Trembling With the Strings

“Who is it?” Marcy called. I had to press my ear to the door to hear her clearly.

“Uh, your brother, perhaps?”

“Oh, it’s only you, Dante! You can come in.” I heard a door open and some mumbling I couldn’t make out, so I pressed my entire body to the door, begging my ears to pick up on what they were saying as I was being too nosy for my own good. The door suddenly was yanked open and I cried out, falling flat on my face. I suppose that’s Karma for you. I glanced up and saw a pair of gray-blue eyes staring down at me.

“Hello?” He was smiling in amusement. He had the same color hair as Marcy. “I’m Dante-Clark Jameson. And you would be...?”

“Gracie Harper,” I mumbled, taking the hand he offered me. I brushed off my dress, hoping no real damage had come to it.

“Oh, so this is Dray's present?” Dante looked me up and down. He smiled lightly and warmly. “Edmund certainly picked a good one, huh?”

“Isn’t she gorgeous?” Marcy squealed, embracing me.

I was starting to think she was a kid at heart. I had to remind myself that she was older than me, not eight years younger.

“We’re going to be best friends forever!” Dante smirked, an amused look plastered to his face. “And she has the cutest little brothers!” She ran over to my suitcase and pulled out the picture I had shown her. “See? Isn’t Marty just so adorable?”

“He is. Gracie, you should invite them over sometime. I’m sure they miss you. I’d just wait until after you know Darius. He’s not a big fan of kids unfortunately...” I sighed and nodded. “Anyway, you should wear that dress. It suits you.” He turned to his sister. “Well, I have to go talk to Dad about your present eating my favorite pair of DC’s!”

“Oh, be nice to my pony! He’s just a doll!” she called after him, slamming the door as soon as he was gone.

“So are you having a party like Darius?” I asked her, sitting on her sofa as I absentmindedly ran my hands down my dress, fixing any wrinkles.

“Oh, no. I’m just going shopping with some friends. I’d invite you to come, but Daddy would flip out and think you’d end up dead or something. Honestly, he’s ridiculous.”

I nodded silently, my thoughts elsewhere. It was mainly about Darius—the proud-looking boy in Marcy’s picture. What was he like in person? Also, why was I a boy’s present? But above all that, I was worrying about my family. What if Martin was crying? What if John and Marc were getting beat by Mom and Dad? What if Katie was cursing my name with each breath she took? I hated that I didn’t have any of the answers.

“Gracie!”

I jumped and saw Marcy staring intensely at me. By her deafening shout, it was safe to assume that hadn’t been her first attempt to catch my attention.

“Did you hear me? I said I’m going out for a little while. I’m leaving my cell phone with you and you can call home, alright?” She tossed her phone at me and I caught it. My huge smile was probably consuming the rest of my face!

“Thank you, Marcy.” She smiled softly before waving it off.

“It’s no big deal, darling. Just make sure you stay in my room and don’t let anyone in—well, except girls. And Dante. And Dad. Okay, just no Darius. Got that?” I nodded and she left, locking the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, I changed back into my “rags” and hung my dress on the door so it wouldn’t get ruined. I opened the phone hastily and dialed eagerly.

“Hello?” I felt a tear forming as I heard his soft voice.

“Hi, Marcus. It’s Gracie.”