Escaping Grace: A Turning Grace Novel (9 page)

As if on cue, a knock came from the door before a plumply-built nurse walked in wheeling a tray of food.

“Good morning, Grace,” she smiled. “How did you sleep?”

I maneuvered myself into a sitting position. “I slept okay. Do you know where Tristen went off to?”

“I’ve got some delicious breakfast for you. You are really gonna love this,” she said enthusiastically, wheeling the tray closer to me and placing it just above my thighs. Did she even hear what I asked her?

“Um…thank you,” I mumbled.

She uncovered the tray, and it was as if I was suddenly in some kind of trance.

The plates were piled high; slabs of raw meat on one, links of slightly brown sausage on another, and a bowl of what looked like tomato soup with noodles sent my senses into overdrive.

The sight of what was before me was one thing, but the smell was something different altogether. It was without a doubt the same exact smell from the night I ended my beloved friend Phoebe’s life. It was sweet and bitter, smooth and rich.

I couldn’t wait a minute longer to tear into the irresistible cuisine that stared back at me. It was calling to me, whispering an order for me to take my first bite. And when I finally did, when the first tepid piece rested on my tongue, I drifted off into that faraway place again. That land where nothing else mattered, where every single thing in my life seemed like a million miles away from my reach, and I didn’t care.

The fact that it was lukewarm did not bother me a bit. I felt the velvety texture in every chew, sliding down my throat before finding its home inside of my ravenous stomach.

The volume of the sounds around me slowly began to rise, allowing me to hear the drip of the IV splashing down in the bag, pages turning on the nurse’s desk outside my room, and footsteps crunching on the dry grass in the courtyard outside.

My eyes were closed, but I could see tiny, glowing foreign particles floating around as if it were being viewed through a microscope.

My skin started tingling with the mixture of the warmth from the light streaming in through the window and the cold of the air flowing out of the vents of the Z lab.

And before I knew it, I was reaching for food that wasn’t there anymore.

I opened my eyes to find Dr. Roberson standing at the foot of my bed, reading my chart.

“How was your breakfast?” he asked without looking up.

I gently pushed the tray to the side and adjusted myself. “It was…”

I couldn’t find the words. 

“Filling?” he finished.

“Yes.”

“Good. We served you something different today. Something that your body really needed.”

“What was it?” I asked, hesitant to know the answer. When I first had the boar, I thought it definitely came from a human. I thought it tasted almost the same. But what I’d just eaten…it certainly wasn’t boar. It was better. A million times better.

So was it human?

I was still firm on my decision to have a human-free diet. And although I felt like there was something…off about this place and Dr. Roberson, I didn’t think he would be feeding us human meat. Number one confirmed that, and I trusted him more than anyone else here. Maybe what I’d just consumed was a different animal. A monkey or something (I wouldn’t have wanted to eat a cute little monkey, but whatever). Or maybe it was from the ocean.

“Oh, well it’s a special kind of meat only found here on the island. It provides a lot of nutrients and proteins, exactly what your unique circumstances require,” he explained.

He walked over to my IV stand and squeezed the bag. He ran a hand down the line that led to the needle inside the top of my hand. “I think you are about ready to get back to Laguna.”

I was relieved. The Z lab was not one of my favorite places so far. As a matter of fact, I would have liked to stay as far away as I could whenever it wasn’t testing time.

Besides, I wanted to get back to Tristen.

“Do you know where Tristen is?” I asked. He had to be waiting for me in my suite.

Dr. Roberson didn’t answer right away. Instead, he worked on getting the IV out of my hand.

Once he was done, he stood next to my bed and stared at me a moment. I was beginning to feel like he was going to tell me something horrible, like I only had a day to live. I was against immortality, but I wasn’t ready to go just yet.

“Grace,” he began. I held my breath. “Unfortunately, Tristen had to leave.”

He what?

