Love surprises you - on hold

one

Grace

Grace taps her fingers on her thigh, the blankets of her bed thrown around her as she anxiously watches the door. She inhales sharply when she hears the distinct sound of glass breaking down the hall, just outside her room and around the corner. She rolls her eyes, finding her own behaviour childish, here she is, scared because some bottle broke-but she knows deep down it's not that noise that scared her.

Her shaking hand reaches for her phone as she hears a loud musical laugh. "Hey." She speaks into the phone, her own voice surprising her, it sounded so scratchy, so harsh.

"What's wrong?" Ava immediately asks, knowing something isn't right.

Grace swallows her fears as she stands from her bed with a small creak of the bedsprings, slowly making her way to her bedroom door. "Nothing, it's just my mom's stupid boyfriend is back." She explains, creaking open her door to peer into the empty hallway. "Can I come stay there?"

"Yeah of course." Her best friend answers, no doubt showing in her voice, which calms Grace's growing nerves. "Be safe though okay? The streets are really dark."

Somehow, Grace manages to let out a small laugh at that, "You're four blocks from here Av, I'll be right there." She says, dropping her phone to her bed as she slips on a sweater, zipping it up and stuffing her hands in the pockets.

"Whatever, still." Ava speaks when she hears Grace's dramatic sigh against the phone again, telling her she's listening.

"Yeah, yeah. Bye." Cutting her worries short, Grace hangs up, opening the door again but this time slipping her thin figure through, making sure not to open it far enough that there would be a creak. She does as best she can to tiptoe past her mom and Will, cringing when she feels one of many uneven floorboards creak under her.

Almost instantly she hears her mother's cheerful voice call out, "Baby is that you?" Grace relaxes a bit, standing up straight as she approaches her. "Where are you going?"

"Just to Ava's." She replies shortly, glancing around her mom to see Will lounging on the couch he doesn't own, a cigarette between his lips and a beer in his hand. "I'll be back after school tomorrow." She tells her, not knowing whether she was even telling the truth.

Her mom, June, frowns but nods nonetheless. "Okay, Gracie, you know I love you." Grace simply hums a yes, walking past June's open arms and to the front door.

"See you later!" Will yells to her, making her lip slip between her teeth as she yells a reply, tying up her shoes as she does.

"See you, asshole!" She hears his loud laugh fill the house making her even more annoyed, without any more conversation, she slams the front door behind her, running a hand through her hair as she grabs her bike.

Grace hops on, not bothering with the helmet as it always just gives her a headache. The sky spits down on her which seems to fit her emotions in the current situation. She doesn't stop riding until she reaches Ava's house, ignoring stop signs and weaving around the few cars there are. She knows if Ava saw she'd throw a hissy fit, so she decides to simply just not tell her.

"Hi Grace." Sam says, his brown hair covering his eyes as he smiles up at her, holding open the door as she enters.

"Hey Sam." She tells him, undoing her shoes and dropping them onto the Morrison's shoe rack. "Where's your sister?" The boy simply points upwards and Grace takes that to mean in her room. She climbs the stairs two at a time, not knocking as she enters her friend's room.

Ava looks at her blankly, her hand which was previously scribbling in a pink notebook stopping and instead dropping the pencil. Her brown curls are tied into a low ponytail as she lay on her bed, writing, Grace assumes, notes for school. Pajama pants hugged her legs, paired with an oversized sweater Grace recognizes as her own.