Shattered Grace (Fallen from Grace) (23 page)

When Friday came around, Grace found she didn’t remember much from the previous two days. Her emotions were so frazzled, she didn’t want to be around anyone. To make sure everyone at school stayed away, she told them she had a stomach bug, and it had been coming out both ends. As expected, they left her alone after that.

After spending lunch hidden in the bathroom stalls the last few days, she decided to make an appearance in the cafeteria. Getting only a bowl of soup, she sat at the table with her friends. No one really noticed her. Either that, or they all worried about catching whatever she had. Can’t catch this, guys, she thought glumly.
With her spoon, she played with her soup.

“
Hey, Grace,” Tommy said from the other end of the table. “You know, you don’t have to come tonight if you’re not feeling up to it.”

Geesh, guys, I have a fake stomach flu, not the bubonic plague. Aloud, she changed her tone, trying to sound upbeat.
“Actually, I’m feeling better. I’m just a little tired. I still want to go tonight.”

“
Okay, sweets, but if you change your mind, or you start to feel bad again, just stay home,” Emily said.

“
I’m fine, I promise.” Grace tried to sound convincing. “Hey, Tommy, if you see Zeke, let him know I’m still going.”

“
Why didn’t you tell him in Keyboarding?”

“
Because I didn’t see him.”

Emily turned to Grace. “Who are you riding with tonight?”

“
Myself.”

“
Why don’t you ride with us?” she suggested. “We can pick you up after we pick up Leah.”

It only took her a minute to think about it. She didn’t want to drive by herself, and she certainly didn’t want to ride alone with Zeke. “What time will you be by to pick me up?”

“
I have to be there at seven since the show starts at eight thirty,” Tommy said, before Emily could answer. “So we need to be leaving town no later than six forty. Be ready to go by six thirty.” Tommy obviously understood female time.

“
Yes, sir!” Grace said, mocking him with a half-hearted salute.

Tommy smirked. “At least you got my name right.”

When the bell rang after sixth period, a frisson of fear crept along Grace’s skin at the thought of running the gauntlet to her car, making the tiny hairs on her arms and nape of her neck rise. Ever since the Shadow Hounds had prowled the school parking lot, she’d feared their return. She knew Quentin was somewhere watching, so being afraid was stupid. Since finding out Quentin had lied to her too, she’d refused to talk to him. But he followed her to and from school anyway, sticking to her like her crappy mood. She wanted him to leave her alone, except that after school was the most likely time
they
might come back.

She took a minute to grab the books she needed for her weekend homework, glancing at the locker next to hers—Amanda’s—and realized she hadn’t seen her in school since Monday. Mentally she made a note to call her sometime over the weekend. Grace hoped her absence didn’t have anything to do with Mr. Peters.

The air outside was torrid and suffocating again. She wished the warm front would move somewhere else already. For the hundredth time in the last couple of weeks, she considered putting air-conditioning in the Shelby and once again, ixnayed the idea. She still couldn’t bring herself to do it. Her loyalty to her grandfather annoyed her. Why couldn’t she just put the darn air-conditioning in the stupid car?

Because.

Because deep down she wanted to believe all of his secrets and lies were
for her own good. She didn’t have the heart to change anything that remotely reminded her of him, including what was now her house. An ache settled in the center of her chest at the mere thought of redecorating. She purposefully put the thought way on the back burner of her mind.

As she stood next to the driver’s side door of her car, she spotted Quentin’s Jag parked across the street. His hand hovered above the partially rolled-down window before hesitantly waving. She got into her car, pretending not to see him, and drove away.

“
You’re not going with me, Quentin,” Grace lashed out in protest.

“
You can be mad at me all you want, but I’m going.”

“
So what, you’re going to be parked outside all night like you do all day at school?” she said with her hands on her hips.

Her eyes narrowed to slits, Grace watched as Quentin ran a hand through his wild black hair, pushing it with irritation away from his eyes, while the other hand loosely held the area just below his hip. “I will if I have to.” His bunched muscles loosened as he widened his stance. He seemed desperate. She didn’t care. “Damn it, Grace.” His words came out in a hushed plea. “You have to let me protect you. I understand you’re mad at me—”

“
Do you?”

He ignored her interruption. “I understand why you’re mad at me. I’m hoping you’ll forgive me and trust me again, but until then, all I’m going to be is your annoying sidekick. Because I’m not. Going. Anywhere.”

“
Fine,” she yelled, marching out of the foyer. Halfway up the staircase, she shouted down to him without stopping, “I have to get ready. My ride will be here in ten minutes.”

