Chapter 5

Before the sun had set, we were near enough completely unpacked. More by luck than anything. Well, I suppose with a total of four of us all working on unpacking boxes into their corresponding rooms, we didn't have much work to do. Zed and Jack had kept arguing with Grace about lifting heavy items, something even I had started doing, so they dumped her to do the bathroom where all items weighed less than a kilogram. She had then helped me with the bedroom whilst the boys were downstairs doing all the slightly manlier stuff.

'I vote KFC,' Grace said, gently rubbing her bump as I smiled softly at her. We were all on the settee, Zed to my left and Grace to the right, her legs across mine. Jack was in the kitchen washing down the worktops from saw dust where him and Zed decided they wanted to add more cabinet doors.

'What's KFC?' Zed asked, leaning forward to see her as she rolled her eyes.

'You just can't get the staff now-a-days can you,' Grace joked to me. 'Chicken and chips, Zed, take away chicken and chips,'

'Chips? You have chips with chicken?' Zed said and even I frowned at him for a second before realising he had only been in England for a few weeks when Yves found Phee, so he thought we meant chips in reference to crisps.

'You didn't train him in English very well, did you Sky?' Grace said, sitting up and moving her shoes telekinetically to her, leaning down to throw them and tie the laces.

'I didn't realise he was this bad,' I laughed gently, leaning into Zed. 'Fries, love,' I said to him softly and he nodded in realisation.

'Sky, wanna come with?' Grace asked and I nodded. I knew she said she'd come and find me later to ask why I was so down at the moment but I didn't quite know what to say to her. I don't think she'd understand. Either way, I pulled on my converse over the top and Zed frowned at me.

I'll tell you later, I whispered to Zed and Grace raised her eyebrow at me. I forgot she could hear telepathy. I cut off before Zed could reply.

'Who's car you wanna take?'

'Er, not mine,' I said to Grace and she nodded. Jack came out around the door and chucked a set of keys at her.

'Oh, you're throwing the Audi keys now?' She joked with him and he smiled happily at her, winking slightly.

'I'll have my normal, love,' Jack said to her and she nodded opening the door to chauffer me out. As i walked out, she followed me and slammed the door closed, before jogging up the path and getting in the driver's seat of the Audi, she leaned across to unlock my door as I got it. Without saying anything she drove off, leading out from the small road we were on, onto another small road, before indicating to pull up. She stuck the handbrake on before she sat in the car.

'So what's up, Sky?' She asked me gently and for some reason, I just broke down crying. All the stress since our Spain holiday came collapsing down on me and I broke. Grace, bless her, came straight into action and pulled out a packet of tissues and started hugging me slightly awkwardly across the controls. 'Oh, please don't because then I'll start –'

'Sorry, I don't even know why I'm crying,' I whispered to her.

'This has been a massive change, Sky, you've moved out from your parents and in to a strange area with your boyfriend. I've done that part, and I regretted it for two months because I missed home – and I only lived thirty minutes away. But you also know why you've been forced to move. It's okay to be like this, Sky,' Grace said to me softly as I continued to cry. 'But for the sake of the boys back at home, get it together and stop crying so I won't cry so I can go and get us food,' Grace joked and I smiled.

'I feel like I'm letting Zed down, he's going through it as well,'

'He's not doing as well as you think either, Sky, he was on the phone to me about thirty hours ago stressing,' Grace explained.

'Why?'

'About you, you lamp. He was terrified about how you're doing and he knows you've been hiding it from him too, and he's just terrified that you're not okay. You need to talk to him,' Grace said softly. 'Listen to the pregnant woman here, she gives alright advice,'

'But what would I say to him?'

'I dunno, ask if he's okay. Tell him you're scared, tell him you don't want to be alone. If Zed won't listen to you, I don't know what else to do. I have known that boy obviously since he was born and he is as nice and happy as he has ever been. We've always been close, but Zed hasn't always been this nice. You met him when he was an asshole, correct?'

'Yeah?' I asked through my tears as Grace gave me a pack of tissues from Jack's Audi cubby holes.

'He was still being a nice asshole then. Want to know why? When you rocked up at school he had the biggest crush on you ever. So he was attempting to be nice. He was so much worse than anyone thinks and that why you were such a good thing. You've made him so nice and understanding to the point we have deep conversations about views on topical things like the Government or the President or views on teenage pregnancy. He is so nice and understanding and it's awfully upsetting that you can't see that because you've never seen both sides and you've never seen him when he was his moody asshole.' Grace explained to me softly as I nodded, sniffling away in her fiancées new car. If Jack had seen me cry in his Audi he might have killed me. Grace however doesn't and just looks at me full of concern. 'I'll mention to him you're not holding up too good,'

'He'll think I'm stupid,' I shook my head.

