Graceful Deception

Chapter 10

Sooooo I took a massively long time. I know this. Also, this chapter is kind of short compared to my others but I have more and I didn't want to split them in an awkward spot.

Enjoy!!

Chapter 10

I scowled at my own reflection, deciding that the eighteen layers of foundation I’d applied had done basically nothing to cover the bruise that started on my cheekbone and spread to below my left eye.

“Sunglasses it is,” I mumbled, digging into my bag, searching for my pair. “Please be in here,” I mumbled, glancing at my reflection once more, wincing at the clearly visible bruise there before going back to searching in my bag.

I was just about to give up and reach for the foundation again when there was a knock on my door. Giving my reflection one last, hopeless look, I went to open the door.

“Hey,” Wes said, his expression hard as his eyes slid over my features.

“Hey,” I said, leaning my shoulder against the doorjamb. “What’s up?”

“How’s the black eye?” he asked, his dark eyes scanning the area, obviously seeing the bruise there.

“What black eye? Didn’t I cover it perfectly?”

“No,” he said bluntly but some of the hardness in his features faded. “Did you report it? I forgot about it last night.”

“I called this morning but they said it was unlikely they’d ever find him.” I gave a dramatic sigh, pressing my hand to my chest. “I can’t believe my flip phone is going to be sold on the black market for a small fortune.”

Wes rolled his eyes and his lips twitched slightly. “Maybe it’ll show up in an antique store. What year was that model made? Somewhere in the early 1900s?”

Narrowing my eyes at him, I said, “Because you were nice to me last night, I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that. Speaking of,” I began, my voice going a little lower, sincerity creeping into my tone as I remembered the way he’d cleaned the cuts on my hands. “Thank you for helping me last night, Wes.”

He was silent for a moment, the humor gone from his features as he looked down at me, his expression unreadable. “You’re welcome,” he finally said. I frowned, trying to figure out what he was thinking but before I could ask, his brow quirked and he crossed his arms over his chest. “It was a onetime thing though, Grace. No more walking alone in the middle of the night and no more getting punched in the face, okay?”

I gave a solemn nod. “Okay. I see being nice really took a lot out of you yesterday.”

“It wasn’t easy,” he said, a hint of laughter in his words.

“You poor thing,” I muttered, rolling my eyes before turning my back on him, heading into my room to get my things. “You’d better get your stuff. We’re going to be late for the flight.”

“Grace?”

I turned to look at Wes over my shoulder. He was still standing in the doorway, his expression back to being blank and impossible to read. “Yeah?”

He stepped towards me, letting the door fall shut behind him as I turned to face him fully. “Here,” he said, reaching out to grip my wrist and placing something in the palm of my hand. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Okay,” I said, my voice weirdly breathless as the skin on my wrist tingled oddly right where he’d touched me. I blinked a few times, realizing he was already gone and the door had shut firmly behind him. “What’s wrong with me?” I mumbled, frowning at the door.