Part V: No Fairy Tale Endings
Grace stared up at the marquee and groaned. "Their movie doesn't let out for another hour and forty-five minutes. I'm so bored!"
Eli glanced over at her, clearly amused. "Then let's do something."
She shook her head. "No, we'll wait here."
"Why?"
The brunette looked away from him. "I just want to stay here."
"For almost two hours?" Eli asked her. "That's silly."
Grace crossed her arms over her chest. "But it's what I want to do."
"Grace, if you're bored why don't we just go do something. Hell, we could window shop for two hours. Anything's better than just sitting here."
"If you want to go, I'm not stopping you."
Eli snorted. "You're the most stubborn person I know. Can you give me a reason other than 'I just want to stay here'?" When she didn't answer, Eli shook his head. "Do you have a pen?" He busied himself by finding a scrap of paper he could write on and took it when she offered. Eli scribbled down his cell phone number. "I'm… out, just call me when you're ready."
Her brown eyes widened in horror as he started walking away. He wasn't supposed to do that! "Eli!" she called after him. He didn't turn around.
Fifteen minutes later Eli was in a music store when his cell phone rang. He recognized the number instantly. "Hello? Hello?" Well, damn. Maybe she wasn't calling him.
"I'm starting to rethink this whole New Years thing."
He turned around, surprised by her voice. Grace was standing right behind him. "What New Years thing?"
"You asked earlier if I'd give you until New Years… here's your chance. Though I feel I should tell you up front your chances of succeeding are slim to none."
Eli grinned. "I always liked a challenge."
"I'm serious." Grace crossed her arms and stared at him. "I can't even think of a good reason as to why I should consider your offer."
"Oh," he said, taking a step closer, "but I can."
She looked up at him, not liking the smile on his face. "How?"
"It has to do with my job."
Grace wracked her brain, wondering what his job had to do with anything. "You write songs."
"Right," he nodded. "But part of being a songwriter is going to the launch parties and hanging out with the musicians. I've worked with lots of people in the business. I bet if you listed some of your favorite singers, I'd even know them."
Her first reaction was to tell him she didn't care who he knew. But, judging from the grin he was wearing, he knew some pretty cool people. "Go ahead. Tell me some of the people you've worked with."
"Steven Tyler, John Mayer, the guys from Good Charlotte, Macy Gray."
"So I know some of them. So what?" Grace was unwilling to admit she was impressed. For some reason, the conversation seemed… materialistic. Eli had never needed to impress her and he'd certainly never tried using famous people. This wasn't him and it felt wrong. She liked him for who he was, didn't he know that?
"Howie Day."
Before she could stop herself, Grace blurted out, "But he writes his own music!"
Eli shrugged. "Everyone needs a little help sometimes. You used to help me, remember?"
She remembered all too well. "This light, this rain, this life…"
"This pain," he finished for her. "See, I know something about you Grace."
"Eli."
He studied her for a moment. "I need you to promise me something, okay?"
"I can try."
That wasn't the answer he was looking for, but it was something. "Promise me you'll forget everything you know about me. You'll let me prove to you that I've changed."
"I know you've changed," she told him. "You're standing in front of me, Eli. Anyone could see the difference in you."
"Then why are you still holding my past against me?"
"I'm not."
He took a step closer and Grace had to tilt her head back to look him in the eyes. "Aren't you? You won't even consider my offer because of something that happened five years ago."
"You hurt me." She could feel the emotions start to well inside of her. "Earlier you told me your heart was a little bit crushed because of last night. Talk to me when it's shattered." Grace looked away, embarrassed by the tears in her eyes. "This was a mistake."
She went to walk away, but Eli wouldn't let her. He clamped his hand down on her arm, stopping her. "Please don't."
"Don't what?" Grace asked, still not looking at him.
"Don't walk away from me, don't cry, don't…" he sighed. "Don't break my heart."
His plea nearly broke hers. "I don't know if I can do this," she confessed.
"Do what?"
