State Of Grace

Chapter 53 - Begin Again

Stella carried Gracie's bag while Lilah took Gracie's hand and led her out of the hospital for what they all hoped would be the last time. Dr. Hastings, Holly, and some of the nurses came to wave her off. She thanked them all one more time before getting into the car with her parents and waving to them as they drove away.

It felt strange to leave, but it wasn't the same feeling as all of the times she was taken from a foster home that she'd only just gotten used to; this change was a good one. But somehow she was still filled with dread as the hospital grew smaller on the horizon.

No more than five minutes out of the hospital and she had already reached the first hurdle. Luckily, her last talk with Dr. Hastings was still fresh in her mind. She trusted her parents, and if she wanted that trust returned, she had to be truthful.

Thankfully, Lilah opened the door for a conversation to begin, "How do you feel, baby?"

"Nervous," she told them, "I have this whole life ahead of me, which is something I never expected. After everything, I'm very aware that I'm still only sixteen, and life might have a lot more in store for me. I worry that I'll fall into old patterns; bottling things up, trying to handle things myself. Lying," she hung her head, still ashamed of the secrets she once kept. "Sorry, again."

"It's okay," Lilah reached back to take Gracie's hand.

"You're not bottling it up now," Stella made eye contact with Gracie in the rearview mirror, "I'd say you're off to a pretty good start," she smiled.

"Your mom's right, and yeah you're still young, there's a lot of big things to come in the future, good and bad, but you'll never have to face any of it alone."

She looked tenderly at her parents, "No matter how bad things get, I'll always have my moms."

By the time they pulled up outside the house, all of Gracie's nerves had dissipated. When she opened the car door she was hit with the scent of Lilah's rose bushes and the sound of the neighborhood kids playing soccer down the block, even the soft breeze on their shady street was familiar enough that Gracie's whole body reacted, she almost lost her balance on her crutches and she eagerly limped up the porch steps, she was finally home.

Gracie braced herself as her moms opened the front door, knowing her family, her brothers and sisters would be waiting inside with a welcome home banner and party poppers, but she was surprised to see the hallway empty. She was relieved though, she didn't want her family to make too big of a deal of her homecoming, she just wanted to settle back into her life again.

"Where is everyone?" She asked.

"Marco is picking up Danny from Ethan's house and then they're getting a few pizzas for dinner. They'll be home soon, Riley and Maia are in the garden," Stella dropped Gracie's bag at the bottom of the stairs, "Come on," she took her daughter's hand and led her through the house.

In the garden, the table was laid with a floral tablecloth and Lilah's fancy china plates, Danny was lighting a candle while Maia was perfecting a flower arrangement.

"Gracie," Riley noticed her first, "I'm so glad you're home," she walked over and hugged her, "We missed you so much."

"You're back!" Maia squealed, "How do you feel?" Maia asked, waiting for her turn to hug her youngest sister.

"I'm good, really good," she smiled, "This is beautiful."

"We wanted to celebrate you being home, but we thought a dinner would be a little more relaxed than confetti canons and blaring music," Maia took her sister's hand and sat her down at the head of the table.

"Thank you," she said, "It's perfect."

"Jason sent the flowers for you," Maia bit her lip, "I hope that's okay."