A ghost of an idea hovers in the back of my mind. “I’ll drop her off. But I need you to promise me all y’all won’t leave Connor and Isabel’s. Not for anything.”
“Wild horses and rabid dogs couldn’t drag us off Isabel’s couch. It’s too damn soft,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice. “Don’t worry, AJ. I got her. Promise.”
When the call ends, I start my own group chat. I add Connor and Jasper, but before I can figure out what to say, scroll through my contacts until I find Hardison’s name and add him too.
AJ: I need a favor. It involves paint and some heavy lifting, but pays in pizza and beer. If you’re in, be at my place at 7:30.
Grace
I sink deeper into the couch with a mug of tea, the scent of chamomile and lavender as soothing as Belle snoring at my side. Karen took it easy on me today, which means she’s got something truly sadistic in mind for tomorrow.
If she tries to combine the clothespins with some sort of balance exercise…I might cry. But for now, I’ll relish in the victory of having had enough stamina to throw the tennis ball for Belle more than a dozen times—with my left hand—before my grip strength faded into nothing.
I should pick up my sketchbook and try to coax some of my memories free, but it’s so quiet and peaceful right now. Yesterday’s winds gave way to a clear blue sky, and AJ’s outside raking leaves, leaving me a few minutes to just…be.
Did I have this where I was? These little moments of quiet? Belle’s breath tickles my palm. I smell fresh pine. And…carrots?
Don’t fight it. Let yourself remember.
“She’s kind of like you,” an older man says. His face is lined, but there’s a wary kindness in his brown eyes. “If she could, she’d run away from here and never look back. Go ahead and give her a treat.”
I stare down at my hand. At the piece of carrot clutched in my fingers. The horse stamps her foot, and I yelp.
Panic threatens to drown me, but Belle noses her way under my arm until her head rests in my lap.
I’m home. And though my heart is pounding hard enough I can feel it in my ears, I know one more thing about the place I was held.
There were horses.
The headache throbs in my temples. I should get more tea, but when I tried to get up a few minutes ago, the room tilted sideways, and I almost toppled over. So, I pick up my phone and scroll through all the playlists Emi made for me. Music will be a good distraction.
I’m about to try “Late 90s Rock,” when a new message comes in to the group chat.
Parker: Girls’ night. Isabel’s place. 6:30. Grace, you in?
My heart leaps into my throat. Leave the house? Alone? Without AJ?
My hands start to shake. I don’t remember going to restaurants, shopping…living. I’m sure I used to do all those things, but now…?
Grace: You know I can’t drive, right? Then there’s the matter of my slightly overprotective husband. Y’all would have more fun without him standing in the corner of the room all night.
Three sets of chat bubbles dance across the bottom of the screen.
Emi: We have queso. And tequila. Fun is a given.
Isabel: Popcorn too. With extra butter.
Parker: Don’t hate me, but I already cleared it with AJ. He was a bit twitchy, but I got him to agree to drop you off and not hover outside Isabel’s house all night. There may have been threats involved.
Grace: Wait. You called him first?
Parker: I had to, babe. AJ doesn’t do well with surprises. He would have gone full growly caveman. It would have been a whole thing.
Isabel: She isn’t wrong.
Emi: He does that thing with his jaw. Jasper does too, but with AJ…it’s twice as intimidating.
Grace: You’re all sure you want me there tonight? I don’t exactly remember how to have fun.
