In the Middle

Chapter Four

Grae woke up with a pounding headache. Looking at the clock, she was shocked to see it read 1:46. In the afternoon. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept that late. Having trouble sleeping with so many thoughts running through her brain, Grae had turned to her old friend Merlot, hoping it would help her relax enough to fall asleep. Grae tried to recall how much wine she had let herself consume the night before when the purpose for consuming copious amounts of alcohol came rushing back to her. The program - she didn't make the cut. Tears clouded her vision, and Grae used everything she had in her to stop herself from having another meltdown. She couldn't handle it.

Looking at her phone, Grae was shocked to see she had multiple texts and missed calls, a majority from her parents and her brother Patrick. This had Sienna written all over it. Grae let out a groan as she realized she was going to have to deal with her family sooner than she had expected. She wasn't ready to hear the chorus of, "Now you can move back home!" Reminding herself that she was an adult, capable of making her own decisions, Grae put her phone on do not disturb, deciding that she would follow through with her original plan of prolonged avoidance.

Snuggling back into her pillows, Grae tried to think of all of her favorite things in the world to help her relax. Said list included: puppies, coffee, old Miley Cyrus songs, sunny days... God, she really was a simple girl. Despite her slight annoyance at the fluffy list she curated, it did help to improve her mood. Just as her eyes closed, and a scene that included a room full of puppies played behind her closed eyelids, the front door of her apartment opened with a loud bang, signalling the arrival of someone whom Grae assumed was Sienna.

Loud footsteps began to make their way in the direction of Grae's room. Grae started to panic when it dawned on her that there was no way in hell that Sienna's foot could make that loud of a noise. The knob on her door started to turn, making Grae do a quick scan of her room. The only weapon-like objects within reach included a rather large textbook and a pair of hoop earrings (she'd have to be creative.) Feeling dismal at the prospect of her being able to knock someone out with a hit of her Psychology textbook, her thoughts drifted to those of her life coming to a sad, messy, depressing end. She pictured her tombstone: "Here lies Grae. And her future career as a world-renowned Novelist." Maybe this was her destiny. Dead before age 25 and her life summed up in a 60 minute episode of Dateline depicting her as a girl with a "bright future ahead of her when it all went wrong."

The door creaked as it began to open, a large combat boot-clad food stepped through her doorway, a tall body dressed in jeans and a flannel followed. Her murderer dressed just like...

Patrick. Her brother. The "murderer" who just entered her room. Shaking her head, Grae sent herself a silent reminder to cut the melodrama.

"How did you get in here?"

"Grabbed the keys from Mom. I tried buzzing and knocking first, but just came in when no one answered."

"How did you know to come?"

Patrick looked at her as if she had two heads sitting atop her shoulders. "What?"

"I mean, Mom must have sent you because I wasn't answering my phone. I'm fine. Just didn't want to talk about it. I'm trying to move on."

"Seriously?"

"Really, totally fine. Just need to figure some things out regarding the apartme-"

"Grae, we planned this weeks ago. You said you'd help me pick out some furniture for the gallery." Patrick owned an art gallery in their hometown, and was looking to update the decor now that the business was off the ground.

"Shit. It is Saturday. I completely forgot! Give me a few minutes to change and I'll be ready!"

"No, backup. What did you mean about the apartment? And moving on? What's going on, Grae?"