Two Streets Down [R.D.J]

Chapter 2: Swallow Me Earth

     Grace decided it was best to avoid Robert for the rest of the night. It was his house,  which made hiding a challenge. She grabbed a beer and sneaked into the hall. The first door was the bathroom, a bad hiding place. The second door she opened was a bedroom. The bed was made but boxes were scattered around, leading her to believe it was a guest's room. She closed the door after her, feeling like a intruder. She wondered what Robert thought of her. He probably thinks I'm a flippant teenager who talks behind her family's back, she thought to herself, making her life more miserable. Good thing she did not flirt -she mentally thanked her parents for raising her well.

Her phone was at twenty percent; she found an outlet in the other side of the bed. She sat in the floor so she could use her phone while it charged. Grace became bored of staring at her phone's screen rather quickly. Searching through her bag, she found a pack of pink colored sticky notes and a black pen. The floor seemed clean enough to lay on her stomach. 

Grace began to sketch on the pad. It occurred to her to make a flipbook. She did several of those for Lily, only more colorful. She had to work with what she had. Grace pressed the black inked pen into the pink paper, a story had elaborated on her mind. She started with the last page, as it is done with flipbooks. Her little animated story was of a girl planting a seed into the ground, then watering it and watching it grow into a daisy flower plant. The girl took care of it, protecting it from heavy ran. Then she planted a full garden so the flower wouldn't be alone.

"Cute," she whispered to herself.

The door was sung open, the sudden act pushing Grace's regular heartbeat to an elevated one batting in her throat. Her body was rigid with fear of being seen. She felt as if she was doing something extremely wrong.  She took a quiet deep breath,  carefully rolled onto her back. Silently, she peeked over the bed, her eyes widen, swallowing down the high pitched sound that almost emitted her throat.

Robert was standing with his back against her. He was pulling the gray shirt over his head, examining what seemed to be a dark stain, before discarding it to the floor. He undid his belt, a cue for Grace to speak up or watch her Not-Uncle in nothing but briefs. A part of her opted for the latter, but she was better than that.

"Before you take of your pants off, you should know that I'm here." Grace's embarrassment was evident through the light blush coating her cheeks.

Robert had tried to turn around mid jump, causing him to stumble back into the door. He hit the door knob rather hard, making them both flinch (she had been there). 

"God," he groaned, pressing his palm onto his abused back. He stared at her. His gaze made her uncomfortable, he had a set of beautiful eyes like a pool of sweet caramelized chocolate. To add up to that, he was handsome and very  shirtless. His light toned muscles proving her right, he exercises. 

They remained still for a minute, staring at each other. She was suffocating in a room full of embarrassment and awkwardness, it was painful. 

"Swallow me earth," she whispered under her breath.

"Mmm?" His expression was confused, he did not hear.

"I am so sorry," it was her turn to apologize. 

"When did you get here?" he questioned.

"I was already here," she confessed, "lying on the floor."

"Oh," his mouth formed a perfect 'o'. 

Grace nervously looked away, shifting her feet from side to side. Robert was on her way, she could not make a run for the door. Finally, getting the hint, he grabbed a clean shirt from the closet, a black one, and pulled it down, covering his upper body. Grace was both, disappointed and relieved.