'He'll think you have reason and a sense of morality. If you could just move away from your family and friends without a sense of sadness or guilt you'd be a sociopath and then we'd have bigger issues ,' Grace said and I smiled slightly.

'My cousin – he's a dick but he loves you to absolute pieces and he wants you to be happy. Throughout this whole thing he kept asking me if you're okay and if you'd be safe – never about him. You are his world, much like Jack is mine. You just need to talk to him. He'll understand completely, but he won't ever understand if you don't tell him, alright?' Grace said and I nodded.

I could tell she would be the best mother her baby could ever have – she already had the maternal caring tone about her voice which just screamed "IM A MUM AND PROUD" and she had calmed me down in record time with very wise words.

'I wish you knew how nice you are to talk too,' I whispered to her.

'I didn't get the nickname of mother goose for nothing,' Grace laughed softly, starting the engine before pulling away again.

'How did you meet Jack – I couldn't help but notice he's Australian,' I asked her, wanting to change the topic to know more about her apart from what Zed had told me.

'Me and my two brothers – Nick and Ben – we were in Australia for some conference and we had the day off so we went down to a surfers beach a few miles from Sydney for a surfing day. Us three had always loved surfing and water and we were all basically fish, we would thrive in water like Zed does to snow. We used to always go down to the coast in England – it was about an hour drive – just to surf. So Australia is known for good surf, we were buzzing. Went down, got changed, noticed one of the lifeguards was staring at me. Well, both of them was but one was a bit more than others. Didn't take too much notice, but as I walked past the taller one panicked and dropped his shirt so I thought to piss him off I would fling it at him with as much sand as I could. I did a good job of pissing him off, and little did I know that said lifeguard was Jack, my Soulfinder, and by pissing him off it meant his gift was loose to say, and he can manipulate weather, so he tried his best to try and drown me and my two brothers. We were all fine – we surfed each of the ten foot waves he made in our direction. We got back to the beach, laughing and my brothers went to go and get the bags from the car and I sat on the beach. Jack came over to yell at me, I told him where to stick it. He telepathically told me to fuck off, and I telepathically told him to walk into a brick wall and here we are two years later,' Grace explained, driving back down the roads before slowing down next to one. 'We live there, if you're wondering,'

'That's a hell of a story,' I laughed gently and she shrugged.

'It would never be easy with both of us in the picture,' Grace said. 'Same with you and Zed – two completely different people. I mean... you're nice,' she joked, pulling out onto the main road.

'Do you think this case will blow over,' I asked her and she sat there in silence for a minute or two.

'I have no idea.' She said honestly. 'Someone has told the people that you're eighteen, in America, going to college with your boyfriend who's also a Savant which is why the manhunt for you has started up. I will personally kill the person who done that to you. I don't know if they'll give up because they can't find you, or keep going until they do. But I don't think they will. You changed continents – they won't ever find you now,'

'But you can't be certain,'

'Nothing is ever certain,' Grace simply said, killing into the car park. 'Do you want to stay in the car? I shouldn't be too long,' She said and I nodded. I was already in my pyjamas and didn't exactly feel like it was a good idea to get changed. Grace opened the door, pocketing the car key and closed all the doors on lock with the central locking as she wandered across the road and into the KFC. I could see her the entire time, waiting patiently in the queue.

I looked forward back to the busy junction as I thought of what Grace had told me. Nothing is ever certain. Whilst it wasn't the best thing she could have told me it was truthful; they couldn't suddenly assure me that nothing would happen because that would be straight up lying. But if Grace thought we were safe enough to be over here I had trusted her.

Focusing on the stream of traffic and the amount of removal vans or hire vans going down the road to my left I could only assume the university would be down there. It hadn't quite sunk in yet that I would be living with Zed for the next few years. Living with my Soulfinder. I knew Tina had mentioned moving in with Nelson when they go to Denver college together but I seemed hesitant to even say the same with Zed. Even though we were Soulfinders and we were always meant to be together I knew he was so far out of my league. Everyone at school even agreed with me. Something made me do a double take on the traffic.

On the side of a van heading towards the university was the normal logo of the rental hire, but had spray paint writing on the side. I read it once, twice but it only had an impact on the third time I read it.

We know you're here. We're coming to find you! :]