When Lightning Strikes

When Lightning Strikes: Chapter 24

A/N: Merry Christmas guys! Thank you for all your support and all of you silent readers out there. I guess you could call this chapter 'the climax' of WLS! Enjoy and tell me your thoughts below! xoxo

Everything shattered. I guess I had been truly hoping for the opposite. Dreams of me and Jason going on dates and spending our whole lives together flew out the window. Instead, my future was set: I was to watch my sister wed the man I had fallen for. I’d be watching as they married, watching them as they arrived back from their romantic honeymoon, and watching them as they raised their own kids … while I tried to move on. It was a heavy blow and I wasn’t prepared.

My heart stuttered. My throat constricted. The room suddenly felt claustrophobic and standing in front of Jason didn’t help.

His concerned azure eyes probed deeply into my soul. He could see I was suffering. I needed to get out of here as fast as possible.

“That’s great, Jason, it really is.” I looked away so I wouldn’t betray to him what I was feeling. “I’m happy for you.”

His eyebrows furrowed and slowly, he reached out to touch my arm. My skin burned and I was reminded of the times we kissed. The memories hurt too much and I shrugged it away.

“I think I should go,” he whispered, realising that he wasn’t helping. I stood there, breathing quickly as he backed away. “I’m sorry, Gracie. I never meant for this to happen.”

It took me a long time to move from my one spot. I was left standing there feeling like a lost cause until I heard the front door opening. It was hard to try and act normal around my parents. Mom simply smiled at me and started on cooking dinner. She asked me questions about Vince leaving but I didn’t have much to report on. After all, I had spent most of my time wandering around the airport.

Dad on the other hand, had been a bit more perceptive. He pulled me into the lounge room while mom was dancing around in the kitchen to the radio.

“Gracie, I have a fatherly instinct that something is very wrong. You know what, actually? Lately, you’ve been quieter than normal. I don’t like it.”

As much as I loved him, I couldn’t tell my dad. My life was too complicated at the moment and I couldn’t unload it all to him.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, dad.” With that, I stalked out of the room and into mine. I shut the door harder than necessary but my heart was pounding with gloom and adrenaline. My eyes shut as I tried to block out the image of dad standing in the living room, dejected. It must hurt to hear that your daughter didn’t want help and it must help to know that you couldn’t help.

Sighing, I laid back on my bed. Hearing from Jason himself that he was vowing himself to another woman was like a smack to my face. Knowing that I’d have to hang around with them for the rest of our lives pricked my heart.

Or maybe I didn’t have to. I was excited over this new revelation. After I graduated, maybe I could move far away – so far that I’d only need to visit on the Holidays. A smile blossomed over my face as I considered the opportunity.

“Gracie, are you in there?”

Aubrey’s tentative voice made me spring up from bed. It couldn’t be … was she really talking to me?

My answer came when she pushed open the door and slowly took a step in. Her dark hair was pulled back into a sleek bun and she was still in her work wear: a dark pencil skirt, the usual blouse and a thick red cardigan. Her eyes met mine.

“Au-Aubrey … what are you doing here?”

She stood there, blinking at me. I realised that she seemed unsure. That wasn’t good, but it was still a start. At least there was a part of her which wanted to be here, speaking to me.