~A Once and Again Series~
The Way We Were
Chapter 9//Newfound Questions
"Grace? Could you pass me the salt?" Her mother asked.
Grace picked up the salt and shoved it towards her mother. Lily took it and stared at her daughter with annoyance. "Grace, you can't be this mad at me because of the ice cream thing."
Grace was silent. She moved her broccoli around her plate with her fork.
"I'm not mad at you, mommy," Zoe piped up.
"Thank you, honey," Lily said, giving Zoe a quick smile. She looked back at Grace, and frowned. "Grace, just talk to me about it, then? Why won't you give Rick a chance?"
"It's not about Rick, okay?" Grace snapped. "Just, just forget it, mom."
Zoe looked back and forth at the two of them and then said, "I think it's about the son."
"What?" Lily looked to Zoe.
Zoe shrugged, "Grace is always talking about him on the phone."
"You snot! Are you listening in on my phone calls! MOM!" Grace cried with annoyance. She looked at her mother to punish Zoe, but Lily was too interested in what Zoe had told her.
"This is.. about Eli, Gracie?" Lily questioned.
Grace sighed, setting down her fork. "If you MUST know... YES, it is."
[[Grace - She always has to know EVERYTHING! Can't I just not tell her stuff?]]
"Why.. why are you mad at Eli?" Lily asked in confusion. "I thought you had a crush on him."
"MOM!" Grace cried in disgust.
"She does!" Zoe said, smiling. "All she ever talks about is him! She's in LOVE!"
"Zoe!" Grace cried, "Shut up!"
"Grace, don't talk to Zoe that way! Zoe, don't say things you don't know are true." Lily tried to remedy the situation.
"But it is true!" Zoe said insistently.
"Is not!" Grace threw her sister a look of pure hatred. "I don't even like him! He's a jerk!"
"Grace!" Lily cried.
Grace raised her eyebrows and looked at her mother. "Well, he is. You're just going to have to face the fact that your boyfriend raised a hideous kid."
"Grace, how can you say that? What did this boy do?" Lily asked.
Grace rose up in her seat, "You know what? I'm not hungry anymore!"
"Grace, sit down, we're having a discussion."
[[Grace - Can't she see that I don't want to talk about Eli?? God, why does she have to pry into my life!?]]
Grace stared down at her mother, "No! I HATE him, mom, that's all you need to know!" Grace turned and stormed out of the room.
Lily released a deep breath, and picked up her fork again. She looked at Zoe, "So how was your day?"
* * *
"Grace!"
Grace continued walking, not wanting to turn around. HE was there.
"Grace!" Eli caught up with her. He walked alongside her, his pace matching hers. "Grace, come on... talk to me."
[[Grace - Eli... no, no, I CAN'T talk to him! If I do talk to him, I'll only end up being mean to him again... I don't want to do that.]]
Grace snuck a glance over at him. He looked as good as ever. And his eyes were staring so intently into hers.. Grace looked away. "Don't even bother, Eli. I don't want to talk to you."
Eli continued walking with her. They reached the sidewalk, and Grace stopped, scanning the cars for her mother's. And of course the one time Grace would appreciate her mother's usual promptness, Lily was late. Grace stood still, waiting and hoping her mother would arrive soon.
[[Eli - Come on... why won't she just talk to me? Why... why is it bugging me so much that this one girl won't talk to me?]]
"Grace, it's not my fault that Jen--" Eli began.
Grace looked up at him, her eyes chilly. "You didn't break up with her, causing her to spread horrid rumors about me?" Grace expected him to be silent in response to that question, and was surprised when he spoke up.
"No, Jen is the one that broke up with me.." Eli said.
"She is?" Grace asked in shock, "But why would she.." Grace cut herself off, still too angry to even care. So, she broke up with him, what did it matter? Either way, Grace's life was still miserable because of their breakup.
[[Grace - Jennifer broke up with ELI? Why she do that? He's, like, perfect!]]
"I don't know why she spread those rumors, Grace. I'm really sorry about that. I think she decided she wanted to get back with me, and she thought she had to get you out of the way." Eli said gently.
Grace smiled, "But that's ridiculous. I wasn't in the way.."
Eli smiled too. "Yeah... but uh, Jen thought so, and she tried to get back with me the other day."
Grace waited for him to continue.
"But I couldn't be with a girl who is so mean to people like that."
Grace looked away and found she couldn't keep her eyes off him for too long. She looked back into his eyes. "I guess I was pretty mean to you these last couple of days."
