ground, and I could see his face twist up with some kind of unseen pain. “I also caused them. After what I did…to know that you’d still want to help me out…you’re the kind of person I should have been happy to be with, Grace. I should have seen what you had to offer to an idiot like me and jumped at the chance. Instead, I acted like a jerk and hurt you in the process. I don’t deserve your friendship…”
My head bounced in agreement as I replied jokingly, “You’re right, you don’t. But I’m giving it to you anyway because I’m stupid and I love you.”
I saw him tense up again, and for a second, felt like I had once again tied the noose around my neck and felt the trap door open beneath my feet. Only this time, the door didn’t open all the way.
“Grace, I gotta tell you something.”
“O-kay,” I said hesitantly.
He took a deep breath, his lips mouthing the words as though rehearsing what he’d say before the sounds actually came out. “I went into your room last night. I saw…I saw Robert in the bed with you.”
So this was it. This was the moment that I had been waiting for, that Robert had warned me about, and yet, he seemed far more uncomfortable than I felt. “Okay…”
“I…I left as soon as I saw the two of you, but…are you, you know…”
I smiled at him, enjoying his discomfort far more than I should. “No. We’re not.”
A sigh of relief blew out of him in a large puff, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous expression on his face. His face grew beet red and I laughed harder, unable to contain the humor that I found in the situation.
“Well, I’m glad you can find something funny in this. I feel like a peeping Tom,” he muttered, his thumbs burrowing into his temples as he fidgeted, a method of distraction to avoid having to look at me.
I grabbed his left hand and yanked it down, forcing him to look at me. “Graham, it’s okay. You didn’t see anything you weren’t supposed to. Next time, though, could you at least knock?”
Shyly, he nodded his head, and turned away again. “So, why was he in your room anyway? How’d he get in?”
Now it was my turn to turn away, which I should have realized would only intrigue him and pique his curiosity. “He comes in through my window because he helps me sleep.”
I had feared that the one sentence answer wouldn’t be enough to quell his need for answers, but he sensed how uneasy I was with discussing the topic, despite the innocent nature of Robert’s visits to my room, and he stopped. He reached for my hand and squeezed it. “I won’t tell your dad.”
And that was it. I didn’t have to ask, and he didn’t have to give it, but with those five words, he had given me a sense of security that I knew I’d never find with anyone else.
I nodded my head, and we sat there for the next few minutes, content with the secret shared between us, a new one to help cement our friendship once again, only stronger this time.
FASHIONABLY LATE
After lunch, Graham had gone back to his house to gather a few more things and speak to his father. He made me promise to stay home, no matter what I heard, and so I did. The silence that filled the house, with myself and Janice staring at each other, waiting for Graham to return, could have suffocated a stadium full of people.
Janice kept looking towards the clock on the stove, while I kept flicking my eyes in the direction of the clock on the microwave. We took turns counting down the minutes, each one stretching out longer and longer until I felt I would scream if I had to listen to another sixty-second countdown.
Finally the kitchen door opened and Graham walked in, a duffel bag on his shoulder and another bag in his hand. His face was blotchy, his eyes red and puffy. I reached for the bag in his hand, while Janice helped him lower the duffel onto the kitchen floor.
“What happened,
My head bounced in agreement as I replied jokingly, “You’re right, you don’t. But I’m giving it to you anyway because I’m stupid and I love you.”
I saw him tense up again, and for a second, felt like I had once again tied the noose around my neck and felt the trap door open beneath my feet. Only this time, the door didn’t open all the way.
“Grace, I gotta tell you something.”
“O-kay,” I said hesitantly.
He took a deep breath, his lips mouthing the words as though rehearsing what he’d say before the sounds actually came out. “I went into your room last night. I saw…I saw Robert in the bed with you.”
So this was it. This was the moment that I had been waiting for, that Robert had warned me about, and yet, he seemed far more uncomfortable than I felt. “Okay…”
“I…I left as soon as I saw the two of you, but…are you, you know…”
I smiled at him, enjoying his discomfort far more than I should. “No. We’re not.”
A sigh of relief blew out of him in a large puff, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous expression on his face. His face grew beet red and I laughed harder, unable to contain the humor that I found in the situation.
“Well, I’m glad you can find something funny in this. I feel like a peeping Tom,” he muttered, his thumbs burrowing into his temples as he fidgeted, a method of distraction to avoid having to look at me.
I grabbed his left hand and yanked it down, forcing him to look at me. “Graham, it’s okay. You didn’t see anything you weren’t supposed to. Next time, though, could you at least knock?”
Shyly, he nodded his head, and turned away again. “So, why was he in your room anyway? How’d he get in?”
Now it was my turn to turn away, which I should have realized would only intrigue him and pique his curiosity. “He comes in through my window because he helps me sleep.”
I had feared that the one sentence answer wouldn’t be enough to quell his need for answers, but he sensed how uneasy I was with discussing the topic, despite the innocent nature of Robert’s visits to my room, and he stopped. He reached for my hand and squeezed it. “I won’t tell your dad.”
And that was it. I didn’t have to ask, and he didn’t have to give it, but with those five words, he had given me a sense of security that I knew I’d never find with anyone else.
I nodded my head, and we sat there for the next few minutes, content with the secret shared between us, a new one to help cement our friendship once again, only stronger this time.
FASHIONABLY LATE
After lunch, Graham had gone back to his house to gather a few more things and speak to his father. He made me promise to stay home, no matter what I heard, and so I did. The silence that filled the house, with myself and Janice staring at each other, waiting for Graham to return, could have suffocated a stadium full of people.
Janice kept looking towards the clock on the stove, while I kept flicking my eyes in the direction of the clock on the microwave. We took turns counting down the minutes, each one stretching out longer and longer until I felt I would scream if I had to listen to another sixty-second countdown.
Finally the kitchen door opened and Graham walked in, a duffel bag on his shoulder and another bag in his hand. His face was blotchy, his eyes red and puffy. I reached for the bag in his hand, while Janice helped him lower the duffel onto the kitchen floor.
“What happened,
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