She motioned between them. "If we start this and it doesn't work, I'm not sure if I can put the pieces back together again. If you hurt me—"
"I wouldn't," he interrupted her.
"If you did," Grace continued, "if you hurt me, I don't know if I could recover from that again. I changed my whole life last time, Eli. What would I do this time?"
"How do you know there will be a 'this time' Grace? How do you know already?" She just stared at him. "That's why I asked you to promise me. If this will even have a chance, then we have to let go of the past."
"What if I can't?"
Eli looked down. "Then tell me, so I can walk away now."
"You could do that?"
"I wouldn't want to, but yeah, if there wasn't a chance at all. I'd try to save myself some heartache."
Grace gave him a bittersweet smile. "So I guess you're not a fan of Tennyson, huh?"
"Who?"
She laughed at his confusion. "This guy, he was a writer and he said, 'It is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.' You don't believe that?"
"Don't you see?" he asked her. "I'm a better person because I've loved you. When we were younger, you saw something in me that was worth something. You made me want to be a better person, Grace. I have a quote of my own, you want to hear it?"
"Sure."
Eli reached up and touched her face gently. He slid his hazel eyes over it, taking in each freckle and blemish. He wanted to remember everything about this moment. From the way her hair was curled under at the ends, to the sadness in her eyes. He knew he'd be able to remember her like this, when his heart was in pieces at his feet. "You're beautiful."
She grinned. "That's your quote? How about this, 'Do you love me because I'm beautiful, or am I beautiful because you love me?'"
"Both. But that wasn't what I wanted to say." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the car keys Rick had given him earlier. He took Grace's hand and folded them around the keys. 'The saddest thing in the world is loving someone who used to love you.' I'll take a cab home. Bye, Grace."
In stunned silence, she watched him walk away.
Eli pushed a twenty through the slot. "Keep the change," he said, getting out of the car. He looked up at the house he'd spent his first sixteen years in and sighed. It was weird being back here again. There were so many memories from this house and not all of them were good. He could vividly remember shouting matches between both of his parents before their divorce, and then years later it was him who shouted at his mother.
Sighing, he walked up the front steps. He had a key and he could use it…he knew Karen wouldn't mind, but he hesitated. Finally he rang the doorbell. His mother answered a few moments later. "Eli?"
Eli felt his heart lift when he saw her. "Mom." He stepped into her open arms. "I'm sorry I didn't call."
Karen shook her head, pushing aside his apology. "This is your home. You never have to call, E. I'll always have a place for you here."
"Can I come in?"
She stepped to the side, grasping his hand. Karen followed when he lead her to the couch. "I wasn't expecting you today. Is everything okay?"
He nodded, not sure what he should tell her. In a lot of ways Eli felt his mother sometimes thought Lily and the rest of the Mannings ruined her life. Because of his situation, he didn't want her to become angry with Grace. Considering his past actions, Eli was sometimes surprised Grace would even speak to him. "Something's happened."
Karen stood, panicked. "Is it Jessie?"
"No, Mom, sit down. No one's hurt, everyone's okay."
"I don't understand, Eli. What changed over night?"
Her son looked away, unsure. "I need you to make me a promise first, Mom."
She reached over, taking his hand again. "Okay. Go on."
Eli turned his hazel eyes to hers and said, "I need to know you won't be ashamed of me. I need to know you'll still love me after what I tell you."
"Eli, there is nothing in this world powerful enough to make me stop loving you." He turned away, and she said, "Look at me. I'll never be ashamed of you."
He sighed heavily, working up the courage to tell her. He just needed to say it. "Even if I'm in love with my step-sister?"
"Wh—?"
"I'm in love with Grace, Mom."
His mother sat, stunned. Of all of the things she expected to hear, his declaration of love was on the very bottom of the list. Jessie had once mentioned Eli and Grace were close and at the time it had comforted Karen. At least someone understood him – someone other than her was willing to fight for him. In Grace, she knew Eli had someone he could count on. And vice versa. Karen knew he was waiting for her to speak, but she didn't have the words. Nothing she'd ever read, ever heard prepared her for this moment. "Have you told your father?" she asked finally.
