Chapter Thirty-Four
Grace
Out of boredom and curiosity, I had decided to log onto my Facebook account. I wanted to see what my friends had been up to and I hadn't been on in more than a month.
I finally remembered my password and gasped. I had 789 friend requests, 957 notifications and 457 messages. I gaped at it, not even knowing where to start. I completely forgotten I had been in the tabloids for being adopted by the Michael Bublé. It was extremely easy to forget that he was famous- he was so humble. Even Luisana was a famous supermodel.
I decided to check the notifications briefly, seeing that I had been tagged in hundreds of photos, posts, statuses and mentions. I cursed myself for not making my profile more private- yet I still had made it private enough where only friends could see my profile. I skimmed some, and clicked on one of my closest guy friends' status that I had been tagged in.
Samuel Trescott : I can't believe that Grace was in such a terrible accident. I haven't heard from her at all, have any of you guys?
I skimmed the comments, looking for familiar names.
There was twenty seven likes on the status and forty nine comments.
I saw one of my girlfriends from my old school had commented on it.
Lainie Mousseite : I saw it on the news, everyone was killed but her. I can't believe Preston is gone! :'( I hope she's alright.
I noticed several people had recently commented saying they had seen me in the tabloids and posted a link to find the article.
I took a deep breath and decided to post a facebook status. It really was about time that I let everyone know I was alright- whether they cared or not.
Before I did however, I checked Harper's facebook page for any recent activity or posts as to what had happened. She was, after all her best friend.
Her profile picture had been changed to Preston's obituary with his graduation picture on it. I hadn't even seen that yet- I looked away quickly, not wanting to cry.
I scrolled down her page and saw the pictures she had been tagged in. There was tons of her at parties, smiling with some girls I didn't recognize.
I scrolled down some more until I got to a post on her wall showing our totaled car. Her caption said, "Going to miss you so much Preston, words can't describe the hole that is in my heart right now. Rest in peace."
I frowned; there was no mention of me anywhere, nothing. I checked my messages, skimming them to see if she had tried to contact me. There were tons from friends asking if I was alright and to please contact them- but not one was from Harper. I had gone through every last one of them.
The sadness in my chest turned to anger; did she not care at all what happened to me? Why had she not even tried to see if I was okay?
I brushed it off. I had other things to worry about.
I typed my status update slowly; making sure it sounded exactly how I meant it.
Grace Tanner : Hi everyone. I know it's been a long time since any of you have heard from me. I wanted to let you know that this is the first chance I have really had to contact you- I haven't been ignoring you on purpose. This past month and a bit have been agonizing for me. I know that I'm not the only one who lost someone in this crash- many of you were good friends with my brother Preston. I know he would appreciate your words of kindness and I do too during this difficult time. I lost my vision during the accident and just recently had surgery on my eyes that managed to get me my sight back. It will be hard to reply to all of the messages that I've gotten but I will read them all, but in general, thank you for your kind words. I love you all so much.
I frowned at the computer screen, wanting to write so much more than that, but they really didn't need to know how much I had suffered in the hospital and with grief. They just needed to know that I was alright. I hesitated before I sent it, I didn't want to sound brief and uncaring but I didn't know how else to word something so devastating. I hoped everyone would understand.
I posted it and closed my laptop. I was exhausted- I had gone through and replied to most of the messages in my search for one from Harper.
I called Luisana and asked to reschedule the shopping date.
"As long as you're alright, love... we have all the time in the world to shop."
"I know, talk to you later. I'm going to take a nap." I said with a yawn.
"Sweet dreams, sweet pea." She said before ending the call.
I put my phone on my bedside table and closed my eyes.
My eyes snapped open a second later when I realised I hadn't texted Jaxon yet. It was partly because he hadn't put his name under 'Jax'. I had no idea what number was his. After I had signed into facebook, all of my old numbers imported into my phone.
I sighed in annoyance. This must be why my dad never got us new phones.
I scrolled through the hundreds of numbers on my phone. I stopped when I came across a name in my phone called 'X'. I frowned; I didn't remember this on my phone before.
I texted it hesitantly, sending a simple "who is this?"
Unable to fall asleep, I opened my laptop again and went to my status. My eyes widened again when I saw that there were 156 likes and 98 comments on it.
The first comment on the status was from none other than Harper herself.
