Turning Grace (16 page)

Hearing Tristen’s heartbeat against my ear was what slowed down my crying, until finally there were only sniffles. I looked up at him, curious to see if he’d fallen asleep.

“Do you feel better?” he asked, glaring into my eyes. His thumb slowly grazed my cheek, wiping away the last of my tears.

I nodded and before I knew it, his lips were on mine. He tightened his grip around my body as his soft lips pressed against mine. It was long and sweet, followed by smaller, shorter kisses. Slowly, he turned his body and lifted, resulting in me lying underneath him. I bent one leg, allowing his leg to fall in between mine. Holding his body up with one arm, as if to not put too much pressure on me, he smoothed my hair out of my face with his free hand and stared into my eyes.

“Grace, you are so beautiful,” he breathed.

“How can you say that? I’m not nearly as perfect as Sonny,” I stated.

“Are you kidding me? You are far more perfect than Sonny. She hides behind a pound of makeup and expensive clothes.”

“Yeah, but you like that.”

“No, Grace. I like you. I’ve always liked you.”

“You what?”

“You heard me. I have always liked you, Grace.”

“Since when?”

“Since my first day at Middleton
, sophomore year. You were walking into art class and I was already at my desk. You’re hair wasn’t this long. It was right at your shoulders.” He chuckled. “You had the cutest little look on your face, like you were nervous about our first day of school.”

I remembered that day as if it were yesterday. It was the first day I laid eyes on Tristen…and the first day I knew I wanted to be with him. “The first day of school is always nerve-racking. Why didn’t you talk to me?”

“Because…you intimidated me.”

Oh come on. He had to be joking. “I was intimidating?” I asked, surprised.

“Well, yeah. You had already been there a full year before me. You were so adorable. I was this scrawny little dude and you had this big, beautiful hair and those tiny freckles around your nose. I didn’t know what to say to you,” he admitted.

“Wow, that is almost believable, Miles.”

“Well, you better believe it, Watkins. By the way, I like this last name calling. It’s sexy,” he grinned a devious grin. I sunk into the couch as my breaths grew heavier.

I smiled the sexiest I could and whispered his last name. “Miles.”

This obviously worked because before I knew it, his lips were on mine again, with more force. He relaxed his arm a bit, allowing his body to press against mine. His tongue entered my mouth and found mine, and began their dance. There was a sense of urgency in our kiss, but our bodies didn’t match. We maneuvered to each other’s movements, slowly finding a perfect rhythm. His hand reached down to my leg, lifting up my thigh and slowly caressing my skin all the way up to my stomach. He didn’t move under my shirt. Instead, he reached for my face and stroked my cheek with the back of his fingers.

I melted further and further into him with every touch. I let my hands roam free on his bare back, tracing my fingers nails up and down the curves of his muscles.

The notion of sex was always in the back of my mind when I thought of Tristen and me. I was almost certain that he was no stranger to it. He and Sonny were together for some time, and it only seemed natural for them to explore and become intimate. Not to mention, something told me that Sonny was the promiscuous type. But let’s face it: I was a hormonal teenager with a sexy guy stretched out on top of me in the dark.

My mind was drifting off to places I had never explored and my body was moving in ways it never had while Tristen kissed me. There was no sense of anxiety or nervousness as I pondered on the possibility that this may very well be the last moments of purity for me.

But as we continued kissing under only the moonlight seeping through the blinds of the one window in the room, I realized that Tristen was going no further.

I wanted it. And I began to get the suspicious feeling he wasn’t on the same page.

I pulled away from our kiss, catching a breath and looking into his eyes. His were still closed as if continuing to be in a state of bliss.

He finally opened his eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Are you?” I asked, curious as to why he was holding back. Honestly, I wasn’t completely sure I was on board. However after everything I had been experiencing, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad thing. Who knew what tomorrow would bring or if this would be my only opportunity to share my first time in ecstasy with him. There was no one else I would rather share it with.

“I’m more than okay, Grace. I have you in my arms. I’m kissing you. God, you are such a great kisser. I can kiss you for days.”

“Is that all you want to do?” I asked bravely, bracing myself for his answer.

He sat up, resting on his heels, and pulled me up with him. “Grace, are you insisting we have sex right now?”

