Home is where the heart is...Part Three

"Grace?" says Jules, interrupting my thoughts. It was the first time I had been to the beach in my entire life, and I was mesmorized. "Did you hear me? This is Mayra, Justin's sister. You've met Justin, right?"

"Yeah" I say, snapping back to reality. "I have. Hi, I'm Grace" I say, once I turned to the pretty brunette standing next to Justin.

"Hi." she says. "I'm Mayra. But you can call me May."

I smile, hoping to make friends. She can't replace Evana but she CAN be my friend still.

"So, are you coming to Octavian High School?" she asks.

"Yes, I am. We just came from there now. I got accepted and stuff. I don't know if I'm looking foreward to it." I tell

"Why?" she asks. With what seems like genuine concern.

"Well...its the first time I have ever been at a real school" I confess.

"Wow. Thats pretty.." she paused as if to find the write word. "cool. Were you homeschooled?"

"Yes" I say. At least it is the truth.

"You girls coming swimming?" Nick asks as him and Justin head towards the blue sea. We both nod and take off our shorts and shirts. The sand is rather hot, so we sprint to the shoreline and cool off.

"I'm so glad your here" says May "Normally it would be just me with the guys. It gets pretty boring"

"Yeah, I can understand" I said. Although I couldn't

I stopped around knee deep. May had taken off deep, almost to the surfers line-up, near Nick

"Come on" Justin called. He had stopped back and waited for me.

"I don't know. It looks pretty deep" I say.

"Is this the first time you have been in the ocean?" He asks.

"Yes" I say.

"Come with me. I'll take you out. Believe me, its safer out there because no waves break on you" He says.

I can understand his reasoning. So I follow.

"Ok, when a wave comes, dive under it, almost to the sandbank and hold your breath, okay?"

"Okay" I say, taking in his instructions.

All of a sudden he yells 'Dive!' and so I do. Although I'm too late and get caught in the tumble of the wave. When I finally come up I'm spluttering and coughing.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Yeah" I cough out.

"Do you want to keep going out?"

"Yes" I say. I want to keep going. Reach new milestones.

"Ok" He shouts over the tumble off a wave. Then all over a sudden another big wave comes and to my surprise, he grabs my wrist and pulls me under. I come up straight away and smile. "Thanks" I say, this time not coughing.

"Your welcome. Next time, I'll teach you how to surf"

"You surf?" I ask

"Yeah. Since I was eleven"

I nod and then a few more waves and we are out with Nick and May. We splash about for an hour or so. Talking about going back to school and they advise me on which teachers to look out for. Honestly, I won't complain about living here for the next three months. I will be happy. Content even.

~*~

"She is a lovely girl" Mrs Phillips, Justin and May's mom says. She tagged along on the beach outing, and was glad.

"Yes" agrees Jules "We are happy we took her on. She is already providing Nick, Sam and even Seth a new friend. She needs to know a stable home, even if only for a couple months."

"What you and your family are doing, its so admirable, Jules"

"I know. My heart bleed for this girl. Janey explained some of her life. It's awful. She doesn't even know her biological parents."

"I'll pray for her...and your family. It looks like Justin, Nick, May and Grace all seem to go together quite well."

Jules agreed, they all got along so well.

"Must I drive the children to school tomorrow? It's just Grace and Nick, right? Sam and Seth go to another school."

"Yes. I would appreciate that." Jules said. And she really did the next morning when her mom called and asked for her to come over at 8am. She made the children breakfast and gave Grace the envelope she must take to the textbook shop. She hugged them all and waved as they jumped into Andy's, Mrs. Phillips' car. May and Grace sat in the backseat.

"Why does it feel like I'm sending TWO of my children in that car today?" she muttered.