Eli shook his head, "No, you weren't. You were just mad, and you had good reasons. I can respect that."
"Well, I'm sorry anyways." Grace said.
[[Eli - I'm glad Grace isn't mad at me anymore. I hated having her me mad at me. Grace... I like that name, Grace. It's a pretty name.]]
[[Grace - I can't believe it was this easy... I should have talked to him earlier. Then we could have been.. friends, this whole time, instead of me hating him. I don't think I ever hated him, not really...]]
"You're forgiven," Eli said, he moved closer to her. He reached out a hand, touching the shell necklace around her neck. "That's really pretty."
"Thanks," Grace said in a breathy whisper. She couldn't believe how close she was too him. Her heart was beating madly. She looked up into his greenish brown eyes. He looked back.
* * *
"Zoe!" Lily cried when Zoe came out of the elementary school doors. Lily had been waiting for a while already, and she had just gotten out of the car to go investigate. "Where have you been?" She demanded.
Zoe squirmed guiltily, "I was in the gym with Erin, and I lost track of the time."
"Why were you playing in the gym after school anyway?" Lily asked as they headed to the car.
"Oh, in gym class this month, we have to climb ropes. And I just CAN'T climb it, mommy. So, we were practicing. I'm getting better. I made it halfway up!" Zoe cried with excitement as they entered the car.
Lily's heart flipped at the idea of Zoe playing around on the ropes without proper supervision. She could have fallen, and.. "Zoe, don't do that again, okay? You know you shouldn't be doing stuff like that, alone!"
"I wasn't alone!" Zoe argued. "Erin was there! And Mr. Keller was still there, too."
"Oh," Lily let out a breath of relief knowing the gym teacher was there. "But, you ask me next time you want to do something like that. I was worried something had happened to you, when you didn't come out right away. And always make sure the teacher is there to supervise."
"Yes, mom," Zoe said with annoyance, sounding very much like Grace.
Lily let it pass, she was late for picking up Grace. She drove to the high school, Zoe being unusually quiet for once. As they pulled up before the school, Lily looked through the window for Grace.
"Isn't that Eli?" Zoe asked, excitement coming back to her. She sat up straighter in her seat. "He's with Grace!"
Lily looked at where her daughter was looking. Sure enough, Grace was standing with Eli on the sidewalk. They were standing very close, especially considering how Grace had said she hated him. As Lily watched the two in surprise, Eli moved even closer to her daughter, and his hand toyed with Grace's favorite necklace. The two of them were gazing intently into each other's eyes.
[[Lily - It can't be. I never thought anything would actually become out of Grace's little crush. Grace and Eli? My daughter and his son? No...]]
Zoe let out a squeal of laughter, "Mom, they're going to KISS! I told you she LOVED him!"
Lily found her hand coming down on the horn without even thinking about it. Or, maybe without thinking too much about it. All she knew she didn't want to see her daughter and Rick's son *together* like that.
[[Lily - What if... I mean, someday what if Rick and I got married... then what... *sigh* This is too weird. What am I going to do?]]
* * *
Grace jumped back at the sound of the horn. She looked at the road, and saw to her dismay that her mother had finally arrived. Zoe's face was just about plastered against the window, staring out at her and Eli. "My mom..." Grace said, taking another step back.
Eli nodded, the smile on his face twisting slightly. "Uh, can I call you?"
[[Grace - CALL ME???? HE wants to call ME! Oh, my God!!!]]
Grace's own smile grew, "Yeah! I mean, sure... Do you have my number?"
"No, but I think I can get it from my dad." Eli said with amusement.
Grace nodded. She glanced over at her mother's car. Zoe was still watching them intently, but her mother was looking away, in the other direction. "I'm going to go."
"Okay, bye."
"Bye." Grace said, and hurried off to the car.
She got in the backseat, then looked back at Eli. He had already turned and was walking towards a group of his friends. Grace shut the door, and couldn't help but smile at what just happened. She noticed her mother looking at her in the rearview mirror and she tried to dull down her joyful smile.
Zoe turned around, throwing a superior look at her sister, "I knew you LOVED him!"
Grace smile changed into a tight line, "Shut up!"
Grace leaned back against the seat. Occasionally she caught her mother's eyes looking back on her in the rearview mirror, questioningly. But Grace was too happy to think about her mother.
[[Grace - He wants to call ME! Oh... my... God...]]
