Need You Now (26 page)

“Grace, don't say that.” Her father kicked a board into place, then reached his hand out to her for another nail. “Your mom said the counselor is in Eagle Lake. That should be far enough away to keep it private. I can understand how you don't want this to get out, but having said that—it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Sometimes we all need someone to talk to.”

“I talk to God.” It was the truth. How could he argue with that?

“And that's good. But I still think—”

“Dad, I can't go!
Please!
” Her eyes started to water up, and even though she knew it would soften her father, the tears came without force. She really couldn't stand the thought of trying to explain something that she didn't totally understand herself. And she truly was scared to death that people would find out. She'd heard Glenda and the other girls bash people who had far less significant problems than Grace had. “Please just talk to Mom.”

Her father put his hands on his hips and faced her. “Grace, are you sure you feel okay now? And that you don't have an urge to hurt yourself anymore?” He cupped her cheek. “We just want to do right by you, Grace, to take care of you.”

She put her hand on his. “I know, Dad. But if you want to help me, please get me out of this appointment. It is causing me so much stress, and I'd be way better if I didn't have to worry about it.”

He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. “Okay, munchkin. I'll talk to your mom.”

Over the years, Grace had told him that she was much too old for that endearment, but at the moment, it was music to her ears. She'd won him over. “Thank you, Dad.” She reached her arms around his waist. He kissed her on the top of the head.

“You're welcome, baby.”

It was early evening when Brad cornered Darlene in the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around her waist while she was loading the dishwasher. Things had been strained between them since their argument about Grace. And instead of fewer hours at work, his new position was demanding more hours, so he really hadn't had a chance to talk to her much. She was quiet, and he knew she missed her job. And she was worried about Grace.

“Let's go to dinner tonight, just the two of us.” He twirled her around until she was facing him. “We haven't had a date night in a long time.”

“That sounds good.”

It was nice to see her smile. She was the love of his life, and while they might not always agree on everything, he couldn't stand it when they were distant. “Where do you want to go?”

“It doesn't matter. I can make something for the kids ahead of time, or—”

“Or they can just make a sandwich. They'll survive one night without a hot meal.”

“I guess so.”

Brad needed to talk to her about Grace, and maybe a relaxed atmosphere and a nice restaurant would make it easier for them to communicate.

“Why don't we just go to Joe's Place in Fayetteville?” she asked as she eased away from him and started the dishwasher. “We won't have to get dressed up, and a steak sounds good.”

“Wherever you want to go is fine with me. I'm going to jump in the shower.” He leaned around her, kissed her on the cheek.

Thirty minutes later, he started down the stairs in a pair of blue jean shorts and a white T-shirt. He'd heard the doorbell, and Darlene was opening the front door as he stepped onto the landing. Brad was surprised to see Skylar. Grace's friend hadn't been to the house in a long time. He waved to her as she walked past him and toward the stairs, then he glanced at Darlene, whose brittle smile didn't fool Brad. They both waited until Skylar was upstairs before they said anything.

“Do you think everyone will be okay for an hour or two?” Darlene's eyes searched his.

“Yes.” Brad knew that Darlene's worries about Skylar mirrored his own. It was wrong to judge the girl by the way she dressed, but they were both so worried about Grace, everyone was a target for blame.

Grace heard a knock on her door and put down the book she was reading. When she opened her bedroom door, she was surprised to see Skylar, especially after the way Grace had treated her at school. Skylar had called a few times, but Grace hadn't called her back. “Hey.”

“Hey. Just wondering if you were okay.”

She didn't deserve a friend like Skylar. “Yeah, I'm fine.” She stepped aside so Skylar could come in.

“Whatcha reading?” Skylar nodded to the book on Grace's bed.

“It's a novel. A story about the Amish.”

Skylar grinned. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Grace liked reading about the Amish because of the peaceful lives they led. It was an escape from her problems, but she didn't feel like explaining. She felt like crying. She'd been horrible to Skylar, and yet here she was, acting like nothing was wrong.

Grace sat down on her bed, and Skylar sat down beside her. Grace noticed light roots in Skylar's jet-black hair. She wondered what Skylar would look like with her natural hair color and without the dark makeup and black clothes.

“So I just wanted to see what's up.” Skylar shrugged, and Grace fought the tears threatening to spill.

