Saving Gace

I turned my alarm off and continued to lay there, staring at the ceiling a while longer before deciding I needed to get ready for school. I honestly don’t think I got more than 30 minutes of sleep last night. I’m exhausted. I decided to take a quick shower to wake myself up.

I closed the bathroom door and nearly had a heart attack when I saw my reflection. Is that really me? I looked in the mirror at the sad, broken girl in front of me. My eyes started to water, so I forced myself to look away. I took a very hot shower, trying to wash away the mess that I saw in the mirror.

I turned the water off, wrapped myself in a towel, and made my way back to my room. I brushed out my long, brown hail before heading to my closet in search of something to wear. I decided on my high-waist skinny jeans, a black tank top, my red flannel, and my combat boots. Once dressed, I decided it was time to face my reflection.

I sat down at my vanity and starred at the slightly purple mark visible on my cheek. I have to cover this up. I began applying my makeup carefully and thoroughly, making sure to erase all traces of what had happened last night. Finished… not bad. I’ve goteen pretty good at this. I dried my hair and used my curler to put in some loose curls. If I’m going to act like everything is fine, then I’ve got to look like everything is fine. That’s what I had to keep telling myself, anyway.

I grabbed my backpack and headed downstairs. I grabbed an apple before walking outside and locking the house up.

“uhmm, Adley?”

I turned to see harry standing in my driveway. I am definitely not ready for this. I don’t want to talk about what he saw. I put on a convincing smile. “Hey, Harry. What’s up?”

“Ugh, I uhmm,” he stumbled over his words. “I was just wondering if you maybe wanted a ride to school?” he nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion. That is definitely not what I thought he was going to say. He has never offered me a ride before, so I don’t know why he would now. We aren’t really even friends, and I don’t want a ride because he feels bad for me. I will not be pitied.

“It’s just that I realized you always walk to school,” he interrupted my thoughts. “I mean, it’s no trouble. We’re both going to the same place,” he continued.

“Uhmm,” I finally spoke up. “Thanks, but you don’t need to do that. I can wal-“

“Please,” he insisted.

I paused for a minute, wondering if this would be a good idea. “Yeah, okay. That would be great. Thanks,” I finally broke the silence. Something told me he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?

I climbed into his black Range Rover and we went on our way. Most of the car ride was silent except for the radio that was on at a very low volume. I didn’t mind though. In a way, I was glad. Silence definitely beats trying to come up with another lie.

We got to school and I thanked Harry again for the ride.

“Hey, Adley?” his raspy voice broke our silent walk to the building.

“Yeah?” I turned my head to look at him as we continued to walk.

“Do you need a ride home after school? I’ll wait for you if you’d like,” he spoke while staring at the ground. His eyebrows were pulled together and he spoke quietly. I found myself wondering what thoughts were running through his head.

“Thanks, but I uhmm, I have somewhere to be after school. I really appreciate it though,” I said while giving him a reassuring smile.

“Oh, okay. No problem,” he sounded defeated. What could possibly be on his mind? “Like I said, I don’t mind. I can give you a ride anytime you need it,” he tried to sound cheerier.

He looked up now, his eyes meeting mine. Wow, he has really beautiful eyes. “I really appreciate it, Harry. I’ll see you in English,” I gave him a sincere smile before we went our separate ways.

Harry’s been unusually nice to me. I mean, yes, he did see the bruises which initiated it, but he hasn’t pried for answers. In fact, Harry hasn’t mentioned it at all since he saw the ones in the field. I’m not going to fight it like I normally would. It felt good to have someone around last night and today. He seemed like he genuinely cares and wants to be friends. Maybe I shouldn’t push everyone away after all? Don’t get me wrong, I won’t let me guard down completely- he can’t know everything. It would scare him away and leave me alone again.

Notes