Shattered Grace (Fallen from Grace)

by K Anne Raines

  A sense of alarm kicked in overdrive and had him jerking his head toward the school. Not his internal alarm, but Grace’s. With one hand grabbing for the door and reaching for his blade with the other, he suddenly paused, feeling Grace’s calm wash over him. Quentin hoped this up-and-down thing would get easier. The daily roller coaster ride of emotions was driving him bat-shit crazy. His head lolled back against the headrest as he struggled to focus. He sensed where she was in the school, and also felt the other Guardian near her. His knuckles laced with white and pink as he unknowingly crushed the steering wheel in his grip. The woman didn’t pose a threat to Grace. Even so, he had to fight himself to stay in the car.

  That settled it; he was about to get on Grace’s really bad side. If she didn’t like him last night, he had no doubt she was going to hate him later.

  Right before walking through the doors of the cafeteria, Grace saw someone—or something—that caught her attention. Whatever it was, it wasn’t human, despite its appearance. With the heel of her palms she rubbed her eyes, not caring about smudging her mascara, and thought she might be hallucinating. Immediately her heart quickened and an unfamiliar energy coursed through her veins, feeding her limbs the necessary adrenaline to get out of there. An urgent flight instinct overcame her and she prepared to run in the other direction, but froze as a realization hit her. The black roped hair falling from the crown of the non-human’s head was familiar. Grace watched as the being entered the girls’ restroom.

  Limye? Great, the crazy woman found me, she babbled to herself. As if the last week wasn’t enough? Two things occurred to her, each equally as disturbing as the other. Limye wasn’t human. Oh my God! And what in the heck was she doing at her school? Grace felt the energy subsiding and stormed toward the bathroom. Lunch would have to wait. Limye might be crazy, but Grace was done feeling pushed around.

  With students walking all around her, she stood staring at the bathroom door. Grace took in a large breath, just in case it was her last, and stiff-armed the door open. Limye was bent over the middle sink, pretending to check her eyeliner in the mirror. She was dressed in regular teenager attire—jeans, T-shirt, and sandals—but something was unusual. There was a soft halo of color surrounding Limye. That was definitely different. What was startling was how much clearer she looked. It was like Grace’s eyes got a pixel app download.

  Grace looked to the bathroom stalls. They were the same boring, scratched-up, dull blue. The floor was the same small square white tile. Her gaze moved to the light above Limye, thinking maybe it was trick lighting. Nothing was different about that light compared to the others. Grace rubbed her eyes again and looked back to Limye. It didn’t change anything. Limye still appeared lit up in HD. Quentin’s words ricocheted through her mind: “You’ll start to notice things, hear things—your eyes will begin to open.”

  Oh, heck no!

  This was a simple case of the power of suggestion. That was it. Feeling better about what she was seeing, she stared at Limye again. “What are you doing here? Are you a new student?”

  Limye’s gaze pierced Grace through the mirror. “Children these days, you don’t believe in anything unless it’s on YouTube.” The ropes of Limye’s hair swayed back and forth as she tilted her head, continuing to eye Grace. Then she turned her body around, crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned against the sink. “I told you at the bank who and what I am. Do you remember me telling you I am a new student at your school?”

  At first, the weight of Limye’s stare made Grace want to shrink and hide, but her scolding tone lit a fire under her. She mirrored Limye’s stance, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking her hip to the side. “No, you didn’t tell me you were a student. You told me you were a kind of Guardian and that you wanted me to know I could call you if I needed. Did you get a call, because I don’t remember dialing your number?”

  Limye didn’t say anything right away and for a heartbeat, Grace felt a twinge of fear crawl across her skin, raising goose bumps and hair in its path. The sound of laughter bounced off the stalls behind her. Limye was laughing so hard she doubled over. When she finally was able to catch her breath, she beamed at Grace. “I know I said it before, but I have no problem saying it again. They definitely chose well.”

  Grace forgot, in the five minutes they were in the bathroom, that Limye and Quentin apparently drank from the same crazy Kool-aid. She didn’t know how many more cryptic messages she could handle. From her grandfather, Quentin, and now Limye. It was beyond aggravating. In all fairness, Quentin did try to tell her everything. She just didn’t want to hear it. Because he’s crazy, she reminded herself.

