Chapter 15 I Can't Work It Out
Ryland
I am helping get Lola to her front door. She is wasted. She drank a little too much. Lola had a lot of fun, though, and that was the main thing. It isn’t easy, but I manage to get her there.
“Are you sure you will be okay getting to bed? What if your parents catch you?”
“I will be fine. My parents will be sound asleep. I will be very quiet, shh.” Her words are slurred, but she giggles.
I unlock and open the door for her. Lola staggers in, waving behind her as she goes. She leaves her keys in the door and the door wide open. Chuckling, I take the keys out, close and lock the door, posting them through the letterbox. I shake my head, laugh and return to the car where Gracie is waiting for me.
“Will she be okay?”
“She will be fine. She is a pro at this, no matter how much she has had to drink.”
I have sobered up a lot. I am still a little buzzed, but I did stop drinking a while ago.
“Do you need to go home right now?” I ask.
It is one in the morning. I am unsure whether she has a curfew. I don’t. My mom tried, but when she realised I wouldn’t follow it, she gave up. She doesn’t see the point in trying to tell me what to do.
“No, not really. My dad will be sound asleep. Why? Did you have something in mind?”
“Nothing specific, just go for a drive and find somewhere to stop. You know this place better than I do. Is there any quiet place we can go to?”
I am not ready for home. I am not prepared to say goodbye to Gracie yet. I know I told her earlier we would talk at some point, but I have decided to let it be for tonight. The reason is that Gracie has become extremely quiet since I said that. She seems anxious. I will leave it for tonight. I don’t want to pressure her.
“Yes, there is a park not too far from here. We could go there?” she suggests.
“That is fine, but first, is there anywhere around here we can get coffee at this time?”
“Yes, there is a twenty-four-hour diner.”
I nod, and Gracie starts the car, heading there. It doesn’t take long. Gracie waits in the car, and I head inside, ordering us coffee. I did offer food, but she said no. I ordered some fries for myself, she can have some if she likes. The order doesn’t take long. I pay and return to the car.
“I got us some fries just in case.” I smile, pulling my seatbelt on.
Gracie reaches over and steals one, popping it into her mouth. “They have the best fries.”
I thought she wasn’t hungry. Gracie starts the car again, and we head to the park. I have no idea where it is. I thought she meant like a park to walk in, but as we arrive, I realise it is a playpark. It is quiet and away from everyone else. It will do.
“I love this place at night. It is peaceful.” Gracie smiles.
Gracie climbs out first, and I follow a moment later. When I catch up with her, she is on one of the swings. I take the one next to her, passing her coffee over to her. Thanking me with a smile, she swings slowly back and forth. She stares up at the sky, lost in her thoughts. I let her be, sipping my coffee. It is peaceful here. The only sound is the whisper of the trees as they blow in the wind.
“Fry?” I ask, offering them to Gracie.
“Yes, please. Have you tried them? If not, you should. They are good.” She says firmly.
The moonlight is enough for me to see her features still. A cheeky little smile is on her face as she demands me to try them.
I pop a couple into my mouth. “Yes, ma’am.”
They are good.
“They are good, right?” she says smugly because she is right.
Gracie seems more relaxed around me again, which I prefer. It is better than her closing up and trying to keep a distance from me.
I toss a fry at her, laughing. “Yeah, yeah. No need to be so smug.”
She pouts and prods my arm. “Don’t waste them.”
“Sorry, ma’am.” I tease.
Gracie rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at me. A comfortable silence falls between us after. It stays this way until we finish eating and drinking.
“Would it be childish if we had a go on everything?” I ask.
“Probably, but who cares. We are the only ones here.”
Gracie jumps off the swing and heads over to the slide. She climbs up and slides down it, her giggles echoing in the darkness as she does. I go to join her. We take our time to have a shot of everything. Both laughing the entire time. I like hearing her laugh. It is a real laugh, something I haven’t heard until now.
We are lying on the grass, watching the stars after playing around for half an hour.
“How many tattoos do you have? How did you get them when you were still underage?”
“I have six. Fake I.D., baby girl.”
“I never thought of that. What make you get the one on your stomach?”
“Because sometimes that is all we can, no matter what we are going through. Keep fighting and never give up.” I answer with a smile. There is more to the story, but I am not ready to tell it.
“I like that one. It has a lot of meaning. If we just gave up, then we wouldn’t get anywhere in life.”
My gut tells me she likes that one because the words speak to her. Her story, she isn’t ready to share. One day, maybe when she feels more comfortable, she will open up to me. It won’t come easily.
“Exactly.”
I move my hand from between us and take hers in mine, linking our fingers. Gracie lets me. It is my subtle way of telling her I am here if she needs me without saying it. Gracie rolls onto her side, and I do the same, so we are facing one another. I smile and reach in, pushing a stray of hair from her eyes. Those eyes are too beautiful to hide.
“Ryland, why did you decide to take an interest in me and my life?”
“I am not sure. I saw you one day, and you pulled me in. I never expected to see you at the lake or end up at the same school.”
I don’t want to tell her everything. If I did, she may freak out on me again.
A smile spreads on her lips. “Okay. I was curious.”
I expected her to question me further. I must have given her enough. Gracie falls silent and stares at me. “You have the most beautiful eyes, Ryland.”
“Thank you.”
A part of me wants to move closer and kiss her. I don’t know how she would react. Gracie may end up slapping me. Sighing, I run my fingers through my hair. Gracie is getting to me in a way I can’t explain.
“I should probably go home.” I can hear the disappointment in her voice.
“Can’t you stay a little longer?”
“No. I am up early tomorrow. I have things to do before school. I don’t want my dad to realise I am not home. He won’t be happy.”
I have a bad feeling about her dad. Every part of my body is screaming he is not a good man. I wish I were wrong, but my gut isn’t often wrong.
“Okay.”
“Can I give you a ride to school tomorrow?” she asks as we get up and stroll back to the car.
“Sure.”
We head home. She pulls up outside my house. “See you in the morning.”
“Yes, goodnight, brown eyes.” I kiss her cheek, lingering there longer than necessary.
Her cheeks heat. “Goodnight, Ryland.”
I hug her, and she hugs back. “You know where I am if you need me.”
I part from the hug and climb out of the car. Gracie sits outside my place until I go inside. My mom will be asleep. I grab some water and head straight to bed. Stripping down, I pull some joggers on. I go over to close the blinds. I spot Gracie doing the same. She smiles and waves before she closes them. I sigh and do the same, climbing into bed.
Tomorrow was a new day. Maybe things can be different then.