Chapter 15: A Trip to Grandma's
"I have a favor to ask of you," my mother announced as she entered the living room.
My mother rarely asks for favors and when she does, they're very tedious and obnoxious. My sister immediately perked up. "Who are you asking?" she inquired.
"All of you," my mother responded.
I immediately sighed. "What is it?" I inquired, mentally preparing to have to clean the house from top to bottom.
"Your grandmother needs some help around the house and I have to leave for work soon, so you need to go and help her out," my mother explained. Not even halfway through her sentence, groans filled the room. Not only is our grandmother a bit crazy, she's two hours away. "Come on, it's not that bad. You just have to help her clean and talk to her a bit."
"Mom, she's crazy," my brother announced. "She still thinks we're children."
"She wouldn't think that if you'd visit her more often," my mom retorted. "Start getting ready. She's expecting you guys."
I got up slowly, mumbling unhappily. Every time I visit, she asks me about my love life, or lack thereof, never failing to mention how she met my grandfather when she was my age. Avery never gets harassed about her relationships, probably because my grandmother knows that she's been in a few of them. She doesn't even ask about Leo and Leo is just as behind as me. He's been in one relationship before and it lasted a few months. I sighed as I trudged to my room, emotionally preparing for the treatment I'd have to face at Grandma's house.
When my two siblings were ready to go, we left the house. Phoenix was leaning against our car as we exited and I quirked an eyebrow. "Shotgun," my brother called as Avery unlocked the doors. Phoenix opened the door for me and I got into the car, watching as he followed after me.
"Who invited you?" Avery asked jokingly. Phoenix laughed, rolling his eyes. "No, seriously, you're friends with both of them."
Leo scoffed and looked at our sister. "I did," he responded.
I glared at my sister in the mirror, watching her wink. Way to set the mood, Avery.
+ + +
"Hi, Grandma," my siblings and I greeted dully as we entered her familiar home. She held the door open for us, smiling and greeting us cheerfully.
"How have you all been?" she asked, hugging us and kissing our cheeks. She didn't stop when she reached Phoenix. In fact, she even went as far as to mess up his hair. "You've gotten so big since the last time I've seen you."
I rolled my eyes. "Grandma, you saw him last year," I told her and she looked at me.
"Grace," she smiled at me. "Do you have a boyfriend?" She didn't even bother to ask how I've been.
Leo snorted, covering it up with a cough before pointing to the bathroom. He walked towards it, chuckling quietly as he went. I glared at his back before turning to my grandmother. "No, grandma, I don't."
"Why not?" she asked me. "You know, I was with your grandfather when I was your age."
"Yes, Grandma, I know you were," I sighed as my face grew hot. Avery and Phoenix were both staring at me, but I didn't even dare to look at them. I focused my attention on my short grandmother who was standing in front of me with gray tendrils falling from her loosely tied up hair. Her blue eyes were staring at me through thick glasses and her tightlipped mouth was set in a line as she stared judgingly at me.
"It can't be that hard to find a guy, sweetheart. I'm sure there are plenty of handsome boys in your school. I mean, look at Phoenix here," my grandmother smiled at me while motioning to the boy beside me. I glanced at Phoenix out of the corner of my eye, who was smirking at me.
"Yeah, look at me, Grace," Phoenix muttered quietly and I shifted so that my elbow rammed into his side. He let out a quiet whimper.
"Don't you think he's handsome?" my grandmother asked, patting Phoenix's shoulder.
"Grandma," I started, trying to keep her from making things awkward.
"What? You don't think so?" she asked me. I looked at Avery for help and she sighed, slouching her shoulders.
"Grandma, what do you need help with today?" my older sister interrupted.
"Well, I need someone to bring me grocery shopping. And I need to get rid of some of my clothes; the laundry is getting to be too much," she explained as she looked around her small house. I sighed in relief. My grandmother led my sister to the living room, explaining more things she needed done.
"You never did answer her question," Phoenix asked as I went to follow them.
I turned around to look at him, quirking an eyebrow. "What question?"
"Do you think I'm handsome?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
My already red face continued to burn and I was grateful that he couldn't notice the new blood rush. "She asked me that?"
"Yeah, she did," he responded as he followed after me with his hands shoved in his pockets.
"Really? I don't recall," I shrugged as I turned around, rushing towards my sister and my grandmother.
+ + +
Because Leo's lazier than lazy, he decided to take our grandmother out to the grocery store, leaving the three of us to clean. Avery (who was the only one listening when grandma explained where she kept her cleaning supplies) decided to take on the bountiful duty of cleaning the kitchen. That left Phoenix and I to organize her closet and throw away her old clothes. She told us that everything in the closet could go.
