State Of Grace

Chapter 40 - Mastermind

Four days and four motels later, Gracie was starting to settle into her new life. Every day was the same but in a different place. The girls would wake up, get dressed and hit the road again. They'd find a diner to split a cheap breakfast where they would talk about what jobs they could get once they got far away enough. Back in the car, more driving, convenience store sandwiches and soda, back in the car, more driving, next motel, vending machine dinners, and finally bed. The simplicity of the routine was keeping Gracie from combusting with anxious thoughts of what the Tuckers must think of her.

"It's hot," Rachel said, stripping off the top layer of her clothes and lying on the floor underneath the ceiling fan.

Motel number five was a little nicer than the last few, the walls were painted a clean white, spotless sheets on the bed, and no musky smell. The tiled floors provided a cooling sensation to counteract the heat of Arizona. At that time of year, the closer they got to New Mexico, the warmer the weather became. Gracie started to relax a little bit, especially now she was in an air-conditioned room instead of Rachel's car with an AC that was on its last legs.

"Maybe we could go swimming," she looked out the window of their second-floor room, "The pool looks nice."

Rachel propped herself up on one elbow and looked at Gracie with yearning eyes, "Maybe after lights out, when the rest of the place is asleep. After all, I didn't bring a swimsuit."

"I'm not swimming naked, not even for you," she laughed, "We'll be arrested for public indecency."

"And it'll be worth it," Rachel joked, "I'm gonna take a shower."

Gracie lay back on the bed and listened to the sound of the water running in the bathroom. If she closed her eyes she could pretend she was back home on one of the busy mornings at the Tucker house, waiting for Maia's turn in the shower to be done and arguing with her siblings about who would go next. She'd been trying not to think about them at all, but of course, when she was alone with her thoughts all that came to mind were her family.

If she could just check up on them, just make sure they were moving forward with their lives maybe she could too. But at the same time, the thought of them just carrying on without her stung.

A sharp buzzing sound brought her out of her head; Rachel's phone started vibrating in the pocket of her jacket on the floor. Gracie glanced towards the bathroom and listened closely to make sure Rachel was still showering before picking up the jacket and pulling the phone out of the pocket. She stared at the back of it for a moment while it continued to buzz in her hand. Slowly she turned the phone around. Mary was calling.

After the final buzz, the screen flashed, showing dozens of missed calls and texts from her. Rachel had made it seem like Mary didn't care, but the phone showed that she'd been trying to reach her daughter for days. Why would she lie about that?

Gracie heard the shower stop, she quickly stuffed the phone back into the jacket pocket and hung it on the door just as Rachel came out of the bathroom, successfully disguising her curiosity. Silently, she told herself to check the phone again later, just to see what Mary's messages said.

After both girls had washed away the last day, they climbed into bed together. Rachel curled up to Gracie, resting her head on her shoulder and an arm across her torso, her legs locking Gracie in place.

After the first night, Gracie's sleep had been all over the place, but the most solid hours of sleep she got were in the car between motels, leaving her wide awake at night time.

It wasn't just the askew sleep schedule that kept her awake, it was her curiosity about the little black device that, up until today, Rachel had kept on her person at all times. She thought back to the first day on the road when the girls stopped at a gas station.