or a girl. Lily jokingly made a little suspense around it and she almost got Grace begging her to tell her if she was going to have a Baby brother or another Baby sister. Lily got tired of that little game she was playing and proudly announced to her daughter she was going to have a Baby girl. Grace jumped up and down with excitement. She was truly happy It was another girl. But Grace sort of stated her concerns towards Rick's reaction. She knew he was expecting a boy not a girl. But Lily eased her concerns by telling her Rick loved being surrounded by women and that he would love the idea of having another one joining his private *harem*. Grace laughed at her mother jokingly behavior then finally went back to Jake's house.
~ ~ ~
When Lily got home she announced to the family she was having a girl. Zoe and Jessie got thrilled with the fact of having a Baby Sister to spoil as much as they wanted. Eli was not very excited, though. He sort of expected a Baby Brother because she felt like he was the odd man out of the house. But deep inside, he loved having a Baby sister. Rick was stunned with the news. He couldn't contain his happiness to himself. He walked to Lily, got down on his knees, gently placed his hands on her womb then kissed it softly while a tear escaped from his eye.
"We gotta think of a name for her.", Lily gently uttered as Rick got back up on his feet.
He was silent for a moment then smiling he said. "Her name is going to be Amanda.", Lily smiled back at him, letting him know she had loved the name then kissed her husband.
That entire scene was very touching but Zoe noticed there was something or someone missing. She asked if anyone knew where Grace was. She said that Grace left early in the morning and still hadn't shown any signs of being alive. Lily made a funny face and informed them that Grace was at Jake's and that she was spending the week there. Zoe mumbled a complaining and even argued that she wanted to be with her father to but Lily didn't pay much attention to her. While Zoe argued and Lily pretended to listen to her Jessie clearly noticed the disappointment stained on Eli's face, Eli knew why Grace wanted to be away and to tell the truth, if Grace hadn't taken the first step on avoiding awkward and painful encounters between the two of them, he would, sooner or later. And that was exactly what he did. On Sunday, at the moment Grace walked in through one door, Eli walked out through another.
The next day seemed pretty normal. The girls were back at school and life seemed to restart. Grace was thrilled, or at least tried to look like she was, because she was finally a senior. She vowed she would be the top student of her class. She even signed to work on the school paper; she got to be the new Editor. She was very excited about that. As for Eli, he continued with his so-called life. It was always from home to BookLovers, from BookLovers to practice then to home again. His band played on two college parties that week, though.
~ ~ ~
Things for the Manning/Sammler family were kind of tumultuate. September was gone and they barely even noticed it. That month was kind of crazy for all of them. Another thing they didn't notice was how the relationship between Eli and Grace was being played out. Things between them were like this, if Grace was spending the week with her mother, Eli stayed at Karen's and if Eli was with his father, Grace stayed with Jake and Tiffany. Jessie knew exactly what was going on but since was no longer *involved* in whatever was going on between them, she was pretty okay with that situation, although sometimes she caught herself wishing things were different for the. And as for the others in the house, maybe the did notice something was definitely wrong about their behavior but maybe they were too busy to voice their thoughts or even vowed to stay out of their lives because every time they tried to help them, they somehow ended up making things worse.
* * *
Saturday evening, everyone was at home, including Eli and Grace. They were all there for one reason; Barbara had spent the whole week with them and she would be leaving at the first hour on Sunday. Lily and Judy wanted to have a goodbye dinner. That was why they needed everybody there, even Jake, Maddie and Tiffany. Jessie invited Katie fearing she would be bored after the first five minutes of dinner and Eli fearing the same invited Coop as well.
"What time are you leaving, mom??", Judy asked while the others quietly enjoyed their dinner.
"Leaving??", Barbara frowned a littler confused. Everyone exchanged glances then Judy asked her again.
"You know. What time you're going back. to, to our house?"
Barbara still seemed a little confused. She put down her fork and with her hands under the table she unfold a small piece of paper then pretending to grab her napkin, she read what was written on it. "Um. I'm leaving at nine o'clock."
"Oh!", Judy only snorted as Lily watched her mother. Lily and Rick knew what time she had to leave but choose to remain in silence, she didn't want her mother to feel embarrassed in front of all that people.
