Take A Breath, Let the Rest Come Easy

“I don’t know what to tell her anymore.” Lauren’s voice shook Grace slightly awake. “She’s not eating, she barely sleeps, and she looks like hell.” Grace heard the door of her room slide open for a minute for Lauren to peek inside. Then it slid shut again. “All she does is work.” The rest of it became too soft for her to hear.

Grace slid deeper into the covers and pulled Pooka closer to her. Pooka whined but settled next to her. She coughed into her hand and spit out blood. “Fuck.” She muttered, and then took back the word she said.

She hardly ever cursed.

She sat up and went to the bathroom, then washed her hands without bothering to look at herself in the mirror. She already knew she didn’t look good. So she pulled her long curled hair into a ponytail and then went back to her bed, where she yanked up the covers around her shivering self, and went back to sleep.

---

Alex had caught the first plane back to Baltimore- along with Jack, who was equally worried about Grace as he was. He was nervous about seeing her, only because he had been so harsh with her when he left. He wanted to tell her what was going on, and why he had snapped but, he could only do so if she was willing to talk to him.

When Alex had gotten off the phone with Lauren he wondered if Grace’s mom had anything to do with it. He knew she always looked to her mother for approval, and she was always pulling Grace down. He noticed it most prominently when they were at dinner and her mom glared at her every time she went to pick up some food. His stomach twisted at the thought of her losing so much weight- she was perfect to begin with.

Alex knocked on the door to Grace’s apartment, but Jack had decided to let himself in- so the gesture was meaningless. Lauren was sitting on the couch with her laptop and glasses on. She looked a lot different with glasses, much more sophisticated, and less like a model.

She got up when Jack practically sprinted to her and kissed him on the mouth, before letting out a long giggle. Alex smiled at the two, before slipping off his shoes and taking off his beanie. He shook out his hair, and waited for Lauren to address him. “Hey, Lex.” She grinned, and walked into his arms for a hug.

“Hey.” Alex said.

“Missed yah, bud.” She knocked his arm with her elbow. Jack sat himself on the couch, and turned on the TV. The noise filled the room. “Turn it down, asshole!” Lauren snorted at him. “Grace is sleeping.” She glared at her boyfriend.

“How is she?” Alex asked, hesitantly. Lauren grimaced.

“Uhm… She took a day off work?” She tried, hinting towards that being the only thing going right for Grace at the time. “You should go see her…” Lauren pointed towards Grace’s door. Alex nodded and then walked towards her room. He opened the door softly, as to not wake her up but, she was sitting on her bed indian style. Her papers were scattered around her, and a pen was sticking out of her mouth. Her guitar was seated next to her, and Pooka was staring up at her from the bottom of the bed.

So much for sleeping

“Grace?” Alex asked, hesitantly, as he lightly knocked on the door and walked in. She looked up at him, and the color drained from her face.

“What are you doing here?” She whispered practically inaudible.

Alex’s heart broke, she sounded horrible. He immediately took in her appearance. Her beautiful blonde hair was sloppily twisted into a knot that lay on her back. She was wearing a crop top that hung off of her bony shoulders, and a pair of sweatpants. Her eyes were dark and tired, and her face was paler than Alex had ever seen her. “I thought you guys finished next week.” She coughed.

“I came to see you.” Alex pressed on a smile and shut the door behind him. “You’re looking beautiful these days.” He laughed slightly.

Grace narrowed her eyes at him. “Thanks…” She muttered sarcastically. She pulled the pen out of her mouth and placed it on the table next to her. She stared at him for a second, trying to figure out what to do next.

“What are you doing?” Alex asked, moving a few papers aside to sit on the bed next to her.

“Just, working on new lyrics.” She shrugged, and let out a shaky cough. Alex put his hand on her back, she shivered.

“You look exhausted.” He noted, tucking some of her loose hair behind her ear, he leaned over and kissed it. She turned to look at him with glossy eyes.

“You never called me, texted me, or anything.” She searched his eyes. “I’m still mad at you.”

Alex wondered whether he should say something about the text he sent her, but he decided not to bring it up. “I’m really sorry.” Was all he could think of to say. “I was a total ass, and I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I had some other things on my mind that day.” He said. Grace looked back to her papers.

“Like what?” She asked.

“My brother died that day.”

“WHAT? Why didn’t you tell me?” She squeaked, throwing her hands in the air. Her breathing quickened.

“No...” Alex chuckled darkly, “Like it was the anniversary of his death. Two years. I took it out on you, and the brought your ex into it, and I shouldn’t have.” He shook his head. Grace struggled to think clearly, due to the exhaustion and illness, but she understood why he snapped now.

“How did he die?” She asked softer.

Alex hated when people asked that, nevertheless, he answered, “He commited suicide.”

“I’m so sorry, Lex.” She whispered, fiddling with her hands. Alex nodded, but knew that it wasn’t important anymore, he just wanted his Grace back. So he moved all of the papers aside and put them on the floor. “What are you doing?” She asked. “Those are in order!” She pressed a hand to her throbbing skull as he divided and moved all of her papers. She coughed, and leaned her head back against the headboard.

“You need to rest.” Alex said, putting her guitar onto the floor, and curling Pooka up into his arms and onto the bed.

“I’m fine.” Grace retorted, “I have to finish these.” She shivered.

“No, you don’t.” Alex shook his head and pulled her body closer to his. She was on fire, surly had a fever. He pulled the blankets around them both, and turned off the lamp light. He pressed his hands under her shirt and onto her back.

“Your hands are cold.” She croaked, wrapping her legs around his. She missed his touch.

Alex laughed, “My hands aren’t cold, baby, your back feels like it’s in fucking flames.” He moved his hands around to her stomach, trying to cool down her burning body. She chuckled.

“Maybe I’m just that sexy.” She coughed again, and then yawned.

“Trust me, you are.” Alex smirked and leaned in to kiss her soft lips. He watched her eyes become droopy, and ran his hand up to the back of her head to pull out the knot her hair was tied into. She sighed against him, and put her head against his chest. He smiled, he was exactly where he wanted to be.