“What? Why?” That didn’t make any sense. How could he just pick up and leave? It wasn’t like he lived on the next island over. It took days to get back home, and he wouldn’t just leave without telling me goodbye.

“It seems that his family no longer approved of his visit here. I had a lengthy conversation with his mother last night, which ended in our decision to get him on the next boat out as soon as we could.”

There was sincerity in Dr. Roberson’s expression. His tone was soft and almost at a whisper.

I stared down at my fidgeting fingers, trying to understand why his family would make him leave so suddenly. He was only here a day. If they didn’t want him here, why would they have let him come in the first place?

Dr. Roberson pulled a folded up piece of paper out of the pocket of his lab coat. “He wanted me to give you this.”

I stared at it as he handed it to me, hesitant to take it from him.

But that hesitation only lasted a minute.

I snatched the piece of paper out of his hands and opened it. I didn’t care if Dr. Roberson was standing beside me.

Grace,

I watched you sleep a little before I had to go. You looked so peaceful and I didn’t want to wake you. My parents are making me leave, but I’ll be back soon. I will text you when I get to the States.

Tristen

I didn’t know what to say.

I felt Dr. Roberson’s warm hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, Grace. Maybe in the next few weeks, we can contact his family and ask if he could visit then.”

I didn’t say anything. I didn’t know if I was pissed or hurt. Pissed that he would leave me a letter rather than waking me up to tell me goodbye…or hurt that he would leave me a letter rather than waking me up to tell me goodbye. It was all the same, and it all just didn’t make a lick of sense.

I fought back the tears that were stinging my eyes.

“Well, your clothes are in the bag on the chair. I will leave you to get dressed so that you can get out of here and back to your room. Nurse Irene will be in to go over your new food intake schedule. Now, it’s important for you to follow this schedule,” he said sternly as he looked down at me.

I nodded.

“And as for the food, we will have a special meal prepared specifically for you every day.”

Great. Not only was all the attention on me because I was “Patient Zero”, but now I get special treatment. I imagined this would only make me look like some kind of diva to my peers.

I nodded again, and he checked my vitals before leaving the room. I got out of my bed and headed toward the window.

I stared out into the courtyard, scanning it thoroughly and hoping desperately to spot a sexy, wavy-haired Tristen anywhere. Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe this was a weird joke Tristen was playing. Maybe he jumped ship and swam his way back to me because he didn’t want to give into his family’s demands.

But there was no Tristen. Anywhere. Only my fellow Zombrids sitting at a picnic table, laughing and chatting as if nothing was even wrong.

Didn’t they know that the first guy I ever cared about just left me!

There was a knock at my door before Nurse Irene walked in holding a folder.

“Okay, Grace. Let’s get you back to your suite.”

She went over all of the discharge paperwork with me. Apparently, my food intake schedule consisted of five meals a day, including at least two snacks. If for some reason I missed a meal, I was to report to Number One and he would make sure I got what I needed. If I began to feel any symptoms, such as increased fatigue, fainting, nose bleeds, ear bleeds, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or migraines, I had to report to the Z lab for immediate attention and treatment.

My testing was now moved up from once every two weeks to twice every two weeks. Lovely.

When she was finished giving me my sentence, I quickly got dressed so that I could get the hell out of there to check my emails and my phone.

I stepped out into the courtyard, feeling the refreshing warm breeze flow through my hair.

Physically, I felt like a million bucks! All five of my senses were heightened at the highest they could go. My stomach was full and satisfied; the same exact way it felt after I…did what I did to Phoebe.

It was still hard to admit I’d eaten her at times.

But as I practically jogged across the compound, my mind was moving much faster. The tears were still threatening to surge out of my eyes. I just couldn’t believe that Tristen would leave a note instead of telling me goodbye face-to-face.

“Hey, Grace! Wanna come hang out with us?” I heard Destiny’s voice coming from my left, but I didn’t stop.

I shook my head no harshly and continued to be on my way. I didn’t have time to stop. I had to call Tristen.

