NICKY
I remember being so angry and hurt but why? I can't seem to remember why I was angry and hurt now. The moment Grace's lips locked on mine, I had forgotten it all. My past, her words from before, everything even my own name, all I wanted was her. I wanted to feel her in ways I've never wanted to feel anyone before. I need her. I needed to be inside her and her inside me in more ways than one. My eyes were closed but my mind was wide awake and very aware of the woman laying next to me, her steady heartbeat and breathing echoing in my ears. I let my hands roam across her bare chest and down to her ribs. You could count them with how tightly her skin tucked against them. It broke my heart knowing that she suffered for so long inside her mind alone.
I may not know everything that she's been through but I do know that I won't let her suffer alone anymore. From now on I will do whatever it takes to help free her from this burden she carries with her. For years I too had been running from my past and for years I had thought I had been given one of the worst hands ever dealt in life then I met her, Grace, at first I couldn't stand her she always seemed to smile and be happy and since she had that name and lived on that mountain, everyone knew that family owned the whole mountain. Pretty, rich, and happy, I loathed her with every fiber of my being, but she was persistent. Every morning she and this kid, that was somehow her son, would walk all the way down to my bar and order a cup of hot water to warm up. I thought she was just cheap and dumb and playing me. After a few months of it the kid grew on me so I started keeping packets of hot chocolate.
It wasn't long till I learned that they had a rougher go at life than I had originally thought. They weren't rich just trying to make the most out of their lives, but that didn't mean I accepted Grace as anyone other than pampered and lucky. One day Grace came early by herself and asked me if she could use my ice truck to take some ice to town, at first I thought she was crazy. We didn't know each other that well and she was already asking for favors? She didn't give up; she even got on her knees and begged with tears in her eyes. I was startled at this sight, a woman always smiling and happy with so much pride was now on her hands and knees begging me for something that was barely an inconvenience for me. Against my better judgement I agreed on the condition that I drove her to town, with that she wrapped her arms around me in an embrace thanking me so many times I lost count.
I got the truck ready and she disappeared back up on the mountain for what seemed like hours. Just as I was about to give up on the whole idea I saw this giant glossy cube slowly form from over the hill in the middle of the highway and sure enough I saw Grace's head pop up her body arched and her arms at shoulders length tucked forward tight holding the massive chunk against her back with a strap. I was stunned at the incredible strength it must have taken for her to carry this all the way down from the mountain. I ran to her in hopes of helping but she denied and made her way to the truck dropping the ice inside. She laid on the ground panting for a long while before getting back up again she smiled at me and hopped in the truck.We made our way into town in silence, it was the most awkward drive I've ever experienced but we survived.
As it turned out the ice was for a guy in town that needed it for a sculptor for some sort of party. When grace said how much she was going to charge for it my head exploded. She only wanted two hundred fifty for that giant hunk of ice when she alone got it and carried it for God only knows how many miles. I tried to step in but she wouldn't have it in fact that was our first real fight. I couldn't understand why she would charge so little for so much labor, it wasn't till later that I understood. We spent the rest of the time either silent or fighting about the ice till finally I asked her why.
"Because he and I both gained something. He got his ice and I got some experience in business. If I had bumped up my price after already telling him what to pay, what kind of person would that make me? Someone not worth trusting is what. To me two hundred was more than enough and fifty is for you for allowing me to use your truck. I don't care about the work. I care about the quality and the customer or whoever I just so happen to be creating for. That's just how it is."
Even though this woman was the very definition of ignorance and pride, her words struck me. She was learning in her own way.
At times I forgot just how young she was that she herself is still trying to figure everything out, to figure out life. I let her words sink in as we made our way back to the bar. That day has always been burned into my mind as the day I began to let my guard down around her, the day that started this spiral of accepting that it wasn't hatred that I felt or envy, it was that from the moment I first laid eyes on Grace I fell in love, that was the day that I realized, she was all I needed, wanted, longed for, and ever since we became closer, well as close as she'd let me be. She always held herself at arms length with everyone, until now.
I smiled to myself at the memory when all at once I realized that Grace had stopped breathing. My eyes flung open and I sat up.
"Grace!?" Every inch of me screamed in panic as I tried to shake her awake. My heart throbbed and I felt my bones shaking. "Grace!? Wake up now Honey please!!" Nothing. She didn't move and her face lost its color.
"Baby please!!"