“
I’ll be ready to go too,” he shouted back up to her.

With a “humph,” she slammed her bedroom door.

Twenty minutes later, Grace was thankful to be in the backseat of Tommy’s car. Relieved, she laid her head against the back of the seat. Her bones slowly settled and her muscles relaxed as her body pressed into the upholstery. She could finally pull in enough air to expand her lungs. Grace watched the colors of Utah pass by while she stared out the window.

It wasn’t until they were on the on-ramp of the highway when Grace realized Leah was bouncing nervously. “Are you alright?” Grace leaned over, speaking loud enough for only Leah to hear. Leah’s attention stayed on the window, her stilled foot the only clue she heard Grace when it stopped wagging. Smiling absently, she offered an “Mm-hmm,” and went back to flapping the sandal from the toe of her right foot, which was crossed over her knee. She knew Leah was only nervous because Brian was going to be there. Let’s hope the night will at least turn out good for her, Grace thought. She’d lost hope for herself.

Tommy was visibly nervous as well. He kept fisting the steering wheel so tightly, the skin on his knuckles pulled tight and turned white. He didn’t say two words the whole way to Bountiful. Every few minutes, Emily glanced at Tommy, smiling from ear to ear. “Proud girlfriend” oozed off her in possessive waves. Grace tried nonchalantly to peek out the back window, wondering if she would see Quentin tailing them. Luckily, no one in the car appeared to have noticed as everyone else was lost in their own thoughts.

The Board Shop was in the middle of town in an old theater that had been renovated. Tommy parked his Blazer across the street, but didn’t move too quickly from his seat, instead tilting his head and focusing upward. They all followed his gaze, settling on the lit-up marquee as flashing lights ran laps around the edges. Large red letters at the top announced the night’s main attraction, Falling Down. The name on the bottom in slightly smaller red letters spread across the center of the marquee like a giant bull’s eye—Distant Echo. Tommy leaned back in his seat for a moment, his eyes shining and his smile a mile wide, obviously enjoying his band’s fifteen minutes of fame.

They all piled out of the car, everyone quietly smiling. The heaviness that had covered them like a blanket in the car seemed to dissipate with every step closer to the building. Grace tried spying with her little eye a certain someone as she inconspicuously glanced from left to right before crossing the street. That certain someone was incognito, but she wasn’t stupid. Her Guardian was there … somewhere.

Tommy left them once they were inside to go find the rest of the band, while the three girls looked around for the nearest bathroom. Twirling around like a hyperactive ballerina, Leah spoke up. “Found it. It’s over there!” She pointed toward the back of the large, open room. Grace finally saw the restroom sign above the door to the left of the stage. Leah beelined for the sign, with Grace and Emily following after her.

Soon, all three girls stood in front of the mirror evaluating their reflections, trying to determine if they appeared concert-ready. Since it was still early, the restroom was blessedly peaceful and they didn’t have to jockey for space in front of the mirror. Later in the evening would be an entirely different story.

“
Well,” Grace said, yielding to the image. “Trust me, I don’t get any better than this. Ready?” Emily bounced up and down on her toes, visibly excited enough to pee her pants. Leah’s face paled. She was worse than in the car.

Leah’s gaze fell to the floor for a moment as she took a steadying breath. She looked up, her eyes pained with insecurity, and asked plaintively, “Do I look alright, you guys?”

“
Absolutely,” Emily said.

“
Of course,” Grace assured her. “You always do.”

Leah was cute and petite with a sweet, innocent
Alice In Wonderland
vibe, except she had a fashionable blonde bob rather than Alice’s long locks. Her hair was short, almost jaw length in the back, coming to a longer collarbone length in front. She was totally adorable, and Grace tweaked her hair and gave her a grin to remind her of that. With another deep breath, Leah walked briskly out of the bathroom. Emily shot Grace a knowing, exasperated glance as they picked up the pace in order to keep up.

The lights outside the bathroom were turned up more than when they had first entered the building. The walls were painted black, adorned with skateboards of every imaginable shape and color, and the carpet was blood red. Red curtains fell from above the stage, pooling in organized disarray atop the wood below. Stage lights hung from iron posts above. Round white lights bordered the wood platform from left to right. The music from arcade games reached Grace’s ears, encouraging her to guess what games they were. In the corner was a small coffee bar. Grace looked around, impressed with the venue. She didn’t know there were so many different types of skateboards a person could buy. She liked the place. It had a funky but fun vibe.