When Gracie Met The Grump

by Mariana Zapata

Loneliness was a hemorrhoid you couldn’t see but could always feel was there.

“You’ll be under my protection for the rest of your life. You understand?” The rest of my life? “You mean until we figure things out?” He shook his head, gaze intent. “They’re never going to stop looking for you, Gracie.” He nailed that coffin shut. “You laid on top of me to save me, even though you knew nothing they could have done would hurt me. For. The. Rest. Of. Your. Life.”

I had this butthole. My new friend. Life was never going to be the same again,

“Friends don’t let friends die. Everything’s gonna be fine. You’ve got something better than that knife. You’ve got me.”

Alex looked at me for a long, long moment. “It annoys me when you’re fucking cute.”

“It hurts my feelings that I’m right here, that you’re right there, and you still think that you’re ever going to be alone again.”

“There is no place I wouldn’t look for you. Seven miles deep in the ocean. On a planet in a distant galaxy. I would go anywhere for you if someone took you, Gracie,”