Chapter 17: The Morning After
Grim rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. She knew she wasn't in David's apartment anymore and she could barely remember what happened the night before. She sat up slowly because her head was pounding. I shouldn't of had all those beers, she thought as she laid her head in her hands.
"Morning, Doll Face." she heard Spot say softly, "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got hit with a damn brick." she said into her hands.
"You'll feel like that for a while." he said as he sat on the foot of the bed.
Grim looked up slowly and found the bunkroom completely empty of the boys. Spot watched Grim closely. She closed he eyes for a moment.
"Where is everyone?" she asked after a while.
"They're out selling. I sent one of my boys to Manhattan to tell Davey that you're safe." he answered.
"Thanks for…everything, Spot." she forced herself to say. "You know, for letting me stay here and all."
"Don't mention it, Doll Face."
"I…I think I should start heading out," she said as she began getting up but Spot stopped her.
"You don't have to leave so quickly. I'm not kicking you out."
"Why aren't you out selling?"
"I wanted to be here when you got up. You know, so you didn't feel alone or something."
"Did something happened last night?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You're being nice to me. Why? What happened last night?"
"Nothing happened. We talked. We fought. You fell asleep. I'd say it was an unproductive night in my book."
Grim nodded slightly as she looked away from him. Spot tried not to look like he was staring at her. During the night, her hair fell out of it's pins and it hung lazily around her face. She looked beautiful in the morning light. Grim felt around in her hair and started pulling out the pins she winced when one of the pins got caught in her hair.
"Let me help you." Spot said as he began untangling the pin then, once he got it out, he handed it to her, "There you go."
"Thank you." she said quietly.
"Do you want to sell here today and I'll walk you back later for lunch?" he offered.
"I think it would be best if I went back soon. David must be worried."
"You're probably right."
"Does your boys think something happened between us?"
"I made sure no ideas popped into their heads." he stared at her a moment, "Are you okay?"
"My head is killing me." she answered.
"That'll happen when you drink so much."
"Yeah, I figured that out." she snapped.
"I'm not going to fight with you, Grim. I'm having a good morning." he said calmly.
"I wasn't trying to start a fight. I was stating a fact." she said then a thought popped into her head, "Where did you sleep last night?"
"I didn't sleep. I wasn't tired." he answered.
"Okay," she said slowly, "where did you…sit…last night?"
"Don't worry about where I sat. All you need to know is that you were safe and I wasn't going to let anyone touch you."
"I'm thinking about leaving." she suddenly said.
"Give me a few minutes and I'll walk you back." he said as he stood up.
"No, Spot," she said quickly, "I'm not talking about going back to Manhattan."
"What are you talking about? Leaving New York City? You want to just get up and leave everything behind?"
"It's not like I have anything here."
"You don't have anything here? Did I hear you right? You have a life here. You have friends here. These guys will look for you."
"I don't care. It's not like they'll find me."
"David will go looking for you." he pointed out.
"He won't find me." she said as she got up then she walked passed Spot.
"When are you going to stop running, Grim?" he called to her.
"I'm not running."
"Yes, you are. You're running away from something and, to be honest, you have nothing to hide from."
"I'm not running and I'm not hiding from anything!" she yelled, "I just can't do this anymore. This isn't how it's suppose to be. I'm suppose to be alone."
"Then why did you come here? Why didn't you just stayed where you were? It would have been a lot easier than trying to talk to you into believing people actually cares about whether you lived or died."
"You don't care whether I lived or died." she shot at him.
"If I didn't," he stepped towards her, "then I would have just left you out there last night. Anyone could have taken advantage of you or you could have walked right off the docks and drowned because you were so drunk but I didn't let that happen. You know why? I care about you even though it goes against everything I am."
Grim looked away from him. If she left, then David will find another girl and be forced to forget about her. If she stays, then she'll be with someone who'll love and care for her. Spot was right. David would go looking for her and she wouldn't want him to go searching all over God's green earth looking for her alone. If she didn't know any better, she would say that she actually…had strong feelings for him. She might even love him if she knew what that word really means. David was worried about her. She knew this.