Harper LaGrange : "OMG! Grace! You're OK! I've been trying to get a hold of you for forever! How are you girl? I miss ya! Xoxo P.S. I saw u in the US Weekly magazine! Looked RAD!! U must have been DIGGIN IT!"
I frowned at the comment, confused if we were thinking on the same brain wave.
Harper knew I didn't like attention. She did everything she could to help me stay out of the limelight. She was always one step ahead of me with avoiding class papers, boys, or catty girls. Yet this person claiming to be Harper didn't fit her description in the slightest.
I had truly lost my best friend.
I heard a beep on my phone and looked down.
'X' had replied. I swiped my phone to open it and read the message. A smile fought its way onto my face until I couldn't stop grinning even if I tried.
X-"It's Jaxon. I was worried you wouldn't be able to find my number! I was beating myself up for not telling you what it was saved under. How are you doing? x"
Once again, he had saved me when I had started slipping into sadness.
A while later, I checked the time on my bedside clock. Jaxon and I had been texting for what seemed like hours. He replied quickly and never left the conversation at a standstill. I wondered how his girlfriend would feel about us texting so much.
He wanted to meet up tonight. I was beyond excited- he apparently knew this really cool place and thought that I would appreciate it better than anyone else he knew.
Needless to say, I said yes. He was going to pick me up at eight thirty for a late dinner then we would head to whatever else he had planned. Luisana was extremely excited for me and Michael approved of Jaxon- yet still subtly handed me pepper spray that I and quote "may need in case some hooligans get any funny ideas."
To keep him happy I tucked it safely in one of the smaller less noticeable pockets in my jacket.
I found myself primping and prodding myself to an extent I hadn't in an extremely long time. I put on mascara, eyeliner, and did a smokey eye with brown eye shadow. I avoided concealer because I had naturally good skin, and chose out a cute summery dress. To be safe, I put on some spandex shorts since I still had no idea what we were doing.
I brushed through my hair; it was naturally pin straight already, and moved to sit on the bottom of the stairs.
A knock on the front door caused me to jump up in excitement. I opened it quickly and there stood Jaxon. He looked breathtakingly handsome. He was wearing a blue dress shirt and some light pants. He smiled at me and I found myself unable to resist the ear to ear smile that stretched across my face.
"Hi." He said, bringing his hands out from behind his back. He had a single white rose.
I blushed fiercely. "Hi Jax," I said quietly, still smiling.
"This is for you." He handed me the delicate flower and I lifted it to my nose.
"Thank you, that was really sweet of you." I replied, placing the flower on the table by the door. I was going to dry it and keep it as a memory. I played with the hem of my dress nervously; I had never been out on a date before.
"You look beautiful," He told me sincerely.
I laughed, "You look good too, J."
He looked up in shock at my nickname. I backtracked quickly, "Sorry, I didn't think. I'll call you Jaxon from now on." I murmured; embarrassed that he clearly didn't like what I'd called him.
He shook his head quickly. "No, no, I really like it when you call me that," He said, taking my hand and squeezing it tightly.
The sun was setting over the horizon and the sky was a mixture of oranges, pinks, and dark blues. The remaining warmth of the day lingered, taking the bite of cold from the wind.
I smiled at him and he led me down the stairs to the car that was waiting for us. It was a black range rover with heavily tinted windows.
I laughed, "No one is seeing through those windows, huh?"
He looked away from me for a moment and said, "Not as long as I can help it,"
I looked at him curiously, I hadn't expected him to really comment on it, but his response was odd.
"How was your day?" I asked him lightly, wanting to change the subject.
He looked up at me and grinned, "It was boring, I had to wait for what seemed like forever until I got to meet up with this really amazing girl I know,"
I raised my eyebrow at him, "Do I know this girl?" I joked, poking him in the ribs.
"I think you might," He answered cheekily. "She's blonde, incredibly gorgeous, kind, genuine, and funny. Really funny... looking." He peeked up at me through his eyelashes trying to hide his wicked smirk.
I glared at him jokingly, "Oh, so I'm funny looking, huh?" I let go of his hand, stepping away from him. He attempted to grab my hand again but I moved it before he could.
He looked up at me with a raised eyebrow.
I decided to continue with my mock anger.
I glared at him, crossing my arms. "I don't know how I'll ever forgive you,"
"Sorry Grace, I didn't mean to offend you." He said, looking uncomfortable.
"Well... first you'll have to repeat an oath for your apology." I looked at him, managing to keep my face looking serious.
