Gracie Dutton

9

Gracie rolled over and opened her eyes but quickly regretted that due to how bright the sun was for her sensitive head. She whinced and covered her face. She felt movement behind her and a hand on her arm. "You okay, baby?" Beth asked her groggy. "It's so bright in here," Gracie whispered back. Beth sighed and brushed Gracie's hair back. "You definitely have a concussion." Gracie sighed and slowly let herself adjust to the lighting. She sat up and winced once more at the pain in her head. "Easy," Beth told her and sat up as well. Beth pushed away her pain so she could focus on her daughter. She glanced over to see Rip still sleeping. "Let's go down and eat breakfast. We'll let your father sleep." Gracie got up and let her mom get dressed for the day. Gracie made Beth come to her room while she got changed, not wanting to be alone. They made their way down to the dining room. All eyes were on them and it made Gracie uncomfortable, especially Monica who couldn't look away. Gracie slumped down into her seat. "How you two feeling?" John asked. "Just like we left the fucking spa, Dad," Beth remarked. John shot her a look because of her language with Tate at the table. Gracie reached for some fruit and slowly ate it. Beth was annoyed already and tried to eat her own food, but struggled with opening her jaw. Gator brought Gracie some scrambled eggs. "Thank you," she told him quietly. "Hey, Gator! Would you mind making me a smoothie?" Beth caught his attention before he left the room. "Sure, what kind?" He looked at her. "2 scoops of ice cream, 3 shots of vodka." Gator nodded. "2 scoops, 3 shots. Got it." He left the room and Beth got up. She left the dining room and Gracie watched her walk away. Gracie looked over at John. "May I be excused?" She asked. Gracie didn't want to be away from Beth and she did want to get away from Monica's staring. John sighed, "you should eat more so you can take some medicine." Gracie shook her head. "I'm fine," she said and got up. She went out onto the porch to sit with her mom. Beth glanced over at her and instantly pulled the cigarette out of her mouth. "You can't even eat. What makes you think you can smoke?" Gracie walked over and sat on the seat opposite of her. Beth sighed. Luckily Gator brought her the smoothie so she didn't have to answer Gracie. Beth and Gracie sat in a peaceful silence until Monica came outside wanting to talk to Beth. Gracie glanced between the two women before she stood up. "You can take my spot. I need some medicine." Gracie caught Beth's worried but annoyed glance while walking into the house. She found John in the dining room still. "I need something for my head," she told him. He got up and motioned for her to follow him into the kitchen. "The doctor prescribed some medicine for your head." Gator handed Gracie a water bottle while John gave her the right amount of pills to take. "Thanks," she said and took the medicine. "I'm gonna go lay down," she told him. Gracie went upstairs and stopped at her parents door. She knocked lightly before opening. "Dad?" She called out lightly. She was surprised to see him up, dressed for the day, putting his hat on. Rip looked at her surprised, as she had never referred to him as that before. He didn't even know what to say but luckily she filled the silent pause. "What are you doing up?" She asked confused. "I'm not gonna lay in a bed all day, Gracie. I'll go crazy." Gracie nodded. "Okay. I'm going to lay down. I was just gonna check on you." Rip smiled at her thoughtfulness. "Thank you. Are you okay? How are you feeling?" He slowly walked over to her and inspected her face. "My head hurts. I just took some medicine." Rip nodded and looked her in the eye. "Are you okay though?" He asked worried. Gracie didn't know what to say. She silently shrugged. Rip sighed and pulled her into his arms. "We'll figure it out. Everything will be alright." He kissed the top of her head. "Where's your mother?" He questioned. "Outside," she answered. He nodded. "Go on and lie down. You need anything?" She shook her head and walked off to her room. She laid in bed and instantly fell into a deep sleep.
***
When she opened her eyes her room was practically pitch black. She looked around confused and realized it was night time. She slept all day. Her eyes widened slightly, surprised she slept for so long. Her head was killing her and she was starving. She got up and went down to the kitchen. The clock read that it was almost 8 pm. She grabbed a banana, not wanting to make an actual meal. John walked into the kitchen to grab some water and was surprised when he saw her finally up. "I was starting to get worried," he quipped and Gracie smiled. "I was worried when I woke up," she joked. John chuckled. "How are you feeling?" He asked. "My head hurts. I think I'm gonna go sit outside for a bit and see if the fresh air helps." John nodded. "Alright. Don't stay out too long. I'll wait up for you." She nodded and went outside. Gracie sat down on the rocker for a few minutes before she got curious about what Ryan was doing as she stared at the bunkhouse. She sighed and wondered if he knew what happened to her, if he was worried about her. She stood up and decided to go down there and talk to him. She made it halfway down the hill and felt something cover her head. She gasped and before she could let out a scream, she was unconcious.
***
A little over an hour had passed and John knew it had to be getting cold outside so he went out onto the porch to bring Gracie inside. He grew confused though to find the porch empty. He looked around at the dark land before going inside, thinking she must have came in through the back door and forgot to tell him she was inside. He checked the kitchen to find it empty as well. John headed upstairs and knocked on Beth and Rip's door. "What is it, daddy?" Beth asked as she leaned against the door frame. "Did Gracie come tell you goodnight? She didn't come get me when she came back inside." Beth looked at her father confused. "What are you talking about? She's been asleep in her room." John shook his head. "No. I saw her almost two hours ago. She told me her head hurt but she wanted to sit outside and get some fresh air before she took anymore medicine. I told her I'd wait up for her, but she isn't outside. I figured she must have came in through the back door." Beth's face dropped as she took off towards Gracie's room. Rip was up now and throwing on his jacket and boots. "Oh my god," Beth breathed out as she found Gracie's room empty as well. She turned her head and looked at her father. "Find. Her." She ordered. John quickly started down the stairs, pulling out his phone to call Kayce. Rip almost ran into Beth as he hurried after John, not caring about his own injury. His daughter was missing and he was going to do anything to find her. Beth got dressed and ran outside to find everybody running around with flashlights, calling out Gracie's name. The group searched until the sun rose up into the sky. "Hey!" Kayce called out to the group and they rushed over to see tire tracks on the ground. "Did anyone drive back here?!" John hollered out but everyone shook their heads in response. Kayce walked further and noticed something in the brush. He paled when he saw Gracie's bloodied jacket. "What is it?" Rip asked, sensing from Kayce's tense form that he found something. Kayce turned around holding the jacket and Beth felt her world stop. "No!" She cried out and John quickly caught her as she fell to the ground, sobbing. "We just got her back!" She cried. Rip kept his emotions in check, knowing Beth needed him to be the strong one. Him and Kayce looked each other in the eye and for once they were on the same page. The Beck brothers were going to die.