Escaping Grace: A Turning Grace Novel

by Davis, J. Q.

  “And then he just decided to throw me away, like nothing. Like I was a stranger. And now look at me. I’m missing an arm. A part of me is gone. Who would want to date me now? Huh?”

  She looked up at me with the saddest puppy dog eyes I’d ever seen. They were glistening from the tears and her mascara was now running down her cheeks.

  I couldn’t fight it anymore. She needed a friend. And although I was far, very far, from ever having that title with her, I had to at least pretend to be a friend at that particular moment.

  I walked over to where she was sitting and kneeled down on the floor. “But you’re going to get a new arm, right? You will be as good as new before you know it.”

  For some reason, it seemed that statement only made her cry harder.

  I took my chances and rested a hand on her bare knee. “He did love you.”

  She looked at me. “How do you know?”

  “Because he told me. He adored you in the beginning. But then things just got…complicated between you two. He felt like things changed, but he didn’t want to tell you because he didn’t want to hurt you.” Okay, some of that wasn’t exactly true. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure of it, but it was apparently what she needed to hear. Her sobbing subsided and she finally wiped away the running mascara.

  I gave her a minute to collect herself before asking if she was okay.

  She took a deep breath and sniffled. “I’m fine.”

  I got up and sat next to her on the bed. “We aren’t together anymore,” I blurted out.

  She shot me a look. “What? Why?”

  I couldn’t read if she was asking because she genuinely wanted to know or if she was being nosy and was silently throwing a party in her head.

  “Uh…well, he came to visit me. But then left me a note saying he couldn’t stay, and then he left. And I haven’t talked to him since. That was months ago.”

  “A note? Instead of saying goodbye in person? That’s not Tristen. He wouldn’t do that.”

  “Well, he did.”

  “Did you call him? Did you call his mom?” she asked with a sense of urgency in her tone.

  “No. I mean, I did try calling his mom, but they avoided me too. Have you seen him?”

  She shook her head no. “I haven’t. I haven’t heard a thing from him. And I haven’t been to school since all this happened. I thought maybe you two were all happy together.”

  Sadly, she couldn’t be more wrong.

  Hmm…this gave me little cause for concern. We all lived in the same vicinity of each other. Sonny did live in the rich part of town, but it wasn’t far from where everyone else lived. Some of her minions should have bumped into him, if not in town, then at school.

  Also, I’d hate to admit it, but Sonny probably knew Tristen better than me. If she said he wasn’t the type of person to leave a note instead of saying goodbye face-to-face, then she was probably right.

  “Do you think he made it back okay?” She seemed to be thinking the same thing I was.

  “I…I don’t know.”

  She stood up. “Well, we need to find out for sure. I can call some of the girls back home to check up on things. He should be at school.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m going back to my suite to start calling.” She said over her shoulder as she headed toward the door.

  She seemed to be fine after her little breakdown; like it didn’t even happen. I had to be honest, it was kind of satisfying to have witnessed it with my own two eyes. I didn’t mean that in a vengeful kind of way. It was just nice to see her function as a normal human and not like some stuck up I’m-so-perfect-and-no-one-can-touch-me bitch.

  But now she wasn’t human anymore. Maybe dying was actually a good thing for her.

  Wait a second…

  “Sonny! How did you die? You said that you didn’t die initially…from your arm, right? Then how did it happen?”

  She turned around. “Oh, don’t worry. I didn’t feel a thing. Dr. Roberson injected me with something to kill me, and then he injected Serum Z.”

  Holy!

  “He killed you?” I yelled, wishing a minute later that I didn’t. I didn’t want anyone else to hear our conversation.

  “Well…yeah. How did you think I died? But trust me, it came with a price. My parents were all about the cause and their precious daughter getting a new arm. And now I have a share of Everlasting Paradise. Granted it’s a tiny share, but it still means I own you now. Oh, and that reminds me, I’m gonna need you to show me the ropes. You know, like how to eat people and stuff. I’d imagine it’s like learning how to de-shell a lobster. It seemed like it would be kind of gross at first, but now I’m just so hungry that I could probably eat a classroom full of kindergartners!” she laughed.

  I was in such disbelief about the Dr. Roberson killing her part that I let that last disturbing comment go. “Have,” my throat was dry and made it difficult to speak. “Have you eaten someone?”

  “Not yet.”

  “But we don’t eat humans here. We eat animals.”

  “Oh…well, then you need to teach me how to eat that,” she demanded.

  Was she serious? “Sonny, it’s just like eating anything else. I mean, you’ve eaten already. Wasn’t it the same as just…eating?”

  “Honestly, I didn’t even remember eating. So, whatever. I’m sure you have things to show me around here. Now, I’m gonna go call my people. Ciao!”

  She shut the door behind her.

  This had to be hell. I had to be dead, completely dead, and this had to be a version of hell.

  How did it come to this?

  Sonny paid Dr. Roberson.

  Dr. Roberson killed Sonny.

  Sonny came back as a Zombrid.

  Sonny owns a share of the compound.

  Sonny is missing an arm.

  Sonny cried.

  Sonny wants me to be her tour guide?

