Escaping Grace: A Turning Grace Novel (11 page)

“Yeah, come on. Everyone’s here. I’m dying for her to open our present. Well, I’m already dead, but you know what I mean.” Destiny laughed at her own joke.

I glanced over at Laguna for a moment and saw V standing on the porch. His hands were crossed over his groin and it looked like he was staring straight ahead, but I wasn’t completely sure because he was wearing sunglasses. A part of me wondered if he was watching us and it made my heart hurt a little. He should be over here. He may have been my bodyguard, but he had also become my friend.

I motioned for him to come over, but he didn’t budge.

Ugh. I would just have to go get him.

I ran over to him. “Hey. Come over and join the party.”

“No, thank you. I’ll just stand here and watch.”

“But why? It’s not like they aren’t your friends too. I mean, you may not talk to them all the time, but you live here with them. Come on! I’m sure Maddi wouldn’t mind one more person at her party,” I pleaded.

I grabbed his hand and pulled, surprising myself when I managed to get a few steps forward out of him. It was probably the Z juice. Zombrids got pretty strong when they have had what their bodies need. I learned that the other day when we were playing volleyball on the beach after lunch one day, and I served the ball clear over everyone’s head. It landed about seventy-five yards behind them in the sand. Ian was so impressed, that he had to measure how far it went. According to him, that was further than most quarterbacks threw a football.

V resisted at first, but quickly gave in and allowed me to link my arm with his. He walked with me like a gentleman. An image of V walking me down the aisle to give me away to my husband-to-be flashed in my mind.

I looked up at him right as he looked down at me, and there was a smile. A small, tiny, minute smile…but it was still a smile.

He was the closest thing to a father I’ve had in a long, long time.

“I make you do these things because I care, V.”

“I know.”

We got back to the table and sang Happy Birthday to Maddi. After all the clapping, Estelle cut the birthday cake and handed out slices while Charlie prepared the presents for Maddi to unwrap.

A piece of cake was handed to me, and I turned to hand it to V.

“Um…no, thank you. I’m fine.”

It took me a moment to understand why V was refusing a slice of the decadent dessert. Then I finally realized that it wasn’t made with the normal ingredients regular people used.

“Oh God! I’m sorry. I totally forget sometimes that you aren’t a Zombrid.”

“It’s okay.

I licked icing off my finger. “What do you think about us anyway? I’ve never asked you that before.” I spoke low and in his direction. I didn’t want the group to listen in and put V in the spotlight.

“Uh, nothing really. You all are just people that needed medical help,” he said blatantly.

“Yeah but, aren’t you a little freaked that we are Zombrids?”

He squinted his eyes as if to ponder on that question before answering, or maybe he was giving me crazy eyes. “No. You’re still human. You’re still you, just with a medical condition. And I’m paid to watch over you, no matter what you are.”

That probably would have hurt my feelings if it weren’t for that fact that over the past few months, V and I had grown quite fond of each other. He did his job, which was watching my every move to make sure I was safe and fed, and I made sure to make him feel included when the group did things like this. I learned that because my Zombrid blood was the oldest on the island, it was practically sacred. Dr. Roberson used my blood as a sort of footprint for his research. Apparently blood was taken from me after I turned as a kid and kept in some freezer over the years, but they were running low, so my decision to come here was just in time. This was why V protected me.

But our friendship had grown. Even if I was alone, I would invite him for a walk on the beach or to sit and help me with homework.

Although V had a tough exterior, he was a gentle man on the inside. He was an intelligent person who missed his family dearly. And I didn’t care how much he pretended to only be interested in doing his job. Everyone needed someone.

I often tried to convince him to speak to Robin, the receptionist on the first floor of the Z lab. V was intimidating and closed off, but he was still an attractive man. And from seeing Robin’s reaction every time she laid eyes on him, I just knew that there was an attraction there. He never mentioned anything about being with other women after his wife passed, but it’s been five years. I knew he needed a companion. No one could go that long without one.

Besides the constant refusal to ask Robin out on a date, he didn’t like to talk much about himself. So really, I did all the talking when we were together. I even put him through hours of venting about Tristen, which worked out in the end when he unexpectedly gave me advice:
Grace, you have too much to look forward to be hung up on one guy. If it was meant to be, it will be. But you should really focus on what you have now.

