Chapter seven{They that spy}II

Grandma Lily had not return from her hunt for fresh flowers by the time Gracie and Tori returned back to the house.

"Remember the party, Jenny was talking about?" The question echoed from Tori as she toweled her hair.

"And how is that my business?" Gracie lashed back with a question as she also toweled herself with another towel and headed towards the bathroom.

"C'mon, Gracie, don't be such a hard bitch." Tori whined following her to the bathroom when the door slammed on her face.

It wasn't a lie that Tori never saw her best friend naked before and that had her wondering if she was some kind of SHEMALE.

"Well I'm very sure you have breast, probably bigger than mine and that's not a thing of shame. I just don't understand if the size of your penis could turn me on."

Gracie gasped loud, enough for Tori to heard and chortled. Gracie shook her head, looking at her reflection in the mirror. She definitely didn't have a penis or some weird stuff in her vaginal. The problem was just something on her left breast.

Slowly she offed her sport bra and lifted her left breast a bit to see the scar- preferably tattoo. it was a ring shaped black ink with a bat in the circle. sometimes it looks like a plaster on her cream skin but one that can't be removed.

"You're really not planning to cut the dick off before I see it. Are you?" Tori's eyes widened as she talked lowly as though she talked to herself with her legs folded under her.

"Seriously, I'm starting to consider the thought of wasting some cents just to get you a pacifier so your mouth will be busy forever." Gracie sighed as she came out with a long black top that passed her knees.

"I don't keep, I will still take a break."

If look could send souls to hell, Tori might be wandering lost in abyss.

"So we're going to the party right?" Tori asked.

Gracie, rather ignored the question and gave a cool upset look while reading Tori's details like book. Amber eyes sparkling with mischief, yet she felt trust in those eyes just like the warmness of her skin blew away Gracie's loneliness.

Gracie could still remembered the times she would look at her phone all day, just for Tori's call to gush in and for her to announce her coming. It always takes forever for her to call in. Or how she always look out her window and imagine the worlds in book-

Tori shook her out of her thought by shaking her body, "C'mon, Gracie be fun."

Gracie sighed, "I don't want to." she looked sad as she began to pick her nails.

"Oh no, Gracie. this is time to show him that he didn't get what he wanted. For you to be permanently destroyed." Tori rolled her eyes.

Gracie glanced up at her pouting friend who seemed to be giving an advise. "I... I don't want to see him." she complained.

Seeing him would only bring back cruel memories that reminds her of how naive and foolish she was to believe they had something meaningful.

"Well, you'll see him one of these days and it will be really lit to look- free... Maybe hot."

"Hot?" Gracie's eyebrows furrowed, showing her lack of knowledge.

"Taylor Swift looking." Tori winked as she leaned slightly unto Gracie.

"Taylor's a beau. I'm just a plain me, probably take some three shifts after high school to survive." Gracie pouted her mouth side way pretending to be chewing nothing.

It was like Gracie's speech changed the room's atmosphere as Tori sighed. She truly wished life was better for Gracie, that she's didn't have to worry about money or she can perhaps live the kind of life she lives with her father.

"You know my-"

"Seriously, Tori, no. I told you thousands times never to bother your dad, we doing good. Grandma Lily and I are okay." Gracie shutted her, knowing Tori was about to rant about her father helping.

As Tori opened her mouth to convince Gracie, they heard the front door opened followed by a fragile but loud voice just saying Gracie's name to announce arrival.

"Oops, nana's home." Gracie sighed.

Tori gave her fuzzy expression, her eyes widened in joy. Tori was a big fan of Gracie's nana. She jumped to her feet and scrambled out of the room before Gracie could act.

"Grandma Lily!" Tori squeaked as she stepped down the stairs and the white hair, fleshy lady came out of the kitchen.

Grandma Lily looked and aside to Tori. A bright, relieving smile filled her lips and she uttered the girl's name. "Victoria!" Only Grandma Lily and her father pronounce the name in a lovely manner.

She ran into the woman's arm gently, squeezing her softly as she was aware of her fragility state.

Gracie hopped down the stairs with a frown on her face, not surprised to see the duo. So she marched to the kitchen and started arranging the groceries her nana brought.