  “What exactly did they choose?” Grace asked.

  “Oh come, child. Don’t ask me to repeat what your Guardian’s already explained.” Limye placed her hands on the edges of the sink behind her, leaning against it as she shot a glare at Grace. Limye focused on a ring on her left middle finger. Grace focused on her face.

  “Did Quentin call you?”

  Limye met Grace’s eyes. “No. His job is Guardian, not tattletale.”

  Grace had expected her to say yes. She was a little disturbed Limye didn’t. “Then how’d you know where to find me?”

  Limye raised an ebony eyebrow. “You’re a Chosen, Grace. We can all find you now.”

  Limye’s simple statement sent tendrils of unease snake up her spine, forcing Grace to wonder if she should be worried.

  “How exactly should I feel about that?”

  “You should be mindful of it and trust your Guardian like Christophe advised you.”

  It would appear a break from stress wasn’t in the cards for Grace. She was stuck in a perpetual pinball game, bouncing off emotionally charged targets. That’s how her whole life had been, but in the past week it had been compacted into high concentrations. Lucky me, she thought, as a teensy bit of hysteria hummed within her.

  Grace couldn’t lie to herself, she was a little nervous about the being found part. “Fine, I’ll get in touch with Quentin tonight.” Actually, she’d wait until later to decide if she’d call him, but Limye didn’t need to be privy to that.

  “If you’re smart, you will. Now off with ya, girl.” Limye shooed Grace with both hands. “I have a schedule to keep.”

  “Okay, okay,” Grace mumbled as she went for the door. Before walking through it, another question occurred to her. She turned back to ask, “When will…” but Limye was gone. “Limye?” Grace called out in a whisper. Quickly, she spun around, intent on finding her. She crouched down and crept quietly, peering under each stall. Nothing. It’s all part of the suggestion, she reminded herself, and got up and quickly made her way out to the hall.

  The halls were quiet except for the fast tapping of her flats since all the other students were either in class or at lunch. Now sensitive to her surroundings, her ears perked at a slight noise and she paused. It was a girl’s muffled laughter. Grace relaxed and breathed easier. The laughter was coming from the cavern of a darkened classroom doorway, a little ways from where she stood. Grace continued walking to the cafeteria, glancing absently at the entrance as she passed. Stunned at the visual her mind had just processed, she stopped and whipped her head back. Her chemistry teacher and a student were locked in a completely unprofessional embrace. The student? Amanda.

  Grace stood stock-still outside the door, staring for a few moments before either realized they were being watched. Mr. Peters instantly jumped back, staring intently at Grace. Amanda brought her hand up in front of her, observing the dark polish covering her nails.

  “Hey, Grace.” Amanda smiled from over her fingers splayed in front of her face, a triumphant look lighting her eyes.

  Without a word, Grace schooled her face to show no emotion and turned, briskly walking toward the cafeteria.

  “Grace?” Mr. Peters called out as he followed her. Amanda simply leaned against the wall where she stood, watching the scene play out before her as a small smile tilted her lips. “Please, Grace, wait.
It’s not what it looks like,” he forced out in a hiss as he halted awkwardly behind her.

  Grace stopped, but not to listen. “Seriously, Mr. Peters? How about you save your lies for the wife. Okay?”

  His mouth fell open and his face paled. “Why would I have to lie? Are you going to tell her? You’re not going to say anything to anyone, are you, Grace?”

  “No, I’m not.” But she wanted to. She felt bad for his wife for being married to such a slimeball. “I’m not the homewrecker.” She tilted her head and looked pointedly at Amanda.

  Amanda pushed off the wall, walking to where Grace and Mr. Peters stood. “Oh, don’t be such a drama queen. It was just a kiss.”

  Grace’s mouth dropped open. “Just a kiss? He’s married! Have you no shame?”

  “Shame?” Amanda pondered over the word, trying it on to see if it fit. “No. What I do have is an empty stomach.” Amanda hooked elbows with Grace. “Bye, Mr. Peters,” she said, blowing a kiss with a flirty wave as she pulled Grace with her to the cafeteria. From over her shoulder, Grace saw a very worried Mr. Peters watching them walk away.

