Hey! Thanks so much for the reviews, please keep them coming! Here's
another chapter for you to enjoy..I hope! =)
The next morning when Grace sloughed into Mr. Dimitri's class ten minutes late, he and everyone else could tell that something had happened the night before. She looked plain awful. Her eyes were swollen and puffy, her hair was limp and messy, and her wrinkled clothes were the same heather gray tee shirt and khakis she'd worn yesterday.
"Uh, Class, excuse me for a moment," Dimitri said, and took Grace into the hall, making sure that they were out of eyeshot from the small window in the door.
"What's going on?" Dimitri demanded, putting his hands on Grace's shoulders. Grace heaved a sigh, and raked a hand through her tousled brown tresses. "My mom kicked me out," she said. Dimitri's jaw dropped slightly, and he closed his eyes, enduring what she'd just said. This was all his fault.
"So...she knows, about us," he said softly. Grace's heart fluttered at the sound of that. Us. She nodded solemnly. Dimitri covered his mouth with his hand, thinking hard.
"Don't worry, she's not going to call the school or anything. I don't think, anyway. But Eli knows about us too. He followed me to your house," Grace explained apologetically.
"I'm not worried about that right now. I'm worried about you. Where did you go after your mom threw you out?" he asked earnestly.
"I slept in my car at the park," Grace replied. "You did what?!" Dimitri hissed. "Grace, how could you be so foolish? Don't you know what happens to people who sleep in their cars?!" "Their clothes get wrinkled?"
Dimitri's grave face split into a smirk at that remark. He tried to compose himself again.
"You're not staying another night in you car. It's just not safe," he concluded sternly. "Well, I'm not going home!" Grace said indignantly. Dimitri didn't hesitate.
"Then come stay with me," he said. Grace's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.
"What? No, no, uh-uh. You're not getting fired over this, there's no way I'm going to let you jeopardize your career," said Grace.
"Well I'm not going to let you jeopardize your life, Grace!" he said.
Grace's heart swelled with admiration, he actually cared.
"Look, it'll be fine. Just park your car behind the garage and nobody will know the difference. You can go home after school and get your stuff while your mother is at work," Dimitri said. "And that's final. Now get in there and start your writer's journal," he concluded, opening the door. He narrowed his eyes at her from his desk for good measure.
"I expect that you'll think twice, Miss Manning, before deciding to come in tardy and disrupt my class again," he said sternly.
"Yes sir," Grace said smugly, rolling her eyes at her fellow classmates who giggled. They were way too good at this.
Grace did as Dimitri had said and swung by her house to pack some things. She felt bad about Zoe, who didn't even realize what had happened last night (she'd been in bed when Grace had left), but she had her pride. As she zipped her backpack on her bed, she looked at a picture of her with her mother and scowled. She flipped it over, and satisfied, left home.
As Grace was heading back towards Mr. Dimitri's place, she decided to stop at the store and get some things to make him dinner, as a thank you gesture. After all, he was inviting her into his home. Why shouldn't she do something nice for him?
When Dimitri got home, he was greeted by the appetizing aroma of pasta. Grace was setting the table for two, and Dimitri couldn't help but smile. This was all he'd ever wanted, someone to come home to. And Grace was the only one he wanted to come home to. Who cared if she was seventeen? She was at the maturity level intellectually of someone twice her age.
"Hey," Grace said, welcoming him with a smile. "What is all this?" Dimitri asked, returning the smile as he took off his jacket and sat down his briefcase. "Oh, it's nothing," Grace said modestly. "Spaghetti is the only thing I know how to make." "You didn't have to do this," Dimitri said graciously. "I know," Grace said. "I wanted to."
Their eyes met and locked, and for the first time, neither looked away. After the two ate dinner together, they shared dish duty and graded papers before settling down to watch Third Watch. After the show, Grace went upstairs to take a shower.
Following her shower, Grace wrapped herself in a towel and went into the guest room, where she was to stay. A copy of Chekov's On Love lay on the nightstand, and a single white rose accompanied it. She grinned happily, and jumped slightly at a knock at the door.