"Dessert anyone?!!", said Lily after a few minutes of complete silence. Lily asked Judy to help her with everything in the kitchen. While the two were in there they discussed if it was a good idea letting Barbara go back home. Both of them agreed it was not but they couldn't go against their mother's will. They had to respect and give her some credit. Barbara was trying hard to adjust to her *situation*, she was living with a nurse now because she didn't want to be a problem for her daughters. The discussion ended and Lily and Judy served the dessert.
"I guess I should get going.", Katie muttered to Jessie, who seemed not to be very thrilled about it.
"Please, don't leave now. Don't leave me alone here.", Jessie sort of joked then gave Katie her best puppy smile.
"Sorry, I can't. I promised my mother I would be home before nine."
"Okay!!", Jessie agreed, standing up. "Lily, Katie is leaving."
"Oh, it's too early. Stay a little more.", Lily politely requested.
"I can't.", Katie shortly replied, placing her purse over her shoulder.
"Okay, bye!!", Lily said and all the others did the same.
While Jessie was outside saying goodbye to Katie, Eli stood up and announced he and Coop were going to his garage. Eli mumbled a goodbye to Barbara and waited for Coop who out of the sudden stopped in the middle of the living room.
"Um. Grace?", Coop called Grace and everybody's attention.
"Yes?", Grace answered at the moment Jessie went back inside.
"I was thinking. Umm. do you have plans for tomorrow night??", Coop asked as everybody's eyes stated at him in a awe.
"May I ask why you wanna know this?", Grace suspiciously asked.
"Coop??", Eli called, his voice had this serious, warning tone.
"Just a sec, Eli. Um, I was wondering if you would like to watch us rehearse or something.", Coop sort of invited her.
Eli was standing on the kitchen's doorway and couldn't believe his ears after his friend spoke. "Coop?!!!!", he called once again but this time his voice was filled with a little bit of anger.
"I'm coming!!", Coop cried back. "He's so impatient. Now, Grace, do you wanna go?"
"Umn. I, I. ", Grace thought that the only reason Coop was inviting her to their rehearsal was because Eli had told him to and now she was trying to find the perfect words to say *no*. "Um.., You know, I'd love to but I'm kinda busy with the school paper right now. I still have to finish an article. But thank you for inviting me."
Eli was relieved to hear that Grace didn't accept the invitation. He thought his friends would be satisfied and leave but Coop didn't do it, he began to insist with Grace. He said that they rehearse four days a week and that she was welcome to stop by any time. Eli was getting real nervous with that situation; so one last time he called his very nosy friend, "COOP!!"
Coop could hear the anger in his voice and so did the others in there, "I guess I better go. Don't forget Grace, you're welcome to watch our rehearsal any-"
"COOP!!!", they heard Eli yell again. Coop made a funny face, waved to everyone and headed to the garage. Eli was standing on his doorway when Coop got there; he grabbed his arms and pushed him into the room.
"Hey man!! Easy!!", Coop stumbled while Eli closed the door.
"What the hell was that??", Eli asked, trying to keep his cool.
"What was what??", Coop played the dumb, pretending not to know what he was talking about.
"What did you think you were doing??", Eli raised his voice.
"I was inviting Grace to the band rehearsal.", Coop said as if it was the most normal thing to do.
"Are you insane?? "
"No!! I just thought it would be a perfect time for you two to talk.", Coop began to explain his reasons. "I thought if you two ere out of here, maybe, maybe-"
"Maybe nothing.", Eli interrupted him, giving him a deadly look.
"I'm sorry, man. I was jus trying to help."
"Well, next time don't!", Eli said, his voice sounded a little more calm now. "I told you, Coop. Things between be and Grace are over. We're done. This whole thing we started was wrong. And I'm glad things ended up this way. It's been more than three months now and we sort of come up with a way to coexist. I don't want to go back."
"K. Sorry.", Coop apologized one more time. But her could feel that his friend was lying but what else could he do??
* * *
Monday after the school bell rang; Jessie went to meet Katie as usual. When the two girls were walking to Katie's car they were stopped by a voice calling Jessie's name.
"Jessie!!! Wait!!", the girls turned around to see who was calling and saw Coop running on their direction.
