Change Your Mind (Completed)

Chapter 36

I was not shocked nor disappointed when I got home. All of the lights were on and Grace was sitting on the couch with Kallum nowhere to be found. The door creaked as I opened it and stepped inside yet she didn't make any sort of movement. I almost thought she was asleep.

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me who you're with but the least, and I mean the absolute least, you can do, is text me and let me know you're safe," She spat, still not looking in my direction.

A part of me wanted to be mad at her for speaking to me like I was her child and another part knew she was right to act like this. I was being a horrible friend. A friend that lied every single day and all she wanted was to be sure I wasn't hurt.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, unable to say anything else. I knew I was going to make it worse if I tried explaining myself. There was nothing to explain anyway. If I lied more, I would feel sick and if I told the truth, she'd never forgive me. It was a lose-lose situation.

Grace scoffed and all the venom she mustered slid into her words, "Sorry? Is that all you can say?" Her voice rose with every word and I prepared myself for the worst. I deserved it. "You- you... ugh! I can't even deal with this right now. Goodnight," She said and got up. Not once did she spare me a glance.

"Gracie..."

"Don't 'Gracie' me, Avery." That was the last thing she said as she left the room with me still standing in by the front door. I turned and locked it and trudged through my home towards my bedroom, flicking off the lights as I passed.

My bedroom door closed with a soft click behind me. My eyelids drooped and heart thumped. One part of me wanted to slow down and the other part was racing. The only thing I thought of was to shower. Maybe that could help me balance out. I tiptoed over to the bathroom, closed the door, took off my clothes and stepped into the shower.

By the time I was finished dressing in my pajamas, Theo sent me a text saying he got home. I told him about Grace's reaction and through that, we still made plans to hang out later. Less than fifteen minutes later, my eyes closed and I was greeted by an eventful sleep.

*

"So what's the verdict?" Theo laughed on the other end of the phone.

I groaned and rolled onto my back, "That's not even funny, Mr Hunter. I haven't left my room yet and to be honest... I'm a little bit scared. She was so mad last night and she hardly said anything."

"Are you embarrassed that you're going out with me?" There wasn't any sadness in his voice, only genuine curiosity.

"No, of course not but-" I was abruptly cut off. I snapped my mouth shut.

"But nothing. You should just tell her. She's your friend and this isn't a secret you want to keep. Listen to yourself. You're stressed out. At least one it's all out in the open, you won't have to sneak around."

I laughed. It wasn't my usual laugh that was filled with joy but it did the job, "That's the fun part."

"Trust me. There's a lot more fun things we can do other than sneak around to go to the beach."

A soft knock at the door interrupted me as soon as I was about to ask Theo to go on. I so desperately wanted to know where he was going with that idea of his.

"We'll revisit this later. Talk to you later," I said and waited for him to say his goodbye before hanging up.

I got up and opened the door. To my surprise, Grace was on the other side of the door. I gazed at her face then to the floor. If I mulled over this, I was never going to say it and it needed to be said. I had planned on keeping this to myself for as long as possible but plans changed apparently.

"I'm dating our teacher," I blurted. My heart thumped in my chest. I should have said that better. I could have made it sound nicer. The truth was out now and there was no going back.

"I figured." She Sighed and wrapped her arms around me. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

I shrugged, hugging her back, "I thought you'd judge me and tell me I was being an idiot."

"Well... you are being an idiot but I'm not going to judge you. Was it his idea to hide it?"

My head shook furiously. It was most definitely not his idea. Theo was too kind and honest to persuade me to keep secrets, "No. he's actually the one that encouraged me to come clean. He didn't like the idea of sneaking around and me lying to all of you."

"Hm... at least he has a conscience. Is he nice to you?"

What was she even getting at? She should know by now that I'd never stick around someone that wasn't worth my time. Then I understood that she was just asking to ensure that I was making the right decision for myself. She always wanted me to be happy especially after how things ended with Nolan.

"Yeah. He's really nice and smart and funny," I gushed as we let go of each other. "I was expecting a big fight and for you to stop talking to me, Grace."

"That was my plan. I was thinking of why you'd hide it from me that you were dating Nick. I figured that you and Jake weren't seeing each other because you stopped mentioning him and then it all just clicked into place," She said, searching my face as she spoke. "I didn't want to believe it at first. I had no reason to, yet something told me that it was true and... well, that's it, really."

I walked over to my bed and sat down, beckoning my best friend to join me. If this was a fight, I maybe would have had things to say and explanations to defend myself. This wasn't a fight though and I was at a complete loss. I looked at Grace while she played with one of her plaits, waiting on my response.

What was I supposed to say? I didn't know how to react. This wasn't how I envisioned this conversation going. Actually, I avoided picturing this scenario altogether.

"I... I don't know what to say," I admitted, twisting my hands in my lap. She was fine with me dating our teacher. Well, maybe not fine with it. At least she wasn't opposed to it.

"You do know that he can get into trouble if the wrong people found out about this. I'm guessing. I can't be completely sure."

"It's not like he's helping me out in his class or anything. We're just enjoying each other's company outside of school and we're both consenting adults."

Grace sighed, resting her palm over my hands to still them. I looked at her and the uncertainty on her face almost forced me to look away, "That may not matter. If you like him, you'll have to be careful, okay? I don't want anyone to get into trouble."

"Okay. We'll be careful. Thank you for being so understanding."

"If the roles were reversed, I'd hope that you'd give me the same treatment and I love you. I want you to be happy and he's making you smile more than you've had in a year," She said with a large grin on her face. My heart swelled with joy at her acceptance. It made me feel a thousand times better and the guilt I carried washed away instantly. "You've been singing around the house too. That one was new."

"Yeah, yeah... whatever. Theo and I are going out tonight. You and Kallum can come and we'll make a night out of it."

Grace squeezed my hands, her smile still in place but shook her head, "We have plans tonight. I'd love to go another time, if you're okay with that."

I nodded and we launched into all things best friends confided in each other. She asked me everything she could about Theo. I left out the part about his brother and ex since that wasn't my story to tell. I did explain all of our dates and every single time we snuck around to see each other. The realisation dawning on her face every few minutes was comical and I fought my laughter for as long as possible.

The day was brighter and I was lighter with every truth that tumbled from my lips. It was a relief to tell her everything I was bottling up. She didn't get mad once. She laughed along and joked with me about everything I told her. Maybe she wasn't just tolerating the idea of me dating Theo. Maybe she was okay with it.