* * *
The Way We Were
Chapter 9//Newfound Questions
"Grace? Could you pass me the salt?" Her mother asked.
Grace picked up the salt and shoved it towards her mother. Lily took it and stared at her daughter with annoyance. "Grace, you can't be this mad at me because of the ice cream thing."
Grace was silent. She moved her broccoli around her plate with her fork.
"I'm not mad at you, mommy," Zoe piped up.
"Thank you, honey," Lily said, giving Zoe a quick smile. She looked back at Grace, and frowned. "Grace, just talk to me about it, then? Why won't you give Rick a chance?"
"It's not about Rick, okay?" Grace snapped. "Just, just forget it, mom."
Zoe looked back and forth at the two of them and then said, "I think it's about the son."
"What?" Lily looked to Zoe.
Zoe shrugged, "Grace is always talking about him on the phone."
"You snot! Are you listening in on my phone calls! MOM!" Grace cried with annoyance. She looked at her mother to punish Zoe, but Lily was too interested in what Zoe had told her.
"This is.. about Eli, Gracie?" Lily questioned.
Grace sighed, setting down her fork. "If you MUST know... YES, it is."
[[Grace - She always has to know EVERYTHING! Can't I just not tell her stuff?]]
"Why.. why are you mad at Eli?" Lily asked in confusion. "I thought you had a crush on him."
"MOM!" Grace cried in disgust.
"She does!" Zoe said, smiling. "All she ever talks about is him! She's in LOVE!"
"Zoe!" Grace cried, "Shut up!"
"Grace, don't talk to Zoe that way! Zoe, don't say things you don't know are true." Lily tried to remedy the situation.
"But it is true!" Zoe said insistently.
"Is not!" Grace threw her sister a look of pure hatred. "I don't even like him! He's a jerk!"
"Grace!" Lily cried.
Grace raised her eyebrows and looked at her mother. "Well, he is. You're just going to have to face the fact that your boyfriend raised a hideous kid."
"Grace, how can you say that? What did this boy do?" Lily asked.
Grace rose up in her seat, "You know what? I'm not hungry anymore!"
"Grace, sit down, we're having a discussion."
[[Grace - Can't she see that I don't want to talk about Eli?? God, why does she have to pry into my life!?]]
Grace stared down at her mother, "No! I HATE him, mom, that's all you need to know!" Grace turned and stormed out of the room.
Lily released a deep breath, and picked up her fork again. She looked at Zoe, "So how was your day?"
* * *
"Grace!"
Grace continued walking, not wanting to turn around. HE was there.
"Grace!" Eli caught up with her. He walked alongside her, his pace matching hers. "Grace, come on... talk to me."
[[Grace - Eli... no, no, I CAN'T talk to him! If I do talk to him, I'll only end up being mean to him again... I don't want to do that.]]
Grace snuck a glance over at him. He looked as good as ever. And his eyes were staring so intently into hers.. Grace looked away. "Don't even bother, Eli. I don't want to talk to you."
Eli continued walking with her. They reached the sidewalk, and Grace stopped, scanning the cars for her mother's. And of course the one time Grace would appreciate her mother's usual promptness, Lily was late. Grace stood still, waiting and hoping her mother would arrive soon.
[[Eli - Come on... why won't she just talk to me? Why... why is it bugging me so much that this one girl won't talk to me?]]
"Grace, it's not my fault that Jen--" Eli began.
Grace looked up at him, her eyes chilly. "You didn't break up with her, causing her to spread horrid rumors about me?" Grace expected him to be silent in response to that question, and was surprised when he spoke up.
"No, Jen is the one that broke up with me.." Eli said.
"She is?" Grace asked in shock, "But why would she.." Grace cut herself off, still too angry to even care. So, she broke up with him, what did it matter? Either way, Grace's life was still miserable because of their breakup.
[[Grace - Jennifer broke up with ELI? Why she do that? He's, like, perfect!]]
"I don't know why she spread those rumors, Grace. I'm really sorry about that. I think she decided she wanted to get back with me, and she thought she had to get you out of the way." Eli said gently.
Grace smiled, "But that's ridiculous. I wasn't in the way.."
Eli smiled too. "Yeah... but uh, Jen thought so, and she tried to get back with me the other day."
Grace waited for him to continue.
"But I couldn't be with a girl who is so mean to people like that."
Grace looked away and found she couldn't keep her eyes off him for too long. She looked back into his eyes. "I guess I was pretty mean to you these last couple of days."
