Grace was 14 years, 300 days, an hour, 10 minutes and 50 seconds old when her whole life changed.
Her mom had been sick on and off for almost Grace's entire life but this time was different. This time the doctors and nurses gave her smiles of pity rather than hope. Some part of her knew the truth deep down: her mom's life was ending, but she buried that truth and remained optimistic. After school every day she'd leave the second the bell rang to go to the hospital. Her mom always would tell her to go home, or spend time with her friends instead of spending her evenings in a hospital room but Grace never listened. She'd sit and do her homework or strum her guitar or talk with her mom for hours on end. JJ and John B would go with her occasionally, they loved her mom and she loved them like family but they had their own lives to get back to and couldn't spend all their time in the hospital like Grace.
One fateful day her mom's doctor had broken the news. Grace was right next to her mom, holding her hand as he spoke. Her mom had told her to leave the room but she refused. Any news her mom got she wanted to get as well. So the doctor told them the test results. He told them that she had a couple days left to live. Grace didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to feel. She remained in denial. She ignored the ticking timer. She skipped school everyday to stay with her mom. She wouldn't let herself cry. She wouldn't let herself face the truth. She just had to be there for her mom.
It was a cold Tuesday evening. Grace was bundled up in a sweater and pyjama pants and was playing guitar by her mom's bedside. Her mom suddenly cut off her playing to tell her that she was playing the song wrong. She was never the shy type. If you were doing something she didn't like she'd be sure to let you know.
They got into a playful argument about how the song went and had finally come to an agreement when her mom started coughing. Grace rushed to get her water but her mom didn't have the energy to hold the glass in her shaking hands.
Grace quickly pressed the call button to get a doctor and grabbed her mom's cold and shaky hand. Her mom's coughing stopped and her eyes started getting droopy. With one last "I love you," her eyes closed and her hand went limp. The doctor finally entered the room and Grace sobbed as they tried to do anything they could to save her. Eventually they stopped and Grace begged for them to keep trying, the doctor smiled sadly then left her on her own to let her say goodbye.
Grace kept her hand wrapped around her mom's limp one and sobbed as her stepdad finally made it to the hospital. He brought a distraught Grace home but didn't provide any words of comfort or affection. What do you say to a 14 year old who just lost their mom? He had already mentally checked out of his relationship with his wife. It hurt too much to watch her fade and he knew Grace resented him for never visiting her in the hospital.
14 years, 300 days, an hour, 10 minutes and 50 seconds was how old she was at her mom's time of death. She watched her mom die in the hospital bed with no one around to comfort her.
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"Take care of him," Grace said as she hugged her half sister outside the hospital doors. She wanted to go in and be there for her best friend but she couldn't mentally deal with being back in the hospital. Sarah nodded and made her way inside the automatic doors.
The Pogues and Sarah had followed John B's ambulance in the Twinkie and had just made it to the hospital. Kie and Pope had to get home to their angry parents and Grace couldn't find the strength to see John B laying down in a hospital bed so Sarah volunteered to stay by his side and text them updates. JJ wrapped a comforting arm around Grace's shoulders as they watched Sarah disappear into the hospital. Grace sighed, "I should just suck it up and-"
"Gracie, it's fine. He'll be alright. You don't have to put yourself through that," JJ reassured. He knew how much she hated hospitals. Who could blame her after what happened?
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𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞 - JJ Maybank
FanfictionGrace Cameron was a Pogue. Always has been. Sure her dad and half-siblings were the Kookiest a Kook could get but her mom had grown up on the Cut so she did too. Her friend group vowed to have a good time all the time but when a boat goes down in th...
