Saving Grace

Although I didn't want to, I wrapped my arm around John's waist as I looked up to him. "Sorry about that..." I said before turning to the girl who was a good six inches taller than me. "Oh, hello."

She looked at me, her hazel eyes trying their best not to hide the annoyance and judgement her mind was processing. "Hi," she said, sugar-coating her voice. "Who's this?" she asked, batting her long lashes up at John.

"Marissa, this is Amelia: my girlfriend," John introduced. "Amelia, this is Marissa, one of my friends."

The tall blond laughed a little at his words. "Friend? That's all I get as an introduction?" She turned her large eyes back to me. "John and I dated for the longest time."

It was quite obvious that she was trying to stir up trouble in our "relationship" already. I didn't like this girl, not one bit. "Really?" I asked, purposely leaning closer to John. Where my sudden confidence was coming from, I had no idea.

Marissa nodded, a fake smile pulling at her lips. "Yes. When did you two get into town?" she asked, looking between the two of us.

John answered. "Yesterday, actually."

"Really?"

I nodded, smiling a little.

I felt John's arms wrap around me, his hand landing on my hip. I turned to him, forcing a smile. "I just got a text from Kennedy. My mom invited him over for dinner with us. We should get going," he said.

I nodded before looking to the girl standing in front of us. "It was nice meeting you Marissa," I said.

"Yeah, nice meeting you too," she said, a fake smile plastered on her face. I could see the hate and jealousy in her hazel eyes already. "It was nice seeing you again John," she said, turning her eyes to him.

"Yeah. Nice seeing you too," John said before pulling me away, leading us back to his car.

"Marissa seems nice," I said, pulling away from him when we were out of her sight. He picked up on my sarcasm right away.

"Why don't you like her? You've just met her."

I don't know, maybe it's that element of being a fake that seemed to radiate off of her. "We've just met and she's already about to lunge at my throat."

"What? No she isn't."

"D-Did you see the jealousy, John?"

He rolled his eyes before changing the subject. "Was that lover-boy?" he asked, thinking back to my phone call.

"Possibly," I replied.

"Are you two in the middle of a big fight?"

"Nope." Though, if anything, I wish we were. At least then I would know what his problem was.

-----

"Oh my goodness!" Bree cried as I stepped into the O'Callaghan residence. "Sweetheart, you look... in pain," she said, after thinking of an appropriate word.

"Someone forgot sunblock," John said, walking in behind me.

"I can see," the middle-aged woman said. I invited the guys over for dinner. It should be ready within half an hour." Her eyes flickered back to me. "Hun, do you want a cold shower?"

"That would be nice," I said as I took off my flats.

"John, show her upstairs and make sure she has towels..." Bree said with a polite smile. "Oh, Shane is out with his friends and Ross is catching up with some people he graduated with so they won't be joining us tonight. I'll be cooking if you need me," she said before presumably going to the kitchen.

I looked to John before he led me upstairs, stopping at the linen closet to get out a couple of towels. Once in the bathroom, he turned to me, setting the white cloths down on the counter. "Okay, this..." he walked to the shower and pointed to the knob closest to us, "is the cold water, this is the hot," he said, touching his fingertips to the other knob. "When you want the shower on, you pull this do-hickey up and jump back. It's really cold at first," he warned.

I nodded, showing that I understood. With that, he allowed me to have my space, closing the bathroom door behind him as he left.

-----

By the time I was finished taking my shower, getting dressed, searching for some sort of pain relief for my burning skin and re-applying my make-up, the sound of laughter was heard coming from downstairs.

I looked over myself in the mirror once again before deciding that I looked presentable. I smoothed my hair one last time before walking out of John's bedroom, flicking the light off as I left.

I could smell the mixture of butter and the distinct scent of lasagna along with the light fragrance of garlic as I walked down the hallway.

I took my sweet time, looking over the pictures hanging on the wall.

The O'Callaghan boys were quite adorable in their childhood photos, I had to admit.

One of the more recent photos made me stop dead in my tracks. Nick and John were sitting in lawn chairs, Marissa perched easily on John's lap and an unfamiliar girl on Nick's. I, being the insecure girl I often was, immediately started thinking. Nick still had his longer hair, meaning it was before this year.

It easily could have been taken before our relationship started.

I forced my mind away from the photo enclosed behind a thin sheet of glass.

I walked down the steps but somehow managed to loose my footing at the end of the stairs.

Before I had the chance to even register what was happening, I crashed to the hardwood flooring below, unfortunately in front of seemingly everyone who had been invited over for dinner.

Fuck my life.