Ten Things

Ch. 20-Heart-Shattering Revelations

Cole

The weekend came fast. Grace wasn’t in school for the rest of the week, for whatever reason. I didn’t go to see her, or to investigate what was wrong. I let her be. There were some questions I needed answered first.

I woke up early Saturday morning, the address to Dr. Greene’s office tucked in my back pocket. I stifled a yawn, moving my hands down my face. Six in the fucking morning. Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed it so early, but his office opened at six-thirty and I wanted to be the first one there. I didn’t much like waiting.

“Cole! You’re up early.”

I sighed. “Yep,” I responded to my mother as she poured herself a glass of milk. She was in her jogging uniform. Most mornings my mom woke up at the crack of dawn to go running. She claimed it kept her in shape since most of her job was sitting at a desk. All I knew was I wasn’t getting up before she sun to go run. Not as long as I had the ability to roll over and go back to sleep.

“Any particular reason why?”

I shrugged. “I have somewhere I need to go.”

“Ah.” She gulped down her milk and grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl on our counter, floating by me. She pressed a fleeting kiss to my temple. “See you later then, sweetheart.”

I grunted in response. I waited five minutes for her to get a suitable distance away before grabbing my keys off the foyer table and leaving the house. I knew I didn’t have much time left with my motorcycle and its dignity, so I strapped on my helmet and decided to take it for a ride. Dr. Greene’s office wasn’t that far away, about a five or so minute ride. I felt the familiar comfort of the wind as it rushed by, whipping against my skin. God, I loved that feeling.

I pulled up alongside the curb and cut off the engine. I hung my helmet from the handlebar and stuffed the keys in my pocket. The building was brick and bordered by pretty potted plants. I stood for a moment, making sure that this was really what I wanted to do. Deep down I knew that if I stepped through those doors my life would never be the same.

I was willing to take that risk.

I opened the door, a bell jingling above me. A lady sat at a desk, tapping away at her keyboard. She glanced fleetingly up at me. “I’ll be with you in a second, sugar,” she murmured. I nodded, idling nearby, not up to sitting down. It would insinuate that I wasn’t pressed for time, and I didn’t want her thinking she could wait an eternity-and-a-half to assist me.

As she finished up what she was doing at her desk, I took the time to look around. I tried to imagine Grace in my place, but under different circumstances. Why would she have come? For what purpose? Was she having trouble at home?

I didn’t like any of the directions my thoughts took. Grace was . . . Hard to describe. Impossible, almost. I was fairly certain there wasn’t another person like her on earth.

And that was what I loved about her.

She was a constant surprise, the only downfall being you never knew if it was good or bad. She was quiet and yet not afraid to stand up for what she believed in. The girl would probably rather eat her own foot than utter a single curse word. I found that highly amusing and oddly endearing. It was just so Grace that I couldn’t imagine her without that trait.

I smirked at myself, shaking my head. Listen to you, my mind laughed. You must be bat-shit crazy, thinking like that.

And maybe I was. I certainly felt like it sometimes.

“What can I do for you?”

I turned toward the secretary and folded my arms on the top of the counter, staring down at her. “I’m looking for Dr. Greene,” I told her.