"This morning." He squeezed his mother's hand tightly. "He was shocked, but deep down I think he expected it. Dad always knew there was something just below the surface between Grace and me. I think he thought not acknowledging it would make it go away."
"How long has this been going on?"
Eli looked at his mother, wondering if he could tell really tell her the truth. When he'd spoken to his father, he'd hesitated because of the connection Rick shared with Grace. But his mom… sure, she liked Grace, but there wasn't any love there. His father had tried to find a happy balance and a solution that would make them both happy. But Karen… she might understand how much Grace really meant. "There's been an attraction since high school."
"Eli!" she scolded. "You were two grades ahead of her!"
"I'm not exactly proud of it. We never… she was in college before anything physical happened." He couldn't believe he was telling his mother this. "I had a chance back then, but the intensity of what I felt scared me. I ran back to New York, and settled for a Grace-substitute." That decision would likely haunt him for the rest of his life. If he'd only been able to keep his pants on, maybe he would be with Grace today.
"Does she feel the same way?"
"She says she doesn't. At least not anymore. Grace won't…"
"What?" Karen asked as he trailed off. "Grace won't?" She didn't want to admit how important his answer was. If Grace was completely against him, his mother was certain he would need to back off. She didn't want her son to cross the line between love and obsession.
"She won't admit any feelings for me. Yet, she won't deny them either. It's almost become a game of cat and mouse and I don't know how to win." Eli looked at his mother, uncertain. "What do I do, Mom?"
The blonde took in his defeated shoulders and shaky voice. This wasn't her son sitting in front of her. This was a man on the verge of losing everything he ever wanted. Her head was instructing her to tell him to let it go. If Grace didn't want him, if she didn't love him, then there were certainly enough women out there who would. But she couldn't look away from his haunted eyes or the desperation in his voice. Karen knew he really, truly cared for Grace. "You do the only thing you can, honey. You fight for her."
"Eli, it's Grace again. It's been almost an hour and Jessie's movie will be out soon. I've left you three messages and you haven't called me back. Look, I'm sorry. I understand why you left and I'm not mad at you. We need to talk, okay? Just the two of us." She paused for a moment, looking at the theatre doors. People were beginning to file out, talking excitedly. In the crowd she saw her sister and stepsister. "You're right, E. There's something real between us and we should decide what to do with it. No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you." Grace clicked her phone shut just as Jessie saw her.
The two girls hurried to her, smiling. "Hey Grace. Where's everyone?"
"Will fell at the playground so Mom and Rick took him home. I stuck around to drive you home. I think your dad called and left you a voicemail."
Jessie went digging through her bag, pulling out her phone. "Yeah, there's a message. I should have checked." Clicking the phone up, she smiled. "So where's E? Is he around here somewhere?"
"No," Grace said, uncomfortably. "He left too."
"With Dad?"
The brunette shifted nervously, not wanting to lie. However, she also didn't want to get into this with Jessie. Not at the mall, in the middle of the busiest shopping day of the year. "Something came up, so he took a cab home."
"Is everything okay?" Zoë cut in. She could tell from her sister's stance that Grace wasn't being entirely honest.
"Yeah, everything's fine. He just had to go."
Jessie didn't believe her, but she'd seen the looks Eli had given her over the last couple of days. Even if hadn't said the words, Jessie was sure her brother was head over feet for Grace. What's more, she'd been certain of it for years. Jessie always noticed the way Eli's face would drop when he realized Grace wouldn't be attending a family function. While she wasn't sure what happened between them, she could guess. "Okay."
Grace smiled, grateful Jessie was letting it drop. She dug into her pockets and pulled out Rick's keys. "Let's get out of here."
Both girls quickly agreed and soon they were leaving the mall. Grace was silently wondering if she'd have even more uncomfortable questions to answer when she got home.
1. Quote from Alfred Lord Tennyson
2. Quote from 'Cinderella'
3. Author not known – anonymous.