Number One was standing at the door as I approached my room. Before I could twist the knob to enter, he gently grabbed my arm.

“Grace, is everything okay?” he asked. He was clearly concerned.

I nodded, afraid to look up at him because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to hold back the tears any longer.

I stared down at the knob, waiting for him to get the hint and just let go. I felt his heartfelt stare on my face. He wasn’t stupid. He knew something was wrong. And it bothered him.

He finally let go and I instantaneously pushed open my door and shut it behind me. I lunged over to my computer, holding back the profanity that nearly escaped my throat when it decided to take its sweet ass time to load up.

And when it finally did, there was nothing.

Damn it!

Now I was more pissed than anything. Where was my phone?

I rummaged through my purse, throwing everything that was not my phone out all over the bed.

Got it!

I unlocked the screen. No missed calls. No messages.

I dialed his number. Straight to voicemail.

Taking a deep breath in and exhaling a big breath out, I plopped down on the edge of my bed, allowing the crushing blow of defeat wash over me.

Chapter 8

The Italian

It just didn’t add up. He was here for barely a day. He said that his mom was okay with him being here. That his mom talked to my mo—

I interrupted my own thought and dialed my mother’s number. I wasn’t very happy about giving into speaking with her, but I needed to know if she’d heard anything.

“Gracie?” I could hear the smile in her voice.

“Mom, have you heard anything from Tristen or his parents?” I wasn’t beating around the bush.

“Is everything okay, honey?”

“Yes. Just…have you heard anything from them?”

“Well, no. Last time I spoke to Mrs. Miles was the day Tristen left to be with you. Is he not there? What is going on?” She was concerned.

Shit! 

“Nothing. He…he had to go. And I was just wondering if you’d spoken to his mom because apparently she didn’t want him here anymore.”

“I don’t know what to say, Gracie. Maybe she just decided against him being there. Would you like me to call her and find out more information?” She was being super nice. Overly nice, even. I could hear it in her tone…she missed me. But that didn’t matter right now. And I certainly wasn’t ready to make amends with someone who lied to me my whole life.

But my heart stung…because I missed her too.

“No. No, don’t worry about it. He just left this morning, so I’m sure he’ll call as soon as he can.”

“Okay, honey. How are you feeling? Is everything okay? I’m sorry that he left, Gracie. I know that it’s hard to be alone. When your father left me, he didn’t even say goodbye…”

My father? Oh, she was pulling out all the stops. He left us when I was little, and she never spoke about Jack. I would ask, but she would change the subject. She must be trying to give me what I want in exchange for forgiveness.

As much as I wanted to hear about my father, now was not the time.

“Mom,” I interrupted.

She paused for a moment before changing the subject. “I’m going to talk with Mark about maybe getting me over to you. You know, so you won’t be alone.”

“Mom, I’m fine. Everything is okay. And I’ve been busy doing things,” I lied. “I really don’t think now is a good time for you to come.” I lied some more. It would have been a perfect time for her to come.

Tristen just left, and I was alone. Again. I needed her more than I wanted to admit.

“Gracie, are you sure? I can be there right away.”

“It’s okay,” I took a deep breath and tried to fight back the emotions that were getting ready to spill over. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.”

I held the phone away from my ear but I could still hear her. “I love—”

I pressed the
end
button.

I threw myself back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. There was an annoying feeling in the pit of my stomach, and it wasn’t hunger.

Something wasn’t right. Was it something I did? Tristen and I hadn’t been a couple for long, but our relationship was heading into the right direction. While he was here, he showed no signs of being upset with me or having second thoughts about us.

And what the hell was up with the note! It was like breaking up with someone through email. Who does that! Tristen didn’t seem like the type of cowardly guy that would do such a thing. That alone left me more perplexed than anything.

Maybe he was breaking up with me.

