Page 6 of Heart Strings

She’s asleep on the couch, the flicker of home videos playing on the TV casting a soft glow on her face. I smile when I see it’s our graduation video; back when things were simple, and I wasn’t off chasing stars.

There she is; with her mom, with me, with Sophie and Ty... snapshots of a life that feels both close and far away at the same time.

I switch off the TV, the sudden darkness a blanket over us both. Moving to her side, I scoop her into my arms, her body light and familiar. She stirs, a soft murmur escaping her lips as her arms instinctively wrap around my neck.

Her eyelids flutter open, a sleepy haze in her voice. “Connor? What are you doing?”

“Shhh, go back to sleep, Tink,” I whisper, carrying her to her bedroom. The trust in her eyes as she looks at me, half-awake, is almost my undoing. She doesn’t question me, like it’s the most natural thing in the world to have me here, taking care of her.

She curls up under the blankets when I lay her down, her blonde hair splayed across the pillow. I tuck her in, my hands lingering a moment longer than necessary, and she clings for a moment before I pull away. But then her eyes flutter, fighting sleep, her gaze locking onto mine.

“Don’t go,” she whispers, her voice laced with sleep as she grabs my hand. I don’t know why, but this makes me smile. At least someone still needs me.

“I’m not going anywhere, Gracie,” I assure her, and I mean it. Because right now, there’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be.

I watch her, her chest rising and falling with each breath, the soft sounds of her sleep filling the quiet room.

Here, in this moment, everything else fades. The betrayal, the hurt, the relentless pressure of my life—it all recedes into the background. It’s just Gracie and me, and the unspoken bond we’ve always shared.

She’s the one constant in my life, the one person who’s seen every part of me, the good and the bad, and has never flinched. I wonder what she would think of me once I tell her how fucking stupid I was all this time to trust Ava and Ty.

God, I hope this feeling passes soon… and I hope Gracie won’t notice my pathetic neediness.

Chapter 5

Gracie

The sun is already sneaking past the curtains, casting a warm glow on the room. I stretch, trying to shake off the remnants of sleep and the vivid dreams of a life where everything is as it should be.

Dragging myself out of bed, I head straight for the shower. The hot water is a balm, washing away the tension that’s found a home in my muscles.

As I let the steam rise around me, I try not to think about last night, about Connor’s broken look when he came into the bookstore, about the way my heart ached to fix whatever was hurting him.

Wrapped in a cloud of warmth and the faint scent of my strawberry shampoo, I step out of the shower, toweling my hair dry as I walk into my bedroom. It’s then, in the act of reaching for my clothes, that the towel slips from my grasp and falls to the floor.

The sound of the door creaking open doesn’t register at first, not until I’m standing there, as bare as the day I was born, and Connor walks in holding a tray. “Gracie? You awake?”

The scream that escapes me could wake the dead.

“Connor!” I shriek, scrambling for the towel. “Get out!”

“Shit, Gracie, I’m sorry!” His eyes are wide, the tray with coffee and who-knows-what else almost tipping from his shock as he spins around. “I’m so sorry, I thought you’d be dressed!”

I snatch up the towel, wrapping it around me with trembling hands. “Well, I wasn’t!” I snap, my face hot enough to rival the sun streaming through the windows.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t— I wasn’t—“

“Connor Owens, I swear if you’ve seen anything, I’ll—“

“You’ll what? Blind me with hairspray?” He’s trying to make a joke, but I can hear the tension in his voice. He’s still not turned around, thank goodness.

“I’m serious, Connor. That was private…my private... everything!” My voice is a mixture of mortification and annoyance.

He holds up his one hand in surrender, though he’s facing the wall. “I’m so fucking sorry, Tink. I thought I’d surprise you with breakfast. That’s all.”

I let out a long breath, feeling the flush recede slightly. “Okay, just... just stay there, okay? Don’t move. Don’t turn around.”

“I’m a statue,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice, but I’m not quite ready to return it.

---