"Coop?", Jessie frowned, not understanding what he was doing at her school. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey, Katie!", Coop said trying to catch his breath then taking out a letter from his back pockets he spoke again. "I need you to give this to Grace.", Jessie and Katie exchanges confused looks while Coop stood there, still handing the letter to her. "Please!!"
Hesitating a littler, Jessie took the letter and asked, "Does Eli know about this??"
"Are you kidding??", Coop laughed a littler and the confusion on their minds grew.
"Why not?", Katie jumped in.
"Because I don't think Eli would very cool with the fact I'm hitting on his stepsister", Coop lied, he didn't know Jessie and Katie were aware of Eli and Grace's situation.
"You're saying. . you're saying that you have some kind of feeling for, for Grace??", Jessie confusedly stumbled while Katie couldn't keep her mouth closed.
"Yeah!! Why??", Coop noticed there was something unusual the way Jessie asked him that question but his brain was not fast enough to realize what caused their surprise. "Is there something wrong?"
"No. No, nothing's wrong.", Katie quickly replied as Jessie still tried to grasp all that information. "We'll give it to her.", Katie grabbed the letter from Jessie's hand and threw in her bag and stuttered a clumsily goodbye then dragged Jessie into the car.
~ ~ ~
The girls were at the attic now; Jessie had the letter Coop gave her in her hand. "I still can't believe Coop is interested in Grace."
"Everything is possible.", Katie stated. "What are you gonna do?"
"I don't know. I mean, am I betraying y brother if give this to her??", Jessie was extremely confused and that wasn't all, what she most feared had happened , she once again were involved in Grace and Eli's relationship. "What a cliché!! My brother's best friend is in love with his ex- girlfriend. I can't do this."
"You can't not give it her.", Katie remarked then said. "Come on, give it to me."
"What? What are you gonna do?"
"Grace's home. I'm gonna go down and give her this damn letter.", Katie took the letter in her hand then stood up.
"What if she asked who sent it??", Jessie quizzed still thinking it wasn't a good idea.
"I'll just tell her she has a secret admirer.", with that Katie left the attic and went straight to Grace's door. She waited a second and knocked.
Grace was writing a new article when she heard the knock, "It's opened!", Katie slowly opened the door and said *hi*. "Oh, hi!"
"Um. this is for you.", Katie placed the letter next to her computer.
"A letter??", Grace found it odd.
"Don't ask who sent it or what it is about, I don't know. My job was to deliver it and it's delivered.", Katie didn't say much and began to leave.
Before she closed the door Grace stated, "Thank you!!"
Grace stared at the letter for a while, she was questioning herself if she should open it or not. She feared deep down it was from Eli. She held it in her hands while still questioning herself then put it back on the table and tried to concentrate in her article. But that was a very hard task for her to accomplish, all she could think of was the letter. She took a deep breath and opened it. Her face fell in confusion as she read it. There were not many words in it, just a few and an address.
"What does it mean?", Grace wondered then read the letter one more time but this time she read it aloud. "You know me but I am not who you thin I am. All I can is that I am a friend. Listen to your heart just one more and come to this address on Friday, around 9 or 10 pm. Please be there.", Grace put it down again and wonder what to do.
* * *
That week flew away really fast, it was Friday already. Grace did her best not to think about the letter. She vowed she wouldn't go to that address, she was afraid and she had reasons for that. What if it was joke?? Or what if it was a set up??? Maybe she would be in trouble if she went. She was lying on her bed, it was almost eight-thirty Lily and Rick were out. Zoe was spending the night at a friend's, Jessie was with Katie and Eli was at Karen's, she was all alone in the house. She stood up and opened one of her drawers then took the letter out, she read it again and something hit her; the address was not totally unknown. She searched in her head where she had heard of that street before was that when she remembered, it was the same street that Christine, Mr. Dimitri's friend lived.
"No, it can't be.", she whispered to herself when she thought it had something to do with Mr. Dimitri. "You're crazy Grace!!", she put the letter back in the drawer and went downstairs to watch some Tv.
~ ~ ~
Eli was at Coop's rehearsing. They were finishing some new songs and playing some songs from other bands. "Coop, why do you want us to play that song?? You know I don't like it."
"Come on, Eli. It's a nice song. chicks love it!!", Coop kidded and Wink and Ted laughed. "And I know you can play it!!! You know the lyrics, don't you?", they all started to mock him about it.