The next morning when Grace sloughed into Mr. Dimitri's class ten minutes late, he and everyone else could tell that something had happened the night before. She looked plain awful. Her eyes were swollen and puffy, her hair was limp and messy, and her wrinkled clothes were the same heather gray tee shirt and khakis she'd worn yesterday.
"Uh, Class, excuse me for a moment," Dimitri said, and took Grace into the hall, making sure that they were out of eyeshot from the small window in the door.
"What's going on?" Dimitri demanded, putting his hands on Grace's shoulders. Grace heaved a sigh, and raked a hand through her tousled brown tresses. "My mom kicked me out," she said. Dimitri's jaw dropped slightly, and he closed his eyes, enduring what she'd just said. This was all his fault.
"So...she knows, about us," he said softly. Grace's heart fluttered at the sound of that. Us. She nodded solemnly. Dimitri covered his mouth with his hand, thinking hard.
"Don't worry, she's not going to call the school or anything. I don't think, anyway. But Eli knows about us too. He followed me to your house," Grace explained apologetically.
"I'm not worried about that right now. I'm worried about you. Where did you go after your mom threw you out?" he asked earnestly.
"I slept in my car at the park," Grace replied. "You did what?!" Dimitri hissed. "Grace, how could you be so foolish? Don't you know what happens to people who sleep in their cars?!" "Their clothes get wrinkled?"
Dimitri's grave face split into a smirk at that remark. He tried to compose himself again.
"You're not staying another night in you car. It's just not safe," he concluded sternly. "Well, I'm not going home!" Grace said indignantly. Dimitri didn't hesitate.
"Then come stay with me," he said. Grace's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.
"What? No, no, uh-uh. You're not getting fired over this, there's no way I'm going to let you jeopardize your career," said Grace.
"Well I'm not going to let you jeopardize your life, Grace!" he said.
Grace's heart swelled with admiration, he actually cared.
"Look, it'll be fine. Just park your car behind the garage and nobody will know the difference. You can go home after school and get your stuff while your mother is at work," Dimitri said. "And that's final. Now get in there and start your writer's journal," he concluded, opening the door. He narrowed his eyes at her from his desk for good measure.
"I expect that you'll think twice, Miss Manning, before deciding to come in tardy and disrupt my class again," he said sternly.
"Yes sir," Grace said smugly, rolling her eyes at her fellow classmates who giggled. They were way too good at this.
Grace did as Dimitri had said and swung by her house to pack some things. She felt bad about Zoe, who didn't even realize what had happened last night (she'd been in bed when Grace had left), but she had her pride. As she zipped her backpack on her bed, she looked at a picture of her with her mother and scowled. She flipped it over, and satisfied, left home.
As Grace was heading back towards Mr. Dimitri's place, she decided to stop at the store and get some things to make him dinner, as a thank you gesture. After all, he was inviting her into his home. Why shouldn't she do something nice for him?
When Dimitri got home, he was greeted by the appetizing aroma of pasta. Grace was setting the table for two, and Dimitri couldn't help but smile. This was all he'd ever wanted, someone to come home to. And Grace was the only one he wanted to come home to. Who cared if she was seventeen? She was at the maturity level intellectually of someone twice her age.
"Hey," Grace said, welcoming him with a smile. "What is all this?" Dimitri asked, returning the smile as he took off his jacket and sat down his briefcase. "Oh, it's nothing," Grace said modestly. "Spaghetti is the only thing I know how to make." "You didn't have to do this," Dimitri said graciously. "I know," Grace said. "I wanted to."
Their eyes met and locked, and for the first time, neither looked away. After the two ate dinner together, they shared dish duty and graded papers before settling down to watch Third Watch. After the show, Grace went upstairs to take a shower.
Following her shower, Grace wrapped herself in a towel and went into the guest room, where she was to stay. A copy of Chekov's On Love lay on the nightstand, and a single white rose accompanied it. She grinned happily, and jumped slightly at a knock at the door.