Read Online Escaping Grace: A Turning Grace Novel by J.Q. Davis - Free Book Online

didn’t mean to pry. We were just going back inside.”
    The elderly woman stood up slowly from her wicker bench. Her gray hair was tied up in a bun with a few loose strands flowing in the breeze.
    It suddenly hit me that I knew who she was. I stood up and walked over to the screen. “Ma’am?” I called out to her before she could make it inside.
    She turned to me and smiled. “Yes, dear?”
    “I…um…I’ve heard about you. Dr. Roberson told me about you.”
    “Ah, yes. I suppose he told you I was the really old lady that lives here.” Her voice seemed unsteady, and it reminded me of what a cliché elderly woman would sound like in a cartoon.
    I smiled. “He might have mentioned that you were…older.”
    “Well if you call one hundred and fourteen older, then yes.”
    Despite the gray hair and shaky voice, her appearance told a different story. She barely had any wrinkles. Her posture was near perfect. Her dark skin was clear and blemish-free, and she seemed to be in pretty good shape overall; thin and about average height. She was actually quite pretty.
    “I’m Grace.”
    She laughed softly. “Oh dear, everyone here knows who you are. You are quiet the celebrity. My name is Estelle. But the big question is, who is that handsome young man behind you?” she asked, peering over my shoulder to get a look.
    I looked back at Tristen, whose face just turned a lovely shade of red.
    “That’s Tristen. My…my uh…” I was stumped. I didn’t know if the boyfriend title was acceptable just yet.
    “Her boyfriend,” He finished as he stepped next to me.
    Well, I guess to Tristen it was.
    “Nice to meet you, Tristen. Now I’m going to leave you two lovebirds. This old lady has got to get some food in her.”
    “It was nice meeting you,” Tristen and I responded simultaneously. We watched as she walked back into her room.
    “Holy crap! She’s a hundred and fourteen? How is she alive?”
    “Don’t you remember? Dr. Roberson told us about her. He said the serum brought her back to life and she’s been alive ever since,” I answered, piecing together in my mind what Dr. Roberson said earlier about immortality.
    “I do remember him saying something about being immortal before you left. Do you think that’s really true? I mean, do you think we can actually live forever with that serum stuff?”
    I shook my head slowly. “I don’t know. I don’t even know if I would want to live forever.”
    Tristen looked at me with bulging eyes. “What? Why not? Shit, if that were true, I’ll go tell Dr. Roberson to stick me with the needle now!” He grabbed my hand. “Grace, we could live together forever. Wouldn’t you want that?”
    “But would we be living? Technically, I’m dead.”
    We stared at each other in silence. The reality of what I just said finally hit me. I’m a dead person, walking and talking and living. I am the embodiment of what the rest of the world believes to be a fictional character in movies. It’s not enough to either be alive or dead. I had to be both.
    There were still so many questions I had about my condition.
    A knock at my door brought me back from thoughts of death. I kissed Tristen on the cheek before stepping inside my room.
    I opened the door to Destiny, the gothic chick I met earlier.
    “Hey, Grace. A few of us are going down to the beach. Wanna join us?”
    “Um, I kind of have company.” I gestured to Tristen, who was now sitting on my bed.
    “Oh, well bring him! C’mon. It’ll be fun!” she said.
    “Grace, we should go. I’d like to meet everyone too,” Tristen said eagerly.
    Ugh. I wanted to spend all my time with him. Alone.
    “Okay, let me grab my bag.”
    “Awesome!” Destiny smiled.
    I grabbed my Hobo bag and Tristen and we followed Destiny out of the Laguna hut. Number One was standing outside on the porch.
    “Aren’t you coming with us?” I asked.
    “No. But I will be able to see you if you need anything,” he responded in his usual terse tone. The