Saved by Grace

by TJ Rudolph

  A few drinks later and my head was spinning and Sebastian came walking back to us with a grin on his face. “Guys, I kinda need a favor,” he addressed Chase and Dean.

  “Why does this sound like something we are not going to want to do?” Chase asked.

  But before he could answer, Blondie was on stage squealing like a five-year-old.

  “Hellooo everyone! We have some local celebrities with us tonight and they have agreed to do a song for us, maybe two if we can convince them.”

  Chase gave Sebastian a look and he shrugged his shoulders innocently.

  Blondie continued, “Please help me welcome on stage…” She dragged out the band’s name, “The Bleediiiiing Hearts!”

  Everyone cheered loudly and Bobby turned to me shaking her head. “It’s unbelievable that everywhere we go, some floozy knows Dean because of the band.”

  “That’s what you get for dating a rock star,” I nudged her and she rolled her eyes.

  They walked onto the stage and Sebastian spoke into the microphone, “Thank you all, I hope you enjoy the next song, which I would like to dedicate to one of our biggest fans’, the lovely Aubrey.”

  I assumed that was what Blondie’s name was because she screamed uncontrollably. Sebastian was charming the pants right off of her.

  They sang one of their hits, A Road Which Leads Me to You, and Bobby and I sang along. When it was done, the crowd shouted for more. Sebastian was at the microphone again. “In keeping up with tradition, we usually ask a lady to sing a song with our handsome lead singer, Chase Ryder. Aubrey? Would you bring Chase the names please?” he asked.

  Aubrey ran over with the names in a cowboy hat and lifted it above Chase’s head. He drew a name from the hat, looked at the piece of paper, stuck it into his jeans pocket and grinned. “Tonight, I have the pleasure of singing with a very talented lady,” Chase said. “Please help me welcome Miss Grace Delaney on stage.”

  My heart stopped beating in my chest. I looked over to Sebastian who had a mischievous look on his face and I silently vowed to smack him later.

  Chase was smiling even broader at me and I shook my head slowly.

  “It looks like we’re going to have some trouble getting her up here,” Chase said. “Would everyone please help me?”

  Everyone started to chant my name but I refused to move and Bobby was stifling a giggle. “Just go,” she said.

  Chase turned and said something to Dean and he started playing. I recognized the song immediately. It was the duet song, We Both Know. I felt bad leaving him up there alone without the female vocal, which the song required, I dragged my feet up the stage and to my horror, when I came close to Chase he stuck a guitar in my hand and Dean stopped playing. Chase started the song again and looked at me to join him and when I did, he stopped playing too. He sang and I joined him and the room went still. I looked at him and he looked at me, and in that moment, there was only the two of us in the room. Everything we went through this year, everything I overcame, was because of him and I knew I would love him for the rest of my life.

  When the song ended, the room erupted and I quickly walked back to Bobby. Chase, Dean and Sebastian followed. “Grace,” Bobby breathed. “Are you serious with that voice?” I blushed and downed the blue liquid in front of me.

  Sebastian had his hand over his heart. “Grace you are amazing.” And Dean shook his head in agreement. “That was totally bad ass, Grace,” Dean said.

  “If you’re interested,” Sebastian said, “I’ll kick Chase off as lead singer and you can join The Bleeding Hearts.”

  “Hey,” Chase pretended to be wounded.

  “I’d rather not.” I laughed.

  Chase came to me and put his mouth against my ear and my breath hitched, “I love you,” he said and I knew he felt what I did.

  Not too long after that Sebastian disappeared and we dragged a drunken Bobby home. I couldn’t wait to get her into bed; she was staggering around in the street, shouting how amazing I was.

  I put her into my bed and was about to tell her that I wasn’t going to sleep next to her if she didn’t shut up. But when I got back from the bathroom, she was sound asleep.

  I heard a light knock on the door as I was about to climb into the bed. I opened it and found Chase leaning against the door frame. “I just wanted to say goodnight,” he said pulling me against his muscular chest and kissing me, “and to tell you that you were amazing tonight. Thank you for letting go and allowing everyone to see just how amazing you are.”

  He let go of me and handed me the piece of paper which looked like the one he drew out of the hat. “Goodnight,” he said, smiling, and walked off to bed.

  “Good night,” I whispered.

  I went into my room, closed the door and went to lay in my bed. I wondered why he would give me the paper that he drew, which I assumed had my name on it but when I opened it, there was nothing written inside.

  Chapter 20

  I was woken up the next morning to Bobby planting a kiss on my head. I opened my eyes and looked up at her, she was fully dressed. “Where are you off to so early?”

  “Dean and I are going to leave,” she whispered. “We’re going to spend some time with his parents.”

  “Oh, really?” I said sitting up. “First time I hear about it.”

  “I know,” she said, “I’m just feeling a bit nervous, it’s a pretty serious step for me.”

  I laughed, “You’re just meeting his parents not marrying him.”

  “Do not even mention the ‘M’ word,” she warned, “I am nervous as it is and knowing Dean, I would not be surprised.”

  I laughed again. “You’ll be fine, stop stressing and enjoy yourself. You love Dean and he loves you.”

  “I know,” she said.

  There was a knock on the door. “Bobby, you ready?” Dean asked.

  I got up and put on my robe. “Let me see you two out.”

  When we walked outside I saw that Chase was also up, and helping Dean carry their bags to the car.

  “Goodbye,” I said, hugging Bobby. Dean waved as he climbed into the car.

  Chase closed the trunk and walked toward me, scooping me up in his arms. “Good morning, beautiful.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. “Good morning, baby,” I said back and he grinned.