"Very funny!!", Eli made an annoyed face. It was true, he did know the lyrics. Actually, this particular meant a lot him; it made him remind of the he loved most and couldn't have. That's why he didn't want to sing it. . It would pain him so much if he did. "Yeah, I know."
"Come, it's not like it's gonna hurt if you play it.", Ted jokingly stated and he only nodded bitterly.
"Shut up, Ted!!", Coop ordered.
"What did I do??"
"Okay, okay! I'll play the song with you.. . But not now. First we gotta practice these three new songs a few more times.", Eli agreed.
"You're the boss!!", Wink smiled and they started playing again.
~ ~ ~
Grace pulled over the car next to the sidewalk. "I can't believe I'm here.", she said to herself while she took a look around. It was definitely Christine's neighborhood, Grace caught vision of her house across the street. "Okay, you're here, Grace Manning. You can't stay all night in the car.", She said those words to encourage herself to find the house she was supposed to go. She closed her eyes really tight, took a deep breath and step out of the car.
~
~ ~
"Eli?? Ready?!!!, Coop asked and the first notes for the song Eli didn't want to play came out of his guitar then with his eyes close he began singing.
*If I give up on you, I give up on me
If we fight what's true, will we ever be
Even God Himself and the faith I knew
Shouldn't hold me back, shouldn't keep me from you.*
. Grace found the house; she looked at it and walked to the door then ran the bell.
"Yes??", a lady around her mother's age answered. Grace kept moving her mouth but didn't know exactly what to say. The lady smile and said, "You're Grace, aren't you?"
"Wha- what?? I mean, yes, I am. ", Grace was surprised. How come the lady could know her name?
"Follow me. They're waiting for you.", Grace walked in and followed her, her mind even more full with questions than before.
*Tease me by holding out your hands
Then leave me or take me as I am.*
As the lady led her to the basement, Grace start listening to a song, it kept getting stronger and stronger as she approached the place.
"They're in there. You can come in.", the lady smiled at her and left.
Grace didn't know what to do but her heart recognized the voice that was singing. She didn't come in, she stayed outside the door and glued her ear on it and listened the song a little more.
*And live our lives, stigmatized
I can feel the blood rushing through my veins
When I hear your voice driving me insane
Hour after hour, day after day
Every lonely night that I sit and pray.*
.Grace couldn't hold on anymore, she slowly opened the door and quietly crept down the stairs, she caught vision of Eli right away; her face was stained with tears. Coop, Ted an Wink saw her as she came in but Eli didn't, he had his eyes closed, eh only kept on singing.
*Tease me by holding out your hand
Then leave me or take me as I am
And live our lives, stigmatized
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We live our lives on different sides
But we keep together you and I
Just live our lives, stigmatized.*
.Eli feeling something was different, slowly opened up his eyes and the first thing he saw was Grace's face, she was crying. He was stunned to see her there but not very surprised. Now everything made sense. The reason why Coop and the guys insisted for him to sing that song, everything. He looked at his band mates and they all had this smirk on their lips, they were glad she was there.
Grace also understood what the letter was about and she didn't know that Coop, Ted and Wink were responsible for that meeting but she didn't care much. All she could see, all she could listen to was the words Eli was singing..
*We're gonna live our lives, we'll take the punches everyday
We're gonna live our lives, I know we're gonna find our way
I believe I you
Even if no one understands.*
. Eli stopped singing, he couldn't. He felt something in his throat. He stared Grace intensively and all he wanted to do was have her in his arms. He step aside and took his guitar off of his shoulder, when he did that, Coop took the microphone and keep on singing the song while Eli slowly walked in Grace's direction.
* I believe in you, and I don't really give a damn.*
. Eli and Grace were face to face; he looked down at her lips then up into her eyes, she softly smiled at him and he gently cupped her face in his hands then passionately kissed her. The guys looked at each other and smiled widely, their plan had worked and Eli and Grace were back together.
*Oh!! Stigmatized!!! Yeah, yeah, yeah
We live our lives on different sides
But we keep together you and I
We live our lives on different sides
We're gonna live our lives
Gotta live our lives
We're gonna live our lives
We're gonna live our lives
Gonna live our lives, yeah.
STIGMATIZED.*