Chapter 24 Someone Else
Grace stood outside the hospital, her face wet with tears she hadn’t realized she was crying. She wiped at them furiously with the back of her hand, frustration mixing with the hurt that sat heavy in her chest.
Crying wasn’t going to help.
It never did.
She needed to move. To do something. Anything but standing there feeling sorry for herself while her parents conspired with Vance inside.
She needed to leave, to get as far away from all of this as possible.
Grace started walking, her feet carrying her away from the hospital entrance without any real destination in mind. She just needed to move, to put distance between herself and the mess she’d left behind.
“Honey? Are you alright?”
She stopped, turning to find an older woman watching her with a concerned look. She was maybe in her fifties, with kind eyes and graying hair pulled back in a neat bun.
“I’m fine,” Grace said automatically, but her voice came out shaky, betraying the lie.
The woman’s expression softened. “You don’t look fine, dear. I saw you running out of there looking upset.” She paused, tilting her head slightly. “You’re Grace, aren’t you? Sarah’s daughter?”
Grace blinked, surprised. “How did you—”
“I was visiting someone in the next room.” The woman’s voice dropped lower, more gentle. “I could hear… well, I could hear what was going on out there.”
Grace immediately felt embarrassed. Of course someone had heard. The walls in that hospital weren’t paper-thin, unless you shouted enough. And her father had been shouting.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that,” Grace mumbled, looking down at her feet.
“Oh, honey, you have nothing to apologize for.”
The woman stepped closer, her hand reaching out to touch Grace’s arm lightly. “Do you have somewhere to go? Someone to call?”
Grace shook her head, fresh tears threatening to spill over. “I just… I need to get home. I need to get my things and leave.”
The woman studied her for a moment, something unreadable passing across her face. Then she nodded, seemingly coming to a decision. “Come on, then. My car’s just over here. I’ll give you a ride.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I insist.” The woman’s tone left no room for argument. “No young girl should be wandering the streets alone looking like you do right now. Besides, what kind of person would I be if I just left you here?”
Grace wanted to argue, wanted to say she could manage on her own, but the truth was she was exhausted. Emotionally drained. And the thought of having to figure out how to get home on top of everything else felt like too much.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
The ride home was filled with gentle conversation. The woman who introduced herself as Mrs. Chen, talked about her sister who was hospitalised, about their neighborhood, about nothing particularly important but everything that kept Grace from drowning in her own thoughts.
“You know,” Mrs. Chen said as they pulled up to a red light, “whatever’s happening with your family right now… it won’t last forever. Things have a way of working themselves out.”
Grace stared out the window, watching the city blur past. “But what if they don’t?”
“Then you’ll figure it out. You’re stronger than you think.” Mrs. Chen glanced at her, a small smile on her face. “I can tell. It’s in your eyes.”
Grace didn’t feel strong. She felt broken and lost and so, so tired. But she nodded anyway, because what else was there to say?
When they finally pulled up to her house, Grace thanked Mrs. Chen again, her voice sincere despite how hollow she felt inside.
“You take care of yourself, honey,” Mrs. Chen said, squeezing her hand once before letting go. “And if you need anything...” she handed over her card.
Grace watched the car drive away before turning toward her house. The familiar sight of it should have brought comfort, but all she felt was a strange, unsettling emptiness.
She didn’t know where she was going to go. Didn’t have a plan. But she couldn’t stay here anymore.
Not after what her father had done. Not after what her mother had said.
She was done.
Grace’s hands were still shaking when she unlocked the front door.
The house was quiet. Really quiet.
Her parents were probably still at the hospital with Vance, trying to figure out what to do now that she’d broken things off and walked out. Good. She didn’t want to see them nor did she want to hear her father’s justifications or her mother’s pleading.
She just needed to grab a few things and go.
She didn’t know where yet or have a plan, but she couldn’t stay here. Not anymore.
Grace stepped inside, closing the door softly behind her. The familiar smell of home hit her first, the same scent that used to mean safety and comfort, now just felt like a reminder of everything that had been broken.
She swallowed hard, pushing the feeling down, burying it deep where she wouldn’t have to think about it.
She moved quickly through the living room, heading for the stairs.
And stopped, something was wrong.
Grace’s eyes scanned the room, her pulse picking up. Everything looked normal. The couch was in its usual spot, worn and familiar. The coffee table still held her mother’s magazines, stacked neatly the way she always kept them, there was nothing out of place.
But the feeling didn’t go away.
It crawled up her spine, raising goosebumps along her arms.
She took another step forward, and her foot landed on something that crunched softly beneath her shoe.
Grace looked down.
Glass.
Tiny shards of it, scattered across the floor near the kitchen entrance, she followed the trail with her eyes and saw it—the curtain pushed aside, the window cracked open just enough to let in a draft.
Her stomach dropped, because she knew she hadn’t left that window open.
A floorboard creaked upstairs.
Grace’s head snapped up, her breath catching in her throat. She stood frozen, every muscle in her body tensed, listening.
Then, another creak came. Slower this time, like someone was trying to move quietly but couldn’t quite manage it.
Someone was in the house.