  “So, what are we going to do today?” he asked.

  “I thought I would go around to Agatha since she asked me to come yesterday. You can stay here if you like.”

  A look of uncertainty flitted across his face and then he said, “I think I’ll come with you.”

  When we drove to their house, there was an uneasy silence in the car. Chase was going to see the house where I lived for a part of my life, with a boy I was in love with, and a boy that died in a car crash he was involved in.

  When we got there, Chase decided to stay in the car and I told him it was okay.

  I walked up to the house and was greeted by Agatha. “Hi, Grace, please come inside.”

  “Good morning,” I smiled as I handed her gift to her. “Is Chris here? I want to give him his gift.”

  “He’s in the kitchen.”

  I walked into the kitchen and Chris was washing the dishes. “Good morning, Pumpkin.” He smiled.

  “Hi, Chris, brought your gift,” I said.

  “Thank you, Pumpkin,” he said drying his hands and giving me a hug.

  “And here is yours,” Agatha said behind me.

  I turned around and she handed me a tiny box, with gray wrapping.

  “Before you open that, please come with me,” she said.

  I walked with her up to Aaron’s room and she opened the door.

  When she opened it, I stood back, shocked. His room was cleared out. Only his bed stood next to the window, with white sheets on it. His model airplanes he spent years building were gone. Mr. Green, the skeleton next to his cupboard, was gone, and all the weird anatomy posters on his gray walls were gone too.

  I loo
ked at Agatha.

  “It was time,” she forced a smile.

  She took a brown shoe box out of the white cupboard and handed it to me. “It had your name on it, so I didn’t open it. I’ll leave you to it,” she said.

  I went to sit down on his bed and looked at the box; it had my name written on it in cursive, in Aaron’s hand writing.

  My hands started to shake as I opened it.

  There were pictures in it, pictures of me. Sitting alone mostly, by the pier, at the beach, the different places that we went to and I never knew that he had taken pictures of me.

  At the bottom of the box, I found a white envelope. I opened it up and found a letter inside.

  Dear Gracy,

  I’m not sure how to tell you this and I don’t think that I ever will but maybe one day this letter will find its way to you.

  You may find this strange since I have always been like a big brother to you, or maybe that is how you saw me. But believe me I never saw you like a little sister. The day I saw you sitting on that swing alone in the park it was not as you assumed, because I thought you were broken, but because I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever laid my eyes on. In the five years of knowing you, that has never changed, in fact you look more and more beautiful every day.

  I put my hand over my mouth and my eyes started to sting with tears.

  I might be a coward for writing you a letter and not telling you in person and I might be a coward because you will never know this, but that’s only because I don’t want to ruin our friendship. And if I never get to tell you how I feel that’s okay because you will always be my best friend and having you in my life forever, watching you go through life as an artist, a wife and a mother is enough for me.

  I love you Grace and no matter what we become, I always will.

  Aaron

  The tears escaped and I sobbed uncontrollably, so much so that Agatha came walking into the room.

  “Grace?” was all she said.

  I handed her the letter and when she was done she started to sob too, but she had a smile on her face.

  “I always knew that he was in love with you,” she said.

  “Then why didn’t he tell me, it could have been so different?” I cried.

  “It was all that it was meant to be and you made him so happy, Grace, no matter what you were.”

  “But I loved him the same way,” I said, “and he never knew.”

  Agatha rubbed her hand over my hair. “Grace, the love you had for each other was enough for him, for both of you and maybe that’s why he held on to this letter because what you had with each other was already perfect. Yes, he was taken too early, but he lived his life to the fullest and he did it with the love of his life and his best friend by his side. Always remember that.”

  “Thank you for giving me this, Agatha,” I said standing up, “but I think I need to be alone.”

  I practically ran out of the house and forgot that Chase was waiting in the car for me. I took a few breaths and tried to pull myself together as I walked toward him.

  He immediately saw that something was wrong when I climbed in the car but he didn’t say anything, just squeezed my hand.

  “Can we go to the graveyard on Pictor Street?” I croaked.

  “Sure,” he said and started up the car.

  The drive over to the graveyard was quick and silent.

  “I’ll wait here,” Chase said as he pulled up to the gravel road.

  I climbed out and walked to a gray and white headstone which had Aaron’s name on it and a picture of him.

  I looked at the grave when I felt someone standing next to me and from the corner of my eye I could tell it was Aaron, but I didn’t turn around.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked as tears streamed down my face.

  “I didn’t have to, Grace. It wouldn’t have changed anything really, except the physical aspect of our relationship.”

  “But still, you could have told me and now I have to find out when you’re gone.”

  “We were happy, Grace, happier than most people who are in a relationship. You needed to see that letter to let go, to know that I loved you the same way you loved me and that is all that matters.”

  I turned to look at him. “So you’re saying goodbye to me now?”

  He smiled at me. “You are ready for me to, and I will always be with you. Maybe not the way you see me now, but nobody can take away the times we spent together and you can always hold onto that. Remember me that way, happy and at peace. You have a great life ahead of you. Grace, the one I have always wanted for you. I love you.”

  “I love you too,” I said through my sobs and he disappeared with a smile on his face.

  I turned back to his grave and looked at it for a long time until I felt an arm around me.

  “You okay?” Chase asked.

  “I think so,” I said as I rested my head onto his shoulder.

  He kissed the top of my head.

  “Do you think Aaron would have approved of me?” he asked.

  “He would have loved you, just like I do, and even more so because you saved my life.”

  “No,” Chase said as he turned me to face him. “You have it all wrong, Grace, you are the one who saved me.”

  The End.