  Screw hell. I was on another planet. In another life. Inside another universe.

  But the pressing question was: how could Dr. Roberson voluntarily kill someone for money? It was immoral…and illegal!

  The only plausible explanation I could manage to conjure up myself was that he was using Sonny as an experiment for the arm transplantation she was going to have. Other than that, it made no sense at all. He didn’t need her money because he was already rich!

  I guess if she was asking for it, to be killed, then was it okay? Is it okay to agree to something like that? Technically she was committing suicide. But then again, she knew that she was going to be brought back to life, so was it committing suicide?

  And Tristen. Where in the world, literally, was Tristen?

  Ugh! My head felt like it was going to explode.

  I looked at the clock on my computer. It was time to have a pre-dinner snack. I got up and made my way to Newport, trying to mentally relax on my walk over.

  V was standing on the porch, right where I left him. I walked past him toward the mess hall without acknowledging that he was there.

  I suddenly realized that he had been standing there for God only knew how long. I turned back around.

  “V, I want you to go to the Z lab and ask Robin out on a date,” I demanded.

  He didn’t respond. He looked at me in bewilderment.

  “Take the night off. I’m fine. Nothing is going to happen to me. I’m tired of constantly feeling you watching me. I need a night off too. I don’t care what Dr. Roberson says. I don’t care if you’re getting paid to be up my ass. I don’t care if ‘I’m special and need to be protected for medical and treatment reasons that could alter the futures of the other Zombrids’. I am ordering you to walk straight up to Robin’s desk, smile, and take her back to your hut to do whatever you want to her.”

  “Grace, I don’t think—”

  “No, I don’t want to hear it,” I said firmly, cutting him off. “I’m going to have a snack. Then have dinner. Then I’m going back to my room, and I’m not leaving for the rest of the night.
Now go!”

  I didn’t want to sound mean, but I felt it was the way I had to be with V. He spent all of his time watching my every move. There was no mistaking the huge crush that Robin had on him. Every time we entered the Z lab, her face would light up like the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.

  I wasn’t completely sure if V had similar feelings for her. He was the hardest person in the world to read. But something told me I couldn’t go wrong here. He was a man that was clearly in need of some kind of attention and affection from a woman. She was cute and sweet. At the very least, they would just become good friends.

  I stared him down and waited for him to make a move.

  Finally, he gave in and made his way toward the Z lab, but not without a little speech of his own. “Grace, if anything happens, you call me right away on my cell phone. I’m going to call the chef right now to make sure he has your food prepared and some backup just in case. If you decide to go anywhere else other than your room, you let me know. Got it?”

  I nodded. “Got it. Now go.”

  I noticed his tie was crooked. “Oh, wait! Let me fix this.” I adjusted it and patted his broad shoulder. “Good luck.”

  He smiled, showing no teeth (one day!) and left.

  I watched him as he marched on, resisting the urge to follow. I knew he was nervous. This was certainly new territory for him being that it’s been so long. I could only imagine the butterflies in his stomach multiplying by the hundreds as he mentally prepared himself for this huge step in his social life. I was sure he was thinking of the right things to say.

  After I saw that he entered the Z lab and didn’t decide to chicken out at the last minute, I carried on with my mission, which was to get to the mess hall and eat some grub.

  Estelle was sitting at our usual booth. It seemed she had already eaten and was enjoying a warm glass of Z juice.

  The chef met me at the bar with my special snack. I wondered what the workers of the facility thought of us Zombrids…especially the chefs. Their jobs must have been easy considering they really didn’t have to cook the food. They basically hunted the animal, cut it up, and slapped it down on a plate.

  I sat down across from Estelle with my bowl of what I now knew was mashed monkey brains smothered in a bloody sauce. Yes, it sounded quite horrific and disgusting, but the taste was the complete opposite of that.

  After taking however long it took for me to finish, I came back to reality and opened my eyes to Estelle still sitting across from me.

  “How was your snack, dear?”

  “It was good. Not enough. Still hungry,” I answered honestly, wiping my mouth with a napkin.

  She looked down at her watch. “It won’t be long before dinner is served. Well, Maddi enjoyed her day, didn’t she?”

  “Yes, she did. She was very happy with her presents. So, what are you getting into tonight?” I asked, curious to know if she would be doing something other than her usual relaxing and reading.

  “I’m just going to relax and enjoy a book. I remember the days when staying out late was all I did.” She chuckled. “But those days are long gone, and this old lady would rather indulge in a good romance novel.”

  “You read romance? Do you have any favorites to recommend?” Romance wasn’t exactly the section I would run to in a bookstore, but I didn’t mind it. A good romance novel was worth a read.

  “Oh, I read anything really…but the dirty ones are my guilty pleasure,” she whispered.

  I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks. Talking about sex was really the last thing I expected to do with Estelle.

  I giggled. “Estelle! You surprise me sometimes!”

  “Honey, it’s been a long time since I’ve had anything close! I try to keep track and reminisce of those days by reading about it.”

  Awe…I felt sorrow for Estelle. She was a beautiful woman, even in her old age. It was heartbreaking to think no one has told her that in a long time.

