~A Once and Again Series~

The Way We Were

Hey, thanks for your reviews! After reading them, they put me in a real good mood to know you guys really like what I've been writing!!! Thanks for reading, as always. Lots of love, Tainted Love.

P.s. Sorry, but I've officially put off writing more for "Where do we go from here?" until this one ends, because otherwise I'll get confused on keeping my stories straight....... eh, maybe it's not 'officially' put off, but right now I'm concentrating on this one.

Chapter 32//Hear Me Out

"Grace, open up!" Eli cried, knocking on her door. "Grace, you have to talk to me!"

Jessie paused on her way up the stairs, and watched as her brother pounded the door again, calling frantically for Grace to open up.

"Come on, Grace. I know what you think you saw, but it wasn't like that! I swear! I can explain it, if you just open up!" Eli cried.

Jessie continued walking up the stairs and went over to her brother with concern. "Eli?"

Eli looked at her, and Jessie was startled to see tears in his eyes. Jessie didn't know if she had ever seen her brother cry before. She hadn't thought he had it in him.

"Jess! Grace won't open her door," Eli cried in despair.

"Yeah... I got that," Jessie said, she looked over her shoulder and down into the living room, where Lily and Rick were cozied up on the couch, like Eli screaming at Grace's door was something that happened every day... Jessie's eyes widened as she realized it COULD be something that happened every day, if Grace didn't just talk to Eli.

"Eli, just... why don't you go," Jessie suggested. "Let me talk to her."

Eli shook his head, "No, there's something I need to explain to her." He knocked on the door again. "Grace!"

Jessie watched him, her heart aching at seeing her brother in pain. Finally Eli gave up, and sank to the floor, leaning his back against Grace's door.

"You're just going to sit there, all night, until she comes out?" Jessie asked.

Eli nodded, his head falling into his hands.

Zoe was coming up the stairs, she looked over at Eli curiously. "I heard shouting."

Eli didn't respond. Jessie filled in for him, "Eli needs to talk to Grace."

"Why?" Zoe asked.

"Because," Eli answered, lifted his head. "I love her."

"OH!" Zoe said, with a wide grin. She looked down on the living room, at their parents, and turned back to Eli and Jessie. "Do they know?"

Eli sighed, not really up for answering Zoe's questions. He didn't think his dad and Lily knew he loved Grace, but he also knew that they must at least suspect that. But what did it really matter, if Grace wouldn't even talk to him!?

[[Eli - I screwed up... I mean, yeah, I technically didn't have anything to do with Carla kissing me... and Grace seeing it, but maybe if I hadn't taken Carla back to my house, or if I had cut off my friendship with her..... I mean, I knew Carla was trouble, and yet... I didn't stop it, so I guess it is partly my fault. *sigh* I just hope Grace can see that I truly love her.]]

Zoe frowned, not liking her questions going unanswered. Jessie leaned down and whispered something to her brother, and Zoe wanted their attention back on HER. "I know how you can get to her," Zoe announced.

Zoe got the result she wanted as they both looked at her. Eli stood up, "What is it?"

Zoe proudly led them into her and Jessie's room, and pointed at the bathroom that separated their room and Grace's room. "The lock to Grace's room doesn't work," She told Eli.

Eli looked at the door to Grace's room inside the bathroom, and took a deep breath. This was it, this was his chance. Eli smiled, picking up Zoe and giving her a big kiss on the cheek. "Thanks!"

Zoe grinned madly as he put her down, looking like she had just won a million dollars. Jessie grabbed hold of Zoe's shoulder and pushed her back into the hallway. "We should give them space," Jessie told her, and for once Zoe didn't question it.

* * *

Grace had put on her headphones soon after she had entered her room. She couldn't stand to hear Eli's pleas. Didn't he see what he did was horrible? Didn't he realize that she couldn't just forgive him like that?

Grace lay on her bed on her belly, her head smashed against the pillow. Occasionally she lifted her headphones to listen to see if it was safe yet. But, no another cry from Eli filled her ears, and Grace replaced her headphones quickly. She felt like a prisoner in her own room. She couldn't even go get something to eat without seeing him!

Grace waited a bit, then lifted her headphones again. Silence this time. Maybe her mother had finally gotten Eli to leave her alone, but Grace doubted that. For all she knew Eli was sitting outside her door, waiting to jump on her once she opened the door.

Grace rolled over, and gasped as she saw a figure in the doorway to the bathroom she and Zoe shared. Grace blinked and saw it was Eli. "GET OUT!" Grace cried.

Eli shook his head, looking at her sadly. "Grace, just hear me out."

