Page 11 of Grace

“There are a lot of nice girls your age, Jamie. Daisy…,” I said. Then I lowered my voice and didn’t finish the sentence because she had just stepped out of the bathroom, walked past me, and threw herself at Jamie. My jaw dropped. For a while, I was just standing there dumbfounded, watching them kiss.

Move, Grace!

I turned around and ran down the stairs. I stuffed the sheet into a garbage bag and threw it into the container outside.

When I got back upstairs, Daisy was still in Jamie’s room. The door was closed, so I had no idea what they were doing—not that I wanted to know. I dragged out the shaky folding bed from the wardrobe. It was a nightmare to set up, but at least I could take my anger out on it.

When I finished making her bed, I knocked—then burst in without asking for permission. Daisy was sitting in Jamie’s lap, as if she were riding him. Jamie’s underwear was bulging, making me feel awkward. Their lips were moving furiously, and their hands were busy as well. I looked away and cleared my throat.

“Your bed is ready. You should come over,” I said, then walked back to my room, leaving both doors open on purpose. Daisy followed me soon after and lay down.

I stared at the ceiling, trying to calm down. I was full of adrenaline.

“I know you’re mad at me, Grace, but I’ll still have sex with your brother. You can’t stop me.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanna get some experience before I have sex with other boys. Boys are supposed to like it when girls are confident and know what they want.”

“You don’t love Jamie.”

“I like him. He’s hot. And reliable.”

“You can’t use my brother just to get some experience. You could both get hurt. And we both know who it would backfire on. Why don’t you find a boy our age and get some experience with him?” I suggested.

“A boy our age?” she laughed. “Grace, most boys our age have never even kissed a girl. They wouldn’t even know where to stick their junk.”

I blinked in the darkness, aghast, confused by her blunt wording. I didn’t understand why she was acting like this.

“What happened to you, Daisy?”

“We’re growing up, Grace. You can’t stay this naïve for long, either.”

In that moment, I didn’t want to be near her—in fact, I felt like throwing her out of my room. Out of our house.

Daisy seemed to have no idea how much trouble she had caused for Jamie. And Jamie… I closed my eyes and pursed my lips, trying to get a hold of my feelings—still, a tear ran down my face. My idiot brother. He thought he didn’t have a chance with girls his age, so he got himself into this cat-and-mouse game. And he was the mouse—the one the cat plays with before growing bored and tearing it into pieces.

I couldn’t understand how I’d missed the signs. I loved Daisy—but she’d crossed a line, and I was furious with her.

While she slept peacefully, the cogs in my brain worked tirelessly. I tried to make sense of my friend and why she’d done this. Then I wondered if maybe I was in the wrong. Maybe I was too uptight. Maybe I should have been more understanding. I had a different approach than her: I wanted to grow into a woman step by step, not kick the door in.

It was past midnight when the phone rang in the living room. I had a bad feeling and instantly jumped out of bed. I ran downstairs and yanked the phone to my ear so quickly that my ear started ringing from the impact.

“Yes?” I asked, panting.

“Grace.” The slurry voice of my sister seeped into my mind like hot honey.

“Nikky,” I sighed, exhaling slowly, then slumped against the arm of the flower-patterned sofa. For a second, I’d thought something had happened to my parents.

“Grace…” she repeated. “I need some clothes and money.”

“What clothes? Come home, Nikky. Mom and Dad will be home soon.”

“No, they won’t. You know they rarely go out. And when they do, they stay out all night.”

“Borrow from someone,” I suggested.

“Please, please, please!”