3, 2, 1 BOOM – Chapter 6
Eli and Grace sat for a moment there, facing each other, when Grace noticed with a side glance, that another weather report was breaking on the muted T.V., and once again the magical moment was forgotten as reality dawned on her. "Hey, Eli, there's another weather report". A few seconds after, Grace's words sank on Eli too and his dazed expression was replaced with concern. He reached for the remote and released the mute button.
"…As for now, there are no intentions of evicting citizens, but we advise you to stay tuned for further updates, as the storm hasn't reached its peak yet. In case of an emergency there will be an announcement on the PA system throughout the city…"
"I'll go check the phone again" Eli said and got up "maybe the line's back by now."
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"Grace… Grace…"
"The line is back…" Eli called her quite enthused.
"I'll try the cell again" to his disappointment, only the 'no service, try again later' monotone message welcomed him.
Seeing his expression Grace guessed he got no answer "Lets call Judy and your mom, maybe they contacted them while the line was dead".
"Sure" Eli agreed and gave Grace the phone "Call Judy first".
*** On the phone with Judy ***
J: Hello
G: Hi Judy
J: Grace? Are you ok? Where are you?
G: Yeah, listen, I'm fine, I'm at home with Eli, the problem is that mom, Zoë, Rick and Jessie went on a trip today and their not back yet and their cell phone doesn't work and we're worried about them.
J: Calm down honey, I'm sure they're fine, your mom and Rick won't do anything to put Zoë or Jessie at risk, you have to trust them. I heard on the news that some roads were blocked, they're probably fine, just stuck in their way home and I'm certain the cellular net collapsed because of the storm, I'm sure they'll contact you as soon as they'll have a chance.
G: I hope so…
J: Are you two all right there?
G: Sure, we're just fine.
J: Good, try to be calm; I'm sure they're ok.
G: Thanks Judy…
J: Let me know when you'll hear from them.
G: Sure, bye.
J: Bye.
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"Maybe she's right Eli, should we make your mother worry so much? She's already pretty stressed lately…". Grace offered after considering Judy's words.
"You're probably right, we'll wait with the call for now, and anyway, we need the line to stay free in case they'll try and call us."
But then it hit her again, all Grace could think about was his last few words, which echoed in her head as Eli finished talking: 'In case they'll try'… 'In case they'll try', meaning they might not…
Grace breathed a muffled "Yeah" but after a few seconds of inner struggle, she gave in and tears began to fall from her eyes. Eli saw her tears and it made him feel very protective of her, like some basic instinct was enlightened within him and he felt he has to protect and comfort her, before he even had the chance to think about it, he automatically bear hugged Grace, patting and lightly kissing her hair and all the while whispering words of encouragement in her ear.
Grace's senses were momentarily overwhelmed by his actions. She could feel him, strong and assuring yet gentle at the same time, she could smell his unique 'Eli smell' his voice tickled her ear softly as he spoke in a low, relaxing voice. Grace felt so safe and so at home in Eli's arms for that moment, she'd almost totally relaxed in his embrace.
"Come on Gracie, let's go sit in the living room". It was already past 20:00. Eli and Grace sat together on the couch, T.V. on the news channel. Grace took Eli's blanket and covered both of them with it.
The long and stressful evening took its toll on them and they both eventually drifted to sleep side by side, tucked in Eli's blanket.
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Thank you all you wonderful reviewers: O&A Fan, Shelly, nimacu, Marianne, eli luva, Tracy, and OrganizedChaos95. You girls(I guess, right?) ROCK!!!
I'm so sad I lost some of the reviews because of the technical problem FF.new was having…
Drop me a line and make me smile ;D
LitJunkie