On The Edge of Invisible.

Chapter 9 • almost foreshadowing

Grace

We walked into the big store through the doors, and I literally mean through them. It was an understatement to say I was tired, it had been a long two days and the first and last thing I wanted to do was sleep.

Matt had been weird with the whole "don't kill yourself" thing, but he was also very nice with the "I had cancer" thing. The latter of the two took up most of my attention. From experience, I was expecting him to flip out. To smile at first but never acknowledge me again without pity in his eyes. To treat me like a fragile glass doll, too afraid my feet would break by walking across the tile floor, just like everyone else had. But I was wrong. He was different.

My feet shuffled quietly across the tiled floor, instead of shattering. Glancing over at the bed I had slept in last time we were here, I shrugged my shoulders and walked towards it. I crawled beneath the covers and snuggled myself into the bed but before I fell asleep I couldn't help but to realize I was alone. Turning my body around, anything but gracefully, I find Matt setting up the pillows and spreading out a blanket on the couch.

"What are you doing?"

He shrugged, continuing his blanket spreading, "Getting ready for bed."

"One thing seems to be wrong about this picture."

He turned and raised an eyebrow in my direction, he rested his hands on the back of the couch, giving me a state of complete attention, "And what Grace, might that be?"

I rolled my eyes, trying not to blush at how cute he's being right now, "Uh, that's a couch, not a bed."

He smirked, obviously holding back a laugh, "Well sorry, I didn't realize I invited the furniture police to the party."

He picked up his stuff and started to walk towards a different bed.

"Matt!" He was either ignoring me or didn't hear my whispering voice.

"Matt!" I called, yelling this time, I caused him to flinch at the volume of my voice.

"What now?"

"Don't leave me here alone."

"Gra-"

"Matt, please." My eyes pleaded and I knew before he spoke that he had given in. He trudged back to the bed I was in and lifted the white comforter before sliding beneath it.

"Matt?"

"Hmm?"

I don't know if it was the bed, or if it was because I was beginning to feel more comfortable around Matt, but I felt like I could talk to him about anything, and I took the chance, "Tell me about your family."

He inhaled sharply, "I don't know-"

"Please, Matt."

He turned towards me under the sheets and I followed suit. We were close enough that our knees were touching, our eyes level, me gazing into his, him gazing into mine. He spoke in a tired voice, his eyes closed as his lips moved, "Okay.. Nancy, she's uh, she's kinda crazy.. I guess she's a typical little girl, she's a dancer. Everyday she comes home with a new story. The kind of story you know isn't true but you want to hear anyway because just listening to her talk makes you smile. I miss her stories sometimes.." He paused, but continued, "Luke, uhm, he's a baseball pro. I mean, I used to play baseball when my dad was still around, but I stopped, it was my way of coping, Luke, Luke coped by playing, it was his way of keeping up with dad. He always had jokes to tell, Luke and I, we constantly joked around, he never took anything super seriously. In school, he and I would always get he short end of the stick, you know, I'd always take it hard, but he, he got through it every time. I'm not sure how, but I wish sometimes that I could have gotten over things like he had, but I guess, being older, I saw things in a different light.."