Grace
October 6th
“What the actual fuck?” Bea rushes to me as I quickly look around, gathering my bearings. I glance at the clock and see that it’s only a little after 8 in the morning.
“Do you have clothes I can borrow?” I walk into her bedroom as I hear her stomp after me. I need to get back to Milly.
“Uhm? Grace, no way are we going to avoid talking about how you just suddenlyappearedin my apartment.”
I spin around to her, observing her short blue hair flying in every direction, clearly having just woken up. She smells like marijuana and has on a pair of jeans and a crop tank.
“We can catch up, Bea. I promise. But I need to leavenow. Just head to work and?—”
I start to turn back toward her room when she grabs my arm, spinning me back to face her. “I don’t have to be at the garage until uhm…later.” She hesitates, and I push my brows together at her stumble. Not yet.
“I just have to leave, Bea.” I start to panic, standing here a moment longer.
She ignores my statement. “You’ve beenmissingfor weeks, Grace. I sent you constant text messages. I even contacted your piece of shit father. You just finally replied last night that you were in a coma? And now you suddenly are standing here in nothing but a fucking towel? No way, Grace. We don’t play this with each other. ”
She looks me over, observing every detail of my face as her eyesstart to fill with tears—already bloodshot. My heart cracks as I pull my head out of my ass and realize that she’s been crying too. Bea has been searching for me for weeks. While I’ve been trying to save Milly, my best friend has been trying to saveme.Not knowing how she has been sends guilt rushing through my blood, turning ice cold at the realization that I have been distant since starting school.
Bea has always had the tougher demeanor out of the two of us, making the thought of her crying that much more shocking.
I swallow harshly as Ireallylook at her. Her eyes are puffy, and she has dark circles under them, too.Has she even been sleeping?I run my fingers through my hair and groan.I’ve been a terrible friend.
The girl in front of me has been loyal since grade school, a reliable friend I could always count on,no matter what. Yet here I stand, a month has passed, and I couldn’t point out what’s new with my supposed best friend. I rush to her and wrap my arms around her waist, and begin sobbing, feeling Bea shake in my embrace as she does the same.
Growing up with Bea saved my life. Losing my mother broke me, having an unsupportive father destroyed me, but having Bea? Having this sister in my life? Itstrengthenedme.
We attended the dances together, doodled at the park under the weeping willow every weekend, and often drove to the beach to listen to the local band play as we ate pizza.
I have only seen Bea cry one other time in the length of time that I have known her. That was the time she got the devastating phone call that her parents had been killed by a drunk driver. I’ll never forget that moment; it was the first time I ever saw her cry. And here she is, crying because ofme.Never again after that moment, until now.
She pulls back from our embrace as tears pour down her cheeks in a mix of anger, relief, and confusion. “Grace, seriously. What the actual fuck is going on?”
I look around the space, trying to figure outwhat to say, because how could she even believe me? I wouldn’t believe her if she told me she fell in love with a ghost. Or that she temporarily died a few weeks ago. How would I even begin to say to her that ghosts arereal?The only ones I think she’s familiar with are the ghosts of her past dwelling in her mind.
I close my eyes as I exhale a breath. I look into her bright, greyish blue eyes. “I’m sorry, Bea. Everything has just been…” I shake my head as I try to find the right words for what has been happening. The feelings of guilt and worry overwhelm me. “Everything has been mind-boggling. Everything I thought I knew? It’s all wrong. The impossible is suddenly possible, and I’m still trying to wrap my mind around it all. I was going to text you more, I swear. But I’m still trying to work through it all. I need you to trust me, Bea.”
I swallow as fear grips my heart that she could become involved in this horrifying situation now. I battle the urge to tell her every detail, knowing she would dive into this situation and help me no matter what. Even if she agreed to help me without question, I couldn’t let her help me blindly either. How do I ask my best friend, one of the most important people in my life, to potentially risk theirs?
“No, no no. Don’t pull away from me, Grace. I know you too damn well to let you brush this off with a simple ‘trust me’. Because that’s a load of horseshit. You know I trust you. Which is exactly why you’re going to tell me everything that is happening.” She crosses her arms over her chest and looks at me with a grave expression.
The weight of the realization sits like lead on my shoulders. Bea is involved in this now, too.
“Fuck.”
Chapter 31
Grace
October 6th
Bea has taken this news better than I thought she would. She sat on the couch with a cup of hot coffee as I talked animatedly about what had happened over the last month. Her expression remained one of nonchalance, except for the moments when I talked about almost dying. Her eyes were nearly bulging out of her head then.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I was entirely caught up in what was happening. I didn't have a chance to really sit with it.” I scratch the back of my head nervously. “I didn’t want to rope you into something this dangerous.”
She nods, taking another sip of her coffee before placing it on the table and standing up. “Let’s go save your girl.”
