Chapter Nine - GRACIE

Okay, now Gracie felt bad. She had jumped to conclusions about Mark, opened her big mouth, and it had gotten her in trouble. The hurt in his eyes had almost undone her. And she had been the cause of it. Gracie should have realized he was more complex than he seemed on the outside. Wasn’t everyone? Gracie’s life certainly wasn’t what she portrayed to everyone else—including her best friends. Everyone kept a piece of them hidden, and it hadn’t been fair for her to call Mark out on something she knew nothing about. Sitting next to someone for a few hours on a bus wasn’t nearly enough time to suddenly proclaim oneself an expert. But that was exactly what she had done.

Even though she was done eating, she stayed while Mark got his food. It wasn’t just because she knew he’d end up sitting by himself if she left, but she found herself wanting to stay. He was by far one of the most interesting people she’d ever met, and she loved the anticipation of what he’d say next.

And when she’d messed up his hair…holy cow. Mark had been cute before, but he was seriously attractive when he wasn’t quite so put together.

Mark didn’t seem to agree, though, because Gracie noticed his hair was plastered to his head once again. When he’d finished eating and pushed his empty plate away from him, she reached forward and ran her fingers through his gel-laden locks. They were still slightly damp and more malleable than they had been the previous day. “You seriously have to stop treating your hair like that. It didn’t do anything to deserve this kind of punishment.”

He grinned, like he had done his hair that way on purpose—to tease her. “It really bothers you, doesn’t it?”

“Kind of,” Gracie admitted. “Why hide your natural good looks under a pound of gel?”

Mark’s cheeks flushed, and he didn’t have a retort for that one. He stayed silent, and it made Gracie feel awkward. Had she said something wrong? She was only speaking the truth.

They were saved from a lengthy silence when Mrs. Krump called for everyone to clear their tables and board the bus. Gracie and Mark didn’t talk much on this leg of the journey, though they were once again sitting next to each other. It wasn’t because Gracie didn’t want to talk to him, but she was exhausted from her restless night.

Gracie already knew her roommate, Stephanie. They had a couple of classes together and, although Stephanie hung out with a different and more popular crowd, she’d always been nice to Gracie. But that girl seriously needed to get her sinuses checked, because it wasn’t natural for someone that skinny to snore so loudly.

Gracie wished she could sit by the window so she could lean her head against it, but she knew that wasn’t possible with Mark’s intense motion sickness. She really didn’t want to fall asleep on his shoulder again, though. It seemed he was worried she might make a move on him or something, because he kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

After a couple of hours of this, Gracie couldn't take it anymore. “What?” she asked when she caught him looking at her again.

“N-nothing,” Mark said, quickly averting his gaze.

“You’ve been watching me ever since we left the hotel.”

“I’m a people watcher,” he said with a small shrug.

“Do I make you uncomfortable?”

Mark’s eyes widened, and he seemed at a loss for words. “Uh…”

Great. She’d complimented the guy and he was already terrified to be around her. Gracie knew what the problem was. She was too forward—too in-your-face. That was what her ex-boyfriend had told her. He’d said that Gracie needed to dial things down about ten notches. She had tried, but she had been miserable the entire time. Gracie had given up after a week. And if anyone needed her to dial it down, it would be Mark. He was so calm and reserved all the time.

“You don’t have to worry about telling me the truth,” she said. “I know I’m a bit overwhelming, and I understand if you need your space. Would you like me to sit somewhere else for a bit?”

Gracie really didn’t want to. She had noticed there were a couple of empty window seats she could try to catch a nap in, but they were in the very front of the bus. One was directly behind the driver and the other was behind Mrs. Krump. Gracie would much rather stay with Mark, even if it meant not being able to fall asleep.

“No,” Mark said, the words exploding from his lips.

It caught Gracie off guard, and she laughed. She knew it was terrible timing, but she didn’t have any control over it. Gracie laughed if she was embarrassed or tired or in an awkward situation…her default was to laugh.

Mark’s neck flushed. “Unless you want to sit somewhere else,” he mumbled.

“Of course not,” she said. “I didn’t want to make you think you’re stuck with me, just because I threw myself at you yesterday when we were first boarding the bus.”

“Well, one of us has to be assertive,” Mark said with a small smile. “Besides, we’re friends.” He paused. “Aren’t we?” He sounded so unsure—it broke Gracie’s heart.

“Yeah. We’re friends,” she said, her voice soft.

