Part 6
The night eventually ended and Jessie, Katie, Grace and I went back to our house. Given that Lily and Rick still didn't know about Jessie and Katie, Katie was spending the night once again, a fact that made the overprotective older brother in me just a little uncomfortable.
Jessie, Katie, and Grace walked inside, and I started to my room as well. I only got about 5 steps before I turned around and headed to Grace's room. I knocked on her door, and she answered, still dressed in her dress from the dance.
"Can I come in?" I asked, and she nodded, allowing me to enter her room.
"Do you want something?" she asked, closing the door and turning to face me.
"What's going on with us, Grace?" She seemed shocked at my forwardness. "I'm not usually one to say what I really feel, but I can't hold this back anymore. Don't you know by now, Grace? Don't you know how I feel about you?"
"No, Eli, I don't!" I looked at her in surprise. "You haven't told me how you feel! You've kissed me, you've held me, but you have to tell me what's going on! You have to tell me what you want!"
"I want you!" I said in complete honesty. "I want to be with you, Grace. I want to help you through all of this. I want to be there for me when you need me. I want you, Grace, I love you."
As soon as I said it, her eyes got wide, and I desperately wished I hadn't said it, but it was too late. She knew that I loved her. She sat at the foot of her bed, her head in her hands.
"No!" She cried, which wasn't exactly what I was hoping to hear. "This can't be happening! This was so easy before. It was all one sided. I could admire you from afar, and there was no risk of anything happening. Why can't we go back to that? Back when you didn't notice me?"
"Because I was an idiot, Grace! I couldn't see what was right in front of me. I couldn't see this beautiful, strong, wonderful girl standing right in front of me. I was being stupid, and dense, and I was hurting you. Grace, I never want to hurt you, I love you!"
"I loved you for so long, Eli," she said, tears glistening in her eyes. "While you were with Jennifer, when you were with Carla. I tried so hard to fight it when our parents got married, but it was no use. And then with all that stuff with the play, I thought that I had finally moved past you, and moved on to someone else."
"Mr. Dimitri?" I asked, and she nodded.
"But I was stupid to think that I could replace you like that," she continued. "And now our parents are married. We are stepsiblings. If we get together, we are going to hurt people. Our parents, Jessie, Zoe…there are too many people we are going to hurt."
"I don't care about them," I insisted. "All that matters is us. I want to be with you, and my parents don't have anything to do with that. But if you really can't be with me, and you can honestly tell me that you don't love me, I'll leave, I promise."
"I can't," she said, a single tear falling from her eyes. I reached toward her and wiped it away. "I love you, Eli. I really do. And I do want to be with you." With that, she grabbed my hand and pulled me down to sit next to her on the bed. She reached up, and pulled my head towards hers, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss.
This was it. This was the moment that I'd been waiting for with Grace. We weren't thinking about our parents, or Mr. Dimitri, or how "wrong" it all was. The only thing on my mind was Grace. We lay back onto the bed, passionately kissing, our hand roaming everywhere. I rolled her so that I was on top of her, holding myself onto the bed with one hand so that my full weight wouldn't crush her. This was ecstasy.
"Oh my God," we both separated and stared at the door to see my dad and Lily standing there watching us.
"Lily, please, I can explain," I said.
"Get the hell off of my daughter," she said, and I did as I was told.
"Come with me, Eli," my dad said, and I complied, squeezing Grace's hand as I left, as a silent promise that everything would be alright. She smiled at me as I left, and then turned to face her mother.
The night eventually ended and Jessie, Katie, Grace and I went back to our house. Given that Lily and Rick still didn't know about Jessie and Katie, Katie was spending the night once again, a fact that made the overprotective older brother in me just a little uncomfortable.
Jessie, Katie, and Grace walked inside, and I started to my room as well. I only got about 5 steps before I turned around and headed to Grace's room. I knocked on her door, and she answered, still dressed in her dress from the dance.
"Can I come in?" I asked, and she nodded, allowing me to enter her room.
"Do you want something?" she asked, closing the door and turning to face me.
"What's going on with us, Grace?" She seemed shocked at my forwardness. "I'm not usually one to say what I really feel, but I can't hold this back anymore. Don't you know by now, Grace? Don't you know how I feel about you?"
"No, Eli, I don't!" I looked at her in surprise. "You haven't told me how you feel! You've kissed me, you've held me, but you have to tell me what's going on! You have to tell me what you want!"
"I want you!" I said in complete honesty. "I want to be with you, Grace. I want to help you through all of this. I want to be there for me when you need me. I want you, Grace, I love you."
As soon as I said it, her eyes got wide, and I desperately wished I hadn't said it, but it was too late. She knew that I loved her. She sat at the foot of her bed, her head in her hands.
"No!" She cried, which wasn't exactly what I was hoping to hear. "This can't be happening! This was so easy before. It was all one sided. I could admire you from afar, and there was no risk of anything happening. Why can't we go back to that? Back when you didn't notice me?"
"Because I was an idiot, Grace! I couldn't see what was right in front of me. I couldn't see this beautiful, strong, wonderful girl standing right in front of me. I was being stupid, and dense, and I was hurting you. Grace, I never want to hurt you, I love you!"
"I loved you for so long, Eli," she said, tears glistening in her eyes. "While you were with Jennifer, when you were with Carla. I tried so hard to fight it when our parents got married, but it was no use. And then with all that stuff with the play, I thought that I had finally moved past you, and moved on to someone else."
"Mr. Dimitri?" I asked, and she nodded.
"But I was stupid to think that I could replace you like that," she continued. "And now our parents are married. We are stepsiblings. If we get together, we are going to hurt people. Our parents, Jessie, Zoe…there are too many people we are going to hurt."
"I don't care about them," I insisted. "All that matters is us. I want to be with you, and my parents don't have anything to do with that. But if you really can't be with me, and you can honestly tell me that you don't love me, I'll leave, I promise."
"I can't," she said, a single tear falling from her eyes. I reached toward her and wiped it away. "I love you, Eli. I really do. And I do want to be with you." With that, she grabbed my hand and pulled me down to sit next to her on the bed. She reached up, and pulled my head towards hers, capturing my lips in a passionate kiss.
This was it. This was the moment that I'd been waiting for with Grace. We weren't thinking about our parents, or Mr. Dimitri, or how "wrong" it all was. The only thing on my mind was Grace. We lay back onto the bed, passionately kissing, our hand roaming everywhere. I rolled her so that I was on top of her, holding myself onto the bed with one hand so that my full weight wouldn't crush her. This was ecstasy.
"Oh my God," we both separated and stared at the door to see my dad and Lily standing there watching us.
"Lily, please, I can explain," I said.
"Get the hell off of my daughter," she said, and I did as I was told.
"Come with me, Eli," my dad said, and I complied, squeezing Grace's hand as I left, as a silent promise that everything would be alright. She smiled at me as I left, and then turned to face her mother.