Our Bruised Bodies | Bradley Bradshaw

ACT FIVE - PART TWENTY-ONE

Letting herself into her parents' house though the French doors in the earliest hours of the morning, Grace moved through the living room towards the kitchen where she found her father seated by the table. Breakfast prepared in front of him, causing Grace to stop in the doorway leading to the kitchen, leaning against the frame there.

They had agreed that Grace would come over for breakfast to talk about last details of their plan before she would show up at base and tell whoever Cain had send to supervise the mission to take a few mighty steps back and fuck off while they look the other way while Grace does what she wanted. She still wasn't sure how exactly she would shoulder her way into this mission, but she would surely manage as always. All she had to go was control her nauseas.

"There is coffee if you want." Ice told Grace, not looking up from the newspaper he was reading, his breakfast untouched so far. He didn't have much of an appetite since he started the chemotherapy. The godforsaken bags of poison that was meant to kill the cancer before it would kill her father was resting in the fridge like some sort of water-ice.

"I'm fine. Thanks." She told him, her arms coming up to hold her torso while she watched her father worriedly.

"Don't feel like eating?" She wondered, which had her father lower the newspaper, only to glance over the rim of it over at his daughter. Ice was just thankful that she didn't add the word again. Just as he was glad that she would never comment on his change in appearance now that the poison in his veins was attacking his entire body.

"No." He answered even though a bit defeated, before coughing. He constantly felt nauseous nowadays. The tiniest bit of food was enough to make him sick. Something he shared with his daughter currently.

"You missed dinner last night." Ice pointed out, which had Grace nod before pushing herself away from the doorframe, only to pull out her chair opposite her father to take a seat.

"I met Jake and Jon at the Hard Deck." Grace told her father. "Almost all of them were present. Dad and Bradley too." She added, before lifting the jug of water to fill a glass for herself. Then she took a careful sip not to upset her stomach again.

"Oh." Ice said, leaning back, the cup of coffee held close to his mouth as he paused. "He looked alright?" He wondered out loud which caused Grace to lift an eyebrow.

"B or dad?" She asked him, which caused Tom to give his daughter a look.

"Both, of course." He then answered which had Grace nod.

"Dad seemed fine enough. I didn't talk to him though. I had a longer conversation with Bradley." Grace mentioned before taking another sip from her water and giving her father a meaningful look which had him put the newspaper down, before carefully taking a small bite out of his piece of toast, before offering it to Grace, who wanted to refuse, but her urge to not worry her father further was grander. Having her take a few small bites.

"Had you had time to urge him to accept a promotion?" Ice wanted to know which caused his daughter to shake her head, while watching her father nip at the coffee. Out of nowhere, she had a real distaste for coffee suddenly.

"There wasn't really an opening for that, but you can talk to him. He's over at ours." She tried to mention it in the passing, as if it was no big deal, as if it was normal, which it had been six years ago but since then so much has changed.

"He slept at home?" Tom wondered, trying his best not to sound as if he was interested in his daughter's marriage all that much.

"Mhm." Grace hummed in acknowledgement and agreement.