Grace Taylor Hudson

Chapter 15

<Grace POV>

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Liz, my babysitter, and I were at the park. My parents had gone to San Diego for the day and wouldn't be back until I was in bed. My cheeks were still chubby from my baby fat and my eyes sparkled excitedly. I looked over to my babysitter and saw her blue eyes looking at me lovingly, probably more loving than any other baby sitter I'd ever had. Liz had always been my favorite, she never complained or anything. "Hey Liz! Come push me on the swings! Pretty please?" My five year old self ran ahead of her, braid bouncing against my back and shoelace untied, dragging against the mulch. "I'm gonna beat ya!" Liz ran after me, "Oh no you won't Gracie! I'm too fast for you!" She grabbed me and spun us in a cirlce. I giggled the whole time, dizzy but extremely happy. For some reason being with Liz made me feel so much more protected than with anybody else.

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"Grace, wake up!" I jumped up, startled and banged my knee on our lunch table which resulted in giggles from all of my friends and an "Ouch. Shit, that hurt," from me. Rachel patted my shoulder, "Are you okay?" I nodded my head, "M'fine. Just up late with homework," I mumbled then pretended to listen to everyone's conversations about their mother's days while lost in my own thoughts.

I'd avoided Katy since I had called her mom for the second time. I hadn't wanted to truly tap into my emotions.

But deep down I know calling her mom feels right, it just feels like I'm cheating on the woman who raised me. Then again, I didn't really feel that bad, I'd seen my parents at most four or five times in the past two months. Our relationship wasn't weird but it was different, we all knew it and felt it. It was weird to remember that Katy had taken care of me and I'd had no idea until now... This just validates it all.

Katy is my mom. Mine and no one else's. She was Liz the babysitter I'd adored so much. I remembered being so heartbroken when my parents had told me Liz had moved and that she wouldn't be able to watch me anymore, "But nobody plays with me all the time or tells me I'm a princess the way Liz does!" 11 years later and my flashback came through a dream at lunch time. How had I never remembered until this random time?

I needed to get home. I needed to see her but it wouldn't look right just waltzing away from school. Grace Brant didn't do things like that. But I'm Grace Hudson now, I'm able to be a little more unpredictable. Right?

The conversation turned in my direction and pulled me away from my thoughts when my friend Jake decided to ask how my mother's day went, "So Grace, what'd you do with your mom for mother's day?" Lacey, a girl that's been in at least one of my classes since freshman year, piped up, "Yeah. You usually have a story everyday about your family. You haven't talked about them in like 2 months! It's like you don't even live with them anymore!" I laughed uncomfortably, I didn't think it'd been that obvious to them. I could see my best friend studying me in my peripheral vision with a concerned look on her face. "Oh you know, we just went for a mani-pedi then hung out. Nothing too major!" Then Lacey spoke again, "Ohhhhh! Grace that bracelet you have on is so cahyoot! Where'd you get it? Is it new?" I looked down at my right wrist and smiled to myself, "Oh yeah. I--uh--also got my mom and I matching bracelets. Rachel helped me pick out the charms!" I shot Rachel a smile, "Well it's super pretty! I'm totes jelly!" Somebody ended up saying something that unintentionally got the focus off of me, which I was extremely grateful for.

After lunch Rachel and I walked to chemistry, "Hey, are you okay?" I was prepared for her inquiries but expected them later rather than now. "Yeah, I um..." I didn't want to share my dream slash flashback with Rachel, it's too personal and emotional for anybody to understand except for Katy. "I couldn't sleep last night and honestly, I just wanna go home. I miss Katy and I need to talk to her." Rachel gave me a worried look, "Well then, go Grace. Go home and talk to her!"