Saving Grace

Chapter Twenty: Leaving Larkspur

"Almost packed?" Gracie asked from the living room, where she'd just finished taking down all the decorations she'd put up when they first moved in and painting over her murals. She broke down twice, crying silent tears throughout the process, especially when she had to paint over her father's face, but in a way it was therapeutic. For the first time she actually felt a weight being lifted from her shoulders. It had been four days since Clara's death, and the Charles siblings hadn't felt so safe in months.

"Not yet!" Charlie called back lightly from their bedroom, trying to be as quiet as he could. They'd sneaked into the place in the middle of the night, when they were sure the security guard had been well and truly asleep, and started packing up everything in sight into the boxes Layton had scored for them.

"Hurry up. The guys are gonna be here any minute," Gracie warned, stepping back and admiring her handiwork. She'd managed to make it look better than when they'd first moved in. The living room and kitchen were all packed up with what they'd wanted and whatever was left behind they'd planned on donating to the Visionary Center, if it they were in good condition.

"I'm getting there," Charlie quipped happily, excitement flooding through him. In less than twenty-four hours they'd finally get to escape from Larkspur City once and for all, skipping town just like fugitives in the movies, and he couldn't wait for the new adventure. "Do you think-" he started to ask, but the sound of the locked front door swinging open, cut him off.

Gracie immediately whirled around at the noise, the blood draining from her face as she spotted Grandpa Kurt standing imposingly in the doorway. Her eyes instantly narrowed and she wanted to hide indefinitely, or turn invisible. "I thought you were gone for good," she mentioned, watching in silence as the man stepped further into the room, closing the door gently behind him.

He glanced around surreptitiously, a frown tugging at his features. "Where are you going, Grace?" he demanded, his gray eyes boring into her.

"Away, and we're never coming back," she answered stubbornly as Charlie inched his way out of their bedroom, his half-packed boxes forgotten.

"Grandpa Kurt?" he asked hesitantly. "You're back?" he sounded smaller and more childlike than he had in a long time.

The old man eyed his grandchildren warily. "I've been hearing things," he answered briskly, not bothering to hide his disapproval. "I thought I told you to stay out of trouble." His gaze bored directly into Gracie. The girl shrugged in return.

"I don't recall ever agreeing to that," she replied, and Charlie couldn't help but snicker, which only served to draw their grandfather's piercing attention.

"What happened to your face, Murray? That part of the riot?" he asked gently, nodding at the healing scars that covered a portion of Charlie's face.

Charlie grimaced at the mention. He liked to pretend that they weren't there, except that Gracie insisted they were cool and he had nothing to worry about. "Yeah," he answered, attempting to make his voice sound deeper and more grown up. He felt more grown up than he'd been the last time he'd seen the old man.

"What happened with Madeline?" Gracie questioned, diverting their grandfather's attention away from her younger brother. "You find her and whatnot? Spew all those lies of yours?" she snapped, unable to control her tongue. Charlie's eyes widened and he glanced up queerly at his older sister.

"What are you talking about? What lies? Who's Madeline?" the questions spilled from the boy's mouth and Gracie almost grinned at the familiar sound of his unfailing curiosity.

Gracie's gaze locked on her grandfather. "We have an aunt, Charlie, her name is, Madeline. Our grandma, Arielle Frost, took her away in the middle of the night to save her life when she was nine. Dad and Grandpa Kurt looked for her for almost two decades. But Grandma was smart, she traveled in nondescript eighteen-wheelers across the country to keep her daughter safe, as well as the rest of the family. She thought the only way to keep them all out of harm's way was to split them up and fall off the radar the best she could."