~*~
"It's definately not like it is in the movies" I confide in May at lunch. I had gone through not only my first three classes as a sophomore, but also a few classes as a regular student. Our homeroom teacher, Miss Riley is young and artsy, and she luckily only made me introduce myself to the class then take a seat, which May had kept for me beside her.
"Yeah." she agrees "They portray American High Schools as hyper-active children with raging hormones"
I laugh at this. Just then I catch Justin's eye, and he waves and sits with Nick and a few other guys I would naturally not recognise.
I'm sitting with May and her two other friends, Donna and Brie. I naturally didn't tell them much about me, basically just a lie about staying with the Godfrey's for a few months while my single mother was on a cooking course for three months.
They believed me.
Am I good at lying?
May breaks me from my thoughts as she talks about Justin. Suddenly I'm all ears.
"He's got so much talent, but the thing is he just doesn't want to enter competitions. I wish he would become a professional surfer, but he wants to do MORE with life." May complains
Donna gives her opinion, stating Justin was clever and really had a way with kids. I didn't know what to think about that, until I got to ask him about it later that week when we bumped into each other in the afternoon. I was walking Tubby, the Godfrey's Alsation-cross-something (Jules said it would be my duty for my three months) and Justin always walk Jayze. We sat on the sidewalk and he asked me about school and stuff.
"Yeah. I agree. Sophomore year is tough. I'm glad I'm finally a junior." he says.
"What do you want to do once you finish school?" I ask. Maybe a little boldly.
"Well. I really would love to surf. But thats not really a job. Lately I read a book on a guy who runs a skate school for children. I thought maybe I could do that, but you know, surfing."
I start to laugh.
"What's so funny?" he asks, clearly confused.
"Well, today May and Donna were discussing you and stuff. They were saying about you and surfing and how you love kids. Like how spot on it is." I say.
He begins to see the humour, and starts to laugh too.
"Hey, what you doing tonight?" he asks. "I remember May said I should invite you over."
"I don't know" I say
"It is Friday night, you know" he says.
"Ok" I give in "But I must check with Jules first" I say. So I run home, and Jules encourages it. She says Nick is at band practice and Sam and Seth are both at friends, so her and James could have a night alone.
"I got a DVD" May says once I arrive there.
"Cool. What did you get?" I ask
"'Sweet Home Alabama'" she says. "I know its old. But its really good. Have you seen it?"
"Nope" I say. "I've got a LOT of catching up to do" I joke.
So we make caramel popcorn and help ourselves to Coke. The movie really is sweet.
"Hey" May says as if she just made a revalation "You look a bit like Reese Witherspoon"
"What!?" I say "She's gorgeous"
"And you aren't?" May shouts
About ten mintutes before it ends, Justin comes in and plops himself down on the couch. Just then May gets a phone call from Brie who is having a meltdown, so she rushes out of the room. I really like their Southern accents. Like when the guy says "Praise the Lord the south has risen again" and everyone cheers. I smile at this, and notice that Justin is watching me. I'm wearing the shirt Jules bought me along with some jeans she got me yesterday "Something basic to wear" she had said. I'm wearing nothing special.
I'm interrupted from my thoughts when the thunderclouds not only in the movie but also in reality boom. I jump all of a sudden and give a shriek.
"Woa" Justin says "You're ruining my favourite part"
Justin then Reese Witherspoon says in her southern accent
"Why do you want to marry me anyways?" in a sweet voice.
Then the hot Josh Lucas says in his equally Southern accent "So I can kiss you whenever I want" and then they kiss right there and then in the poring rain.
"You're a romantic" I teaes Justin. He just grins.
"You want to see something?" he asks.
"Yeah, sure. Lemme just go say goodbye to May" I say. So I turn to the kitchen and wave. She gives me a side-hug and a big smile. Then I go back out to the lounge and follow Justin. He leads me down the passage and then opens the door.
A basement.
I stop dead in my tracks.
Justin tugs on my wrist. I pull back. I can't do it.
"What's wrong?" Justin asks. But all I can do is stare at the impending doom of the darkness of the basement. I turn around and run all the way down the passage to the front door and close it. It's poring with rain.
I run down the street a few houses, it is only about eight houses till I reach the now familiar home. But before I get there, I hear Justin panting behind me.
"Wait up" He calls. But I don't.
But since he's a surfer he's pretty fit. So after a few seconds he pulls my arm and halts me to a stop.
"What did I do?" he pants. Maybe not so fit.
I collapse on the sidewalk, and lie down. He follows me.
"Look, Grace. I don't know anything about your past. But whatever I did, I'm sorry"
"It wasn't you" I say. And give him a brief history of my 'basemental' past. He doesn't say anything but I can see something in him looks dark. And angry.
"I'm so so sorry" He says
"It's okay. I try not to think about it. I never ever talk about it." I say. I sit up and then stand up in one swift motion. Justin follows. I didn't realise it until now, but I am actually crying. Why, infront of this really, really hot guy do I bawl my eyes out. In the poring rain, no less. Lying on a sidewalk too.
Justin pulls me into a hug and holds me there. I carry on crying. Tears for my biological mother and father, and my other parents and this great family I can never have. But most of all, that familiar ache of that long loneliness. After a minute or so Justin pulls away and walks me to my door.
"I truly am sorry, Grace. You don't understand how much. I wish I could fix it all."
I look away. I truly don't know what to say. I don't want pity. So I tell him so, but in a kind way.
"Grace. I don't know what to say. But God is up to something really big in your life."
I frown.
"Just you wait" he finishes, then turns around and waves.
My frown stays put. But I return the wave and reach for the knob.