And now that I thought about it, if I hadn’t gotten stupidly hungry and began smelling him as if he were my next meal, we might have consummated our flourishing relationship. Maybe he was upset that we didn’t have sex. But again, he just didn’t seem like the jerky guy who breaks up with a girl because she wouldn’t give it up. And anyway, I wasn’t going to eat him.

Who was I kidding? I could have eaten him!

Did I really think, with my uncontrollable urges, that I was going to be able to have a normal love life with a non-Zombrid? Maybe he thought long and hard about it and decided to run for the hills. Dating a girl who stared at you like a juicy hamburger probably wasn’t a good thing.

There was a knock on my door followed by a, “Grace?”

I got off the bed and opened the door to Number One. “Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yes…I just…” I didn’t want to really tell him what was going on. Number One seemed to be the only person I would confide in at the moment, but talking about Tristen and my mom was the last thing I wanted to do. “Can we go somewhere?”

He stood up straight before answering. “Where would you like to go?”

“I don’t care.” I turned around to grab my bag before stepping into the hallway. “I just need to take a walk or something.”

I had two options: curling up in my bed and crying myself to sleep or getting out of my room. There were so many emotions going through me that I chose to not be left alone. I was crying on the inside though, because there was absolutely nothing I could do about Tristen leaving.  

“Uh, okay.”

We began walking down the hall, side by side. “So, what do you do when you aren’t watching my every move?”

He cleared his throat. “Well, I either hang out in my hut or I work out.”

“Oh, you work out, huh? I thought maybe you were just born that way,” I joked. I had no doubt in my mind that he spent most of his free time in the gym. I didn’t know what he looked like underneath his perfectly tailored suits, but you could clearly tell his muscles were screaming to get out of them.

“Where is your hut anyway?” I asked curiously. The only huts I’d seen around here were the main ones.

“It’s right on the beach. You didn’t see it when you were out there yesterday?”

“No, I guess I missed it.” I had gotten a lot of information about my Zombrid ways yesterday on the beach. I guess I didn’t pay attention. “I’d like to go work out.”

Number One furrowed his brows at me, almost as if he didn’t quite understand what I said.

We entered the courtyard and I examined it only with my eyes. Destiny and the gang weren’t around, but I wasn’t looking for them. My heart pounded at the possibility of seeing Tristen.

Number One stopped to face me. “Are you sure? There are other things we could do. I could take you to one of the trails or to one of the diving sites.”

“No, I want to work out.”

He glanced at me with skepticism behind his eyes before answering. “Okay. But first we’re going to stop in Newport to get some snacks to bring with us.”

“Afraid I might get hungry and chomp down on you?” It was meant to be a joke, but I was sure he had to think about that on a daily basis. He was surrounded by Zombrids all day long. And although I was certain he could take care of himself, what with his Goliath-like features and all, I wasn’t sure if being outnumbered would bode well.

And he would be one lean piece of meat.

What the hell was I thinking? No, he wouldn’t be lean meat! He would be bad meat. Bad!

I cleared my throat, hoping to wipe that morose thought out of my now guilty mind. “So, let’s go.”

We headed over to Newport to obtain a lunch bag full of snacks. I opened up the bag to take a peek. There were small Tupperware containers filled with basically the same thing I had for breakfast that morning.

The mouthwatering aroma reached my nostrils and I sucked it in. I wasn’t hungry just yet, but I could feel my stomach threatening to growl at me soon.

We got to the trail leading to the beach. It was just past midday. The ocean seemed calmer today, brushing up against the shore at a slower pace than it had been the last couple of days.

There was something soothing about the sound of the water sliding up and down the wet sand. It reminded me of the water at the lake near my house and the gentle smacking on the steps of the lake’s edge…and of that beautiful night with Tristen.

I lowered my eyes, trying hard not to think of him.

But I guess Number one noticed my emotional state. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“You know?”

“Well, Dr. Roberson mentioned that he had to leave.”

“Did you see him leave?” I asked, desperately hoping that he did. I wanted to know what Tristen looked like as he boarded the boat. I wanted to know if he looked sad or upset or completely elated that he was finally getting away from me.

