Anything For Grace

Chapter 36

Elijah's POV...

I knock on Penelope's office door and entered once she obliged entrance. She was typing away on her computer, seeming busy, but her bushed eyebrows gave me emotion of concern. "What do you need? I'm busy." She sips from her cup and her office smelled like coffee.

I sat down at her desk, checking my watch. "You're drinking coffee at one? Did you not sleep last night?"

Her leg was shaking underneath her desk as she typed at least twenty words per second. It was scary how focus she was; she didn't even look at me since I came in. "Just trying to focus that's all."

"Caffeine is like a drug. It alters your reality." I comment and she sends something to the printer. "What's this?" I wondered as she handed it to me.

"The progress reports from marketing." Penelope looked beyond jittery and her eyes were glossy and red from not blinking. Something was bothering her and she was trying to cover it with coffee.

I'm not stupid; I'm learning her quirks and tricks. "Pen..." I call and she continues going. "Penelope?" She continues typing, not blinking one second. I grab her hands and raises them from her keyboard. "Penelope, stop!"

"What?!" She yells, yanking her hands back. She was strung out. Something was bothering her. She finally blinks and her eyes watered a little. Being the tough little cookie she was, she sucked any water back into her tear duct, not letting it fall. "What the fuck do you want?"

"Are you OK?" I questioned, arching my eyebrow. She looked deranged, but still pretty to me. Her forehead was giving me the worry wrinkles and her eyes were beady with distraught.

She stands up and paces her office. The heels on her shoes clicked against the floor. Pacing must helped her get her thoughts in order too. "How could I be OK when a war is coming, huh? You're planning on killing someone, who is control of a massive gang and there will be death!"

I stand up and walk to her as she was losing control over her mouth. Her words came out like vomit, like her brain overflowed and there was no other space but the air to release her concerns.

"Elijah, I'm not ready to die." She huffed through a cracked voice. "I don't want to die."

"You're not going to-" I grab her hands, trying to stabilize her. "You're not going to die."

"There's a chance."

"It's very slim, I promise."

"Promises don't mean shit, Elijah!" She yanks her hands away, not accepting it. She pulls her hair back from her face as she has a panic attack. "I'm not going to see Grace's seventh birthday and I'm just going to be a distant memory to her. I can't remember my days of being six. I couldn't tell you who I was around or what I saw on a regular basis! Grace isn't going to remember me."

I grab Penelope's face to get her to focus. "Hey, hey, hey!" I managed to get her to stop speaking. "Grace is going to remember you. She's going to remember how great of a mother you are. She's going to be fine."

"What if you die, huh?" She removes my hand, reverting back to her panic? "What if we both die?"

"That's not going to happen."

"You don't know that!"

"I will make sure you don't die, OK?" I stressed, but she huffs in disbelief like I don't have everything figured out. One thing about me is I'm always three or four steps ahead. "If I had even considered how it would make you feel, I would've stuck to my power and just avoided telling you about this."