Someday you'll know
that I was the one for you...
'How could Grace be here with him? How could she do this to me?' He tried to move but was frozen, his hand stuck on the doorknob. His fiancee was asleep in her stepbrother's bed. His heart was shattering into a million pieces and he had no way to stop it. 'We are a perfect match. I love her. She loves me. We are in love and we're getting married and Mr. rebel without a cause won't stop us. I'll forgive her for this and I won't hold it over her head. I'll forgive and forget. She had a moment of weakness. Things like that happen. Maybe she had jitters, they talked, and Eli took advantage of her. He seems like the type to do that. Grace and I will get married and will live happily ever after and he'll go back to whatever hole he crawled out of in order to attend the wedding.'
Geoff pulled his hand off the doorknob and slowly closed the distance between them. "Grace wake up and get dressed. We're going. Grace, dammit, wake up." He saw her stir and watched as Eli's eyes flew open.
"What are you doing here? Get out of my mother's house. You do not belong here." Eli got out of bed, looked at Grace, and continued. "I said you need to leave Geoff. Now." Eli would not let Geoff hurt Grace.
Geoff decided he wasn't going down without a fight. "No, I'm not leaving until I talk to Grace. She'll leave with me and you can go back to wherever you came from. You left her before and you'll leave her again so let's save time and you can simply leave now. Grace, get dressed, we have to be at the rehearsal soon." Geoff looked at her and watched as tears formed in her eyes. "I know sweetheart. I love you too. It's okay, I forgive you." Geoff took a step closer and was abruptly stopped.
That statement Geoff made was enough to send Eli over the edge. He stepped between Geoff and the bed and didn't move. "Stop. Don't get any closer to Grace. You need to leave my mother's house now or I will help you leave. I don't want to do that but if I have to, well, I will." Eli noticed Grace was searching for her clothes. "Here Grace, I'm sorry." Eli handed her his shirt that was at the end of the bed.
Grace finally spoke. "Look, Geoff can you go downstairs please? You're right, we do need to talk but we are not talking here. Go downstairs and wait for me. Now Geoff." Eli and Grace watched Geoff slowly walk out of the bedroom and shut the door behind him.
Eli immediately went to Grace and held her as he whispered, "I'm sorry babe, I didn't check the door to make sure it was locked. I didn't know he'd show up here. Hell, I didn't know he knew where we would be. I'm sorry Grace, I'm so sorry."
Through her tears Grace said, "I have to go E. I have to talk to him now. I have to tell him I cannot marry him. I have to tell him how much I love you. I just don't know how to tell him any of it. Did you see his face?" Grace was terrified. She'd just found her true love and now, slowly, painfully, everything was crumbling down around her.
Her life she'd known before today had vanished and in its place appeared the life she knew she'd dreamed of all her life. 'How do I tell hm we can't get married tomorrow? Where will we go? The park. We'll go to the park and then I'll come back here to be with Eli. Oh god, Eli.' Grace looked at Eli and placed her hand gently on his cheek. "I love you Eli, don't ever forget that. I will be back. Will you wait here or are you going back to the house with everyone else? Maybe you should go back and let them know where I am. They need to know and I can't talk to Mom right now."
Eli didn't know what to do. He could almost feel his heart beginning to break all over again not knowing what the future held for them. "Your mother wont kill me will she?" Eli knew he had to tell everyone but he wasn't convinced how they would all react. "I love your mom but she is still your mother and as of this afternoon, I am your...what am I Grace? Are we lovers? Am I your boyfriend? Your true love? Your one in a million? The love of your life?"
He paused a moment to gaze at the smile that appeared on her face. "There's the smile I fell in love with so long ago. I'm sorry; I had to make you smile somehow. Don't worry, I'll go to the house and let everyone know you're talking to...to him. Okay? Do you want me to go ahead and tell them you're not getting married? We can call everyone that's going to be there so you won't have to. I will do whatever you want me to do. I don't want you to hurt anymore Grace. I want to make your life as easy as possible from now on." Eli kissed her cheek and said, "You'd better get the rest of your clothes on and get down there before he comes back up here with his fists flying. I'll have to hurt him and you don't want that." Eli smiled and walked around the bed picking up their scattered clothing. He placed Grace's clothes on the bed beside her. He pulled his jeans on and waited for Grace to hand him his shirt.
Grace put her clothes on and when she finished, Eli was sitting on the bed. "Are you okay? You can stay here and I'll come back if you don't want to face the families. You really don't have to do that. We'll go there together considering we're in this together from now on." Grace took Eli's hand in hers and pulled him off the bed. "Stand up so you can give me a proper good-bye Eli Sammler, love of my life." Eli stood, they hugged a moment, Eli kissed her and Grace pulled away. "I have to go. I don't want to but you and I know I have to."