  She stood up and adjusted her long, embroidered maxi dress. “I’m off to my room before dinner starts. I’ll see you here?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Same as always.”

  She nodded and left the mess hall.

  I opted to stay in the Newport hut until dinner was ready. I sat at the booth alone and searched through my phone, checking emails and messages. Although I was pretty certain we were far beyond over, I still checked every day to see if maybe Tristen wanted to talk.

  But watching Sonny’s concern earlier made me quite uneasy about the whole situation. I never had a reason to before because I thought that maybe he just decided to end things and never speak to me again. It did seem out of character for him at the time, but who knew? Sometimes people made hasty decisions.

  However, when I mentioned that Tristen and I were not together anymore to Sonny, I honestly thought that she would have already known. Even though she hadn’t been to school since all the drama happened, I figured she would know more. With as much popularity and awareness of other people’s business as Sonny had, whether she found things out on her own or from her wannabe groupies, I thought she would have at least heard of his whereabouts.

  Where could he be? I couldn’t help but worry that something horrible happened to him. There was no reason at all for him not to be back in the States. Mom did mention that Tristen’s house was for sale. Did they move that quickly?

  An hour and a half passed of playing Candy Crush on my phone and racking my brain about Tristen before Charlie walked through the door. We looked at each other at the same time, but she turned away first to the food at the buffet table. I watched her while I pretended to look at my phone.

  She was such a beautiful woman, but always looked so pissy. Well, maybe it was whenever she was around me because when it was just her and Maddi, or her and anyone else really, she was all smiles.

  I still found it ridiculous that she hated me for reasons I couldn’t help. I didn’t get asked to be injected with Serum Z. And even then, it wasn’t my fault it worked!

  She filled her plate up as much as she could before walking over to a table that was on the complete opposite side of the room. I rolled my eyes at this. Could her hatred for me be that serious?

  “You know, there is room over here if you want some company,” I called out to her.

  She didn’t look up and placed her napkin on her lap.

  “Okay. Whatever. Suit yourself. Just seems like a waste to sit by yourself when someone is offering.”

  Charlie stopped moving and took a deep breath in before standing up with her plate. She walked over to my booth and took a seat across from me.

  I didn’t move or say anything because really…I was shocked. It was like watching a deer in the woods; they’ll come closer and closer to you, only if you don’t acknowledge that they are actually there.

  Instead, I stared back down at my phone and let her float to that far away land of deliciousness while she ate.

  Once she was finished, which was not even ten minutes later, she pushed her plate to the side and wiped her mouth.

  I was assuming she would get up immediately to leave the table but to my surprise, she stayed seated.

  I took this as my opportunity to finally confront her. “So, can I ask you something?”

  She rolled her eyes. “How did I know this was going to happen?”

  “What? I’m just asking you a simple question. What is your problem with me?”

  She didn’t say anything and began picking at her fingernails.

  “Charlie, can we please be adults about this? I really have no idea why you dislike me so much.”

  She exhaled abrasively before answering. “Well, for one, I wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for you.”

  “How does that make any sense? I was five years old and dead when Dr. Roberson injected me. I had no idea what was going on.”

  She looked up at me. “How old were you?”

  Did I just strike a nerve? “I was five. Apparently, it was a sudden decision my mother m
ade to bring me back to life. I didn’t even know this until just a few months ago. So how can you be upset with me about something that was completely out of my hands?”

  She exhaled again, but it wasn’t out of anger or annoyance. It was maybe a sigh of…surrender?

  “I didn’t realize you were that young.”

  “Wow, I thought you guys knew all about me before I even came here,” I said.

  “We just knew that you were the first Zombrid…Dr. Roberson’s prize.”

  “The only reason why is because I just so happened to be his first patient. It could have been any one of you guys if it wasn’t me. I mean, what if it was Maddi? Would you have hated her too?”

  Her eyes softened the moment I mentioned Maddi’s name.

  She looked down at her nails again. “I could never be mad at her,” she stated in a low voice.

  The only time I was ever able to see Charlie without a sour facial expression was at a distance when she was with Maddi. Now that we were sitting so close, and her expression was not that of despise, I was able to see her true self.

  I thought she was beautiful before, but now it seemed that word just wasn’t right. She was breathtaking. Why wouldn’t Ian want something serious with this girl? I’d be honored to have her hanging on my arm if I were a guy.

  “Then, please don’t be mad at me. I don’t know what happened to you, but I’m sorry if it was bad,” I said sympathetically. I wanted her to know that I wasn’t a terrible person.

  She looked up at me again, but that stunning beauty she allowed to show off for a moment disappeared. “No one knows, except Ian. And if you think that I’m just going to be all buddy-buddy with you and confide in you, then you’re wrong.”

  This was annoying. “Fine, Charlie. I’m not asking you to be my best friend. All I’m asking for is a little respect. I’m tired of you treating me like I’m the reason for all the bad that has happened to you, which is impossible because I don’t even know you. So you know what? That’s fine.”

  I grabbed my phone and stood up. There was already enough on my plate, not to mention I already had to deal with one person that I didn’t get along with too well. I didn’t need any more drama.