I looked down at my hands and began to fidget. Great, maybe I
was
that easy.

He pulled my chin up with his finger. “Trust me, I do want to. But…not here. Not now.”

“Why?”

“Because Phoebe and Eric are in the other room. Because of everything that happened tonight. Because I want it to be romantic and during a time when we’re hoping the cops won’t come and smash down the door searching for you.”

“But what if they do? What if I get into trouble and they take me away?” I asked, suddenly realizing that could very well happen. Not only the cops taking me away, but Dr. Roberson taking me away to Costa Rica. Panic crept up through me when I recognized that this could be the last moments I had with Tristen.

“That won’t happen. I won’t let it. We’ll figure it out, Grace. I just got you, I’m not letting you go that easy. I will run with you.”

“I feel like this is a dream. Like you aren’t really here right now,” I admitted.

“Well I am. And I’m not going anywhere.”

My heart began to sing a love song when I heard those last words. It was as real as it would get. Tristen was finally here and not just in my thoughts. The truth was that he always wanted to be here. With me. And I couldn’t be happier.

He hugged me tight before planting a small kiss on my lips. He pushed me down to the couch with him and I rested in his arms,
quietly listening to his heartbeat. We didn’t speak, and soon sleepiness overpowered everything else. I drifted off into a slumber with the thoughts of Tristen and me frolicking on the beach of an island…off the coast of Costa Rica.

Chapter 14

The Object

My eyes popped opened. I couldn’t see anything. I couldn’t move. I felt a weight on my back, but I was not sure what it was. The only thing I was sure of was the striking hunger in my stomach. I felt my veins throbbing through my skin as my heart pumped and the nauseating feeling of emptiness washed over me.

I was starving. My mouth was dry and I couldn’t think of anything else but the taste of human flesh. I stood up from where I lay, struggling to keep my balance and fighting against the weight of my own body pulling me down to the floor.

I wanted to eat. I needed to eat.

There was a smell. There was a smell familiar to me in the air. I could taste it. I could almost see it in the darkness of the room.

It called to me, a small voice inside my head. I saw the smell and it gestured for me to follow it.

I listened. Slowly and eagerly I allowed my body to ensue. I imagined what the end of this trail had to offer. I envisioned a delicatessen of sweet blood and mounds of flesh. My mouth began to water.

I opened a door into darkness. I heard or saw nothing, but the scent grew stronger. The smell led me to something. Something soft. Something warm. I kneeled down next to it, closing my eyes and taking in the heavenly familiar aroma.

My heart began to race as I stroked the soft, warm object that was now at the level of my waist. Whatever it was, it seemed to be in a parallel position. I took in a deep whiff from point to point, hearing my stomach howl at me to begin my feast.

I rubbed my hand slowly against the object, allowing the warmth to seep through my cool fingertips. I brought my nose down, inhaling one more large breath before I finally opened my mouth wide and sunk my teeth in.

Tepid liquid quickly began to pool around my lips. I sucked it up and bit down deeper, making my way through the layers. With each one, I dug deeper with my teeth, gnawing through…eagerly awaiting the moment I tasted what I was yearning for.

But before I could make it there, I heard a screech and the object began to move.

It was moving. It was trying to get away from me.

It couldn’t. It was mine.

I held it down, using all of my strength, as I searched around with my free hand in the darkness. I felt something. Soft, feathery... almost like a pillow. I grabbed it and quickly laid it over the source of where the moans were coming from. The object tried to push my arms away but I fought it. I had to protect what was mine.

I pressed down hard using both my hands. The object continued to try to maneuver its way out of my hold, but I used every ounce of force I had to keep it still.

Then finally, it stopped. I left the pillow where it was and searched for the spot I was working on. I found it and slowly entered my finger inside of what I had already started. Using my nails, I began to tear. I opened wider, using my other hand to scoop out what I was looking for this whole time. And with the first taste, my mind flew off to a
faraway land. A land that was familiar to me, but so foreign. A place that I had only dreamed of.

Each taste, each mouthful awakened a part of me that I had never known. The sweet and bitter tenderness of every chew sent my body into a whirlwind.