  Once inside the cafeteria, Grace yanked her arm free. “Are you insane?”

  Amanda’s eyes went all Precious Moments as she tried pulling off the complete look of innocence. “What do you mean?”

  Grace raised one brow and threw out her hands in a wide arc. “Duh!”

  “Oh, that?” she asked with a thumb over her right shoulder. “That, my sweet Grace, was an A.”

  “What, so you’re screwing teachers for A’s now?” Grace knew it was none of her business, but Amanda was her friend and she didn’t want to see her in trouble.

  Amanda rolled her eyes. “Of course I didn’t sleep with him. I didn’t have to.” Her smile turned smug. “You walked by at just the right time.”

  “How do I have anything to do with this?” Grace’s stomach clenched at the thought of how much she really, really didn’t want to get involved. Again, plate full right now, people.

  “You’ve made it so that little show back there is no longer my word against his and he knows it. So I can skip his class the rest of the year and I’m sure to get an A.” Grace’s stomach turned a little at how Amanda was completely at ease with herself.

  “Please tell me you haven’t slept with any teachers.”

  Amanda’s eyes went wide with shock. “Of course I haven’t.” Grace breathed a sigh of relief. “None of them are my type.”

  “Oh, that’s much better,” Grace muttered.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” Grace shrugged and turned toward the cafeteria. “I’m hungry.”

  Amanda followed Grace to the sandwich bar. Grace looked around at the selection of breads, deli meats, cheeses, condiments, and trimmings, but seemed to be suffering from a lack of appetite. All she’d had earlier was toast. Grace hoped once she sat down she’d be able to force a sandwich down. Amanda followed close behind Grace while she led them to their usual table.

  “How’s it going?” Emily asked as soon as Grace sat down.

  “It’s going.” Not very well, but the day kept moving forward. Unfortunately.

  “You wanna do what we talked about earlier?” Emily asked in all seriousness.

  “Yeah!” Tommy whisper-shouted with a fist pump.

  “What?” Amanda and Leah asked at the same time, watching the three of them.

  “Nothing,” Grace said as she studied her tray. The food she’d chosen seriously lacked appeal. She took a bite anyway and forced it down. “Hey, you guys want to go to Latté Da’s with me and Zeke on Friday?” she asked between bites.

  Tommy didn’t wait until his mouth was empty to reply. “Can’t,” he mumbled, then went back to eating.

  “Zeke?” Emily asked, with a raised brow. “What about Quentin?” Grace sighed, frustrated that Emily even asked. She wanted to forget about Quentin, not talk about him with anyone, let alone while everybody was listening.

  “Who’s Quentin?” Leah asked in her shrill voice.

  “Yeah, Grace. Who’s Quentin?” Amanda smirked at her, raising a suggestive eyebrow. She leaned forward expectantly, as if she hoped she’d caught Grace in something she shouldn’t have.

  Grace threw a few eye daggers at Emily, who simply shrugged her shoulders and took a bite of her salad. “No one. What’s going on Friday, Tommy?”

  Still chewing his food, Tommy looked up from his tray. “This guy heard the band play at Latté Da’s the other night and asked us to play at The Board Shop in Bountiful.” At this he grinned, cheeks full of food. Disgusting, but cute in his own surfer-boy kind of way. “You and Zeke should come to The Board Shop and hear us play instead.”

  “Is it going to be wild with a lot of moshing?” Grace frowned, trying not to shudder at the memory of the other night. A repeat definitely wasn’t in her future if she could help it.

  “Not this time. Not that kinda crowd.” Well, she wasn’t that kind of crowd either, but there was still screaming and moshing. “Zeke’s in my fifth period. I can talk to him if you want,” he offered.

  “Sure, that sounds fun.” Grace crossed her fingers under the table, hoping he’d want to go.

  “I want to go too,” Leah chimed in. “Did you invite Brian?”

  Tommy frowned at Leah, then shook his head. “Why don’t you two just hook up already?” Not waiting for a response, he dipped his head and went back to shoveling in his lunch.

