Chapter 16 - Sad Girl

"Ludwig?" Gracie stared back at me before completely cutting herself off and looking down at her feet. "Sorry." she said. "Did you need to go?"

I shook my head, still a little traumatised and stricken from what I had just seen. "No, I'm okay. I was just taking a little walk around. I couldn't sleep. Are you okay?"

Gracie sniffed and rubbed her nose. "Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about me." Then she gave me an acknowledging nod before walking past me in the direction of Main Camp.

"Hey, where are you going?" I asked, despite already knowing the answer.

"I'm going back to bed." Gracie replied, her voice still a little shaky. She turned around and put a hand to her forehead. "I really need to go to sleep."

I sighed inside my head and watched sadly as Gracie walked further away from me. Oh… I really wished that she had trusted me enough to listen to her troubles. Secretly, I wanted to get to know her more and I thought that I wouldn't get the chance to do so in front of all my campmates otherwise they would take the mick out of me for trying to 'rizz up a girl', which was language that annoyed the hell out of me. Even more reason why I needed to talk to Gracie now. Yes, it was late, but in this case, it was better late than never.

"I won't let you back to Camp, Gracie." I said, which caused her to turn around, her eyes shooting lasers of apprehension.

"Why?" Gracie asked.

"Because…it's too late. I've already seen you like this and I can't let you go back to bed sad. I-I can't."

"Why are you saying this to me of all people?"

"I'm not just saying it to you, I say it to everyone. Now, do you want to talk to me about how you're feeling?" I cringed. Oh, great. Why did it have to come out like that? Why did it have to make me sound like a therapist?

"Um…" Gracie hesitated before letting out a sharp sigh, allowing her voice to wobble again. "I'm sorry, Ludwig. I really can't."

"Gracie, please." I begged. "If you tell me what's wrong, I swear, I will not judge you. I'm not one of those people, and besides, if you carry around all this weight by yourself with no company, I sincerely doubt that you're going to make it through the night." I moved closer and looked into Gracie's gorgeous turquoise eyes that were ever so gradually filling up with tears. "So, do you think we should find a comfy spot and sort this all out?"

Gracie nodded and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah. Where are we going to go?"

I squinted off into the direction I was originally going and a smile formed in the cracks of my mouth. "I know just the place. Follow me."

I began walking further down the pathway with Gracie silently following me from behind. Genuinely, I did not know how to act towards her right now. I didn't know whether I should remain silent or whether I should talk to her supportively. But… if I decided to do that, then what would I say without it sounding awkward?

Luckily, my worries were wiped out in a flash when Gracie asked softly, "Where are we going?"

"Oh, don't worry." I said, grinning upon hearing her sweet voice again. Oh…she was just the cutest. "We're not going anywhere dangerous. You might think I'm crazy, but before I came here, I had a dream about being in Camp and that I was walking in the direction of a lovely lake and believe it or not, there actually is a lake in this place. That's where we're going." I turned around, half expecting Gracie to say I was weird, but instead, her expression looked completely different. It looked as if she was trying to show interest, but she was too tired. "It's okay. You can say it's weird if you want to."

Gracie shook her head and attempted a smile. "No, no. I don't think that at all. In fact, I think a lake is quite a nice place to be and…it's also nice to talk out your problems."

At this point, we had reached the entrance, and through the branches of the trees, I could see the light of the moon reflected on the lake's surface. I also saw that there was a little wooden bench without a backrest sitting near the water's edge, but I decided not to sit there with Gracie because I felt that…it just wasn't right for this sort of situation. The moonlight on the surface bounced right into my face and I was left there, mesmerised at how inviting and fantastical this place was in real life. However, when I looked back up at Gracie, I could see that it had the same effect on her as well and that she was breathing deeply, so I knew that now was the time for her to deliver her emotions. I beckoned for Gracie to sit down next to me against the trunk of a tree so that we faced the lake.

"What's been troubling you?" I asked. "Tell me."

"Well…" I saw Gracie's eyes welling up with tears as her face screwed up and she put a hand over her mouth. "I… It sounds so stupid but… I'm really homesick."

At once, I felt a tidal wave of sympathy crash over me. I knew full well what that was like because just ten minutes ago, I had been lying in my bed wishing I was tucked up in my own bed back in the UK, but from Gracie's point of view, perhaps her case of homesickness was somewhat different to mine. "Hey, it's okay to feel like this. I mean, it's our first night here and we're very far away from home." After saying that however, I instantly regretted it because Gracie buried her face in her hands.

"Oh, Gracie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that, I was just…trying to help…" My voice trailed off because I realised that making her cry even more was thousands, no, millions of miles away from helping.

"It's okay." Gracie wiped her face and looked up at me. "I know you were trying to help, but…I still can't help missing everyone I love. My mum and dad…and my brother…"

I felt the exact same. Every night, I went to bed happy because I was used to waking up in the morning thinking that I was safe and secure and that I would see my friends, but the fact that I wouldn't made me feel more relatable to Gracie. "Well, I can't say I feel any different to you." I said. "But trust me," Now my sympathy for this sweet, vulnerable girl had grown so robust that I couldn't help but place a hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay. It's only for three weeks, think of it as a little holiday, and before you know it, you'll get to see your family again. Yeah?" I was expecting Gracie to look up at me and say that she sort of understood me, but she didn't. "Gracie?"

