|
Disclaimer: The characters of Once & Again are owned by
the writers of Once & Again, not myself. So don’t sue. A/N: This is going to be a chapter story and I’m really not sure where I’m
going to go with this. It’s my first Once & Again story and I hope you
guys get into it. This happens right after “All’s well that ends well” (Tough
Love) but that’s where it ends. You can always e-mail if you like at
[email protected]. Thanks! Created: April 07/01 Careless Grace was furious. Completely furious with him. She thought back to the
cast party, recalled the moment when Eli had come into the house after
missing her play, and tried to make up. Did he think that a casual
hand across her shoulder and an offer of help would really make up for him
missing her play? For lying to her? Her heart twisted in her
chest, but she shrugged it aside. She didn’t care anymore. She didn’t care
about Eli anymore. She couldn’t. Grace repeated the words
over in her head as she made her way to the kitchen in her pj’s. The party
had ended hours ago but she hadn’t been able to sleep, so torn was she about
Eli and the Mr. Dimitri “moment”. She opened the
refrigerator and took out the half eaten cake her mother had made for the
party. She cut herself a slice and walked over to the table. She couldn’t
stop thinking about Eli and what he had said the night before. He had
promised her. He had sworn to her. He had made her believe that he cared about
her. His softly spoken words drifted through her head. “Then do it one
more time. Just for me." Just for me. It hurt. It hurt, so
much. A tear trickled down her cheek and she violently brushed it away with
her hand. She couldn’t let herself care about him anymore, because the next
time he hurt her, which he undoubtedly would, it would tear her apart. He was
the only person able to affect her that way. She stabbed the cake with
her fork and shoved part of it in her mouth. She couldn’t control the emotions
swirling inside. The anger, the pain and the complete desolation. Why
did he have to do this to her? She had thought they were…she didn’t know what
she had thought. She knew what she hoped, but that was never going to happen.
Eli was never going to see her the way she wanted him to see her; never going
to care about her the way she cared about him. She had to face it and get
over him. She heard a noise and
looked up to see Eli coming through the back door. He glanced around and
seemed startled to see her sitting at the table with just the soft glow of
the stove light to lighten the room. Grace looked down at her piece of cake,
her heart in her throat. She couldn’t talk to him right now. Not now. She got up and turned to
walk out of the kitchen, but Eli’s soft voice stopped her. “Grace, please. Just let
me explain.” She turned around,
carefully concealing her emotions so that her face was a blank mask. “What do
you want Eli?” … Eli looked at Grace not
knowing what to say. He had practiced it in his head for hours. He was going
to apologize for missing the play and explain to her why he had, but now as
she stood waiting for him to make his excuses he couldn’t do it. Grace looked at him, her
eyes piercing through his eyes. What was his deal? He
stopped her but refused to say anything. Why was he torturing her like this? “Eli, if you have
something to say, then say it! If not, I’m going to bed.” She turned away
again but this time Eli caught her arm. Why did he have to touch
her? Why was he the only one that could make her feel so imbalanced? She
turned around and met his hazel eyes. “I’m sorry!” He said softly. She rolled her eyes and
tried to break out of his grasp but he wouldn’t let go. “Listen to me Grace.
I wanted to be there. I did. It’s just…” He didn’t want to tell her that he
lost his job. He didn’t want to let her down. But he’d rather have her
disappointed at him, than not talking to him at all. “I lost my job.” He said
finally. Grace blinked but before
she could say anything, he continued. “I lost it and I haven’t said anything
to anyone. I lied to my mom about working and I told her I worked nights. So
when I got to the play and saw her there, I knew she couldn’t see me or she
would have found me out.” Grace looked into his remorseful
eyes and knew she couldn’t stay mad at him. But she needed the anger; it was
the only thing that could protect her heart from him. She was about to forgive
him when suddenly she thought about the other reason she was mad at him. The
barrette. She jerked her arm out of his grasp. “What about the barrette, Eli?
I asked Jessie and it wasn’t hers. Why did you lie to me?” Eli didn’t have an answer
for that one. He still didn’t know why he had lied. Sometimes he felt oddly
protective over Grace and he supposed that he hadn’t wanted to hurt her. Grace saw that he wasn’t
going to answer her and was about to leave when she thought of one more thing
she needed to know. “Who was she?” Eli looked down at his
feet and then back at her. “A girl I was seeing. She’s not important.” “If she was so
unimportant, why did you lie to me about her?” Eli shook his head. “I
honestly don’t know Grace. I just…I don’t know.” He looked at her with
serious, honest eyes and Grace knew he was being sincere. God, she wanted to
be angry with him. But she couldn’t. She sighed. “Just forget
about it Eli. It doesn’t matter anymore.” She turned away and this
time Eli didn’t stop her. She walked across the hall but was well aware of
his eyes on her back. Eli stood in the middle
of the kitchen watching her. She had forgiven him and he should be happy, but
he wasn’t. He leaned against the counter, closed his eyes, and wondered why
he felt so lost. Email Feedback |