Page 59 of Fall From Grace

She smacked his hand and focused back on the TV before practically growling and facing him again. “You ruined the movie for me!”

He smiled. “You know you’re beautiful.” She tried not to smile. I smiled and disappeared into the living room where I grabbed some leftovers from last night and slipped the plastic containers in my bag before tiptoeing by them.

“Where are you going?” Dad asked.

“I’m going to take a walk.”

“A walk?” Dad repeated. “It’s cold out.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m wearing my jacket. It’s stuffy in here.”

He shook his head and turned back to the TV. I exhaled slowly and hurried outside. I darted down the road and across the street to the trailers to John’s house. I didn’t even knock, I just stepped in. He wasn’t in the living room. “John?” I called out.

He stepped out of the hallway with a snort. “And here I thought you finally left me alone.”

I rolled my eyes and took him in. He was the same. Scrawny but no skinnier than what he already was. Noah got his height and looks from him but John hadn’t taken care of himself and it showed. Noah, on the other hand, was bulging with muscles.

“I brought you some food.” I waited for him to say something. “Do you want it?”

“Hand it over,” he told me and I did. “So, any reason as to why you ain’t been here in a while then suddenly show up again?”

I sighed. “I’m dating Noah.”

I surprised him. “You got in touch with him?” he asked, stunned.

I nodded. “Yep. No thanks to you.”

“Ah, I guess that’s good,” he said, still clearly surprised. “So, you have his number?”

“I’m not giving it to you if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“He’ll be eighteen in May,” he sounded more like he was saying it to himself than me. He sat down on the couch and looked at me. “What is he gonna do then?” His question caught me off guard. What was Noah going to do? He leaned back and sighed, “He’s probably got it all figured out, no doubt.”

“I’m leaving.”

“Grace.” I stopped and waited at the door for him to continue, “Has he been in a good home?”

I looked up to the ceiling. “Not that you should be allowed to ask that question since you never tried to get your son back but… yeah, they seem like genuinely good people and Noah really likes them.”

He was quiet before he finally laughed. “Well, that’s good. That’s good.”

“I can’t tell if you care about him or not, one minute it seems like you do then the next, I’m reminded that you let him go and kept your drugs.”

“It’s not easy, you wouldn’t understand.”

“I don’t ever want to understand.” I walked out without another word.

_____

“Please stop going over there, Grace,” Noah told me over the phone. He sighed for the twentieth time. “People change after they take something, believe me I know. You can’t predict how they’re gonna act. Why do you think I slept on your floor some nights?”

I blew into the phone. “I know, Noah.” I rolled onto my stomach and almost squashed Gus in the process. “Honestly though, I wasn’t there for you after you lost your mom, I couldn’t be so I want to know how you really feel about everything now?”

He paused. “What do you mean?”

“Are you going to have anything to do with him when you turn eighteen?”

“I haven’t thought about it,” he answered.

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