Soulmate

Chapter 59: Back To The Party

Becca

    Then the sliding glass door opened, Alex came out, popped a chip into his mouth as he waited for Grace to come outside, and the boys were still joking about their sex life. Sharla was staring at me and then she raised an eyebrow when I finally glanced at her. "Hey, Alannah and Becca, let's go see if Grace needs some help. I think she was going to bring out a few more snacks," she insisted even though I didn't believe her.

    Instantly, we climbed out of the pool, tried our best to dry off, and then walked passed Alex who was paying attention to the food instead of us. Grace was standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, and every muscle in her back was tensed as she hunched over. I wanted to vomit as I noticed the harsh outline of her spine. She needed help. Had Sharla known that she needed us? How didn't I know?

    My first instinct was to rush to her side, like I always did when we were young. "Grace, what is wrong with you?" I asked as I brushed her hair away from her face.

    For some reason, she had taken her ponytail out and her eyes were closed. Her breathing was slow, and I wondered why Alex wasn't in here with her. "I'm fine, I just need a minute," she hissed, shrugging my hand off her shoulder.

    I backed away and glanced over at Sharla as she walked over to our mutual friend with a roll of her eyes. "Grace, we know you aren't fine. I don't know why you're having a meltdown, but you know you can't do this. Especially, right now," she ordered in a stern voice, like a teacher talking down to a child.

    Grace looked over at her and I heard her breath catch in her throat, shaking on its way out. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I know I can't be crazy. Nothing happened, Alexander and I were only talking," she insisted, letting her voice trail off. She refused to look at any of us.

    Sharla looked at me and then back to Grace with a soft look, like she was trying to help this poor child. "Alright, well, Alannah and I are going back outside, but Becca will be here, so you can talk to her. I think you should tell her," she shot back, and then before anyone could protest, she dragged our silent Alannah outside. Why does she think she can boss all of us around? At least she acts like she knows what she's doing.

    Grace staggered away from me and flopped down in a kitchen chair, putting her face in her hands. "I don't know what's wrong with me," she muttered, her voice muffled, but I could still understand her. I had years of practice, when she would cry into a pillow, but also try to talk to me.

    I sat down across from her, waiting for her to elaborate, but I quickly realized she wasn't going to. "Grace, what happened? You stopped talking to me, and now you've lost so much weight. I don't know what to make of this situation," I rambled, feeling helpless. I always know what to do, but what can I do right now? Sharla seems to have it all figured out, so maybe she should've stayed in here.

    She moved her hands, and pushed her hair away from her face; her features looked normal, maybe a little tired. "After I didn't meet Alexander, and after grandma died, I was sent to the genetic anomaly laboratory. Alexander says I have an illness called depression, and maybe Anorexia Nervosa, and I've been trying to get better. There's a lot of symptoms that could be a lot of different illnesses, but that's what he narrowed it down to. I got overwhelmed and had a meltdown; I'm fine," she grumbled, avoiding my eyes.

    I wanted to yell at her, and demand to know why she hadn't talked to me about all of this. Why did Sharla know? "I wish you would've told me about it," I shot back, trying to keep my tone nice even though I wanted to explode on her.

    Finally, she looked at me, her eyes were dead. "No one was supposed to know. If they find out that I'm still struggling, then I will be sent to the lab. Everyone' s memories of me will be wiped, and I won't be the only one sent in. Alexander's mom will be sent in too, and all of the kids will be tested. It's a big giant mess, and the pressure is getting to me. I don't know if I can spend the rest of my life pretending. We got in a small argument about it. I don't think he realized how upset I was, or he would've stayed," she explained, and she started filling with life again. "I need to get back out there before everyone worries." She was faking it.

    "Grace, you're worrying me. Do you want me to get Alex back in here? You two can talk and I can distract everyone until you're ready," I suggested, wanting to make sure she was okay before I left.

     Then, she stood up, and shook her head. "No, it's time to get back to the party."