It was the easier-said-than-done type of advice, but I appreciated that he was even listening enough to offer some guidance.

“I think you like me more than you want to admit.”

“Maybe. Or maybe you’re more of a pain in the ass than anything,” he said, showing that tiny little smile again. One day, I will get him to show his teeth.

“Oh my gosh! I love it!” Maddi had apparently opened her gift from the group. She stood next to it, smiling as wide as her face would let her.

“You can display your seashells now. And it even has a light bulb inside so they will light up.” Charlie was just as excited as she was.

“Or we can display Destiny’s big ass in there,” Ian added.

Destiny slapped Ian on the back. “How about I chop off your balls and—”

“Okay! Why don’t we watch Maddi open the rest of her presents?” I raised my voice over Destiny’s.

After Maddi tore open her other gifts, V and Ian helped carry the display case back to Maddi’s room. Charlie followed and stayed with Maddi to help her get her seashells in place. Estelle went back to her room to relax. I briefly wondered if maybe that meant she was going to pray for a miracle death to happen.

Ian and V came back, and the four of us sat at the picnic table to pick off the rest of the birthday cake.

“Hey, mate. Do you want some cake?” Ian asked V.

“No, thank you.”

“He isn’t a Zombrid, dumbass!” Destiny shot back.

“Well, you never know. Maybe he likes eating raw meat and guts.”

“Um…no. Regular people would get really sick,” I pointed out.

They all nodded in agreement.

“But it’s so good!”

“Please, you haven’t even had the real thing,” Ian mumbled with a mouthful of cake.

I looked over at Destiny in disbelief. “Destiny, you’ve never eaten human meat before?” Okay, I still couldn’t get used to saying anything with the words eat and human in the same sentence. And the fact that Destiny had never eaten human before was kind of surprising. I assumed that every Zombrid here did at one point. I would have guessed maybe that was the reason why some of us were here; because our uncontrollable urges caused us to do something we shouldn’t have…like eat a human. Then again, Destiny and Estelle were brought to the island immediately after they turned.

“No,” she said as if to regret it. “Remember, I came here right when I was revived. So I’ve been eating boar and animal carcass ever since.”

“What about you, Patient Zero? Have you had your taste yet?” Ian asked with a devilish grin.

My heart began to race, as it had been months since I spoke out loud about what I’d done. I didn’t even know if V knew, and I was kind of embarrassed to reveal my story to him. I felt it would disappoint him, which was something I was terrified of doing for some reason.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Yeah, I…have.”

“Well, what happened?” Destiny, the Gossip Queen.

I looked down at my hands. “I…er…I got into a fight with someone and…bit her arm.”

I shoved a piece of cake into my mouth immediately after I said it. Sweets always made everything better, right?

“That’s not so bad! She’s still alive, right?”

“Yes. She’s still alive. But, then I…ate my best friend later that night.”

I glanced over at V and his eyes met mine. I couldn’t quite make out what I was seeing behind them, but for some reason it felt like there was a magnet pulling me toward him. I fought the urge to run over and hug him. It was weird, but I wanted him to comfort me.

“Holy hell! You killed your BFF?” Destiny blurted out.

“Nevermind the best friend. You got two in meals in one night! That takes skill,” Ian stated. His comment pissed me off. It definitely wasn’t a skill.

Destiny must have read my expression because she smacked him on the arm, knocking the spoon full of cake that he was getting ready to put into his mouth onto the ground.

“What? I’m not making a joke! It’s tough to get a decent meal out in the real world when you are starving the way we always are. Grace, no offense. Really. I know it must have been hard for you,” he said apologetically.

I didn’t respond.

“What about you? Have you had a taste?” Destiny asked, trying to match his rudeness.

“Yes. I have.”

There was silence.

“Well?” she shouted.

Ian went to open his mouth, and instead of spilling the beans on who his first taste was, he looked up above my head and narrowed his eyes. “Uh oh, guys. We’ve got fresh meat.”

Destiny and V both gazed up above my head. I turned around to face the balcony of the main building. It was where I had my first view of the Everlasting Paradise compound upon arrival.

It was the afternoon and the sun was right above us, its rays of light beaming down directly in my eyes.

All I could see was Dr. Roberson, Number Two, and a girl with long, bright hair standing near the railing of the balcony. They were facing each other and talking.

