Eli opened his eyes when he heard the door slam.

His body suddenly tensed up, and he leapt from his bed and ran into the house.

"Grace?" he called as he ran into the hallway- his entire face dimmed when he saw it was only Jessie and Zoe.

His entire body sunk, and his heart seemed to deteriorate a little bit more.

Jessie lifted Zoe's science project out of her hands while she took her coat off, it was a large paper model of the earth, sun and other orbiting planets

Jessie looked up when she heard Eli coming, and shot him a deathly stare when he arrived to greet them.

"Hello to you too!" Jessie scowled.

She handed Zoe back her practically life sized project, as she slung her jacket off aswell.

Eli looked at his sister with a questioning face; it was unknown to him why Jessie was in such a bad mood………

Zoe walked past Eli, deliberately bumping him with her shoulder as she walked past- Eli turned and watched her walk into the kitchen……..ok, so all three of his sisters were pissed with him today………

"What?" he asked innocently.

Jessie sighed, then turned to her brother, staring him icily in the eye- "where were you?" she asked, sharply.

Eli continued to look at her puzzled- was this some sort of riddle?

"I called you 5 times E!" Jessie complained, crossing her arms.

ELI I really hate it when girls do that!

"Oh……..Jess!" it all suddenly clicked……….Eli was supposed to pick up Jessie and Zoe from school today!

"Don't 'oh Jess' me Eli……..where were you that you couldn't pick up the phone?" Jessie asked angrily.

"We had to walk ALL the way home……..with Zoe's stupid project………!" Jessie added, tilting her head to the side as she waited for Eli's excuse.

Eli ran a hand through his hair, trying to think of an excuse……..in the end, the truth would have to do.

"I was asleep!" He confessed.

Jessie's stare seemed to grow more intense and more icy, "you were sleeping……….why weren't you at work?………and since when have you become such a heavy sleeper you couldn't hear the phone?"

ELI siblings always seem to know…….that hitting you when your down is the best way to go for ultimate pain!

"Well, Eli?" she asked again, as her patience withered.

Eli sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly feeling a terrible strain slicing through his body.

"They didn't need me at work today………." He said, quietly, but Jessie didn't give him time to explain the rest.

She shook her head and stormed past him, muttering to herself out loud; "had the entire day off and was too busy doing NOTHING to pick up his sister!"

Eli turned and watched her leave; then remembered he had bigger problems than Jessie……..he had Grace to worry about……..


She contemplated returning to school; maybe sit in the library and get some homework done………or just sit in the quiet and cry softly.

But as she began walking, she found herself unable to stop; her feet were in a rhythmic trance that she couldn't snap them out of……..and she ended up walking around her block 3 or 4 times, and then headed down the end of their road, to the playground her father took her to as a child.

When she got there, her feet seemed to automatically stop; and she took rest on a bench, and watched as the children who had just got back from school, played happily.

For a little while, her mind seemed to numb; and the thoughts that were once pounding and racing in her head, calmed, and eventually completely vanished; but only for a little while………..

She became mesmerized as she watched the children; back and fourth on the swing, dangling from the monkey bars, rushing down the slide……..it all enthralled her, partly because it helped her veer her thoughts……….

GRACE can I take that back……….that moment of my life, can I just rewind and delete it? stare's into camera for a long time, then bites her lower lip Do I want to take it back?

Grace watched as a little boy, with brown curly hair, wearing a bright red jumper, glided down the slide………his hair whipping back, and his smile curving………until finally………his father caught him at the end, and bundled him up into his strong arms.

Grace smiled, as she watched them; and then realized, they were the last 3 people left in the playground………the little boy, his father, and Grace

GRACE with no one to catch me ……..

The rest of her surroundings began to sink in; the dimming light, as night began to fall around her……..the deserted playground………her still quivering lips, and shivering body.

She suddenly realized that there was a soft, yet chilly wind brushing against her skin- she looked down at herself, and saw that she had no coat on.

She blinked her eyes a few times, then examined her watch, it was 5:30, her mother and Rick would be home by 6:00……..and no one knew where she was.

Suddenly the memory she'd pushed aside for an hour and a half, flooded back into her thoughts; and Eli's vivid lips, and warm hands seemed to brush over her again……..as though she was reliving the moment……….reliving the kiss……..

She shivered again, a mixture of the cold air and exhausting thoughts causing her body to ice over, she hugged herself, and rose from the bench, as she stood she felt her entire body stiffen.

As she started to walk away, she looked over her shoulder one last time- and took in the playground……..she smiled as she saw the little boy with his red jumper, walk hand in hand with his father, as they went the opposite direction to Grace.

She smiled, and then felt a single tear roll down her cheek- because some how she knew, the moment of sanctuary she'd just found, was probably her last moment of normality……..somehow she knew that after today……..after that kiss………

GRACE ……….nothing will ever be the same again.