“The sympathy ones Danny told me about? For when he loses?” Gracie flashes a toothy smile, a little bit too happy for my liking.
“I’m not a loser,” I mutter under my breath.
“Yep, those are the ones,” Mom says cheerily.
Glaring at my mother, I whisper, “Et tu, Brute?”
“Do you need help making them?” Gracie asks.
Mom lovingly pats Gracie’s shoulder. “I’ll take any chance to spend some extra time with you.” She turns to face me with a smile on her face. “Daniel, are you off to your appointment?”
“Yep. Are you okay to stay here, Gracie? I’ll be back as soon as they’re done.”
If Gracie’s disappointed to lose time with me this morning, she doesn’t show it. “I’m more than okay with Janie time. I can’t wait to catch up.”
“The feeling is mutual, kiddo. Alright then. We’ll see you after, Daniel. Have a great appointment!”
“Yeah, Daniel, bye!”
Gracie’s mimicking attempt draws an eye roll out of me. “I’ll be back soon.”
I feel lucky I have these two women in my life…at least, for now. The alternative makes me sick to my stomach.
Chapter 28
Grace
Seventeen Years Old
“It’s too late for me now, the sickness will take me soon. I am plagued. Leave me and save yourself, Gracie.”
I pull the thermometer out of his mouth. 103.5 degrees. “You have a fever, Danny.”
He looks perplexed. “I don’t understand, I’m always in peak physical condition. It’s the end of summer. How does a little virus take me down?”
I shake my head, knowing all too well where this is going.
“Unless…it’s not a little virus. Maybe I was bitten by a radioactive insect and I’m turning into Wolverine.”
One thing about Danny is that he turns into a bit of a conspiracy theorist when he gets even mildly sick. Add in a high fever, and he loses his ability to keep his hero origins straight.
If Janie were here, she’d be caring for this delusional boy, but she’s taking pictures of the new music wing at the children’s museum. She even has to stick around for the evening banquet.Since Danny’s in no state to babysit, Tessa’s at her friend’s house for a sleepover, and I enthusiastically agreed to check on him.
This past summer with Danny was perfect. While it’s been filled with football camps for him and volunteer work at the shelter for me, we’re intentional about spending most of our free time together. Our friendship has never been stronger.
And Mae continues to be my rock. She trusts me to manage my own life. She’s started spending some time at our local garden center, where she tends to the flowers and hangs out with her beloved bees every day.
I turn off the overhead light in his room, leaving only his desk lamp on, and tug him up from his chair. “Okay, Tobey Maguire. Time for bed, big guy.”
We start senior year in just a couple of weeks, and I wonder how things might change. I can’t stop thinking about him. The emotions I feel when I’m with Danny are so much bigger than a teenage crush. I’m just scared to bring up my feelings. After he emphasized our “friendship” following our ill-fated movie night, I figured he wasn’t interested.
“Think about it, Gracie. It doesn’t check out that I’d get sick. I drink a ton of water. You know how many Flintstones vitamins I take,” he adds, like he’s proving a point.
I roll my eyes. “You’re ridiculous. It actually doesn’t make medical sense how messed up you get when you’re ill. You should be studied for science.”
Danny sighs and lies down in his bed, snuggling under the covers. When he reaches his hand out for mine, I let him lace our fingers together. He shakes our joined hands up and down like we’re acquaintances meeting for the first time.
“Gracie, my Gracie girl. The Graciest Grace Who Ever Was. The peanut butter to my jelly. The shredded cheese to my tortilla chips. The MJ to my Spider-Man.”
