It's Not A Game Of Chance When It Comes To Love

Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty-Nine…

Standing in front of the school gates made me realise how long it felt since I’d been here. Even though it had only been three days, it felt like forever, and with the amount of things that had happened, I could understand why.

Grace smiled from beside me. I hadn’t seen her at all apart from at the hospital yesterday, so she still needed filling in about the situation. “Do I get a rundown, then?” She inquired, giving me a hopeful look.

Repressing a sigh at having to repeat the dreadful statement once again, I nodded, telling her all that she needed to know.

It was safe to say that she was shocked, sympathetic and annoyed all at the same time. “So do you mind if I tell the police I’m staying at your house?” I asked cheekily. I knew Grace didn’t like lying, but this situation could surely be an exception. She’d lied for me before.

She nodded immediately and I almost felt guilty that she would lie to the police so readily. She’d have made much more of a fuss before and there was nothing good about lying. “Of course.” She agreed. “But, you know you don’t need to stay anywhere else. You’re perfectly welcome to stay at mine, and you know that.” She assured me, genuinely.

I smiled, but knew she was wondering where I was staying and why I wasn’t staying with her.

“Are you just going to stay living at home?” She predicted, thinking that I wouldn’t want to abandon my house. “That might not be a good idea if the police are going to be going around there to check for drugs and stuff.” She pointed out.

I hesitated, before shaking my head. “I’m not staying at home.” I decided that I shouldn’t hide that from her. Lying had brought about only cracks in friendships and unless it came to something like Jord and I, our increasingly intimate relationship, I had no reason to lie to her anymore.

I knew that there was no need for me to clarify who’s house I was staying at and I waited for the wheels to start spinning in her head. It didn’t even take that, though, and almost instantly she figured it out. “Do you really think that staying at Mr. Armstrong’s, where the police are concerned, is such a good idea?”

Sighing, I knew that she had a point. It was completely irresponsible and put us at even more risk than we were already. Having said that, just the prospect of staying with Jord was enough to make me want to, without thinking about the further reaching consequences. “I know.” I admitted.

By the look on her face, Grace knew that that admission hadn’t been one that said I was going to heed her advice and stay at hers instead. “Think about it, Jessica. As much as you want to stay at Mr. Armstrong’s, is it really a suitable arrangement?”

I refrained from releasing another sigh this time and resorted to averting my eyes instead. “We’ll talk.” I assured her. “I’ll make sure we’ve talked about all this; it’s just a temporary arrangement until things start calming down a bit.”

Grace looked sceptical. “And the two times when you’ve almost been caught there, by the police no less, aren’t making you at all worried about this?”

Her argument was getting stronger and stronger, something I wasn’t viewing as a positive thing. All her points were valid, and persuading. I didn’t want to risk anything more than I was already, yet somehow, the pull to Jord made me think irrationally when it came down to it. I’d been so ecstatic about simply staying with Jord that I’d not even considered the consequences.

“Yes,” I conceded again. “I am worried about that, now. But, to be honest, I hadn’t even thought about it.”

Grace shook her head exasperated. “What is it about you two that makes the other throw judgement out the window.” She exclaimed. “It was like this when Arthur took you with Mr. Armstrong.”