And then there's Spot. She's nothing like him and doesn't ever what to be but there's something in him that interest Grim. He was experienced and hard to the world but yet he would let Grim inside his world once in a while. She definitely knew there would be no way she could ever be with him. He wouldn't fight for her. Those kisses they shared meant nothing to him. If she went missing like she did to David, Spot probably wouldn't worry about her. She knew this too because he made thins very clear.
"I don't believe you." Grim finally answered.
"You don't believe that I care about you? Why would I lie about that?"
"Everything you told me about yourself tells me otherwise."
"Fine," he shrugged, "I'm lying, Grim. Everything I just told you is a complete lie. I would have gladly let you walk off to face danger alone. I didn't sit on the floor near the bed the whole night because I wanted to keep you safe. I sat there for my health. I kissed you because I could. This whole thing is just a game for me."
"You don't have to mock me."
"Me? Mocking you? Of course not. Why would I do that?"
"Well," she gave him a fake smile, "thanks again, Spot, for everything. I have to go now."
With that, Spot watched Grim turn around and walked out of the bunkroom. Of all the girls he could fall for, it just had to be Grim. At least he did a good job at keeping her at arm's length. She'll never believe him now if he told her that she means a lot more to him than she'll ever know. Spot shook his head then began getting ready for the day.
David was sitting on a bench near his selling spot watching wealthy men walk by on their way to work. He still couldn't believe that Grim left last night like she did. Why could his parents just let him be and talked to him when she was gone? On top of everything, she went to Brooklyn! How the hell did she walk all the way over there in her state?, he thought. Well, Spot got what he wanted. David knew he wanted to take advantage of Grim at the meeting. He hated the way Spot was staring at her. He couldn't bring himself to think of what might have went on between Spot and Grim last night. Spot could sweet talk a nun into being sinful. He was becoming sick just thinking about Grim being in Brooklyn with Spot.
"Morning, David." he suddenly heard Grim next to him.
"David turned to look at her. Grim was staring at her skirt. Her hair fell in her face making it hard for David to see her expression. She wanted to look at him so badly but she didn't want to see any pain that she knew would be in his eyes.
"How was Brooklyn?" he asked with an edge in his voice.
"It's not what you think." she answered.
"You can't blame me for thinking it."
"I'm sorry." she said quietly.
"Why, Edna?" he asked which made her finally look at him, "Why didn't you stay?"
"You're parents didn't want me there."
"Who cares? I wanted you there. You had to stay there because you couldn't walk on your own. I was so worried about you and I prayed that you were at the lodging house."
"Well, I was at the lodging house." she jumped in.
"True but I wasn't thinking Brooklyn." he said, trying to keep his voice calm and low.
"I…I don't have a good reason for going there and you have every right to be angry with me."
"Wait, why aren't you snapping at me?"
"Because I want to leave on a good note." she answered.
"Leave? What do you mean leave?"
"I'm leaving New York." she said quickly as she got up and was about to walk away.
"You can't walk away from this like nothing's happening." he grabbed her arm and turned her around, "Why are you leaving? Is it because my parents doesn't like you? If you keep running every time someone doesn't like you, you'll run out of places to hide."
"My God, how many times do I have to say this? I'm not hiding. It's just best for everyone if I left."
"Best for who, Edna? My parents?"
"Best for us, David. Trust me. We'll be better off without each other."
"If you leave, I'm going with you." he said quickly.
"Why would you do that? Your family is here and your friends. You should be with them." she urged.
"I should be with you." he answered.
"You can't make me stay." she said quietly.
"And you can't make me not go with you."
Grim didn't say anything at first. She was breaking his heart and she hated it. I should stay, she thought. She doesn't have a real reason for leaving but that's what she was good at. Whenever she got in trouble at the organization or got angry because she go overlooked by potential parents, she would leave for the night but this was different. She didn't have anyone that she cared about there.
Maybe there could be a reason for her to leave. She could find answers to why she's like this and she could be a better person to David. He keep telling her that maybe everything she heard about her mother was wrong. What if he was right?, she thought. If he is right, everything she knew would be put into question and her whole world could collapse. She would take that chance if it meant staying with David.
"I have to go." she said quickly.
"Edna," she started to follow her.
"I just have to do something, David. I'll do all the selling tomorrow but I have to see Zelda. I'll see you later." she kissed his cheek quickly then left down the street leaving David completely upset and confused.