  “Why?” Leah leaned over and scooted to the edge of her seat. “Did Brian say he likes me?”

  “Uh-uh,” Tommy said, shaking his head. “I’m not going there. I’m not an online dating service.”

  “Tommy!” Emily chastised, elbowing his ribs.

  “Ow! What? It’s true.” Tommy narrowed his eyes and rubbed at his side, leaning a little out of Emily’s poking range.

  “You don’t have to be such a jerk.” Emily’s eyes softened as she turned to Leah. “Yes, Brian’s going.”

  Leah’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. Her eyes curved into upside down crescent moons while she bit into her food, smiling around her fork.

  “Well, I’ve got plans. In case anybody was wondering,” Amanda muttered.

  Before anyone could ask what her plans were, a loud, incoherent grumble from Tommy had everyone turning their attention to see what was wrong just as Zeke pushed him across the bench.

  “Hey, speak of the devil,” Emily said. “Shouldn’t you be in class?

  Zeke stared at Grace, his mouth lifted into a crooked grin. Not taking his eyes from her, he held up a hall pass in explanation. “So, was it fast-spreading gossip, or not-worth-repeating gossip?”

  “Neither. We were talking about Friday,” Grace said uncomfortably. His smirk was going for sexy and his eyes were hungry. As if fingers were snapped in front of his eyes, he finally tore his gaze away. She wondered why she wasn’t into him. “So,” Zeke said to Tommy. “You guys in for Friday?”

  “Dude, The Board Shop,” Tommy said.

  “Oh, yeah,” Zeke said, resting an elbow on the table. “Grace, do you care if we go to Bountiful instead?”

  Grace sighed with relief inside. “Actually, I was hoping you’d want to go.”

  Zeke smiled at Grace again from across the table. “I’m guessing you could talk me into going anywhere.” She smiled back, but quickly diverted her gaze to the uneaten sandwich before her.

  After Zeke headed back to class, Leah continued her nonstop “he likes me, he likes me not” poll, and Grace snickered a little to herself as she realized that everyone else seemed to be as annoyed by it as she was. As soon as the bell rang, the group split up. Grace, Amanda, and Emily went one way for fourth period, Leah and Tommy the other.

  “I can tell you this,” Amanda said, as they cleared the double doors of the cafeteria. “If the party’s going to be that much fun, I won’t be staying long. Especially if I have to listen to her talk about the what-ifs all night.”

  Grace glanced around, relieved Leah was ou
t of ear-shot. “Be nice. She’s just excited.”

  “Yeah, well, my Pomeranian gets excited too, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t want to walk up and kick the little bitch when she starts yapping too much.”

  Emily gasped and shot a glare at Amanda.

  Amanda rolled her eyes. “Relax, I’m not going to kick Leah.”

  “I was worried about the dog,” Emily snipped.

  “I haven’t kicked her yet either.” Amanda’s lips lifted in a smirk.

  “Oh, what a relief.” Emily narrowed her eyes and pinched her lips, her displeasure apparent.

  Amanda laughed. “Man, you guys definitely need to go to that party. If for no other reason than to get your drink on and chill. I’m outie.”

  Grace and Emily stood shoulder to shoulder and watched Amanda walk down the hallway, unconsciously provoking responses in her wake—guys staring, girls glaring.

  “There’s no hope for her. You know that, don’t you?” Emily’s voice was thoughtful as they watched Amanda walk away.

  “She’s fine. She’s just going through … a phase,” Grace said, hoping she was right but not believing the words as they left her lips.

  “Whatever. We need to get to class.”

  After school, Grace caught up with Emily and Tommy, and told Emily she’d call or text her later.

  “Okay,” Emily said from against Tommy’s lips. “Bye.”

  Grace rolled her eyes and headed for the Shelby. It was at least 102 degrees outside. She hoped the freakishly unusual burst of warm southwest air would head in a different direction. She could feel the heat through her flats and see the mirage undulate from the blacktop. She dropped her backpack from her shoulder to her hand when a noise from her right made her pause. Nonchalantly, she peeked over her shoulder, but no one was there. With a shrug, she continued walking to her car.