Beautifully Knight (Jordan Knight Fanfic, Liadan #5)

Adulting and Auditions

-GRACE-

The low grinding sound of my locket snagging along the links of my chain necklace filled my ears as I dragged it back and forth around my neck and stared unseeing at the study guide that was laid out on the bed before me. I was supposed to be memorizing basic health facts ahead of my upcoming figure skating coach exam on body image amongst athletes, but as I read and re-read about the importance of proper rest, I found myself growing more agitated with every passing second.

The feeling of my phone vibrating across the bed caught my attention and I quickly snatched it up to discover a message from my best friend, Elaina Abernathy, asking if I was planning on coming to watch Nick, Ryan, and Tommy's auditions. With the local battle of the bands event just days away, the guys were starting to feel the crunch and the excitement of it all was palpable, but it wasn't the message that I'd hoped to see.

I cleared the notification from my screen and instead tapped into the thread of messages that Jason and I had fired back and forth earlier in the day. I scanned them all once again:

Grace: call me.

Jace: u ok?

Grace: are you with the medevac team?

Jace: yes

Grace: seriously???

Jace: ??? u ok?

Grace: no. we didn't talk about this...you haven't slept!!

Jace: it was last minute. we'll talk tonight. I'm not supposed to be texting anybody.

Grace: I'm not anybody. I'm your wife.

Jace: Cece...we'll talk tonight. We were just called out. I've got to go, love you.

Grace: you're going?

Jace: it's a routine flight, nbd, babe, i promise.

Grace: no big deal? seriously? every flight is a big deal.

Jace: I really can't do this with you, rn, Grace.

Grace: This? What's this? because I thought this was me worrying about you since you clearly don't worry about yourself. you haven't slept. tell them you're sick and COME HOME.

Jace: We'll talk later, love you.

Grace: Jason, please don't.

Grace: Jason?

A knot lodged its way in my throat as I stared at my last text and the same sense of worry I'd had when I first sent the message washed over me again.

Sighing, I forced myself to blink away my tears as I tapped out of the thread and returned to the texts from Elaina. I quickly sent a note asking her to wish the guys luck before I stuffed my phone in my pocket and shut down my laptop.

My eyes hurt and I needed to stop staring at a screen.

Unfolding my stiff knees, I forced myself out of the basement guest room and upstairs to the kitchen where the message board displayed a note in Gram's handwriting that she and Papa had taken the dogs for an evening walk.

I was sure she knew that Papa had told me the same thing when he'd peeked his head into my room before they left, but Gram didn't believe in leaving the house without writing a note. She'd left handwritten messages on the board for as long as I could remember—they were amongst the very first things I'd learned to read in cursive and I had fond memories of being the one to erase the board each night when I'd lived in the basement with my parents during the few months before my sisters were born. They held a sentimental value that usually made me smile, but today I found myself fighting back tears.