State Of Grace

Chapter 48 - The Lakes

She'd been home from Greg's for three weeks now. Though she wasn't the person she was before what happened to Jasper, she was on her way to feeling normal again. Normal for Gracie at least. Most nights one of her nightmares woke her up, but on the night before the camping trip, she'd finally slept for a full eight hours with no interruptions. She put it all down to her new routine.

Dr. Ellis provided Gracie with some tips to help her feel more stable and one of those was to establish a routine. Every evening, Gracie helped cook dinner and set the table for the family. Then after dinner, she'd go for a walk with one of her friends or siblings, but usually it was with Stella. before bed, Gracie turned her phone off and left it on her nightstand while she sat down in the kitchen with Lilah. Together they'd drink herbal tea and Gracie, if she felt like it, would talk to her mom about anything that was on her mind. Lilah didn't always have the answers, but all Gracie needed was someone to listen, and she was glad it was getting easier to be so open with her parents.

After their tea, Gracie would take her time getting ready for bed; it started with a hot shower, followed by a layer of Maia's moisturizer, then she'd change into her pajamas, light a lavender scented intense, and climb into bed. Maia and Riley had taken to following the same routine too, so even though it was summer vacation, all three girls were in bed by 9:30 every night. They usually stayed awake for a little while talking. By this point, Gracie was usually talked out after chatting with her mom and going to therapy, so she mostly just listened. It was nice to catch up on the lives of her sisters, she'd missed so much lately.

Maia talked a lot about the science club she'd been meeting up with all summer, they'd go on trips to museums, nature reserves and even teaching hospitals to watch medical procedures. She still had a few years to go but she'd already decided that she wanted to go to medical school and train to become a doctor. What she talked about more than anything though, was Jason. The two had been dating for a while now and it was going well. At first, she was worried Gracie might not want to hear about it, but Gracie was thrilled, both for her sister and Jason.

Riley had started seeing someone too. Over the summer, she'd been taking a photography course and was partnered up with a boy called James. Maia squealed when she found out and Riley, who usually tried to seem somewhat indifferent to matters of the heart, couldn't stop blushing. Dating was something Riley struggled with, after her assault, she couldn't open her heart to anyone, not even the Tuckers. It took her months to finally let them love her.

The night before the camping trip, the girls only talked for a couple of minutes before drifting off. The next morning they were woken at the crack of dawn by Stella calling from downstairs, "Girls?" She yelled, "Chop, chop! We're waiting on you three!"

"Coming Mom!" Gracie called back.

Stella had made sure all of the kids were packed and ready to go the night before so leaving the next morning wouldn't be a mad rush like most school mornings were.

"How is she always so perky in the morning?" Maia groaned and threw her backpack over her shoulders.

The three girls trailed downstairs where their brothers and parents were waiting for them. With so many of them in the family, they'd be taking both Lilah and Stella's cars, so they split into groups. Stella's car was smaller, so Danny and Gracie went with her, while the others went in Lilah's minivan with most of the luggage and camping equipment.

The camping stove took the shotgun seat so Gracie and Danny sat in the backseat. The kids were still pretty tired for the first part of the drive, but eventually, Gracie started to perk up and was looking forward to a few nights out in nature with her family.

"So, what's this place like?" Gracie asked her brother while Lilah was listening to the radio, "You guys have been there before?"

"It's nice," Danny said, but he stared straight out the window. He'd been a little quiet for a while now.