I held my hand over my eyes as if to give off a salute, trying to block some of the sun to get a better view.

But before I could focus, they moved away. “Where’d they go?”

“They’re coming down the stairs now. Dr. Roberson is probably going to give her a tour.”

I caught glimpses as they descended down the spiral stairs carved out of the cliff. Dr. Roberson was first, followed by the girl who was wearing strappy heels and a really short skirt. Her lengthy, tan legs climbed down the steps effortlessly, making me a bit jealous of how nice they were.

As they stepped onto the last step and into the courtyard, I could now see from the short distance her long, blond hair that reached her mid back. There was nothing special about it. It wasn’t done up or anything. It was just hanging off her head, but for some reason it looked like she just left the beauty salon. A long, pink sweater draped over her shoulders, hiding her arms underneath. She wore black sunglasses that were huge and nearly covered her entire face. All I could see were her pouty, pink lips.

Was this chick a movie star?

“Who does she think she is?” Destiny mumbled.

“I don’t know, but she looks pretty hot,” Ian acknowledged.

We were all thinking the same thing.

As they walked closer, Dr. Roberson began his tour and pointed to the different huts. He then glanced over at us and mouthed something to the girl.

My heart began racing, and I could feel the anxiety start to creep up from my toes to my throat.

As Dr. Roberson and the girl strolled closer and closer, my breathing changed into short, quick pants.

There is no way...

“And these are some of your fellow hut-mates, as we like to call them.”

“Hi.” I heard Destiny behind me.

“Hello.” Ian followed.

Then V, “Miss.”

Dr. Roberson looked at me, expecting a greeting for our new “hut-mate”.

The words couldn’t form in my mouth.

The girl smiled wide and pulled off her enormous sunglasses.

“Hello, Grace. Did you miss me?”

Chapter 10

The Killer

I tried to say something…anything to break the moment of awkward silence.

“Grace, you remember Sonny Westwood?” Dr. Roberson asked. His tone was calm. He was calm.

How could he be calm? This had to be a joke. A sick, cruel joke.

“Of course she remembers me, Doctor. I am unforgettable.”

“I…I have to go.” And with that, I turned on my heels and bolted.

“Grace!” I heard V call my name behind me, but I didn’t care.

I had to get as far away as I could.

Was I being a coward? Sure. But what the hell was I suppose to do? You know how they say your past eventually catches up to you? Well, it did. And sooner than I thought it would.

I ran past the Laguna hut. I really didn’t feel like sitting in my room. That was basically an open invitation for someone to come knocking at my door to make sure I was okay.

And I was far from okay. How could Dr. Roberson do this? How could he send over the one person in my life that truly hated me? I guess you could say I hated her too. I hated her because she hated me so much.

Ugh! I didn’t even know why she hated me!

Well, she hated me now because I took Tristen away from her, which ended up being a waste of everyone’s time. We didn’t even stay together. But why did she hate me before that? We had known each other for a long time, through grade school, but we never got along. I don’t even think we ever tried to get along. It was a hate/hate relationship from the moment we laid eyes on each other.

I ran down the sandy trail to the beach, stopping right before I reached the watery shore. I let my breath catch up and looked around, realizing that this was just another place someone could come looking for me.

I glanced over at the forest next to the compound. There was a trail leading into it, and it took me no time to figure out where I was going.

Jogging at a slower pace than when I started, I reached the entrance to the rainforest and followed the dirt trail.

I never really ventured outside of the compound and the beach since I had been here. Some of the others went on mini hiking trips, but those were the days I decided to stay behind to hang out with V.

It was a really humid day and the smell of rain was in the air. I could feel the warmth radiating off the plants and trees that were on either side of the narrow footpath. The ferns towered over me; their leaves seemed to be big enough for me to curl up in one.

If I was claustrophobic, I’d probably be having an anxiety attack. The jungle was very dense, making it nearly impossible for me to see anything in between.

I slowed down when I reached a weird-looking bridge. Yes…it was weird. There were white balls hanging down, sort of like volleyballs suspended from wires. It was made out of metal, but it still didn’t look very sturdy. Thankfully, the bridge didn’t cross a two-hundred foot cliff over water or anything. It was a cross-bridge for a narrow, shallow river.

