"Grace, please tell me what happened! Did I do something wrong?" Jeffery presses, his eyes boring into mine.
Looking down, I bury myself deeper in my towel.
All I could think of was the strangers forcing lips on mine. I thought it was Jeffery, I was going to kiss Jeffery, but instead I kissed a stranger. What would Jeffery think? Certainly he would hate me, and I couldn't take that.
His face pained, he turns to Angelica, pulling her off to the side.
"Gracie? What's wrong?" Monica asks, kneeling down next to me. Yet, she is met with silence.
I needed to get out of here. I couldn't look at him any longer, even with all of the guilt riding me, I still felt an attraction towards him.
Slowly getting up, I quietly make my way off of the beach. "Grace" a voice says, stopping my movements.
There, stood Zach, arms across his chest. He and Alex helped me home that awful night. They say what I looked like, what I did. Lips shaking, I move towards the boy until I'm hugging him.
"I can't Zach" I whisper, closing my eyes. "Here, how about we go back to the hotel, and we can talk about this? Okay?" he asks, his tone gentle and kind.
"I'm coming too" another voice says. Opening my eyes, I watch as Angelica pulls a shirt over her body. Moving forward, she hugs me. "Come on Grace, let's go" she whispers, using my real name instead of the nickname she has always used.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So what happened?" she asks, as we enter Zach's room.
"I kissed Jeffery..for the second time" I whisper, making Angelica look at me in confusion.
"The second? Grace, if my brother kissed you, I'm sure the entire would would've known" Angelica states, brows raised.
"There's more to the story Geli" Zach coughs, putting a supportive hand on my shoulder.
"The night you found out about Abuela passing..that drink you gave me, effected me more than I thought" I whisper, looking up at her. "I went to the bathroom, to regain myself. A few girls were there...they called me names and pushed me around" pausing, I take a breath, knowing what comes next.
"I tried to find Jeffery. It was just so loud, and the room was spinning. When I thought I found him, I hugged him. Then he kissed me" I paused, pulling at my thumb.
"I've had a crush on Jeffery for awhile..and I kissed him back. Things got heated, and thinking it was him, I was alright with it. Then, I realized it wasn't him..but a stranger. He was going to lead me out of the club..but Alex and Zach found me" I whisper, smiling weakly at him.
Putting a hand on my arm, Angelica sends me a sadden expression "I'm so sorry Grace. I wish you would have told me sooner. I would have been able to beat the little pervert to a pulp" she says, a hint of anger lacing her voice.
"Believe me, I got a few punches in" Zach chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.
"I just feel so guilty" I groan, running my hands through my hair. "Jeffery doesn't know what happened and I thought it would just blow over. Kissing him...was amazing...yet that awful stranger was able to ruin it."
"Even with kissing the stranger, how did kissing Jeffery bring him into your mind?" Zach asks, making Angelica glare at him.
"Because, one, I thought it was Jeffery, and second...I thought Jeffery would be my first kiss" I whispered, making Angelica gasp.
"That little pervert stole your first kiss from you?!" she growled angrily, her almost bare chest heaving up and down. Seeing her own rage, she tries to calm herself.
Taking a breath, she puts her hands on my shoulders "Grace, although it's great you're talking to Zach and I, you're talking to the wrong person. Jeff, is down there, thinking what he did wrong, when he didn't. Now, you need to go talk to him, he's my brother and he's in pain. Even with you being my best friend, my brother comes first." she states firmly.
"I'm going down there, and I'm going to talk to him" I say bravely, getting off of the bed.
Grabbing my cover-up, I pull it over my head, covering my body.
"Good luck Miss Fancyname" Angelica smiles as I leave the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As I reach the lobby, my heart pounds in my chest.
There, stand Jeffery, pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair.
"Jeffery" I call out, making his head snap to me. Still, pain and confusion filled his eyes as I approached him. "Can we talk?" I ask, pulling a hand up to my lips, which were still swollen.
"Yeah, come on" he mumbles, leading us over to a corner of the lobby. Once we were sitting, silence filled the air. Quick breaths filled and emptied from my lungs, doubts and guilt flooding my mind.
It seems like hours pass, each of us averting each others gazes. Finally, looking up at him, I begin explaining myself.
"There's been something I've been meaning to tell you" I mumble, making his eyes catch mine.
"What is it?" he asks, cocking a brow.
"Back in D.C, back in that horrid club..I uh.." I start before tears fill my vision "Angelica gave me that drink..then I went to the bathroom...you left...I thought he was you...I. I thougth he was you..but it wasn't and I-".
By now, his own eyes started to water, his body shaking slightly "Grace...what happened?" he questioned.
I lost it.
"He kissed me" I sobbed. "But I kissed him back..and I was going to leave with him, and do whatever it would lead to...and I wasn't going to stop him...everything was like a dream..then it all came crashing down" I whispered, tears flowing freely down my face.
The look on his face could only be described as pure and utter pain. "That's why you pulled away...you wouldn't kiss me..but you would kiss him" he growls, anger slowly taking over his emotions.
Reaching out my hand to grasp his I say "I'm so sorry Jeffery. I really am. I-" .
Yanking his hand away from my touch, he stands up, his own tears running down his face. Rushing off, he leaves me.
Alone.
YOU ARE READING
The Supermarket Teens
Teen FictionGrace Morse had a plan. To continue her horrid job at the local Supermarket until college started. Then, she could escape the tight hold from her parents. However, things change when she runs into a rag tag group of teenagers. Taking Grace into thei...