this love • gracie abrams

008 two options

CHAPTER EIGHT
two options
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IT was currently 4:05am and gracie and olivia were drinking coffee. olivia's place was a mess, solo cups, missing belongings, bottles and cans, and balloons littered the floor around them as they sat on the couch. everyone left around an hour ago, so they finally had a chance to talk about what the fuck just happened.

"and she just couldn't understand what i'm doing is good for," gracie said. "like i know she still loves me, and i love her too but that's why i ended things, and she just thinks im trying to control her."

"i mean, you guys were drunk so—"

"don't people say drunk words are sober thoughts," gracie muttered.

"okay, besides that, maybe she just doesn't understand because she thought you two would work out in the end and so would her parents. like seriously, she was really hopeful."

"which is probably my fault too, i mean she would never miss me this much if i didn't stay with her for so long, i should've ended things the second her dad yelled at her for seeing me the first time. better yet, i should've never even met her," gracie replied.

olivia slapped her arm, "do not say that."

"no because y'know what's the craziest part? she acts like she misses me so much but she's out partying 24/7 and getting under new people. she was literally wearing someone's hoodie tonight and i know damn well it's probably maitreyi ramakrishan's," she scowled.

"well people cope in different ways. i mean you've been moping around and barely getting out of bed recently—"

"okay, which is not because of the breakup but continue."

"right," olivia slowly said. "anyways, maybe partying and... getting with new people... is her way of coping?"

"that's just a load of bullshit, sorry liv. cause if she was actually coping, she would've told her parents we broke up already."

olivia sighed, "well what else did she say to you in there?"

gracie bit down on her tongue, sealing back the pain in her throat and looking down at her hands, "i was... i was yelling at her and i um..." she trailed off, not even daring to look olivia in the eyes and tell her what happened, what caused charlotte to run out. she doesn't want her best friend to see her as a monster since she already must think so many horrible things of her after finding out about her eating habits.

"you...?" olivia tried to get her back on track, eyebrow raised curiously.

"promise not to— not to hate me," gracie said as quietly as possible.

"you know i could never, come on now, out with it abrams," she said, chin up high and ready for whatever came out of her best friends mouth.

gracie let out a shaken breath, "i raised my hands up to just, i don't know, emphasize what i was saying, and when i did she um—" she cleared her throat and finally looked olivia in the eyes. "she flinched, like coiled away and squeezed her eyes shut and... she looked exactly like how she did when her dad tried to touch her at the lake house. she even said it, she said i was acting like her dad," gracie hiccuped.

"oh... wow that's..." olivia was wide eyed, searching for how to respond while staring at gracie's trembling lip and earth shattered eyes. "that's horrible, but i don't think she sees you that way, y'know as someone who could hurt her."

"why else would she flinch then?"

"i don't know, i mean you were yelling at her and could've said stuff that reminded her of her dad, it probably just triggered something," olivia said, taking gracie's hand in hers and rubbing her thumb over it.