State Of Grace

Chapter 5 - Come In With The Rain

Her teeth clenched together as she stared at the side of the nightstand next to her. She could hear John's footsteps leaving the room, though it felt like he was still on top of her. The weight of his body felt like it could push all of the air out of her lungs. Now that she was alone, she could finally breathe again; her breaths were short and shallow, afraid to be too loud. 'What did you do?'  She questioned herself silently, 'You must have given him the wrong impression,' she shook her head and finally let herself cry.

"No," she whispered to herself, "I didn't deserve this," she tried to convince herself she was innocent, but she couldn't understand why he would have done it otherwise.

Her brain was telling her to get out, she thought about where she could go, or who she could call. There was Sarah, but she was probably sleeping, and Riley and Danny too. Then she remembered what was in the side pocket of her backpack.

She pushed herself up, wincing at the pain in her thighs, and reached down to her bag. She pulled out the small white card and the list that Stella and Lilah had given to her. Her eyes scanned the list, she could call any of them, and they would've helped her, but she didn't want to talk to a stranger.

'If you need anything, you can call me,' she remembered Stella's words when they were in the car.

Gracie made herself stand, emptied her backpack onto the bed, and stuffed as many clothes as she could fit into it. The thought of staying in that house any longer put her stomach in knots. She put her hoodie and her boots on and grabbed her phone and backpack. Going out the front door wasn't an option for escape, John would see her. Her only choice was to climb out the window and down to the ground. She slid the window open and splatters of cold water hit her skin, the rain outside was loud, and Gracie wondered why she hadn't heard it before, could it be because the thoughts in her head were louder? With her backpack secured to her arms and her phone in her pocket, she swung her legs out and balanced on the window ledge. Looking into the room one more time, pictures of Rachel stared at her. She may never see her again, but she had to do this.

As she was looking at one of the photos, she lost her balance and went plummeting to the ground below, landing with a splat on the wet grass. Her left shoulder broke the fall, but besides mild discomfort, she was uninjured. She scrambled to her feet and started running. It wasn't hard to remember the way to the police station; they'd passed it on the way to school every morning. It wasn't far, but as Gracie ran, it felt like it was getting further and further away. She didn't hesitate to burst through the doors when she finally arrived.

Dozens of eyes fell on the disheveled teenager as she stood panting in the middle of the police station foyer, mud dripping from her clothes and hair onto the linoleum floor. Her eyes darted around the room as she searched for the officer she was looking for.

"Tucker," she struggled to talk, "Officer Stella Tucker."

The muffled sound of the officers behind the reception desk got louder. Gracie was so breathless from her journey that she had to drop to the floor so she wouldn't faint. A hand landed on her shoulder, making her flinch.

"Gracie?" She looked up to see Stella, the concerned look on her face matched everyone else in the room, "What happened?"

"You said I could call..." Gracie trailed off, unable to find the right words, "I had to run, I couldn't stay there. You said I could call if I needed anything. But I had to run," Stella rested her hand on Gracie's shoulder again, this time she didn't flinch.

She helped the girl to her feet and led her through the crowd of officers and civilians that had gathered around them. They reached a small interview room with the words 'Comfort Suite' on the door. The two sat down on the scratchy blue chairs that probably hadn't been replaced in decades.