He nodded, looking unsure of what was happening.
"I, Jaxon Trent," I said out loud, gesturing for him to repeat it.
He complied, repeating the sentence.
"Promise to never speak badly of Grace's funny looking face again." I continued, raising my eyebrow at him.
He repeated it again, a mischievous look in his eyes.
"I promise to refer to her as 'my fairest Grace, loveliest of them all." I finished.
He paused before repeating the last sentence and looked at him curiously.
"I promise to refer to her as Grace, the princess I've always been searching for."
I turned to face him quickly, my eyes wide with shock.
"Really?" I asked quietly.
He nodded. I smiled at him, taking his hand in my own and tracing the top of his hand with my finger.
"Want to skip the restaurant? We could grab a bite to eat on the way home. I just can't wait any longer and I think it's dark enough," Jaxon suggested hopefully.
I nodded, still confused as to what we were doing. I let him lead us to the car and we got into the back. I hadn't even noticed there was a driver in the front.
I gave him a questioning look and he just smiled guiltily. I was about to question him further when we pulled off to a dirt road that was steeply inclined.
"Where exactly are we going?" I laughed, looking down at our intertwined hands. It was hard not to feel guilty, considering he had a girlfriend but I had imagined this for what seemed like ever and it was finally happening.
"You'll see," He winked, and once again I was pulled into his blue eyes. I had always liked blue eyes on a guy, but Jax's eyes took it to a whole new level. We seemed to be caught in a trance and we were moving closer together by the second.
Lesley. A little voice in my head reminded me. I couldn't do this to someone.
I pulled back slowly, upset that my dreams wouldn't become a reality tonight. Jaxon coughed and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
I laughed, shoving him lightly on the shoulder. The car slowed down and we came to a stop. It was dark outside and I couldn't see anything besides the trees.
"Are we in the right place?" I asked worriedly.
He laughed and I basked in the sound of it. It really was the cutest laugh I had ever heard.
"Follow me, love." He got out and extended his hand out for me to grab. I looked at it and placed my hand in his. It may have been just me, but I swear they fit together perfectly.
We walked a little ways down a path until it opened up a little bit to reveal little lanterns lining both sides of the path. I gasped, looking at him in disbelief. Had he really set all of this up for me?
He gave me a warm look while leading us down the path. The path ended and opened up into a wide clearing. We kept walking until we reached the edge. It was a steep cliff with a blanket just on the edge of it, with a picnic basket and lanterns around it.
We sat down on the blanket and I gasped. From up here we could see all of Los Angeles lit up below us. The buildings were small and the lights twinkled magically. He pulled me close and put a blanket over the top of us while we just sat there in awe.
"Wow...Jaxon, this is amazing. Thank you so much." I said quietly.
I didn't realize I was crying until he wiped the warm liquid from my cheeks.
"I thought you'd appreciate being able to see this than anyone else. People take things they've always had for granted. You taught me not to do that. Now you can see Los Angeles the way your family does from heaven." He said quietly.
He looked so thoughtful. He had really thought about this.
"This is the kindest, most sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." I whispered, snuggling closer to his chest.
He sighed in content, rubbing my back while I looked over the dark city. Even in the dark it was lit up by light.
"You seem to always bring me out of the darkness. I don't know what I would have done without you." I turned to face him so our noses were almost touching.
He was looking at my lips, and I was wishing more than anything that he would kiss me. But I knew why we couldn't.
I had to ask him now, or I'd chicken out. "Jax, what about Lesley?"
I looked down at my hands while I waited for his answer.
He brought his finger under my chin and made me look at him.
"She and I aren't together and never will be." He answered, looking straight into my hazel eyes.
I smiled, cupping his face between my hands. That was all that I needed to hear. Slowly, I brought my face closer to his.
Before our lips met I paused, "So what does it mean to be your Princess, hm?" I teased, smiling up at him.
"It means that you're mine." He whispered back.
That was the last thing said before he cupped my face gently and kissed me. If I thought that our hands had fit together like a puzzle, our lips were a whole new level. I had never felt so elated, so complete in my entire life.
When we pulled back I sighed in content. We lay under the stars watching the flickering lights of Los Angeles for a long time. The last thing I remembered was him scooping me from the blanket up into his arms and bringing my sleeping body to the car.
"Goodnight, princess." He murmured against my hair.
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