Saving Grace

Chapter Eight: After Effects

The next morning, Charlie and Gracie found themselves tiptoeing out of the apartment, far earlier than should have been necessary. Charlie couldn't help wondering if his sister was that motivated to get to school on time, would he get as many tardy marks and detentions? In the back of his mind he knew it would never be that way again, but it was always fun to daydream a little.

"Where are you two off to so early in the morning?" Clara noisily asked as she sauntered up the hallway with her annoying dog in tow, eyeing the kids curiously.

Gracie had a smartass remark on the tip of her tongue, but Charlie beat her to the punch. "School. I have an early morning practice with my track team, and my sister has a test she forgot to study for," he lied so convincingly Gracie pinched him hard, not bothering to be sly about it. Clara shot the girl an admonishing glare, before turning her attention back to the immensely more pleasant young boy.

"You're on the track team?" she asked, actually sounding interested. "Invite me to one of your big races someday. I'll come and cheer you on," she offered, grinning at him, seeming to notice Gracie's antsy fidgeting. "Well you kids have a good day, see you this afternoon."

"Yeah, yeah," Gracie muttered under her breath, trying so hard not to blurt out the sarcastic replies that assaulted her mind.

"You too!" Charlie called back, skipping to keep up with his older sister who'd already taken off down the hallway in the opposite direction of the limping older woman.

They walked the three blocks to the bus station in relative silence, as Gracie's mind was consumed by thoughts of the alabaster envelope that weighed down her pockets. With every step she took the more curious she became as to the contents. She wanted to read it before they reached Iron Hills Penitentiary, so she'd have at least some semblance of understanding as to what could possibly have been going through Henry Charles' head when he decided to off himself.

Part of her wanted to believe that the letter would give her and her brothers some type of closure, but the loudest thought running through her brain was that it was just another one of the mind games her father liked to play. He'd always been a big fan of puzzles, and he loved confusing other people even more, making them figure out a puzzle he'd created. The idea made her kind of sick.

"Gray?" Charlie asked suddenly stopping his pacing and planting his feet on the broken sidewalk in front of the graffitied metal bench where she sat.

"What's up?"

"Do you have an extra pair of gloves? I left mine at home," he mumbled, his bright red cheeks glowing even redder with shame, she'd reminded him to grab them at least six times before they left the apartment. Gracie rolled her eyes, but rifled through her bag jam-packed full of "emergency items", most of which, Charlie highly doubted she would ever get a chance to use, and extracted a pair of thin black liner gloves with sparkly hearts all over them.

Charlie eyed them as if they'd suddenly jump to life and bite his fingers off. "That's it?" he asked slowly, trying not to sound ungrateful.

Gracie laughed. "It's either that or frostbite," she answered, not being entirely truthful. She had a pair of army green liner gloves that had Swallow Hill High School's logo embroidered on the back of the hand, but it was sort of her revenge for him not heeding her warning, and he knew it too. Instead of whining, though, he grudgingly accepted the girly pair of gloves, and slid his fingers inside, preferring warmth to terrible fashion, not that he thought anyone would care enough to point it out anyway.

The bus drove up not too long after and Gracie dug through her pockets for the handful of coins she'd stuffed inside before they'd left the Madelyn. "Morning," she muttered to the portly bus driver as she fed the coins through the slot and grabbed hers and Charlie's transfer slips.