amazing grace. christian yelich (book one)

sixteen. lost girl

Crying in the bathroom has been a specialty of mine, especially when I'm this drunk clinging to my phone for dear life. The tears burn my eyes but I can't stop crying.

My phone buzzes in my hand and I pick it up. "Gracie, please come out of the bathroom. We're all standing out here and we look like perverts," Scott says quickly.

"No," I whimper. "I'm pathetic, Scott. I can't stop crying and. . . my heart hurts."

"Gracie," he whispers. "I love you. Please just come out."

"I can't. I can't. I should've known this was stupid," I whimper, curling in on myself. Tears drip from my eyes, soaking into my jeans. "Why do I still have feelings for him? Fuck. I'm such a fuck up, Scottie. I'm a disappointment to everyone."

"You're just drunk, Grace." The line goes dead and I let my phone fall to my lap. Someone comes in the bathroom, locking the door behind themselves. "Gracie."

"I'm not coming out, Scott," I tell him, my voice shaking.

"Grace Hannoway Kingery, you are not a disappointment." He sits on the ground, his back pressed to the door of the stall I'm cowering away in. "I love you so fucking much, Gracie, and not just because we're twins. Our whole lives you have made me proud to be your twin. You were the lead in almost every play, you were valedictorian of our class, you were varsity captain of the softball team, and you were always there for mom when shit went down.

"You are literally the reason our family is still together, Grace. You have taken on everything the world has thrown at you. Lucas Hook is a coward the world is going to shit on soon, and it pretty much did already." He sighs loudly, pausing. "You're a bad bitch, and bad bitches don't cry."

I stifle a laugh, shaking my head. "I feel stupid, Scottie," I admit with a heavy sigh.

"Don't, you made a smart decisions all the time, Grace. Lucas was a douche, and—I can't believe I'm saying this—I genuinely think Yelich cares about you. And Judge will help use beat up Lucas so you already know he's a dead man if you say the word."

I chuckle again, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. "I wish I saw it sooner," I sigh, shaking my head.

"Saw what, Gracie?"

"That I'm in love with Aaron," I whisper, sticking my tongue out in hopes to rid it off the terrible taste.

—

The morning is filled with advil and my head hanging in the toilet. Scott has kept his distance because he can't stand someone throwing up near him, and I'm the same.

My stomach has finally calmed down and I'm sitting on the bed with my phone in my hands. I have a voicemail from Christian, Aaron, and Lucas, my heart sinking at the sight of all three of their names on my phone screen.

With a sigh, I listen to Aaron's first.

'Gracie, by now I'm hoping you're awake the next morning and done throwing up because lord knows you can't hold your alcohol very well. You better be okay and not thinking about that asshole. You deserve a lot better than him, you always have. Just call me if you need to talk because I know Scott gets weird with throw up and hungover people. I love you, Gracie Boo.'

"I love you, too, Judgey Boo," I whisper, smiling at my phone. Taking a deep breath, I roll my eyes before listening to Lucas's voicemail.

'So I get the feeling you're not over me, and I'm not over you, Grace. I fucked up bad. I want a second chance with you, baby. I need a second chance to prove myself to you.'

I stop the message before it even finishes, deleting it. My finger hovered over Christian's voicemail, my heart suddenly feeling heavy, as if I'm guilty for something. "Fuck it," I whisper before putting my phone to my ear.

'Hey, Grace. I just saw the instagram stuff and I just wanted to see if you're okay. I hope you had a good night with your brother and friends before that all happened; you looked really pretty in the picture though. Red is definitely your color. But I hope you're okay and not hungover and heartbroken because that's the worse combination, I would know. Just call me if you want, or maybe I'll see you at the final game tonight. I hope I see you, actually. I think you're amazing Grace Kingery and you better not be putting yourself down because of that dick bag. Dick bag, really, Christian? Okay, I'm going to hang up before I further embarrass myself. See you, Grace.'

I chuckle, shaking my head as the message ends. Calling Lucas a dick bag is something I would say for sure. A knock on my door makes me look up, finding Scott hesitantly looking in. "You healthy and not vomiting?" he asks.

"Yes, I'm done. Just have a headache now," I sigh, tossing my phone onto the bed. "I'm shocked you're in here so soon after my mess. What do you want, Scott Kingery?" I narrow my eyes but Scott shakes his head, closing the door behind himself.

He walks over to sit beside me on the bed, making me even more confused. "What do you remember talking about last night, Grace? Do you remember talking to me in the bathroom?" he asks with a sigh.

"Bits and pieces. I remember crying like usual but most it's kind of blurry," I answer, looking down at my lap in embarrassment. "You sound. . . concerned in a weird way."

"I know you were drunk and everything, but last night you said. . ." he cuts himself off short and I nudge him. He hesitantly looks at me, our eyes meeting. "You said you're in love with Judge."

My heart skips a beat. "In love? Are you sure I didn't say I love him like I usually do?" I question. He nods his head. "Now I'm a drunk liar. I'm not in love with Judge, Scottie. He's my best friend."

"I know but this wouldn't be the first time you guys got closer. You did date for a bit in high school," he mentions. "And don't say it was a mutual thing because I know you really liked him even though you brought it up to him about breaking up in the first place."

"Believe me, I don't have feelings for Judge, not since high school," I tell him truthfully.