“I—I . . .” Grace blinked a few times. “Why are you here, Skylar? I mean, I wasn't exactly nice to you before school let out.”

Skylar grinned. “I didn't notice.”

They were quiet for a few moments, then Skylar spoke up again. “I was just kinda worried about you.”

All of Grace's defenses kicked in. “Why? I'm fine.” She got up from the bed, walked over to her dresser, and stacked some books in a pile. “I've been reading a lot.” She shrugged, straightening the books. “It's not like you can find a job around here.”

“Tell me about it. I applied everywhere I could think of, but in these small towns, there isn't much need for summer help. And it's not like my truck could take a lot of extra driving to another town.”

“I've only been able to get some babysitting jobs, but at least it's something.”

“So . . . how long have you been cutting again?”

Grace spun around. “I haven't done that in a long time.”

“How long?”

“So you just came over here to grill me about it? I should have never told you in the first place.”

“Then why did you?”

Grace grunted. “Because you figured it out.”

Skylar lowered her head, frowning.

“Don't look so bummed. After my parents found out, I swore it off for good. So if you came over here just to talk about that, then—”

“Your parents found out?” Skylar lifted her head and locked eyes with Grace. “What happened?”

This was the last thing Grace wanted to talk about, but maybe she could have some closure with Skylar on the subject if she just spilled everything. She told her the entire story, and Skylar listened without saying anything.

“So anyway, my dad is taking my mom to dinner tonight, and he said he would try to talk her out of taking me to a shrink.”

“Maybe a shrink wouldn't be so bad.”

Grace slapped her hands to her hips. “You quit on your own. So can I.”

Skylar shrugged. “Okay. But not everyone can.”

Grace walked back over to her pile of books, straightened them again. How presumptuous of Skylar to think she was better than Grace. “I can do it on my own too, and I don't need to tell my feelings to some doctor while lying on a couch.”

“Well, I had a reason to stop.”

Grace folded her arms across her chest. “Oh really? So what was the reason?”

Skylar took a deep breath and avoided Grace's eyes. “It's complicated.”

“I've got time.” Grace's words were choppy and unsympathetic as she sat down on the bed.

Skylar slapped her hands to her knees, then stood up. “You know what? I have to go pick up some medicine for my dad. Wanna ride along?”

Clearly Skylar wasn't going to share any details at the moment, and Grace realized that she didn't know much about Skylar's life, except that she lived alone with her father. “Is he sick?”

“Yeah, kind of.” Skylar walked toward the door. “It sure is hot to drive to La Grange to pick up his medicine.” She turned around and faced Grace, an exaggerated pout on her face.

Grace knew Skylar didn't have any air-conditioning in that beat-up truck she drove.

“I'll take you.” Grace found her purse, dug for her keys. “But can we just talk about something else?”

“Sure.”

Skylar followed Grace down the stairs.

Darlene ordered the small T-bone steak, a baked potato, and a salad. Brad ordered the same, but got the larger version. It was a much-needed, relaxing break. Until Brad got around to a conversation he'd evidently wanted to have the entire time.

“Grace really doesn't want to go see the counselor. She wanted me to talk to you.” Brad sipped on a cup of coffee, keeping his eyes on her above the rim.

“Well, she's going.”

He put his cup down, shook his head. “So she's going, and that's it? I don't have a say and neither does Grace?”

“Why are you ruining this night?”

“I'm not. I'm trying to talk to you, Dar, but when it comes to Grace, it's your way or no one's. I'm not sure she needs counseling.”

Darlene stared at him for a few moments. “My way or no one's? Really, Brad? Because I don't see it that way at all.” She and Brad never used to talk to each other with such sarcasm and flat-out ugliness. She tried to keep things in perspective, knowing they were both worried about Grace. “Something caused Grace to cut herself like that. More than once.” She glanced around, lowered her voice to a whisper. “Our beautiful daughter has cuts on her arms and legs that might leave scars for the rest of her life. Do you want her to keep doing that?”

“Of course not. But I don't want to push her over the edge either. She is terrified and stressed about that appointment on Tuesday. I'm just saying maybe give her some time. And she doesn't want people to find out.”

“
She
doesn't or
you
don't?” It just came out, and even though it was what she was thinking, Darlene wished she hadn't said it.