Page 97 of Fall From Grace

“I loved you regardless, but I’m glad you’re here now. Just promise me one thing.”

“What?” I asked.

“Don’t shut me out the next time something bad happens, let me hold you and make it better. When you’re thinking of your mom and missing her, talk to me like you are now. Don’t shut me out like you did before. You might as well stab me with something because that’s what it feels like when you put distance between us.”

I placed my fork down and leaned into him with a smile. “I promise to let you take care of me, and I’ll take care of you.”

“Do you want a big wedding?” he asked.

“You have to ask first,” I whispered.

“I thought I did earlier.”

“Yeah, but I ran away.” I looked up and grinned at him. “But, my heart was seriously about to beat out of my chest when you did.”

He stood up, pulling me with me. I started blushing and laughing because I knew what he was about to do. He pulled me into his arms and dipped me. “Let’s go on an adventure, one that lasts forever.” I was laughing and he was smirking. “Marry me.”

“Of course, I’d take on any adventure as long as it was with you.”

He smothered me in kisses until I pushed his face away while we laughed. He lifted me back up and I grabbed my back when my cell phone started ringing in the house. “It’s mine,” I told him as we went inside. I picked it up off the bed and felt the same feeling of dread from that night Mom passed away. “It’s Dad,” I told him.

“Hello,” I answered.

“I was worried you weren’t planning on coming back home tonight,” he responded. He was right. I was planning on staying here with Noah. “Come home and bring Noah too.” Before I could say anything, he added, “That’s who you’re with, ain’t it?”

“Yeah, we’ll head over now.”

“Good. Bye, Grace.”

I hung up and looked to Noah. “He wants us to come over… I don’t know why.”

He grabbed my cheek and squeezed. “It doesn’t have to be anything bad just because he called, Grace… it could be something good.”

“You’re right.” I nodded, but was still afraid, nonetheless.

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Noah had driven us to Dad’s. It was almost an hour drive from his house. As we walked up the steps, he said, “Relax.”

“I would if I could,” I told him with a weak smile. “I just hate disappointing him.”

“You are not a disappointment.” He grabbed my hand and opened the door.

Dad poked his head out of the kitchen. “I, uh, ordered pizza if you guys would like some.”

“That actually sounds good, we ate ramen right before you called and it didn’t quite hit the spot or fill me up,” Noah said with ease. I smiled and relaxed next to him.

We followed Dad into the kitchen where he moved hastily around the kitchen and found some paper plates. Two pizza boxes were on the table and something about this made my heart hurt because it looked like Dad was trying… For a moment, I just stood there frozen as I watched him awkwardly get us out something to drink almost like he had rehearsed it. “I remember you liked Meat Lover’s, didn’t ya, Noah?” Dad asked him.

“Yeah, I do,” Noah replied.

He looked up from the table at me. “I got us bacon and banana peppers, our favorite.”

I found myself smiling. “That sounds so good right now,” I told him, and Noah was giving me a huge grin as if he was enjoying this for me.

We all sat down and started digging into the pizza. “You’re still living over in Jewel County, aren’t ya?” Dad asked Noah.

He nodded. “Yeah, I am. I just recently bought me a place over there. I was renting a place before that,” he said, looking at me since it was the first time I heard about it too.

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