Finding Grace

Chapter Three

~Jason~

It's been a week since I last saw Grace, and I feel so empty.

I walk aimlessly around our house, and everything reminds me of her.

I make the bed and clean our room and head out the door.

I pull up into graces drive way and knock on the front door.

Graces mom answers, looking so tired and worried.

"The twins are upstairs, they need baths and then you can do whatever to entertain them." She says, her voice small.

"Alright." I say back feeling weird.

"Thank you so much Jason." She wraps her brittle arms around my neck.

"No problem." I say into her hair.

I walk upstairs and find the twins in their room.

"Bye guys, I love you!" Ms. Collins calls and the door shuts behind her.

"Okay guys, let's take a bath." I tell the twins and they run to the bathroom.

I gather their clothes and follow them.

After they are nice and clean we decide to go to my house and play video games.

We pile into the Explorer and I buckle them in.

I cautiously drive to my house, afraid that I'd hurt them too.

Once we get into the house I turn on the Xbox for them and head to the kitchen to make lunch.

I make some tuna sandwiches with some chips and fruits.

I set the plates on the table and get them some water.

"Mae, Max, it's lunch time." I yell at them and I hear their little feet pad down the hall.

They eat quickly but I can't eat a bite with out bile rising into my throat.

They go back to the living room and I clean up the kitchen.

I join them in the living room and sit on the couch.

I keep dialing Graces number into my phone but never actually calling her.

I look at the pictures of Grace that I had snapped while she wasn't looking.

My chest tightens when I get to the one of Grace sitting cross legged on the bed with a pen between her teeth and a textbook on her knees. Her light hair has fallen on her shoulders and a few strands curl against her face. She has my white tee shirt on, and it stops mid thigh. Her face is bare from make up but she has her lip ring and nose ring in, and her ears have small little diamonds in them. Her lips are slightly pink, swollen from being pushed against the pen and her stark blue eyes cut through me like a knife.

Mae jumps onto the couch next to me, pulling me back to reality.

"I'm hungry!" She says.

I check my watch and it's almost 6 pm.

"What do y'all want?" I ask them.

They look at each other.

"Tacos!" They say in unison.

"Alright, let's go to the store and pick out everything we need." I say tears threatening to spill over.

They get their shoes and jackets on and we head to the car.

We get into the store and they immediately want to help, so I give them small little things to get while I get the majority of everything else.

We purchase our groceries and carry them to the car.