The sound of someone chirping their car alarm three blocks down from the apartment building resonated into my eardrum. The pitter patter of cockroach legs on the tree outside the window clattered my senses. My eyes began to adjust to the darkness, until I could finally see all the red that surrounded me. The odor of what lied before me intensified as I dug deeper and deeper into it.

I climbed on top of the object. Tearing and ripping deeper into it, I cupped the fatty substance into my palms and poured it into my mouth, feeling every molecule in my body strengthen.

I found a cavity, an opening as I tore my way upwards. I excavated deeper and deeper, until I could no longer.

I was ravenous. It was what I had longed for. It was what I needed.

Suddenly, the object was illuminated.

“Holy shit!”

I looked up to see Eric standing at the far end of the room.

“Holy shit! Holy shit!” His eyes were lost in what he was looking at.

Tristen entered the room frantically.

Eric turned away as Tristen and I turned to one another and locked eyes.

“Grace?” His tone was surprised, but calm nonetheless. I could see the fear in his face as he assessed what was all around me. I looked down with him.

What had I done?

I brought my bloody hands up to my face. Fleshy tissue and meat dangled from my fingertips. Through my fingers, I saw the ‘object’ that I was straddling.  A hollowed out torso lie beneath me. Veins and skin and copious amounts of blood covered the entire upper portion of the being. I glanced up above the chest, allowing my eyes to follow up the neck and to the pillow that rested on the head.

I began to shake my head in disbelief, suddenly realizing that what I thought was a dream was actually real.

“Grace, are you okay?” I heard Tristen ask. I didn’t look at him. What seemed to be breasts were exposed on the lifeless body, leading me to recognize that the only people in the room at that moment were Eric, Tristen, and I.

Where was Phoebe?

I looked over at Tristen. His eyes were filled with concern. He was only looking at me as he walked slowly and closer.

I glanced at Eric, who was now kneeling down against the wall with his head in his hands. Loud sobs were escaping his throat, making it clear that he was crying in fear and loss.

“Grace, talk to me.”

Eric shot up from his position. “What the hell are you doing?” he yelled.

“Grace, please say something.”

“She just…she just killed my girlfriend!

“Grace, just keep your eyes on me.” Tristen held a hand out, gesturing for me to come to him.

“Dude, what the hell are you doing?” Eric shouted as he clutched on to Tristen’s arm.

Tristen turned his body in a fluid motion, gripping Eric’s hand in his. Eric was quite a bit taller than Tristen, and much more robust. However in that moment, Tristen’s confidence seemed to make him look stronger.

“What the hell are you doing, Tristen? We need to call the cops!”

“Eric, calm down! I know this shit is crazy, but we can’t call the cops, alright?”

“Are you kidding me?” Eric barked.

“No, I’m not. This shit is unreal man. But Grace is sick. She didn’t mean to do this. We need to help her.”

Eric glanced over at me. Tears continued to roll down his face. He pulled his hand away from Tristen’s grip and turned the other way. Tristen brought his attention back to me.

I had not moved an inch since the light had come on. Afraid to look anywhere else, I kept my eyes on Tristen’s, searching desperately for some proof that this was real and not a dream.

“Grace, I’m going to get you some water. Maybe it will help you come back down to Earth, okay? I will be right back.”

I couldn’t find any power in my body to respond. Instead, I watched him leave the room and fought the urge to lift the pillow to get one more look of my Soul Buddy.

I saw Eric from the corner of my eye pacing the room and whimpering under his breath. I was afraid to look at him.

Grace, what have you done? You killed your best friend. You murdered someone. And the worst part was, you aren’t doing anything. You aren’t crying. You aren’t moving. You aren’t—

And before I could finish that last thought, Eric’s hands were around my throat. He lifted me up and threw me to the floor.

I struggled to catch a breath, opening my mouth wide and hoping some air would find its way in. His large thumbs pressed down harshly onto my esophagus. Although terror flowed through me as I realized that he could kill me that very second, I didn’t fight him off. Instead, my arms lay on either side of my body. My mind wandered and I realized that I was welcoming that moment. I wanted to die. I wanted this life to be over.