The architectural shape of the bridge reminded me of…the Golden Gate Bridge?

A metal plaque welded to the metal frame read “GENIUS RIVER BRIDGE, MADE WITH MARINE DEBRIS”.

Hmm. I wondered if maybe an artist built it.

I stepped onto it and began walking across, grasping on to the railing when the wooden planks under my flip flops began to shake. Upon closer look of the white volleyball-looking things, I realized that they were actually buoys and clanked together with every step I took.

It wasn’t a long bridge at all and after a few more long strides, I was on the other side.

I walked deeper into the jungle, actually kind of enjoying the scenery. The trees stood tall and soon I could smell the aroma of blooming flora all around me.

The sound of a raindrop landing on one of the large banana leaves could be heard to my right, and then another on my left.

Great. It was going to rain.

And before I could even think about how much it was going to suck being caught in a tropical storm, the rain poured down. I was instantly drenched.

I reached a resting area in the shape of a circle, with a lone wooden bench. I plopped down, giving in to the rain that landed heavily on my skin.

How could Sonny be here? Or better yet, why would she be here? And if she was here, then she knew what this place was…and what I was.

To be honest, she had to be an idiot if she didn’t have some kind of clue as to what I was. I bit and ate her flesh right in front of her face. She had to know in that moment that something wasn’t right. There was no way she had been alive for seventeen years and never seen a zombie movie.

“Grace?”

I looked up to find Ian standing in front of me. “What are you doing here?” I yelled over the rain. The sound of it hitting the plants and trees made it difficult to hear anything.

“Are you okay? Everyone is worried!” Ian yelled back.

I stood up. “You didn’t have to follow me! I’m fine!” I turned to continue down the trail, but Ian grabbed my wrist.

“Wait!”

“What? Why?”

He didn’t say anything. I stared at him, watching the drops of rain slide down from his hair to his eyebrows, finding their way around and down to his nose then his mouth. His white t-shirt was soaked and stuck to his pecs. I looked away when I saw that his nipples were visible.

Then, as quickly as it started, the rain just stopped.

I hastily pulled my wrist away from his grip. “Go back, Ian. I just wanted to be alone for a bit.”

“Why did you freak out? Who is that girl?” he pressed.

I started to walk again, hearing his footsteps slosh behind me in the now muddy trail.

I sighed loudly to make sure he could hear.

“Is she from your hometown? Is she the girl you ate? Your best friend?”

I came to a halt and turned around. “What? No! How could she be? I killed my best friend!” I quickly turned away from him when I felt the tears threatening to come out. I didn’t want to start crying in front of him. I didn’t want to start crying at all.

“Well, I don’t know. Maybe she didn’t die. Maybe you didn’t kill her.”

“Ian! Stop it! Please! I don’t want to talk about Phoebe. I killed her, okay? I killed her!”

I saw the exposed root coming out of the ground, but it was too late to step over it. Instead, I tripped and fell to the ground, landing hard on my knees.

That was it. That was enough for an official breakdown. Thoughts of Sonny, Tristen, Phoebe, and being away from home all whirled around my head, and there was no longer stopping the tears. They came rushing out of me and before I knew it, I was sobbing uncontrollably.

I could feel Ian’s hand lay gently on my back. “Grace, don’t cry. You’re acting like a wimp! I know it’s tough, but you have to get over it. ”

“No you don’t!” I pushed him away, stood up, and began to walk again. “You have no idea what it’s like to kill someone you love!” I yelled into the air. How dare he call me a wimp!

When I didn’t hear his footsteps again, I turned around.

I immediately threw my hand over my mouth when I saw him. He was sitting in a puddle of mud, completely covered from the waist down.

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry!” I said with genuine sympathy. I didn’t mean to push him so hard.

He cocked his head to the side and smiled.

His smile then turned into a laugh. I continued to cover my mouth, trying to hide the grin that was going to turn into a laugh at any minute. But I failed and bellowed out the deepest, loudest laugh that had ever come out of me.

Our laughs grew and grew, to the point where we were clutching onto our stomachs and gasping for air. The type the laughing that left you with your mouth open and you looked like you were laughing, but nothing was coming out.

Finally, he held out his hand as if to ask me to help him up out of the puddle. I reached out and like a naïve sucker, gave my hand to him.