After about a few seconds, she turned her head towards me, a single tear creating a pathway down her cheek. "I…I probably shouldn't be so open with what I'm about to say, but since you seem to be the only one I can trust here, I really don't care."

These words fell onto my head like soft spring rain and I felt like I was going to float up into the clouds. Yes, Gracie probably didn't like me back, but my god did I feel a tornado of affection from her, sweeping me up into the air and spinning me round. "Okay then." I said softly. "What is it you want to tell me?"

Gracie took a long, shaky breath before she began. "Well, the truth is…I've just been hurt. Like, really hurt…"

"Why?" I asked.

"I've…I've just recently lost my brother. My older brother. I really don't know how to be happy right now, I don't know how to enjoy this experience, I don't even know how to be myself anymore. He's just on my mind constantly."

"Wow." I put a hand to my mouth. "You've been carrying this weight around you all day and you didn't think to tell any of us?"

"I'm sorry." Gracie sniffled. "I just…didn't feel comfortable. See, whenever I try and confess my worries or my problems, they just feelstupid coming out of my mouth."

"Don't worry, I'm not having a go at you. I'm just worried about how you're feeling." I gave Gracie another rub on the shoulder, even though all I wanted to do was pull her into a loving embrace, wipe away her tears and plant soft kisses all over her face. Absolutely anything to make her feel comforted. "Now, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your brother?"

"Do you want the long version or the short version?"

"Long version. I want to know as much as possible just so I can understand."

"Okay…" Wiping away more sorrowful tears, Gracie breathed in and began again. "So, it all started about two days after the I'm A Koopa people called me. I was upstairs in my room watching TV, completely minding my own business and totally unaware that something tragic was going to happen…"

I kept on nodding and giving Gracie eye contact the entire time; I wanted her to know that I was all ears. "And what happened?" I asked, shrinking back a little and hardly daring to think about what she was about to say next.

"Well, all of a sudden, I heard this mighty shout and the next thing I knew, my mum was yelling at me to come downstairs, but I noticed that she wasn't using that angry tone that mums sometimes use, she sounded more stressed and panicked. I ran downstairs into the living room and I saw my brother George sprawled out on the floor…shaking and convulsing. I tried saying his name and it looked like he was trying to reply, but he didn't. After about twenty seconds, he just…suddenly stopped dead. Literally dead."

"Oh my gosh…" I whispered. "Did he have a seizure?"

"Heart attack. See, George had this heart condition all his life and…all the way through it, I tried to make sure I absolutely worshipped him because I never knew when he would go." Gracie buried her face in her hands again and cried. "I can't believe George died right in front of me. He was only fifteen…so young… I just wasn't ready…"

Right. Now I was almost as upset as Gracie. I just couldn't leave her in this condition. I wasn't going to let my shyness take over, I had to jump in. "You know, it looks like you need every single bit of comfort that exists. I mean, this only happened a few days ago and I honestly don't blame you for acting this way. I doubt that all those other twats back at Camp would want to comfort you because they all think they're better than everyone else, so…do you want me to give you comfort?" I gulped and brought myself to ask a question I couldn't believe I would ask. "Do you want a hug, Gracie?"

I sat there hunched up against the tree, my heart thumping as I waited for her to respond. At last, her gorgeous face could be seen and she replied, "Yes please…" And with that, I stretched out my arms and wrapped Gracie up in a warm hug. I felt like doubling over laughing with joy at what I had…accomplished I guess you could say, but I decided not to show it, I just smiled and reassured her in the way a boyfriend would. "It's all right, just let it all out. If it makes you feel any better, I lost my mum four years ago."

Gracie looked up into my face, the adorable tear stains still on her cheeks. "You did? Were you as upset as I am now?"

"Yes I was. I cried and cried and cried and I never seemed to stop. Now I'm sort of over it, I mean, I don't break down every time I see a picture of her, but I'm still over it on some level. I know exactly what it's like for you and I still miss her to this day. This might seem quite a bad idea to you, but I'd say that the best thing to do in this situation is to not think of George because doing so will cause a great weight of sadness and sorrow to form on your back. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Gracie shook her head and wiped her nose.

"Well, I'd say try not to think of him too much because within the next few weeks, you'll grow to look like a mess. I learned that the hard way." I sighed heavily, momentarily being reminded about my past appearance and cringed before noticing that Gracie looked as if she had calmed down in my embrace a little bit, which made my heart feel as if it was turning to gold. I had made her feel okay again! Wait, no, I had to make sure first. "Are you feeling any better now?"

Gracie dried her eyes on her vest top, let go of me and sat up. "Yeah. Much better. Thank you so much, I needed that."

I chuckled and stood up slowly but steadily. "So did I. Shall we go back to bed now? We've got a lot going on tomorrow."

At last, Gracie smiled and nodded. "Yes, let's." She suddenly yawned, and before I could make a mental judgement at how cute she looked, I did the same. We both sighed sleepily and slowly, we silently made our way back to our temporary home.