Mark nodded, as if deep in thought, then smiled. “Would you like a turn by the window?”

Gracie stared. “But what about your motion sickness?”

“I have barf bags,” he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“But you’re tired, aren’t you?” Mark asked. “I keep seeing your eyes droop, but then you force them back open.”

That was why he had kept watching her? Because he was concerned about how tired she was?

“I can lean my seat back. It’s no big deal,” Gracie said.

Mark snorted. “What, all two inches? Switch places with me.”

Gracie didn’t say anything right away. She’d never met anyone who was so selfless. Mark knew he’d be sick…probably puke. But he wanted to make sure she got the rest she needed. Would he do that for anyone? Or just her?

“No,” Gracie finally said. She would feel so bad about it, she wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway.

“Please,” Mark said, taking her hand in his. “Let me do this for you.”

His hand was so warm, and it fit perfectly in hers. It wasn’t as soft as she’d expected. Gracie had assumed he was the kind of guy who didn’t do much, if any, manual labor. But his hand told a different story. Gracie was surprised by her desire to not let go. She rubbed a thumb along a callus that spread across his palm.

Mark shuddered and pulled back.

“I’m sorry,” Gracie said. “I—”

He held up a hand to stop her. “Don’t. You have nothing to apologize for. I’m just not used to…” His words trailed off as the bus slowed and Mrs. Krump announced they’d be stopping for lunch.

Mark never told Gracie what he wasn’t used to. But for some reason, she really wanted to find out.

* * * * *

The bus ride sped by quickly after that. Gracie never did switch places with Mark, but just knowing he was willing to do that for her—it meant a lot.

When he pulled out a tin of warm raspberries from his duffel bag, however, she did accept his offering, which seemed to appease him. Sure, they’d been in his bag for a couple of days—he’d forgotten about them up until that point—but it was a nice change to the endless supply of granola bars she’d brought with her. The bars didn’t seem to do anything for her hunger, and yet made her extremely thirsty. She’d end up drinking an entire bottle of water after, and then have to use the bathroom at the back of the bus as she bounced around everywhere. Ugh, no.

That night they pulled into Philadelphia but didn’t get to see anything except the restaurant that was next to the hotel. After a late dinner, they were instructed to go straight to bed because they had a busy week ahead of them, starting with visiting the Liberty Bell the next morning.

Before they had left, Gracie hadn’t cared about anything except getting out of the house. But now that they were actually in Philadelphia, she was getting excited about what lay ahead.

Her excitement wasn’t enough to keep her awake, however. She was so tired, she fell asleep as soon as she climbed into bed, slept through Stephanie’s snoring, and woke after her roommate had already left for breakfast.

When Gracie finally awoke, it wasn’t because she had gotten the rest she needed, but due to the need to run to the bathroom and puke her guts out. Which she promptly did.

By the time Stephanie returned, Gracie was sitting on the bathroom floor, her arms resting on the sides of the toilet.

“Oh, gross,” Stephanie said, holding a hand under her nose. “I’ll go get Mrs. Krump.”

By the time their teacher arrived, Gracie had thrown up two more times.

“Not quite what I had imagined for our first day,” Mrs. Krump said. She had the decency to give Gracie a sympathetic look.

“Has anyone else gotten sick?” Gracie asked, wondering if she had gotten food poisoning from the restaurant they’d all gone to.

“Yes. Markus.”

They hadn’t ordered the same thing. Gracie had tried the chicken parmesan and Markus had eaten steak.

Realization dawned on her. Oh, gosh. She bet it was because of those stupid warm raspberries.

Gracie groaned. “So, what now?”

“Now I leave you here with one of our parent chaperons,” Mrs. Krump said. “I suspect you’ll be ready to join us tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” First she’d been stuck on a bus for two days, and now she was stuck on the tile floor hugging a toilet, potentially for the next twenty-four hours. “What if I’m feeling better in the next couple of hours? I was really hoping to at least see the Liberty Bell.”

Mrs. Krump studied Gracie. “I suppose that if both you and Markus are feeling better, you can do your own mini tour with the chaperon. But not until at least this afternoon.”

“Thank you,” Gracie grumbled. She knew she should be grateful Mrs. Krump had even considered Gracie’s suggestion, but it was still a disappointment.

Once she was alone and her stomach had settled down, Gracie crawled back into bed and snuggled under the covers. Only two more hours until it was officially the afternoon, per Mrs. Krump’s orders.

And then Gracie was busting out of that joint.