I wake up to the sunlight beaming though my still-open window from last night. I roll over and stretch my limbs before getting up to start my search for Brody. The bathroom was empty, as was the guest bedroom. Slowly, I make my way downstairs without missing a step and tripping. What meets me is Brody making breakfast, humming to himself quietly.
"Well this is a lovely surprise," I croak, my morning voice thick.
Brody looks over at me, his eyes scanning my entire body. "Nice voice, Noodle." He smirks as he returns back to his pancakes.
I didn't know he could cook. It was kind of irritating, how well he did everything. Anything he tried, he would manage to perfect with ease. It was frustrating for the slow-learners like me.
"Can you say 'pancake' in Spanish?" Brody questioned, looking back at me from over his shoulder.
I sit down at the breakfast bar, racking my brain for the Spanish word 'pancake'. After several seconds, I come to a conclusion. "Crepe!" I practically shout.
Brody turns to me in surprise. "I have taught you well!" He said before flipping the pancake once more, then putting it on a plate where there others rested. He takes another plate out and puts two pancakes with butter and syrup already applied, and hands the plate to me with a fork.
"Thank you!" I chirp before digging in. I am always starving in the mornings.
Brody sits across from me and eats as well, but his bites are paced and in no way hurried. The whole time I'm eating, he's laughing at something under his breath.
After finishing my pancakes and downing a cup of milk, I set the empty cup down loudly on the counter. "Alright, what's so funny?" I ask, wiping away my milk-mustache.
Brody shakes his head. "Nothing. It's just that most girls are afraid to eat in front of guys. It's nice to know you aren't." He replied, taking another bite of his last pancake.
"Well, in case you didn't notice, I'm not like most girls," I say proudly. I get up and pass Brody as I reach the dishwasher.
After putting my dirty dishes in the dishwasher, I get back up and meet Brody's chest. "Oh, believe me, I've noticed." He stated lowly.
I gulped. My heart pounds at the proximity between us. I avoid his steel eyes as I clear my throat quietly, moving away. "I better get ready for the day."
"Are you ready for that quiz tomorrow?" Brody asks, changing the subject. He steps away and returns to his pancakes.
My eyes widen. "I completely forgot we have a test tomorrow! Of course I'm not ready! I know half of what I'm supposed to!" I shout, running my hands through my knotty hair.
Brody stares at me blankly. "Don't worry. I'll help. Get dressed and meet me back down here. We can go over our notes from yesterday and then learn some new things, okay? Don't worry. I won't let you fail this test."
---
"I didn't fail!" I squeal into Brody's ear after eight period ends. I show him the paper. I had aced the test, surprisingly.
Brody laughed at my reaction. "I knew you could do it." He gives me an odd look.
"It's nice to know someone has faith in me," I reply, shaking my head. I still couldn't believe I made an A+ on the test. I was expecting a B at the most.
"I'll always have faith in you, Gracie." Brody says as I grab my bag from the floor next to my desk.
Mrs Russo stops us on our way out. "You did wonderful, Gracelynn. Because of that test, your grade is now up to a seventy. If you keep it up, you should have a high A by the end of the six-weeks. Oh! And Brody, great work. Thank you for helping her. I hope you two keep up the great teamwork." She nods at the two of us before walking in front of us and exiting the classroom.
On the way out to my car, I get a phone call. I pull my phone out of my pocket and read the name.
Dad is calling.
My heart sputters to a stop.
I haven't talked to Dad since before I moved to Texas. Him and I have a...tough... relationship, to say the least. Dad cared more about his job than he did me, and I had gotten fed up. So I moved here, where at least I would have a part of one of my parents around.
Brody looks over and sees the worry etched onto my face. "You gonna answer it?"
I take a shaky breath and press the green button. "Dad?" I ask quietly, looking around the parking lot to make sure no one besides Brody is around.
"Honey! It's so nice to hear your voice! Why don't you call?"
I roll my eyes. "You know why. What do you need?" Brody looks at me curiously. I wave him away. Brody looks away as we continue walking.
"Well, Gracelynn, I have news... I'm getting married on New Year's. And you're a bridesmaid! Isn't that great, sweetie? I'm getting married after ten years!" Dad seemed happy over the phone. And maybe he was happy.
But after not speaking to the parent that never had time for me, and they tell me that they seemingly had time for someone else makes me feel sick. I shiver.
Tears threaten to flow from my eyes and down my cheeks, but I hold them back.
Not with Brody around and definitely not while on the phone with my father.
Brody notices, though, and leads me to my car. "Dad, that's great," I lie.
It wasn't great that my dad was getting married. It wasn't great that I'm a bridesmaid to someone I don't even know. Nothing is great right now.
"Really, honey? You think so?" Dad asks through the phone.
I bite back a sob attempting to tear through my throat. "Yeah," I reply weakly.
"That's fantastic! So you and your boyfriend with be there?" He asked.
My eyes widen. "Boyfriend?" I ask. Brody's head whips toward my direction, his eyes wide.
"Of course someone as gorgeous as you must have a boyfriend! Bring him to the wedding - he should be your plus-one."
My stuck-up rich father automatically assumes that I have a boyfriend. I'm not even sure he remembers what I actually look like. He's probably calling me gorgeous to make himself feel better about calling and telling me he's getting married to a woman I've never even met.
"Right. Of course," I say gingerly. "I'll see you then, Dad."
"Okay. I love you!"
"Bye, Dad." I end the call and stare down at the blank screen of my phone.
"Your dad?" Brody asked, his tone careful.
I nod my head silently as I stare down at the black pavement.
"Why did he call?" Brody asked.
"He's getting married." I reply quietly. I didn't want it to be real. I didn't want it to be true.
"And that's a problem because...?" Brody trails off.
Anger courses through me. Brody doesn't understand. "It's not." I say through clenched teeth, opening my car door and slamming it shut.
On the way home I drive fast. Too many thoughts were in my head. I didn't want to think.
I get home and rush inside to lay down in bed and cry. I cry until my brain is so scattered that I can't even remember why I'm crying anymore. And I choose to keep it that way. I don't want to remember why I was crying, because then I'll end up crying even more. The feeling will come back and I'll spend all that time pushing it away again.
I wanted to avoid it. I wanted to ignore it all.
I got worried texts from the gang, saying that Brody was asking them why I was upset about my dad. I got texts from Brody asking if I was okay.
And then the reason why I was crying came back. It was like salt in a wound, or resplitting it open again and again, just to watch the injury bleed because why not.
I let silence fill the air. I shut off my thoughts and my phone so I could calm down.
Tomorrow I had to be better.
Tomorrow had to be a better day.
---
WORD COUNT - 1479
Shorter chapter, I'm sorry:( I rushed this out and decided "yeah, this is good enough". So here it is.
You got the real reason why Gracelynn moved and you got a glimpse of her and her dad's relationship, which is not so good, eh?
Love you all and thank you so so much for 5k!!!
You rock.
XOXO,
Unsinkablexships ❤️