My mother’s smile flashed through my mind. Sounds of her cooking in the kitchen rang through my ears. The aroma of her floral perfume enveloped me in a goodnight hug. I watched the moon outside my window, longing to see my father for the first time. I imagined the features in his face and wondered if I looked like him. The
doorbell chimed and I opened the door to my dear, dear friend Phoebe. Her long, soft hair bounced around her face as she playfully laughed and the sound of her sweet voice hummed through our many memories.

A single tear fell from my eye.

And then…I could breathe.

I stared at the ceiling, coughing and inhaling deeply to catch my breath. I felt a hand on my face.

“Grace, are you okay?”

I opened my eyes, and there he was.

“C’mon Grace, we have to get out of here now.”

Tristen threw a bloody baseball bat to the side and with one single motion, pulled me off the floor.

“Don’t look at anything but me. Okay?”

“What did you do?” I asked. Something seemed terribly wrong.

“Don’t worry about it Grace. He isn’t hurting you anymore.”

“Tristen, is he dead?”

“Grace, we have to go.”

“Tristen. Is he dead?” I asked. Panic and anxiety were beginning to rear their heads. I knew what I had done. But what had Tristen done?

“Grace, he was trying to kill you. I hit him with the bat and that was it. Now let’s go.”

I peeked over to where Eric was sprawled out on the floor. I had to check. I had to see if he was dead for peace of mind.

I kneeled down next to his body, noticing the large, bloody dent in his head. I assessed it briefly. It seemed as though his head took several blows, all in the same spot. I searched for his carotid artery on his neck, resting my two fingers lightly on it when I did. 

There was no pulse.

I looked up at Tristen and in that moment, he read my mind.

Without another word, we headed towards the front door. Before leaving the bedroom, I glanced over at the bed one last time.
My friend. I’m so sorry. I love you, Phoebe
.

I fought the urge to run back into the room. Tristen grabbed the keys to Marilyn off the coffee table and we hurried out of the apartment.

“Where are we going?” I asked. I had no idea what we were going to do.

“I don’t know. But we need to get far away from here,” Tristen stated. He seemed to be in mission mode.

Tristen drove us out of the parking lot and away from the apartment complex. There was complete silence as we drove aimlessly down the street. Thoughts of the events leading to that moment circled my mind. However I couldn’t help but notice the amazing sensation my body was experiencing. I felt the most alive I had ever felt in my life. The sun was about an hour before rising, but I could see its rays as we drove down the road. The fragrance of the Spanish moss hanging off the oak trees tantalized my nostrils. The sound of the soft waves pushing against the steps of the lake echoed through my ears although we were driving away from it. I felt like I can run a marathon and for once in my entire life, I felt like my stomach was thoroughly satisfied.

But my heart ached for what I had lost.

Twenty minutes of driving and there was still silence. Finally, Tristen looked over at me before pulling Marilyn into a dim alley and parked.

“Tristen, I—”

“Grace, don’t apologize. Please.”

I glanced down at my fidgeting fingers.

Tristen’s hand rested on mine and I peeked over to his direction. “Don’t apologize because this isn’t your fault.”

“What do you mean it’s not my fault? Two people are dead right now. One of them…she was…and you killed someone, Tristen. How can this not be my fault?” I asked this question hopelessly praying that he would have the answer.

“Grace, this isn’t your fault because you have no control over what is happening to you. Do you seriously think that if everything was okay, you would just kill your best friend? And then eat her?”

I shook my head no.

“There is something wrong, Grace. We need to find out what it is. Why do you have this desire to eat people? Do you know anything? Can you think of any reason why you could be doing this?”

“I…I don’t know. I mean, I haven’t been feeling myself for a little while now. When I ate that cat, I was scared out of my mind and I didn’t understand why I did it,” I explained. I began trying to think all of the events that took place before last night. Everything was a blur.

Tristen read the hesitation in my face. He lifted his hand and caressed my cheek in an attempt to soothe me.

“Grace, take your time and think about it. Is there anything we can do? Is there anyone we can talk to that may be able to help us?”

I rattled my brain, determined to not let Tristen down. So much had happened over the last twenty-four hours and it was hard to think of anything else.

“There is a doctor. My mother’s friend. He…he wants me to go to an island and he said he can cure me…”