Number One frowned. “No, I didn’t see him. He left in the middle of the night.”

I didn’t respond, and we walked silently for a moment.

“Do you normally work out?” he asked, I was assuming in an attempt to lighten the situation.

“Um…you know, from time to time.”

“You’ve never worked out, have you?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, we will just do some stretches and warm-ups today. Is this something you would like to do on a regular basis?”

I wasn’t quite sure, but it may have seemed like Number One was a little bit excited about my interest in exercising. He was pretty hard to read; he had an unyielding demeanor pretty much all the time. But I think maybe, just maybe there was a hint of keenness in his tone.

I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Well, we’ll see if you even like it. Exercise takes determination and motivation. If you don’t have those two, you will lose interest quick. You have to
want
to do it,” he explained. His deep voice was almost intimidating. Picturing him as a drill sergeant suddenly didn’t seem farfetched.

“Got it.”

I wasn’t completely sure if this was a one-time thing or not. At the moment, I just needed to take my mind off of the constant
why’s
floating around in there.

I never exercised before because I just never really felt like I needed to. Mom took yoga classes from time to time, but she said it was a way to relieve stress. Working out always seemed connected to losing weight in my opinion, and I didn’t feel like I needed to shed any pounds.

We walked for another minute or so before his tiny little hut came into view. And when I say tiny, I mean tiny.

I thought maybe it was the eye’s perception from the distance, but as we walked closer and closer, it didn’t get any bigger.

How the heck did he even fit in there?

However, even with its diminutive size, it was still cute. It looked exactly the same as our huts with the thatch roof and bamboo structure. Next to his little home was a sort of outdoor gym.

When he said he worked out, I was assuming there was an actual gym somewhere around here. But I guess he was the only one on the island that cared about fitness.

“I’m going to run inside and change. Do you want something to drink?”

“Um, sure.”

“Okay, I’ll be right out. You can just wait for me right over there,” he said, pointing to where the gym equipment was.

I walked over and sat on the weight bench. There was also an exercise bike, a treadmill, a stand holding just dumbbells, and a few other machines that I didn’t know the names for. One was that thing where you sit and lift the weights while moving your arms in toward your chest, then away. Kind of like a butterfly flapping its wings.

Number One was back out in no time, handing me my bottle of…whatever the red liquid was. I studied it. “What is this?”

“Have you tried it yet?”

I looked up at him, realizing then just how enormous this man was!

Now that he was finally wearing something other than a
suit, a sleeveless shirt and slinky gym shorts to be exact, I was able to confirm my suspicions. And he was the definition of fitness. His Herculean form was more than I had ever imagined. Every muscle in his arm was beyond well-defined, so much so that I could physically see and name each one if I wanted to. There was no way that he could bring his arms closer to his torso while he walked; the size would just not allow it.

His shorts landed just above his knees, but I could tell his thighs were as solid as his arms. And his calves were big enough for me to maybe draw a picture on them.

He was a beast.

I quickly shut my mouth when I realized it was hanging open. “Uh…no, I haven’t yet.”

“You should try it. The others like it. I keep it around just in case someone needs one.”

I opened the cap and took a swig. The thick, scarlet fluid slid down my throat smoothly. As soon as my mind registered the taste, I knew instantly what it was. And before I could take it away from my mouth to protest, the bottle was empty.

“Do you like it?” he grunted as he swung a dumbbell in each hand up to his chest. I was almost certain they weighed more than me. 

Guilt washed over me. Great. Not only did I love eating human and animal flesh, I apparently fancied blood too. You could add vampire to my long list of credentials.

I ignored his question. “So, where should I start?”

He set the dumbbells back on the stand and walked over to the bike. “Well, you can start on the bike. Loosen up your legs a bit. Stationary bike training is a great way to get a cardiovascular workout. It’s a good way to start if you plan on working out on a regular basis.”