Grace.

Chapter 44.

A late night plus alcohol has never been a good guarantee that one would be able to wake up early and well the following morning. In my sleep, I could feel Ethan holding me, and hear the birds chirping outside. I had completely forgotten that we slept outside. I woke up suddenly and lifted Ethan's arm to check the time on his watch. It was eleven o'clock! I shook Ethan to wake him up.
"Ethan! Ethan!"
"Hmm, w-what's happening?" He mumbled.
"I need to go! It's late! My parents are going to kill me!" I hurried.
I jumped up from the mattress and straight through his window to get my things. He finally woke up and followed me.
"Where's your phone? Maybe you could text them that you're on your way?" He panicked, jumping into his pants.
I pulled my phone out and sent Gloria a text apologizing and pleaded with her to talk to mom and dad for me.
"I need to get home. But I promised your parents we'd have breakfast!"
"Don't worry about that. I'll explain everything to them. For now, we need to get you home. Come on."
We rushed out and he drove like a maniac trying to get me home as soon as possible! Rushing out of the car, I reached the door and I could hear dad shouting from the inside. As terrified as I was, I had to let them see that I was okay. I slowly opened the door.
"Mija!" My parents said.
Dad stepped forward, both hands on his waist.
"Grace, what happened to your phone? Where were you? Why didn't you come back last night?!" He raged.
"Dad. Mom. I'm so sorry. We were having so much fun and lost track of -"
"Alcohol! Drugs! And for all we know, sex! Those are the only things that can keep a teenager away from home the whole night! When did we get here?! I wasn't expecting this from you! And the boy? Where is he? He just dropped you off and ran off without a care in the world?" Dad continued shouting.
I opened the rest of the door. Ethan was standing there, right next to me. Gloria smiled. Her and mom.
"Dr. Hills. I am so, so sorry that I kept your daughter out the whole night. I know I was supposed to bring her back right after the dance but we lost track of time. I never touched her. There wasn't any alcohol and no drugs. I thought I should come apologize because I- I really like your daughter and I don't want to ruin the...friendship we have," Ethan apologized.
Dad stared at Ethan intently before shifting his focus back onto me. He gave a huge sigh, massaging his temples with his hand. "Fine. You can go. Grace, come inside. Thank you for taking care of her and bringing her home safely."
Ethan said his goodbyes and walked off. The door closed and before I could even open my mouth, Papá walked away.
"He's upset isn't he?" I fretted.
"Well, you did misbehave," Gloria replied. "Give him some time, mija. He'll come around. He's just disappointed," Mom added.
I nodded and then ran upstairs to my room. I  gave one last look down the hallway to see if anyone was following me before slipping into my bedroom and locking the door.
"See? I told you I'd use the door one day," Ethan grinned.
When he "drove off" he actually drove around the house and then proceeded to jump through my window like he always did. It was our plan.
"Yes, you did," I blushed.
"I hope your dad isn't still mad."
"Oh, he's still mad, but he'll be okay. Thanks for speaking to him."
"Of course. I couldn't let you take the heat all alone."
I blushed. There was silence between us for a moment as we smiled at each other, nervously.
"I should probably go. Give you some time to yourself. Thanks again for last night."
"No, thank you. You made my night...special. Will never forget it."
He smiled and stepped closer to me, kissing me on the forehead before jumping out of the window again. I stood in the middle of my room, hand touching my lips. His kiss still lingered on them. Butterflies filled my stomach at the thought of the moment that we shared. It was bound to happen, right?
I then remembered that Naomi was coming over to see me, so I quickly got ready for her. Dad spent the rest of the day mad at me so I hid out in my room. Ethan called to check up on me and while I was on the call with him, Naomi walked in.
I gestured for her to come inside. She did, taking a seat on my bed. She watched as I giggled and blushed on the phone. Eventually, I ended the call.
"Sorry. It was Ethan," I smiled.
"Ah. So, phone calls? What happened last night?" She fished.
"We uh, we...kissed," I squealed in excitement.
"I knew it! You seem excited. Is it something you wanted to do."
"Well, I was expecting it. I mean we've become so close so quickly and he makes me laugh. And when we danced at Homecoming? It was magical. I've never danced like that! Ever! It felt really nice. Being in his arms, being taken care of."
"You're falling for him," she stated.
"No!"
"Really? How was the kiss?"
"It was...amazing. Like, I totally get the obsession girls have over him. He's so...he knows what he's doing. It was literally seven minutes in heaven."
"Made your heart skip a few beats. I see."
"I'm sorry. I know you were rooting for your brother and I. Me too! But things took a quick turn, an unexpected turn. Slept with Ria? That's..."
"Don't worry. I totally get it. Can I just say, I'm not shocked. No one is. You guys were really steamy last night."
"We were?"
"Yes! Everyone saw how into each other you two were. It's like we weren't even there. You two were really...cute," she admitted.
Her head hung as she fiddled with her socks by her ankle. She was bummed about my situation with Edgar. I was too, but it was so complicated. So, I decided to change the subject.
"Have you found a college you want to apply to?"
"No, not yet," she realized.
"What are you waiting for? Time's running out."
"I'll get right into it."
I pulled out my laptop and helped her search for good colleges which offered programs in Film Directing. Yep, it was Film Directing. She had decided.