State Of Grace

Chapter 27 - Delicate

"That's not the point Gracie, and you know it," Stella was getting angry again but Lilah took her hand and she calmed down immediately.

"I know, I'm sorry," Gracie was all out of tears and spoke matter-of-factly to her parents, "She signed the papers," Gracie revealed the document.

This was supposed to be the part where it didn't matter what she had gone through, it was supposed to be the moment when she and her mothers could breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Gracie could become a member of the Tucker family.

Lilah took the papers from Gracie and showed the signature to her wife, and they both gave small smiles, "Well," Lilah cleared her throat, "We're not condoning what you did to get this signed, and you'll be punished too, but, this is good news."

"Isn't it, love? This means we can adopt you," Stella could see that Gracie was still keeping something inside, "If that's still what you want."

"I do," Gracie reassured them that she still wanted to be a Tucker, though she didn't know why they still wanted her. "I want this family more than anything." But it wasn't up to her, it wasn't up to them anymore either.

Lilah came and sat next to her daughter and held her hand, "What is it, honey?"

She contemplated telling them what Marco had told her in the car, "It was just a long, weird day," she lied, "That's all."

They would find out eventually when a social worker came knocking on the door ordering Gracie to pack her bags. But for now, she didn't want to give them another thing to worry about, they were almost at their wit's end with her. Gracie was too, she was beginning to wonder how much longer she could keep fighting for a family that outside forces didn't want her to be a part of. One wrong move at the wrong time could blow everything up.

"So, are we grounded?" Gracie asked, wanting to get the punishment over with so she could go lie down.

"No, but you and Marco are on laundry duty for the next two weeks," Lilah said.

Gracie was sure she would be grounded, in fact, she was almost hoping she would be, that way she would have an excuse to crawl back into bed and stay there all weekend. Instead, she changed into more comfortable clothes and packed an overnight bag to take to Sarah's house.

"What did they say?" Marco came into Gracie's room and shut the door behind him, "About your birth Dad," he sat on Maia's bed.

Gracie sighed as she zipped up her backpack and avoided eye contact with her brother. "They didn't say anything because I didn't tell them," she said, "They'll find out soon enough, until then I just want to make the most of being here."

"Gracie, moms will fight for you, but you have to let them," Marco continued to surprise Gracie with his maturity. "I get it if you want to keep it from them for a day or two, but they deserve to know what's going on. Maybe they can get ahead of this."

"I know, okay? I get it," Gracie was frustrated, but Marco wasn't going to let this rest. "Fine, I'll tell them tomorrow after group therapy," she slung her backpack on her shoulder, "I've gotta go, Sarah's waiting for me. I'll get started on your chores tomorrow."

"It's fine, forget about the deal okay? We'll both do our fair share," Marco smiled.

"Thanks." She yelled goodbye to her mothers and walked outside to Sarah's car.

She was hoping to avoid the subject of her birth parents altogether for the weekend, but the second she got in the car, Sarah knew from the look on her face something was going on with Gracie. There was always something going on with Gracie.

"What happened?" She asked.

"What always happens when I finally get close to being happy," Gracie replied.