I was doing all the work in the closet, seeing as I could actually fit in the tiny area, which Phoenix compared to a crawl space. Phoenix was putting the clothes I was working so hard to remove onto her bed. Once the closet was cleared out, we set to work organizing and folding the remaining clothes.
We worked in silence for the first few moments. I felt Phoenix's gaze on me occasionally but I paid no mind, focusing only on folding the clothes. "Did she actually wear this?" he muttered as he held up a bright yellow, puffy dress with long sleeves and a collar. My nose immediately wrinkled as my eyes squinted at the blinding article of clothing.
"I sure hope not," I responded.
Phoenix held it in his hands as a smirk lined his lips. "I dare you to try it on," he challenged.
"No way," I replied as I shook my head. He'll definitely take a picture of it and I'm not letting that happen.
"Why not?" he asked.
"You'll take a picture," I answered.
"You can take my phone with you into the bathroom while you change," he told me, handing it to me. I stared at him before taking it and snatching the dress from his hands. He laughed as he followed me to the bathroom, waiting outside as I changed. Getting into the dress was a struggle in itself. I felt like I was suffocating from the tight collar and the long sleeves. The bulbous bottom made me feel like my butt was going to slip out any second. In all, it was quite uncomfortable.
"Are you okay in there?" Phoenix asked over my grunting and groaning. I stared at myself in the mirror with a look of disgust tracing my features.
"Yeah," I replied. "I'm just scarred for life."
"Open the door," he insisted. I rested placed my hands on my face, shaking my head slowly. Why did I do this?
I stood in front of the door, slowly opening it as I stood there, slouched and upset. Phoenix took one look at me before breaking into laughter. I stared at him, watching as practically choked on his laughter. Three minutes later, I sighed. "Are you done laughing yet?"
He chuckled quietly as he nodded, holding his stomach. "So, uh, are you...are you going to be wearing that to homecoming?" he asked before falling into the depths of laughter again. With a sigh, I closed the door and changed back into my regular clothes, handing him his phone back.
Come dinner time, my grandmother ordered pizza. Well, my sister did with my grandma's money, only because she insisted. We were all sitting down at the table and my grandmother smiled at us. "What are you guys doing for Halloween? Are you going trick-or-treating?"
My brother snorted. "Grandma, we're too old for that," he explained to her.
"You're never too old for free candy," my grandmother smiled at us.
"I'm taking my little sisters out trick-or-treating," Phoenix told my grandma.
"Of course you are," I mumbled under my breath, earning a light nudge in the side from Phoenix himself. I glared at him, noticing that my brother was watching with narrowed eyes. I nodded at Leo before going back to my pizza.
By the time my grandmother ran out of chores to give us, it was nearly ten o'clock and I was exhausted. I had cleaned her bathroom and mopped and swept her entire hallway, as well as the living room. After saying our goodbyes, we exited her house, piling into the car. I sighed and rubbed my eyes, wanting to groan. By the time we get home, it'll be near midnight.
"You tired?" Phoenix asked me as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
"No," I retorted, dropping my hands from my face.
"So you're going to be up the entire ride back?" he asked me.
"Yeah," I responded.
"I bet you're going to fall asleep," Phoenix snorted, earning a roll of my eyes.
"Not going to happen," I informed him.
"We'll see," he said as we got into the car.
+ + +
I sniffled as I buried my face deeper into my pillow, which was slightly hard, but I didn't mind. It provided comfort and it smelled pretty good. It wasn't until it started to vibrate that things got weird. I heard my name being called faintly and I made a noise of affirmation. "Hm?" I responded in a slightly muffled tone.
"You fell asleep," a faint voice informed me and I scoffed.
"No, I didn't," I replied.
"Get up," a different voice snapped and it sounded like Leo. I sat up and squinted. I was in the car and we were parked. I glanced outside to see my house and I furrowed my eyebrows. I glanced at Phoenix, who was grinning widely.
"Am I a comfortable pillow?" he asked me and I felt my face immediately redden.
"We don't have all day," my brother barked from outside. I immediately ducked out of the car, jogging up the steps with my sister in tow.
"Wait, wait, wait," she hissed as I tried to rush towards the stairs. I looked at her and she bit back her laughter. I could tell she was snickering at my red face and wide eyes.
"What?" I asked.
"You still possibly can't be tired," she told me.
"Well, no," I responded.
"Then let's watch a movie," she insisted as she ushered me to the couch. I sat down, looking at the door fervently. "I want to talk to you."
