That Night √

12» that reality

Grace's POV
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I could hear hushed voices near me when I woke up. There was this something soft beneath my head and I wished (just for a fleeting moment) that I could stay still and just sleep a little more.

"I don't know." I heard a voice.

"You don't know what happened to her?" Another voice--a woman's voice--asked.

"No, I don't, Mom. She was...she was panicking. She wasn't listening to me. I don't even think she saw me before she fainted." This voice sounded familiar. I would've opened my eyes to see who it was if I hadn't felt so exhausted. Drained, I felt drained.

Sleep, I thought. This was peaceful. I could have it for a little more while, can't I?

"You were at a party?"

"Yeah. She was there too."

The party. It felt so sudden as that familiar picture flashed before my eyes. The image I'd received in that unknown text. The picture of Jack.

My eyes flew open and I sat up almost instantly, trying to blink back the dizziness and look around. For two entire seconds, everything seemed unreal. Like I was stuck in a dream.

"Grace." I looked up at the woman in front of me and a sudden rush of familiarity hit me. Except for the tired dark circles around her eyes, she looked just the same.

Marleen.

"You're up." She smiled at me, a little too warm. And something--a feeling so old--touched my heart. It was warm and welcoming and like home.

I blinked in a daze and glanced away from her, at Luca. There wasn't any smile on his face though, not even a look that might've deceived some sort of warmth. All I could see on his face was a frown.

He never used to frown this much.

"How are you feeling, honey?" Marleen asked, making me look back at her as she walked closer and sat down in front of me on the bed.

I was on a bed. And this wasn't my room or my house even. Almost out of instinct, my eyes flew over to the familiar window at the corner of the room, and I watched the bright rays of sunlight coming through.

Luca's room. I was in Luca's room.

"I'm..." I breathed out a soft shudder. "What am I doing here?" My voice came out a little hoarse. I kept my gaze trained on Marlene because I didn't want to look at Luca. Not when my heart had already started racing again, at just the mere sight of him. Not when him being a few steps away from me, and frowning at me with such an unwelcoming expression, felt like the worst thing ever.

I felt scared, even if this was the last place that should've scared me.

"Luc found you at the party last night." She told me. "Did something happen, sweetheart? Do you feel all right?"

I pressed my lips together and nodded. Everything was all right. Even if I didn't want to, I still found myself looking up at Luca. For a brief moment, our eyes met, and a huge part inside of me wanted to reach out, touch him, tell him how much it had hurt without him. How much I'd missed him.