Right at the end of class, Grace gives me her phone number so I can tell her when I am on my way to her house. She texts me that she is ready to go around 6:00 and I make my way to the address that she sent me.
I am shocked to find myself in a neighborhood filled with fancy houses, each larger than the next. When my GPS says that I have arrived, I text her to come outside. Her house is two stories and contains two garages that I assume can fit two cars each. In front of the large front door are two pillars as white as paper. It appears as if someone has cleaned and polished the marble every day.
Grace comes outside of the front door, wearing a white short-sleeve shirt and a cherry-red skirt. Her normal sweater and skirt is slightly altered and her hair is pulled away from her face. However, she appears to be in a good mood.
"Sorry I'm late, I told my mom that we are working on a project." she tells me while
getting into the front seat, "I need to be home by 9:30."
"How are you late?" I ask, putting my car into drive, "That was like...an extra minute."
"Oh...well-"
"You're fine Gracie, I wasn't waiting that long."
It takes me a moment to realize that I actually called her Gracie. That sounds like something that she would've been referred to as a child. However, she is as naive as a child, no doubt about it. It isn't like I am aware of the whole world, but she has been sheltered in this gated neighborhood for possibly her entire life.
"Your house is huge." I finally say, looking towards her as I speed out of the neighborhood, "It's like something out of a movie."
"My mom is a cardiothoracic surgeon and my dad is the owner of a car shop" she says, "We've lived here for a while."
I drive in silence as the radio plays the same station that I chose not to skip when I went to smoke with Axel and his friends. I don't recognize the song, but Grace hums it beside me.
"You know this song?" I ask, stopping at a red light.
She nods, her eyes large and her lips parted, "Yeah, it's Emperor's New Clothes by
Panic! At The Disco, I love this song."
As the chorus comes on, she begins to softly sing along."I am so much more than royal. snatch your chain and mace your eyes."
"Jesus." I laugh as she continues to sing along, "I didn't take you to be the type of person to listen to this music."
"I-I don't." she shakes her head, "I've just heard it before...my friend Penelope likes this band...well liked."
I turn to face her and notice a look of slight discomfort. Was it something that I said? Did I do something wrong.
"Why doesn't she like them anymore?" I finally ask, "If you don't mind me asking."
Grace bites her lip, then finally talks, "Over spring break, she caught meningitis. The doctors didn't catch on in time."
"Oh..."
The music continues to play as my car is once more filled with silence. I can tell that what she told me was very personal and I feel guilty for some reason. I know that the girl isn't my friend, but watching your own friend go deaf must be hard.
I pull up to a sign that has DANGER in white letters, surrounded by a red oval and NO TRESPASSING below it. It is zip-tied to the chain link fence and just beyond the restricted area is a large field. The sky is painted like a canvas, the sun setting and a warm pinkish-orange color cascading across the hills. Within the inner city of Chicago, there were never mountains. Just flat land eventually water that separates us and two other states. However, the small specks of black bushes (that were once green) and dirt that grinds against my rubber tires is unfamiliar yet peaceful.
"You took me here?" she asks as I take the keys out of my car and unlock the doors, "It says no trespassing."
Realistically, I drove to wherever I wanted to and eventually found this place. It is actually stunning and part of me is glad that I found it here.
"Yeah, it's not a big deal. We can just hop the fence." I say while getting out. It is still warm, but I can't help but frown over the tight feeling against my chest.
Grace gets out and approaches the fence, interlacing her fingers through the holes. I do the same and without a sense of hesitation, begin to climb. Once I am on the other side, I recognize how nervous she is.
"You'll be fine, just climb." I call out.
She takes a deep breath and climbs up the fence. When she arrives at the top, Grace swings her leg around and begins to climb down. Her foot slips from one of the holes and she comes crashing down.
YOU ARE READING
binded
Dla nastolatkówGrace's life is normal. She has lived seventeen years of her life as the type-A girl with perfect grades and adoration from her parents. She has everything in the palm of her hand and doesn't want that to change. Zane has a secret. He is on the run...
