Grace
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Yes, Mom,” I assured her for the hundredth time, leaning against the counter in the kitchen. “Just send me back some ginger bread cookies.”
She laughed, pressing a kiss to my head. “I will.”
“And tell Aunt Jo I said hello.”
“I’ll do that too, Gracie.”
She fussed over me a bit more before finally gathering her stuff and joining my dad in the car. They were going to celebrate Christmas with my mom’s sister, like we did every year. I wasn’t feeling too well though, so I was staying home. It only took a thousand times to assure my mother I would be okay three days by myself. It was winter break, anyway, so I didn’t have to worry about school.
I waved through the window as they drove off. The silence of the house settled over me, oppressing yet strangely comforting. I wrapped my arms around myself and sat down at the kitchen table. It was just beginning to get dark. I had been nursing the same cup of tea for the past fifteen minutes. It was the only thing my stomach wouldn’t completely reject.
I managed another uncomfortable mouthful when the home phone rang. I stood up. Probably my mother calling to make sure nothing happened in the two minutes since she saw me.
“Hello?” I greeted when I picked it up.
“Halo!”
My eyebrows furrowed. “Tiffany?”
“How are ya?”
“Sick,” I muttered. “And confused. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing!”
“Why are you so enthusiastic?”
“Because I’m coming to pick you up!”
Oh, no. I dropped back into the kitchen chair. “Do I want to know why?”
“Probably, but it’s a surprise anyway!”
“Oh, great.”
“I’ll be there in five! Wear something nice!”
“What? Why do I have to—and you’re gone,” I mumbled, ending the call as she had hung up anyway. An uneasy feeling started in my gut. This couldn’t be good.
Roughly thirty minutes later I had taken a shower and dressed in long black leggings and a floral skirt beneath a green top. I pulled on a pink sweater when I felt a chill rush over my skin. If only my mom could see me now. She would probably have a heart attack.
The doorbell rang and I whisked down the hall to answer it. Tiffany was on the other side, in pajama pants and a sweatshirt. Was I missing something? “Why don’t you look nice?” I asked her.
“Don’t worry about it!” she cried. She peeked over my shoulder. “Are your parents home?”
“No,” I replied. “And I don’t think they would want me going out, either . . . Where are you taking me?”
“Nowhere bad, I swear,” she promised, grabbing my arm and tugging me toward her truck. “Now come on because I’m freezing my ass off on this stoop.”
“Tiffany,” I warned.
We situated ourselves in the car and she sped off. “Relax, Halo. It’s Christmas Eve and you’re home alone. You deserve to be having fun!”
“I’m sick,” I deadpanned.
“Excuses, excuses.”
“Where are we even going?” I asked. We had traveled off the beaten path and weren’t in familiar territory to me.
YOU ARE READING
Ten Things
Teen Fiction(TH#5)"And maybe in the end, in spite of all we said, all we did, all we met, we are only thoughts that evaporate into the effervescent whirlwind of time." Cole Winters is a perfect example of high school done right; star quarterback, good-looking...
