A Fall From Grace

Chapter 9

Six months pass by and Gracie falls into a comfortable routine with her new start. She adores her job so much more than her old one. Hell, she adores her new life a hundredfold more than her old one. 

AEW provides the friendly familyesque environment that Gracie was so desperate for. All of the staff and stars are friendly and polite to her. Not one of them has ever shown any dislike for her since she started work. Not to mention Gracie has managed to grow closer and closer to Darby In her time working backstage. 

Ever since that night that Darby first met her ex and offered to make sure she got home safe, the bond between the pair has only been growing. 

"Well you don't have a concussion, so that's good news." Gracie pockets her light and steps away from the exam table that Chuck Taylor is sitting on. "Just don't go colliding your head with any more sets of stairs." She adds. 

"Yep, will do doc." Chuck hops off of the table with a nod. "Thanks." 

"Mhm, take care," Gracie replies and tosses her gloves in a bin on her way to her office.

Gracie gets to her office and gets busy filling out her paperwork for the incident. The office is quiet for a while until Sting happens by with Darby in tow. Both of them arguing with one another.

"You need to get it checked out anyway." Sting insists. "Come on, it'll just take a second. And you know that she doesn't mind."

"It's just a scratch, man." Darby sighs. "I'll be fine."

Curious about the scuffle, Gracie gets up from her desk and heads to see what it's all about.

"What are you two arguing about?" Gracie comes around the corner. "Darby? What happened to you?" She notices some blood staining his face. 

"He took a hit to the face in our match against Kingston and Rey Fenix." Sting answers for Darby.

"Ouch. Well, hop up." Gracie hits her exam table casually. "Let's take a look."

"Really, Gracie. I am fine." Darby sighs heavily.

"Too bad. Doctors orders." Gracie replies sharply and grabs a pair of gloves.

"Fine." Darby knows not to argue and does as told.

Gracie snaps her gloves on and pulls out her light from her pocket again. She clicks it on and passes it by Darby's eyes a couple of times.

"No concussion," Gracie mumbles to herself. "What side of your head hit the floor?" She turns Darby's head to the right.

"The right side." Sting answers for him again.

"Oh, there it is." It doesn't take Gracie long to find a small cut right above Darby's ear. "Small cut, nothing too bad. But the placement makes it quite the little bleeder." She turns around and grabs a cotton pad.

"See. I told you it was nothing." Darby glances at Sting.

"Better safe than sorry." Sting shrugs.

"My dad's right." Gracie agrees. "Always better save than sorry." She finishes up and tosses her gloves again. "There, all done."

"Thanks." Darby nods and hops off the table.

"Mhm." Gracie nods. "I'll be in my office if you two need anything else." She adds and walks back to her office.

Sting and Darby exit the office and Gracie goes back to filling out her usual paperwork. She is in the middle of filling out one when someone else comes into the room without warning.   

"Yeah?" Gracie glances up from her paperwork to find Sting lingering in the doorway. "Dad? Did you forget something?" She furrows her brows at him. 

"You busy?" Sting slips in the door and shuts it behind him. 

"Not really. What's up?" Gracie shakes her head and puts down her pen. 

"So I swung by your place a couple of days ago." Sting leans on the door casually. "You weren't home, but I was just planning on dropping off some mail anyway." 

"Okay?" Gracie nods. "And." 

"And, when I was putting your mail away inside the house. I happened upon a couple of boxes sitting outside your hallway closet. All of them from your ex, Derek." Sting explains and crosses his arms. 

"Oh, that." Gracie bites the inside of her cheek. "Yeah...about that." She chuckles to alleviate some of the awkwardness in the air. 

"You aren't seeing him again, are you Gracie?" Sting asks her firmly, a serious look on his face. 

"Ew, absolutely not." Gracie grimaces. "It's not like that at all, dad." She assures him. 

Sting's expression softens at the news. He's glad that he doesn't have to save his daughter once again from the toxic asshole that is her ex. Gracie picks her pen back up and clicks it a couple of times before she continues with her explanation. 

"I'm glad. So what's going on then?" Sting asks Gracie to elaborate a bit. 

"He started sending me boxes of shit when I first moved into my new place," Gracie explains. "Pictures and other shit he knew that I wouldn't want to see. Hell, he even showed up to that bar that we used to hang out at all the time, once." 

"He did what?" Sting's anger grows a bit. 

"Relax. I handled it. And I wasn't alone. Darby happened to be with me. I took care of it and I haven't seen Derek since." Gracie assures Sting. 

"Good. And he's not sending you packages anymore, right?" Sting nods. 

"No. I haven't gotten one in weeks. And I was getting ready to take all those boxes down to be dumped." Gracie shakes her head. "It's all good, dad. Nothing to worry about." She assures him with a small smile. 

"I'm glad." Sting nods. "I got worried there for a second. You know I'll always look out for what's best for you, sweetie." 

"I know, dad." Gracie nods and comes around her desk to give Sting a hug. "I've got to get back to work, though." She turns back to her work. 

"Alright, I'll leave you alone now." Sting nods and goes to leave. "Take care, sweetie." 

"I will dad," Gracie calls back to him. "You take care too. You and Darby, both." She adds. 

"We will." Sting nods one last time before he disappears through the door. 

Gracie manages to finish her paperwork and heads home for the night. She's got a few things that she needs to get done before she has to go back to work on Monday. AEW is finally heading back on tour so Gracie will be spending less time at home now. And that also means that she will be in the market for a possible travel partner to make being on the road all the time a little easier. 

Sure, Gracie could travel with Sting. But traveling all the time with her dad doesn't sound like the best idea to her. She's managed to make a few friends in her 6 months on the job. But not really anyone who she'd want to spend endless time traveling with. Well, maybe one person. But Gracie is almost positive that said person will already have a travel partner set. A girl can hope though, she supposes.