State Of Grace

Chapter 13 - Illicit Affairs

Gracie lay between Rachel's legs with her head resting against her chest, the blonde's hands danced up and down Gracie's arms as they watched the waves crash onto the shore. Each time a wave curled, the tide got closer. They'd been sitting together for hours, kissing, talking, just looking at each other.

It may have been easier for everyone if Gracie started a relationship with Jason, but it would never feel as natural as it did with Rachel. Nothing else mattered when they were together, and Gracie started to wonder if that was what love felt like.

"I should go home," Gracie sighed, "I switched my phone off and didn't tell anyone I was leaving," she stood up, brushed the sand off of her, and pulled Rachel up to her feet. Rachel raised her eyebrows. "What?" Gracie asked.

"You called it home."

"Yeah, I guess I did," Gracie smiled, "Thank you for coming," she kissed Rachel on the cheek

"You're going to leave me with that?" Rachel pulled Gracie close and planted another kiss on her, one that was difficult to pull away from, "Let me know when you're home."

"I will," Gracie could tell Rachel was watching her walk away.

As she got closer and closer to the Tucker house, her bliss faded away. It was time to face the reality that her foster mothers were probably going to be furious, and she hated that she'd let them down again. But at the same time, it didn't matter. She wasn't going to be living there forever. Why bother trying to live up to their expectations at all?

Before she could even knock on the door, Marco swung it open and pulled her inside, "She's back!" He shouted to his family, and they all immediately came swarming around her, except for Danny, who lingered nervously on the staircase, his head hung.

Lilah was almost crying, "Thank God!" She hugged her tight and rested her head on Gracie's. "We were so worried!" Gracie thought they would start yelling at her, but both of her foster parents just seemed relieved to see she was alive, she felt twice as guilty now.

"Where were you?" Riley asked, "You didn't answer any calls."

"I just went for a walk, by myself," she lied, "I just needed to be alone. I'm sorry." She wasn't sure why she decided to lie, it just seemed like the right decision at the time. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Stella sighed, and hugged Gracie again before clearing her throat, "Okay, everyone, homework," Stella said, "We need to talk to Gracie alone."

The other kids all shuffled up the stairs while Gracie was ushered into the living room. "I'm sorry, I swear I won't disappear like that again," she felt awful for making them worry.

Stella and Lilah exchanged a look, and Gracie couldn't get a semblance of an idea of what they were thinking, "Listen, Gracie," Stella said, "Lilah and I have been talking, and um," she couldn't finish her sentence.

"This is it. They're kicking me out," Gracie thought. She knew it was too good to be true, sneaking out of the house had been the last straw for them.

"Look, it's completely up to you, but we're just wondering if it might be best if we find you a new placement," Lilah said.

Her fears were coming true too quickly, Gracie's heart pounded, "You - you want me to leave?" She held back tears.

"No, honey, no," Stella reached for Gracie's hand, "We love having you here. Just with everything that happened tonight with Danny, we'd understand if you would feel more comfortable staying somewhere else."

"I'm comfortable here, I promise. Tonight was just a one-off. Danny and I just had a disagreement. This is the best home I've ever been in," she pleaded her case.