“If he’ll go with you, sure,” Cole says. “Just make sure he gets water and something to eat, please.”
Zeus follows Bill down the dark hallway, and I turn around toward the others. Roméo leaves the room. Cole hands me a protein bar and water, but he says nothing. Whatever hovers between us isn’t going away.
“Why don’t you boys go get some sleep? Lexi and I can handle this,” Grace says.
“No, you two rest first,” Cole says.
“I can’t … too much on my mind,” I say. “Really, please go sleep.” Selfishly, I’m looking forward to some time alone with Grace.
“Okay. But only for a few hours.”
“All right.”
“Promise you’ll come and get me if you need anything,” he says to me.
“Of course.”
Grace and Bruno hug and say they love each other, while Cole and I stand in awkward silence.
After they leave, Grace puts down two tan towels right next to each other, a good three feet away from Amber. She sits down and pats the other one for me to join her. I plop down, untie my boots, and place them behind me. The smell of soggy socks and wrinkled feet fills the air. I snort, but Grace says nothing about the aroma. For a few minutes, we sit in silence as I rub my throbbing feet and stretch my cramping muscles. Grace leaves for a few minutes before coming back with more water. She snacks on some nuts. It’s deathly quiet except for her munching.
“This room’s so uplifting, don’t you think?” Grace asks, her attempt at humor.
“More like depressing.” We both laugh.
The only light is from the propane lamp Bill somehow managed to find. It lets off an eerie glow, making Amber’s hair almost bronze. My mind runs away with me. I wonder how much time we have left down here. How much time we have left at all. And then I think of Sutton. We are all on borrowed time.
“Maybe you should paint it.”
“For her, not a chance. Besides, she is not staying.”
“She’s that bad, huh?”
“You have no idea.”
“Well neither of us knows her story and what she’s been through. Maybe we should give her the benefit of the doubt. Under her layer of hardness, she might be weak and hurt. I’ve come to realize cruel people are the ones who tend to hate themselves the most and treat others like dirt in order to make themselves feel better.”
“Maybe you’re right, but it’s something I can’t relate to.”
“No, you, my girl, are an exception. I admire you,” Grace says.
“Why?”
Amber begins to stir, and her head drops to the side as drool drips down her chin.
“Ew, I hope I don’t do that in my sleep,” Grace says.
“Zeus does.”
I smile at her, and she puts her arm around me.
“With everything you’ve been through, you still carry a heart of gold. It would be so much easier for you to be miserable and mean. But not you; you’ve taken the hardest route possible.”
“Which is?”
“Forgiveness. It’s one of the hardest things for us to do. To actually be able to completely forgive and move on, not many are capable of doing that.”
“I’m not so sure I’ve done that.”
“Oh, but you have, dear,” she says. “Bruno told me about Keegan leaving you, and how much he hurt you, but you forgave him. Someone taught you how to forgive, no?”
“My father.” I lean my head over and rest it on Grace’s shoulder. She rests her cheek on me. “He always said, the stronger forgive those who hurt them. When you hold the anger in … all it does is tear you down and cause you to be vulnerable. And believe me, I still struggle with it every single day. Between my stepfather, my mother, and Keegan … I haven’t fully wrapped my head around my mom and stepdad yet, so don’t give me too much credit. Abandonment and torture aren’t things you forget. But I find when I’m focusing on them, it takes me away from what I have today. Cole, and you guys. You’re my family now.” But I can’t hide the way my voice quakes when I say Cole’s name.
Grace pauses and then says, “Are you two all right?”
I shift uncomfortably. I’m not really sure. “We’re okay, just working through some things.”
“You don’t sound convinced,” she says. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty good at reading people, and I can sense the tension between you.”
“That obvious, huh?” I sigh. “I know he loves me, but he’s keeping something from me, and I wish he would just spit it out.”
“Patience, dear. When he’s ready, he’ll tell you. Try to understand we’re not guards and we’ll never be able to comprehend what they’ve been through. Plus, every relationship has its highs and lows. Bruno and I definitely have had our lows.”
“Really?”