AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Grace
Grace and Archer had gotten home from France heartbroken and exhausted. She was hopeful that Jon had taken the time that he needed to calm down and that he’d be waiting for the two of them back at their house.
Archer had calmed down on the plane ride back to the states and admitted that he regretted saying what he had to Jon as soon as the words were out of his mouth, but he couldn’t take them back. All the two of them could do now was find Jon and work this mess out. But they found their house empty and all of Jon’s stuff was gone.
“Where do you think he went?” she asked Archer.
“Don’t know,” he mumbled. “This isn’t right. He should be here. Walking away from us isn’t going to help the situation. I mean, you’re still going to have a baby, Gracie,” he said. She heard what he wasn’t saying out loud—that she was going to have Jon’s baby, but that wasn’t how things were supposed to play out. They had agreed when they started all of this, that they would raise any children that came from the three of them being together, as a team. Now, they were missing part of their team and that wasn’t okay with Grace.
“We are having a baby, Archer,” she said. “Remember, we all agreed to do this together. Just because we know that this baby was made by Jon and me while you were in France, shouldn’t make a difference. Tell me now if you’ve changed your mind about raising this baby with me, Arch.”
“I haven’t changed my mind about wanting to raise this baby with you, Grace,” he said, covering his hand over her tummy. “I just wish that Jon was here with us.”
“Me too,” she breathed. “I’m not quite sure what to even do now. I mean, do we just go on as if nothing happened between the three of us? Will Jon want updates about the baby, or doesn’t he care anymore?” Things were so up in the air; she wasn’t sure what to do about anything. She felt lost since Jon left them earlier this morning and the only way she’d be able to find her way forward would be for Jon to come back to them but finding all his stuff gone gave her little hope of that happening now.
“I’m sure that he’ll want to know what’s happening with the baby, Grace. Let’s give him some time to calm down and then, we’ll find him and work this all out.” She wanted to believe Archer, but she wasn’t sure what to think anymore.
“I’m going to lay down and try to rest,” she said. “I’m not sure if it’s the jet lag or pregnancy, but I’m beat.”
“I’ll be in to join you in a few minutes,” Archer said. “I just need a quick shower first.”
Grace laid down on the bed that the three of them had shared and pulled Jon’s pillow to her chest, inhaling his scent. She wanted to tell him that what he was doing to her, and Archer wasn’t fair. He had to know how much this was killing them both.
Grace pulled her cell phone from her pocket and called Jon. Just when she thought that her call was going to go to voicemail, he answered.
“Grace—you all right?” he asked.
She barked out her laugh, “Do you even care?” she spat. “You just left us, Jon,” she said. “And then, you hurried back home so that you could get your stuff out of our home. Why?” she sobbed.
“I think you pretty much just nailed the why question right on the head, Grace. I moved into your and Archer’s home and it never really came to feel like mine. It was easy for me to move all my shit out because I didn’t have much at your place to begin with. It was just me and my father’s pick-up truck and I got it done in one load. That’s pretty sad when you think about it, Grace.” Jon was right, that was sad. When he moved in with them, they weren’t sure how all his stuff would fit into her already furnished home, so Jon agreed to put his belongings in storage. Maybe in hinds’ sight, that wasn’t the best idea. He was never made to feel like he belonged in their home with them and that was their fault, not Jon’s. Grace felt bad that she had never picked up on any of this, not even when he said that he felt like a third wheel. That should have been her first clue as to how he was feeling about moving into their home and storing his belongings away. She just got so caught up with the three of them finally moving forward and moving in together, she forgot to consider Jon’s feelings about it all.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I should have realized, but I was so caught up with the three of us just living together, I never considered your feelings, Jon. That’s my fault. Will you please forgive me and come home?” she asked.
“Grace,” he murmured. “I can’t.”
“Then why did you answer the phone, Jon?” she questioned.
“Because no matter what’s going on with the three of us, I still love you and you’re carrying my baby—whether I like it or not.”
She gasped and covered her hand over her mouth, trying to keep the sound muffled. The last thing she needed was to have Archer overhear her talking to Jon. It would either get his hopes up for Jon to come home or piss him completely off that she went behind his back to call him.
“You can’t honestly mean that, Jon. We created this life out of love and that has to count for something,” Grace insisted.
“I’d really love to know what your end game is here, Grace,” he asked.
“End game?” she asked. “I’m not sure what you mean by that,” she insisted.
“Why did you call me tonight?” he asked. “Does Archer even know that you’re talking to me?”
“I called you because I’m worried about you, Jon. I called to tell you that I love you and want you to come home. That’s my end game,” she said.
“And Archer,” Jon reminded. “Does he know that you’re on the phone with me?” he asked.
“No,” she breathed. “He’s in the shower right now. But that doesn’t change anything, Jon,” she insisted.
“Sure it does, Grace. Arch made it very clear that if I walked away from the two of you, that I shouldn’t come back. Has that changed?” She wanted to tell him that it had, but she was sure that Jon wasn’t in the right mindset to believe her. Grace knew from experience that when Jon got like this, there would be no talking him down or reaching him.
“I’ve got to go, Grace,” he said. “Take care of yourself.” And just like that, he was gone. He had ended their call and there would be no calling him back. She knew that he wouldn’t answer her call again. No, she just needed to give him time to calm down before she reached out again. Maybe that was what they all needed, just a little time to figure everything out, and then, she’d fight for him because she knew for a fact that Jon was worth it.