She sighed. "So I'll see you at the house a little later?" Eli nodded and Grace continued. "I love you E. I wont be long. I promise. And no, he will not convince me I need to marry him." Grace kissed him and turned toward the door. Not able to look at him again and see the pain and fear in his eyes, she opened the bedroom door and made her way downstairs. Eli sat down on the bed and waited for the sound of the front door closing before he moved.
Grace found Geoff in the living room staring at a picture. It was taken at her dad's wedding reception. Karen told Eli she wanted a picture of the four kids together and somehow Grace and Eli were side by side in between Zoe and Jessie. Grace smiled, remembering the reception. 'Another moment alone with Eli I never took advantage of. So many missed chances. We have our chance now. Our own chance of a lifetime that I will not let slip away. It's now or never Grace.' Grace took a deep breath and spoke, "Geoff, we need to go now. You can't be here, it's not right."
"Oh, and you up there with him, that's right?" Geoff was hurt and angry and would not pull any punches. "Grace, you are my fiancee. We are getting married tomorrow or have you forgotten? What, did he threaten you? Is that what happened? Why did you do this? How could you have sex with him the day before we're to be married? My god Grace, I thought you had morals."
Grace was furious. "Eli would never threaten me, unlike you. And I have morals Geoff. I did not manipulate you the last two years like you've done to me. I never made you fear me at any moment of our relationship. Can you say the same? What about Natalie? What happened with her Geoff? You cheated on me and thought I would never know. Bull. I knew. I always knew but you made me feel so badly about myself I didn't have the courage to leave. In my mind I was convinced no one else would love me. You warped my mind so much I didn't know what was up and what was down. I became a person I didn't recognize anymore when I looked in the mirror. I've never had much confidence but what I did have you sucked right out of me. Now dammit Geoff, I am not discussing this anymore in Karen's home. We'll go to the park." When he didn't move, she spoke again. "Geoff we're going to the park now." Grace had found her courage she'd lost over the years. She would stand strong. Grace was no longer afraid.
Geoff followed Grace to the park. The rain had stopped and as Grace got out of her car she was mesmerized by the beauty of the park after a storm. She didn't feel Geoff walk up behind her until he put his arms around her waist. "Geoff, no don't. It's over. We're over." She stepped away from him and turned to face him. "I'm sorry. I really am. I...I...I have no idea how to put all this into words. I have been in love with Eli so many years that I can't even remember a time when I wasn't in love with him. I hid it for so long I guess I thought I didn't love him anymore. I thought I was over him and had accepted the fact that he and I would never be. I never intended to hurt you. I never dreamed Eli was in love with me. I guess I should have told you about Eli and how I always felt. I didn't want you to worry. I didn't want you to wonder if he'd show up and I'd leave. Which I suppose is what happened anyway."
Grace paused, knowing her explanation wasn't helping things any and searched for another direction...something he knew, something he could understand. "Geoff, you never made anything easy for me in our relationship. You know you cheated on me. You know you were manipulative. You know I was afraid of you and would never admit it to anyone. It's not completely your fault and I know I am to blame as well. I let all of it happen. I never warned you and I didn't give myself time or space to get over my feelings for Eli. I loved you Geoff...not the way I needed to but I loved you. When you walked into a room I didn't lose my breath. When I saw your smile after a long day of classes, it didn't lift my spirits like Eli's used to. The sound of your voice never made me lose all track of everything the instant I heard it. I just never got butterflies for you and I doubt you did for me. You and I aren't meant to be and no matter how you want to deny that, you know it's true." Grace paused a moment waiting to see if Geoff would say anything. He didn't. He stood there speechless. She no longer knew what else to say and waited.
Geoff turned away. 'I thought we were meant to be. I still don't see how she could do this. My fault? It's not my fault in any way. She was the one that slept with her stepbrother. I'll bet their families won't be happy with them. I can't say anything to get her back. I've lost her. I've lost Grace. What do I do? What do I tell my family? At least she won't have to be alone when she's facing her family. I have to say something. What do I say? What can I possibly say?' Geoff spoke in a whisper, "Grace, I don't blame you. You're right. I wasn't the man you needed. I don't know why and I don't know what I could have done differently but I know I'm not the man for you. I don't want to give you up Grace. I love you." 'There, that should do it. In a few weeks she'll come to her senses and realize I'm the one for her and we're meant to be. I'll be waiting.'
"Geoff, it's over. I'm sorry, but I cannot marry you. We would be miserable together. I don't know what else to say. I've said all I can to you and we both need to move on. I need to go now. I have to get back home. I have to tell everyone what happened. Tell your family...well, tell them I'm sorry." Grace turned toward her car and stopped. "I truly am sorry for everything Geoff." Grace knew she wasn't the only one that needed to apologize for what went wrong with their relationship, but she realized he would never say he was sorry for anything. She got in her car and pulled away from him forever, making her way home. 'Home to Eli where I belong.'