Eli shook his head, "No, you weren't. You were just mad, and you had good reasons. I can respect that."
"Well, I'm sorry anyways." Grace said.
[[Eli - I'm glad Grace isn't mad at me anymore. I hated having her me mad at me. Grace... I like that name, Grace. It's a pretty name.]]
[[Grace - I can't believe it was this easy... I should have talked to him earlier. Then we could have been.. friends, this whole time, instead of me hating him. I don't think I ever hated him, not really...]]
"You're forgiven," Eli said, he moved closer to her. He reached out a hand, touching the shell necklace around her neck. "That's really pretty."
"Thanks," Grace said in a breathy whisper. She couldn't believe how close she was too him. Her heart was beating madly. She looked up into his greenish brown eyes. He looked back.
* * *
"Zoe!" Lily cried when Zoe came out of the elementary school doors. Lily had been waiting for a while already, and she had just gotten out of the car to go investigate. "Where have you been?" She demanded.
Zoe squirmed guiltily, "I was in the gym with Erin, and I lost track of the time."
"Why were you playing in the gym after school anyway?" Lily asked as they headed to the car.
"Oh, in gym class this month, we have to climb ropes. And I just CAN'T climb it, mommy. So, we were practicing. I'm getting better. I made it halfway up!" Zoe cried with excitement as they entered the car.
Lily's heart flipped at the idea of Zoe playing around on the ropes without proper supervision. She could have fallen, and.. "Zoe, don't do that again, okay? You know you shouldn't be doing stuff like that, alone!"
"I wasn't alone!" Zoe argued. "Erin was there! And Mr. Keller was still there, too."
"Oh," Lily let out a breath of relief knowing the gym teacher was there. "But, you ask me next time you want to do something like that. I was worried something had happened to you, when you didn't come out right away. And always make sure the teacher is there to supervise."
"Yes, mom," Zoe said with annoyance, sounding very much like Grace.
Lily let it pass, she was late for picking up Grace. She drove to the high school, Zoe being unusually quiet for once. As they pulled up before the school, Lily looked through the window for Grace.
"Isn't that Eli?" Zoe asked, excitement coming back to her. She sat up straighter in her seat. "He's with Grace!"
Lily looked at where her daughter was looking. Sure enough, Grace was standing with Eli on the sidewalk. They were standing very close, especially considering how Grace had said she hated him. As Lily watched the two in surprise, Eli moved even closer to her daughter, and his hand toyed with Grace's favorite necklace. The two of them were gazing intently into each other's eyes.
[[Lily - It can't be. I never thought anything would actually become out of Grace's little crush. Grace and Eli? My daughter and his son? No...]]
Zoe let out a squeal of laughter, "Mom, they're going to KISS! I told you she LOVED him!"
Lily found her hand coming down on the horn without even thinking about it. Or, maybe without thinking too much about it. All she knew she didn't want to see her daughter and Rick's son *together* like that.
[[Lily - What if... I mean, someday what if Rick and I got married... then what... *sigh* This is too weird. What am I going to do?]]
* * *
Grace jumped back at the sound of the horn. She looked at the road, and saw to her dismay that her mother had finally arrived. Zoe's face was just about plastered against the window, staring out at her and Eli. "My mom..." Grace said, taking another step back.
Eli nodded, the smile on his face twisting slightly. "Uh, can I call you?"
[[Grace - CALL ME???? HE wants to call ME! Oh, my God!!!]]
Grace's own smile grew, "Yeah! I mean, sure... Do you have my number?"
"No, but I think I can get it from my dad." Eli said with amusement.
Grace nodded. She glanced over at her mother's car. Zoe was still watching them intently, but her mother was looking away, in the other direction. "I'm going to go."
"Okay, bye."
"Bye." Grace said, and hurried off to the car.
She got in the backseat, then looked back at Eli. He had already turned and was walking towards a group of his friends. Grace shut the door, and couldn't help but smile at what just happened. She noticed her mother looking at her in the rearview mirror and she tried to dull down her joyful smile.
Zoe turned around, throwing a superior look at her sister, "I knew you LOVED him!"
Grace smile changed into a tight line, "Shut up!"
Grace leaned back against the seat. Occasionally she caught her mother's eyes looking back on her in the rearview mirror, questioningly. But Grace was too happy to think about her mother.
[[Grace - He wants to call ME! Oh... my... God...]]
* * *
