Saving Grace

Chapter 6: it all comes crumbling down

I felt the sun beaming down on my face as I walked out of the stairwell of our apartment building onto the street below. It felt like the first time in forever that I had been anywhere other than work.

I took in the nice weather as I walked to the little sandwich shop that Lizzy and I agreed upon. There weren't many people out considering it was a Monday and most people were working. The sun was shining bright and there was a nice breeze. I noted that I needed to go on more walks in our neighborhood. I took it for granted.

The downtown area was a little busier with those who I assumed were on their lunch break. Lizzy was meeting me during hers, she worked in an office building nearby.

I caught a glimpse of her coming from the opposite direction as we met in front of the cute bistro tables made of wicker out front.

She pulled me into a tight hug when she saw me, swaying back and forth.

"Hey!" she cheered.

"Hey!"

We finally pulled apart. I forgot how much I had missed her.

"Ugh I missed you" she said.

"I missed you too, Liz," I replied back with a smile.

I followed her inside of the sandwich shop, admiring the pant suit she was wearing. It looked much more professional than the jeans and t-shirt that I typically wore to work.

We made small talk as we waited in line to order. We asked about each other's families and work.

We finally made it to a booth in the back corner by the window. I was hoping the natural light didn't highlight anything that I had tried so hard to conceal.

"How are things with Nate?" Lizzy asked in a curious tone as she sipped on her raspberry lemonade.

"They're pretty good," I said, trying to think about what I should and shouldn't tell her.

"That's good," she replied, looking down.

I reached to take a sip of my water and my sleeve fell back, revealing the bruises on my arm. Lizzy's eyes scanned to my arm and widened.

"Grace, did he do that to you?" she asked in a concerned voice that I hated receiving.

I reached down and pulled my sleeve back down.

"Calm down, we were just getting a little...kinky," I blushed.

"Are you sure, your neck..." she mentioned.

At this point I felt completely exposed. I wanted to crawl back into my apartment and stay there forever.

"It's literally a hickey, it adds up.." I said, starting to get annoyed.

"Okay, sorry Gracie, I just worry about you." 

"No need to", I replied with a forced smile that probably wasn't convincing enough.

We sat in awkward silence for a minute.

"So how's work?" she asked, changing the subject. "I need to come by and see you."

I figured it was best if I avoided telling her that Nate wanted me to quit.

"It's good. You definitely should." I told her. "I'm looking for something else but honestly I really love it."

"You're probably making more than me anyway," she chuckled.

I was surprised by that statement but I guess it made sense. You had to start at the bottom and serving made pretty decent money, you just weren't really able to work your way up like you could in a traditional "career".