Chapter 2
Grace
She fell asleep quite soon after that. The events from earlier tired her out quickly along with the hot shower. She didn't know how long she had been asleep until she heard a door open and the shower head sputter to life. She laid back down on her pillow, and pulled the covers back over herself. The steady sound of the water hitting the bottom of the tub was enough to coax her into a light sleep. But above all that she heard sniffing. The sniffing quickly turned into stifled sobs. Grace quickly sprung out of bed and ran into the bathroom.
"Frankie! What happened are you okay!?" She panicked.
She was cut off with a small wail that shattered her heart into two.
"I'm-I'm so sorry Grace, I-I'm so sorry." She sobbed.
"Frankie, what the hell are you talking about?"
"I-I just-" Frankie's voice rose in pitch.
"You don't have to tell me right now, Frankie. Just… just feel the hot water, let it relax you. You'll feel better. When you're finished, I'll be right on the other end of this door and we can talk, I promise. Okay?"
"Okay… Okay. Yes, I'll do that." She sniffed.
Grace slowly walked out of the bathroom, but Frankie's voice stopped her in her tracks.
"Finish it off… please?" She said in a voice so small that Grace wasn't actually sure it was her or just a voice in her head reminding her of their normal tradition.
She slowly turned around just as Frankie pulled back the edge of the shower curtain. Her blue eyes were mixed with tears and water from the shower. Her long hair spilled over her shoulder and dripped water onto the floor. Grace cupped her face in her hands and brought her head to her shoulder. Frankie shuddered and relaxed against her. Grace gently pulled her back and looked into her defeated eyes.
"Frances, I promise."
Grace pressed her lips to the other woman's forehead. She pulled Frankie to her shoulder once more and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Just one more. For insurance. She pulled back and put her hands around her neck and kissed just underneath her eye. She squeezed Frankie's hand and walked away.
"Take your time, Frankie."
She shut the bathroom door behind her and sat on her bed. Her heart felt heavy. She had seen Frankie upset before, but never that much. What was she sorry for? What could she have done that was so bad?
She was lost in thought when she heard the bathroom door open. Frankie came out wearing one of the hotel's fluffy white robes and shut the door behind her. She leaned against it with her eyes closed. Grace got up and wrapped her arms around her best friend. Frankie buried her head in her neck and let out a soft whimper. Grace could feel tears in her own eyes.
"Sit down with me." She whispered into Frankie's ear.
Grace led her to the bed and pulled her in beside her. She ran her fingers through Frankie's damp curls. The other woman melted into her touch.
"Talk to me." She said quietly.
"I feel so guilty." Frankie choked out.
"What do you have to be guilty for?"
"This… This situation. I feel responsible, I-" Grace cut her off by whirling Frankie around to face her head on.
"Frankie. Oh, Frankie. If I ever hear you say that this is your fault again I will fucking lose my shit. It's MY fault I didn't get my knees taken care of right away," She pointed frantically at her own chest and her other hand was clenched firmly on Frankie's shoulder. "It's MY fucking fault I hired those bastards who stole our pipes. Hell, we might say it's the kids' fault for Walden Villas, but it's MY fault I believed the kids' shit in the first place! Everything that has happened here is MY fault!" Her voice increased in volume, and so did the tears now dripping onto her shirt.
Frankie's lip trembled. "I feel like I should have been better at handling it. I should have continued giving you shit about your knees until you finally went to the doctor earlier. I should have not believed the kids either. And most of all, I shouldn't have been irresponsible at the post office and with Faith."
"No, Frankie. I take full responsibility for this. NONE of this is your fault. Okay, well losing the key to your mailbox might be your fault but you are did everything you could to get "alive" again. The incident with Faith was just one of those freaky, once in a lifetime things that just happens. I know you, better than I know myself and I know that you would NEVER let anything happen to that little girl."
Grace clutched firmly to Frankie's hands and looked her straight in the eye. "I'm sorry that I didn't handle these things like I should've and that I got us here in the first place. I am so, so so sorry. I will do everything I can to get things back to the way they were. I will not let you down on this Frankie. I promise."
Grace once more leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Frankie sniffed and chuckled and pulled Grace into a hug. They stayed like that for what felt like forever. If only we could never leave this spot Grace thought, remembering her plans for tomorrow. Frankie yawned against her shoulder. Grace pulled the covers back and motioned for Frankie to get in. She turned off the TV and the lights. She pulled herself into Frankie and wrapped her arm around her, burying her face into her hair. It's usually the other way around. Grace thought. But tonight she felt like Frankie needed protecting. Grace wanted to make sure nothing would stomp on her delicate heart. Frankie's breathing evened out, and hers did the same.
"Goodnight Frankie, sweet dreams." She whispered.
Although it was dark, Grace saw the smile that illuminated Frankie's face as she turned her head sleepily towards Grace and murmured,
"Goodnight, my sweet Grace… my sweet girl."