My brother entered, closing the door behind him. "Where's Phoenix?" I inquired.
"Why? So you could fall asleep on him again?" my brother retorted, and I could hear the annoyance in his voice.
I didn't know how to respond so I just turned back to my sister, who had her lips curled into her mouth. Once we heard my brother's footsteps disappear back up the steps, she looked at me. "Was that a comfortable ride?" she inquired, earning a glare from me.
"Shut up and pick a movie," I responded, ignoring her stupid remarks.
"Do you like him?" she asked, as she scrolled through the movies lists.
I glared at her. "No, I don't," I responded.
"Okay," she replied.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked her. "You don't believe me?"
"What? I just said okay," my sister replied as she stared at me in confusion.
"I don't like him," I snapped and my sister nodded.
"Alright, I believe you," she informed me as she stared at me cautiously.
I nodded. "Good," I sighed.
+ + +
Halfway through the movie, my sister decided she was going to go to sleep and head upstairs. "Goodnight," I muttered as I stared at the television. The scary movie played, causing eerie music to fill the room as the girl crept around the house, looking for an intruder. I stared at my phone, deciding to text someone. It's easier to watch a scary movie with someone beside you; I'm realizing that now that my sister's upstairs, preparing to sleep for the night.
I sent messages to Cam, Alice, and Elliot. When none of them responded within five minutes, I swore and sent a message to Phoenix, who responded only a moment later.
"What are you still doing up?" he sent and I furrowed my eyebrows. What are you doing up? I looked at the time, noticing that it was almost one o'clock.
"I'm watching a scary movie," I responded. "Why are you still awake?"
"I showered," he answered. "Are you scared? Is that why you've decided to text me?"
"No," I retorted, knowing that I was lying through the phone.
"Unfortunately for you, I'm about to head off to bed. Goodnight, Grace," he replied and I swore quietly. Now who am I going to message to distract myself? I grunted as I replied, sending him a message wishing him a goodnight. I put my head back on the couch, frowning at the fact that we paid money for this movie and I can't just leave while it's playing. It'd be a waste of 11 dollars. Plus, I'm too scared to sneak through the house up to my room. And I kind of want to see what happens.
I stared at the television, stiffening when I heard the sound of the front door opening. I immediately ducked down on the couch, hiding under the blanket that was on my lap only seconds ago. I listened closely, trying to identify the footsteps. Maybe it's my father? No, he got home at eleven. His car was in the driveway. The footsteps grew nearer and I began to feel my heartbeat speed up as my palms began to sweat. This is how I'm going to die. I'm going to die by murder because there's no way I'm escaping this situation.
The footsteps stopped and I felt my heartbeat race even more as I contemplated what I should do. I peeked my head from under the blanket, almost using the bathroom on myself as a figure peered over me. I let out a muffled scream but a hand clamped over my mouth. My eyes widened as I began to hyperventilate, kicking my legs.
"Shh," a familiar voice said through laughs. "It's me, Grace, it's me."
I felt relief course through me as Phoenix sat at the edge of the couch. I was squished against the back of the sofa, feeling my heart pound in my ears as tears pooled at the corners of my eyes. I immediately felt anger as Phoenix sat there laughing at me. "What's wrong with you?" I hissed as I sat up, shoving him. He fell on the ground but his laughter didn't cease. "You're such a jerk!" I snapped as quietly as I could. I grabbed the pillow beneath my feet and hit him over the head with it. He blocked his face as he continued to laugh.
I rubbed my eyes as I tried to blink away the tears that formed in two pools in the corners. "Are you crying?" Phoenix asked curiously as he slowly rose from the floor. I stared at my legs in the dim lighting.
"No," I responded even though I was crying. It wasn't a lot of tears. It was just a reaction to the scare. At least I didn't pee myself. How would I have explained that?
"I'm sorry," Phoenix spoke, sounding apologetic. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I just thought it'd be funny. I shouldn't have done it. I don't know why I did- it was stupid of me to do."
He continued to apologize, rambling, and I could tell he felt bad. I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Just shut up and watch this movie with me," I told him, not wanting to listen to his apologies. He has a way of making me feel bad for making him feel bad.
"Butâ," he cut me off and I grabbed his wrist, yanking him down beside me. "Iâ."
"Just watch the movie with me, Phoenix, please," I pressed.
"Okay," he sighed as he sank deeper into the couch. I contemplated whether or not I should move closer to him. Deciding to just go for it, I scooted closer, placing my head on his shoulder and my hand on his chest. I felt his heartbeat pound in his chest, causing a small smile to find its way on my face.