"I miss you so much, Grandma Lily!" Tori groaned softly, promptly releasing the elder woman.

"But you never visited. Gracie..." Grandma Lily's eyes flew automatically to the open kitchen door and she looked back to the short girl with ginger hair, "She missed you, I know that."

Tori's face dropped as she bit her lower lip, fighting to take hold on a leg. She rubbed the back of her neck and put her hands behind.

"How bad was it?" She asked shyly.

"An icy ocean, she was alone and she even took up a babysitting job to wash it off. Always pretending the words and gossip didn't get to her when they talk."

Tori felt her eyes clouding and anytime she might be flooding. Her heart bled, knowing she wasn't there for Gracie.

"Who are the 'they'?"

The older lady and the young lady turned to the source in shock to see Gracie leaning against the door with confused written on her face but she rubbed it off quickly and went back in.

Grandma Lily sighed in relief that her granddaughter heard nothing.

Soon, Tori gave grandma Lily a small beam and went to join her best friend in the kitchen.

Although, Tori didn't plan for a sleepover but she definitely knew she wouldn't be going home, so she excused herself to talk to her father.

Grandma Lily entered the kitchen as Tori left without Gracie noticing her presence. She watched her hummed a song happily.

Gracie was heart lighted.

And her grandma couldn't be less joyous to see her precious pumpkin moving up after pretending to be taking comfort in the kids for four months.

Gracie was special to her, essentially on the part that after her husband's death. She had been there in her old life close to grave.

Still buried in her thought, Grandma Lily quietly crept out of the area and went for a change of her formal clothes to a comfy one.

***

It was already dark when Gracie finished cooking. She felt she did spend to whole time playing nuts with Tori and was therefore delayed in cooking but her grandma complained not.

Tori had helped her in dishing the food on the dinning table before she herself cut down her urge to taste the chicken while Gracie wouldn't not allow her to take some from the kitchen.

"Theses chickens remind me of- Mrs. Smith's." Tori gave a pleasuring sighed.

Mrs. Smith was Tori's neighbor and she did always care for her. Everytime Tori felt furious and wanted to escape her father's claw, she did run to Mrs. Smith's backyard just like how she ran away from home because her father picked his new girlfriend over her and Mrs. Smith's delicious chicken consoled her.

Only if she could explain things like this to Gracie.

"Mrs. Smith, the nurse that live nextdoor to you?" Gracie asked, going back to the kitchen to get an extra bowl.

"Yes... She's nice."

In the kitchen, there was a window not too high, right in front of the sink where Gracie picked the bowl in the cabinet. When she rouse up, she was whoshed by the wind, her eyes closed automatically.

As she attempted to slide the glass closed, she swore to lock eyes with a dark figure outside that made a nameless dread engulfed her.

She stumbled back, tumbling upon the stove which was still meekly warm. Her hands rested on the body of the stove and she moved forward frenziedly.

Looking at her red palm, she turned back to the window to check if the silhouette was still present. But as she tiptoed back to the window, there was nobody standing on the dark street with tottering light.

"Gracie!" Someone called her name.

Her head reeled to the door, staring at Tori who was coming towards the kitchen.

"Ain't you supposed to be bringing an extra bowl- oh! you look like you've seen a ghost." Tori got close and wiped a bead of sweat on her forehead.

"I think..." Gracie bit her lips together, panting. "...I might be crazy." She scurried out.

"You're sure crazy." Tori looked over to the window before she took the bowl on the sink and left the kitchen too.

Gracie was lost in her sea of worries of maybe someone might be spying on her house or it was just an imagination her mind formed.

Tori's her hand pinched her her arm as she was slowly forced to get be to reality. Gaining her consciousness, she smiled weakly at her nana who had a loose cloth on and her aged hair down rather than the bun she always wear.

"Oh my gosh! Chicken! chicken!" Tori bubbled and grandma Lily chortled but she noticed her granddaughter's change in mood.

"I saw Jared today." Grandma Lily mentioned.

Gracie's heart leaped.

She looked up and met her Grandma's gaze, a smile curved her lips.

There was Jared before Tori.

"Okay I'm lost, who is Jared?" Tori had a chicken in her mouth already yet she wanted to knew who Jared was.

"You'll find out soon." Gracie smiled.

Jared was back.