He pulled with one strong tug and I flew on top of him, causing us both to splash mud everywhere.

I giggled all the way down, trying to remember the last time I had this much fun.

I laid my head down on his chest, allowing it to bobble up and down against his hysterics.

When our laughs finally settled down and we tried to catch our breaths, I leaned back. He had his head lifted above the muck, and mine was hovering right over his. We were face-to-face and staring into each other’s eyes.

And without another thought, I leaned forward and kissed him.

I didn’t know what I was thinking. But at that moment, I was a girl and he was a guy… and we were covered in mud and lying in a compromising position. It just felt…right.

He kissed me back without hesitation, wrapping his arms around my waist. Our mouths parted and his tongue found mine.

The kiss was heavy from the moment it started. Our bodies made swift movements, and soon it felt as though there was tension between us that just needed to be broken.

I sat up and straddled his body, pulling is head up with me. His hands moved to my butt and squeezed, causing a sensation in me that I had never felt before.

I felt hungry, but not for food. There was a voracious feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wanted all of him, right then and there.

He stood up, picking me up with him and maneuvering my legs around his waist. We didn’t break away from the kiss. As a matter of fact, the sense of urgency grew and before I knew it, I was thrown down on the ground, away from the puddle.

The sound of birds chirping and insects buzzing surrounded us as he kissed me hard. I found the edge of his wet t-shirt and tried to reach in to touch the warm skin on his back, but before I could, he took my wrists and slammed my arms down on either side of me.

He bent down and nuzzled his face into my neck, alternating between kissing and biting my skin.

Rather than turning my head to give him more room to do what he needed to do, I fought against him. For some strange reason, it made me feel sexier…and that hungry feeling I had turned into an essential desire that must be satisfied.

Ian finally let go of my wrists and sat up to pull his t-shirt off. I watched the muscles in his chest and arms flex with every movement. He threw the shirt to the side and before I could think, he had mine pulled up and over my head.

The color of his eyes changed and he suddenly had a dark, mischievous expression on his face. He came down on me again, this time heading straight for the part of my breast that wasn’t covered by my bra.

Thank God I wore the black, lacy one Phoebe forced me to buy at Victoria’s Secret. I could almost hear her saying
G, you need this! Always be prepared because you never know when some hot guy is gonna rip off your shirt!

I moaned. The contact between his lips and that area of my body sent tingles through every nerve.

It was unbelievable, really. A few months ago, the only person that I wanted near this region of my body was Tristen. Unfortunately, he didn’t get that far with me but if he did, he would have been so gentle. So sweet. Now here I was with Ian, the Australian opposite of Tristen. Ian was tough and rough and was biting me a little too hard now that I thought about it.

He wasn’t Tristen. I wanted Tristen and Ian wasn’t him. Did I even like Ian?

“Wait,” I mumbled.

I thought I made a deal with myself that Ian was off limits. If Charlie found out about this, I was sure she would try to drown me in the ocean.

“Ian…”

Sure, Ian was hotter than hot. He was sexy and seductive, and you had to be an idiot if one look at him didn’t make you aroused in some kind of way. But I wasn’t ready for this. Ian was clearly very experienced at this and I wasn’t at all.

I wasn’t ready to give myself to someone this way.

“Ian, stop.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked while continuing his make out session with my chest.

I grabbed a chunk of his hair and pulled his head away. “I…I don’t want to do this.”

He sat up. “You sure?”

“Um…yes. I’m sure.”

“Okay. You say no, then it’s no,” he said nonchalantly, almost as if it wasn’t the first time this has ever happened. He bent over to grab his t-shirt.

I covered up my barely naked breasts with one arm while I picked up my t-shirt. I turned around to put it on, suddenly feeling self-conscience.

“Grace, don’t be silly. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You are hot!”

“Well, thank you. But…”

I was fidgeting from his comment and couldn’t find the hole to fit my head through. He walked in front of me and helped.

“But what? Grace, you don’t give yourself enough credit. You are tougher and hotter than you think.”

“Yeah, well…I don’t feel like it,” I admitted.

We started to head back toward the beach. “Why not? What does any other girl have that you don’t? I’m not going to run down a list of things to help boost your ego or make you more confident. You already know what they are. You just have to believe it. Besides, you are a Zombrid! That makes you a badass in and of itself.”