Page 62 of You Shouldn't Have Come Here

Grace laid on her back and looked up at the stars. There was no point in looking at them now. They paled in comparison to her.

“That was incredible.”

She didn’t say anything. She just nodded.

I had never felt that with anyone else. We were in tune with one another. Our bodies craved the same touch, the same energy. We were like animals tearing into one another. Grace was the best I ever had. And thinking that made me wonder if I was the same for her.

“Whatcha thinking?” I asked, immediately regretting my question. It was something girls who were hung up on boys asked. I couldn’t help it. I wanted to know.

Grace turned her head toward me. The flame intensified in her blue eyes. “I’m thinking...” She bit her lower lip. “That I don’t want this to end.”

I smiled. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“Calvin.”

“Yes, Grace.”

“There are no secrets between us.”

I wasn’t sure if it was a question or a statement, but I nodded. “No secrets,” I said. But I wondered what made a secret. Was it having information that you hadn’t yet shared with the other person, or was it intentionally lying and withholding information? If she didn’t ask, was it a secret?

“What happened to your parents?”

I let out a sigh. It wasn’t something I liked talking about but I agreed to no secrets, and she did ask. “They died in a fire.”

Her mouth dropped open. “I’m so sorry, Calvin.”

We sat in silence for a little while. I didn’t know what to say. The past belonged in the past, and there was no sense in talking about it.

“Can I tell you something?”

I scooched a little closer toward her. “You can tell me anything, Grace.”

“Earlier today, Charlotte said something that I didn’t understand, but it made me uncomfortable.” She tucked her chin in.

“What did she say to you?”

“She said she hopes Joe keeps me here permanently.” Grace furrowed her brow.

I looked up at the sky and screamed internally. Char and Joe were going to mess all this up for me.

“What did she mean by that?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

“You said no secrets.”

I let out a sigh. “I told you about my ex, Lisa.”

Grace nodded. “Yeah, she died in a car accident.”

“One year ago today. Joe was driving that night.”

Her eyes widened.

“We had gone out for my birthday. He drove us back because Lisa and I had a little too much to drink. He hit an elk going sixty not far down the road from here. Lisa was gored by the elk. She died before the paramedics arrived. I walked away with cuts and bruises. Joe suffered a traumatic brain injury. He was in a coma for a week. He doesn’t remember anything about the night of the accident. Doctors said he probably never will.” I looked to Grace, gauging her response.

“That’s awful. But why would Charlotte say something like that?”