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say!" Grace yelled. She looked to her bedroom door, wondering if she should just flee... but where would she go? This was HER house.... and now it was HIS too. No matter how much she hated it, she would have to get used to him being here. Grace sighed, looking back at him, then looking away as she saw the pain in his eyes.

[[Grace - How DARE he feel bad? How dare he feel sad? It's ME who was hurt. It was me who was betrayed.]]

"Eli, I know we have to live together, so let's just make a truce," Grace said reasonably, "You don't speak to me, and I won't speak to you."

"I can't do that Grace," Eli said, moving further into the room. "Just, please listen to what I have to say!"

Grace shook her head. She continued on with her earlier thought, "It'll probably be easy for us to ignore each other. I mean, if we plan it right, I can be at my dad's when you're here, and you at your mom's when I'm here..."

"Grace, no," Eli said forcefully. "I can't make that deal."

"Why not!?" Grace cried, "It would make things SO much easier on ME, Eli."

"Grace, I can't ignore you!" Eli cried.

"Why not?!" Grace screamed. "Why--"

"Because I love you," Eli cut her off.

Grace's eyes closed and she took in this new information. When she opened her eyes again, tears fell down her cheeks. "Eli, don't..."

"What?! Don't love you!? Grace, I can't help it... I do love you... it's not something I can change," Eli said, tears coming to his own eyes as he looked on his love in pain. "Grace, don't cry."

Grace quickly wiped away her tears, "Yeah, you're right! I shouldn't cry for a BASTARD like you!"

Eli felt that hit him right in the heart. "Grace, you don't understand..."

Grace was silent, shaking her head with disbelief at his persistence. "Then explain it to me," She challenged.

* * *

Jessie and Zoe sat huddled together on the top of the stairs, listening to the shouts coming from Grace's room. Zoe was being unusually quiet and Jessie was glad for that as she was straining to hear every word.

"What did Eli do to Grace?" Zoe asked.

Jessie shushed her, quickly. She didn't know what Eli had done, but from the shouts coming from Grace's room, it looked like they were about to find out.

* * *

Rick and Lily had turned off the TV, not even pretending to be watching it, as they heard Grace's shouts joining Eli's. So, Eli had found a way to get Grace to talk to him... but to them, the shouts were muffled, and they didn't know how things were progressing. Lily almost had gotten up twice to go join Jess and Zoe on the stairs, where she would be able to hear better, but she wouldn't allow herself to do that...

"Do you think it's better that they're talking-- or worse?" Rick questioned.

Lily sighed, leaning back against him. She had been on the verge of getting up from the couch, so she could go up the stairs-- not to listen, but to get her book from her room (yeah, right... not likely). Rick's words stopped her. "I don't know," Lily answered him.

"Eli said it was a misunderstanding," Rick reminded her.

Lily nodded, "Let's hope so. Because if this keeps up, we're going to have to think of sectioning off the house into Grace-friendly and Eli- friendly zones, and make sure they don't intermix."

Eli smiled, but his smile faded as the shouts continued upstairs. He stood up. "You know, I never did ask Jessie if she needed to get anything from her mother's," Rick said as he looked at Jessie and Zoe at their better listening place on the stairs.

Lily stood up with him, grateful for the excuse. They hurried over to the stairs.

* * *

"Grace, I know you think you saw me and Carla kissing," Eli began.

"So you WEREN'T kissing??" Grace asked sarcastically, "Oh, let me guess-- she was choking and you were giving her CPR, standing up!"

"Grace, I didn't mean that we weren't kissing, because we were, I guess. But it isn't what you think."

Grace's eyes squeezed shut at Eli's admittance that she had witnessed a kiss. She waited for him to go on, half of her wishing he would stop right there, so she didn't have to feel anymore pain-- the other half, hopeful, thinking it was possible that there was a reason for the kiss. Grace tried, unsuccessfully to squash this hopeful side.

"I met Carla at the mall. I was shopping. I was going to buy you a welcoming gift... for when we moved in, but then I ran into her, and she was drunk," Eli said.

Grace opened her eyes, not liking what she was hearing so far... but still..... hopeful.

"She was scared, because she thought her parents were going to send her to rehab, and I couldn't leave her there like that... Grace she was-- out of it. So I drove her to my place."

"Where your lips just happened to fall on hers," Grace couldn't help but quip.

"Where she got freaked out... and started talking about YOU and ME, Grace. She was talking about how she wished she had a relationship like ours. And then, she kissed me. SHE kissed me. That's what you saw. I pushed her away, and drove her home... end of story." Eli let out a deep breath as he had gotten out the full story. He looked at Grace, awaiting her reaction.

