My Saving Grace (Book 3)

January 25, 2030

Scott began to pack his bag, working around Alex who sat on the edge of the bed. "I can't believe you're leaving me." Alex whispered. Scott looked up from his bag and laughed. Alex winked at him and stuck his tongue out childishly.

"You're a dork. I'll be gone for a month. Nothing that you haven't handled before." Scott rolled his eyes. Alex nodded and smiled. "You'd swear I was leaving forever." Scott added and Alex frowned again, his features becoming serious.

"It feels like it." Alex whispered. "But you'll have fun so that's all that matters. I should get going though, I start work in half an hour and I'm already late cause I don't want to leave you." He began to stand as Scott stopped. He smiled and placed his hands on Alex's shoulders, who let out a small breath of relief.

"I'll text you the second we land." Scott said, his eyes trailing up Alex's body. His hand moved to gently cup Alex's face and he leaned in to press their lips together. Alex moved closer so that their chests were pressing together, his arms wrapped around the base of Scott's back. The sweet feeling of being truly close to the one you love filling the room.

"I love you." Alex whispered, breaking away from the kiss. Scott smiled.

"I love you too. See you soon, okay?" Scott said as Alex stepped back.

"Have a good time and don't be stupid. No misbehaving. Don't drink too much but don't drink too little. And don't forget to call every day so I know you're okay and-" Alex rambled.

"Al, I'll be fine. I'll remember to call you don't worry. You need to go or you're gonna get fired." Scott laughed.

"Okay, okay. I love you, see you later." Alex said, pecking Scott on the cheek and running out the door. Scott chuckled when he heard the door slam. He shuffled to the window and watched as Alex got to his car and drove off in a rush.

Scott began to busy himself with finishing to pack his bag and making lunch. It was weird to have the house to himself as the kids were in school and Alex was in work and he didn't have to leave for another few hours. The kids would be home before he left.

He began to sort his way through the post that had arrived that morning. Seemingly bill after bill began to pile up in front of him. But then he noticed two letters that came to his attention a little more than the others. The envelopes were normal size with two different crests on the front. Jessica's school crest and Toby's school crest.

Scott began to rip into the one with Toby's name on the front, not surprised that he had letters from the school as he was expecting their reports in around this time of year. He took out the folded up piece of paper and read through each subject. English, A. Math, A+. Biology, A-. Physics, A. Geography, A. Music, A.

Scott couldn't help but smile. That was only half the subjects but the rest of them were pretty much the same. He felt an overwhelming sense of pride overtake him as he read the comments from different teachers. He couldn't of been happier and was more than enthusiastic when he began to open the letter with Jessica's name on it.

He removed the folded piece of paper and his eyes widened immediately at the amount of Ds and Fs he saw. He felt his eyes widen further as he read the final comment from the head of her grade. "We feel that Jessica has a lot of potential but due to her large amount of absences is not living up to it. We understand that she has been sick a lot this year and have received all of your notes regarding her vertigo and they have been filed. We would like to see more effort and participation in classes."

Vertigo? Notes? Large amount of absences?

Scott didn't understand. She went off to school every day. She came home most days. She text before she went anywhere. She was a good girl and yet she was failing almost every class. How? He just couldn't understand it. What was she hiding from them? He could feel himself getting frustrated and annoyed and all of the emotions in between.