* * *

On the stairs, where Jessie, Zoe, Rick and Lily were all listening unabashedly now, they turned and looked at each other.

"That sounds plausible," Rick commented.

Jessie nodded, "I saw Carla at school... believe me she's not someone you could trust. She would do something like that to her friend. She would."

Lily was silent, unsure.

"Who's Carla?" Zoe asked.

"You know," Lily reminded her daughter. "Grace's new friend."

"The one with the tattoo!" Zoe cried. "She was cool! She wouldn't have done that!"

Jessie rolled her eyes. A habit she was unknowingly picking up from Grace. "Just because someone has a tattoo doesn't mean they wouldn't do something like that!"

They fell silent again, listening to the conversation inside.

"Hello?"

They all jumped a bit, startled by Judy's voice. Lily looked down at her sister with a weak smile.

Judy smiled up at them, with confused amusement, "What's this -- a family meeting or something?"

"Sshhh!" Zoe cried, pointing at Grace's door.

Judy, sensing something juicy was happening, quickly ascended the stairs to listen too.

* * *

"That's your story?" Grace asked when Eli had finished telling her what had happened.

"That's the truth," Eli corrected her. "She kissed me, and I pushed her away."

Grace sighed, looking at him. "All I saw was you and her kissing. I didn't stick around to see the ending."

Eli slowly felt the tension leaving his body. "So, you believe me?"

Grace nodded, looking up. Tears were in her eyes again. "I don't think I have much of a choice..."

"What do you mean?" Eli asked.

"...Because I love you too, so I guess it's just part of the deal that I'm just going to believe everything you say," Grace said sadly.

Eli's heart jumped at her words. "Well, that's good, because I'm only going to tell you the truth... Grace, I promise you that."

Grace nodded. "I think I believe you."

Eli surged forward taking Grace's hands in his. He looked intently into her tear-stained face. "Grace, I don't want you to THINK you believe me... I need you to believe me. I would never hurt you like that."

Grace took a deep breath.

* * *

On the stairs, five eager people listened closely to Grace's next words.

* * *

"I do believe you, Eli," Grace said finally. She looked up at Eli, with a smile.

Eli grinned back, taking her in his arms. "Oh, Grace!"

Grace trembled in his grip... the past day's events taking it's affect on her. She had gone through SO many emotions since seeing Carla and Eli in a kiss. Now, she was just happy to have the unpleasant feelings behind her, because she truly did believe Eli. She trusted him.

Eli bent down, kissing her. She kissed him back, sinking in his arms.

* * *

On the stairs, the five of them smiled happily.

"I knew they would work it out," Zoe insisted.

Jessie rolled her eyes... she had seen how Zoe had been crossing her fingers throughout the whole scene.

"It is a good thing they worked it out, right?" Zoe asked, looking at Lily.

Lily nodded, "Yes."

[[Lily - When did I become so accepting of Grace's and Eli's relationship...? *amused smile* My heart was beating madly throughout the whole thing, and I just kept hoping they'd fix things between... is that crazy? I shouldn't feel this deeply about my daughter's and my soon-to-be- step-son's relationship.... but I do. That's it, I'm crazy!]]

* * *

They broke from their kiss. They began to head for the door, but Grace stopped. She looked at Eli with a glimmer in her eyes. "Do you think they're out there listening?" Grace asked in a low whisper.

Eli nodded, "Most definitely."

Grace smiled slyly. "Want to screw with them?" She whispered.

Eli smiled back, his eyebrows raised slightly.

* * *

"Oh, they're still talking," Rick said quickly, and the four women looked at him in surprise. "What? Men can't be interested in ease- dropping?" Rick said with a smile.

Lily hit him in the side, but they all found themselves growing silent again.

"Eli, they're something I need to tell you," Grace said. "I should have told you sooner, but because of..."

They all leaned forward unconsciously, straining to hear it all.

"What is it, Grace?" Eli asked.

"Eli... I'm..." Grace began, her voice was heavy with emotion. (She was really putting her acting abilities to the test.) "Eli... I'm really a.... MAN!"

The door to Grace's room swung opened and Eli and Grace laughed as they watched the five of them try to look unsupicious... like they hung out on the stairs every day like that.

"We were just..." Lily began.

"...looking for..." Rick added.

"... uh, my earring!" Judy provided.

"Uh huh," Grace said, grinning. She looked at Zoe and Jessie, "And what were you doing?"

"We were listening," Jessie said with a broad smile. Zoe nodded.

Eli turned to Grace with a smile, "So this is our family?"

"Looks like..." Grace said.

"Should we keep them?" Eli asked, putting an arm around Grace.

"I don't think we have a choice," Grace said with a smile.

* * *