When Gracie Met The Grump

by Mariana Zapata

If I ever had to run, I was going to have to run. Not jog. Not sprint. Run like my life depended on it, because it would.

Ohhhhh you have my interest now 👀. What is she hiding from?

I’d just been joking earlier when I thought Things Going Wrong was the story of my life. I was never going to joke about that shit again.

He couldn’t really think I’d kidnapped him, could he? I wasn’t that dumb. I didn’t think anybody would be dumb enough to try and kidnap someone who could bat a 50 caliber round away like it was a gnat. On the other hand, people ate laundry detergent, so….

Because my gut said this man wasn’t a ball of sunshine. I had a feeling he wasn’t even a night-light.

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

I would have done some sketchy shit for a Klondike bar right about then.

“Your fever is worse,” he said. “Get better.” “I can’t…” Why was I so out of breath? “Just get better.” “Wrong. Make it happen.”

“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.”

“Since I’m on a roll with the dumb questions, I was wondering if maybe there was some kind of call or noise or something you could make to get The Primordial or The Centurion’s attention.” His laugh was louder than the rain. “What do you think we are? Orcas?”

“Did God give you strong bones because he knew you were going to have a personality people wanted to hurt?”

“Are… you? Going to kill me?” He gave me a look that seemed to last an eternity. “No.” He squinted. “I promised to keep an eye on you for the rest of your life. How does that make any sense?” “It wouldn’t be a lie if it was a short life.” A funny expression came over that handsome face. “That’s a good point.”

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

“No one is going to kill you except maybe me.” I didn’t mean to snort, but it still surprised me when he went dark on me. “Somehow that’s strangely comforting.” “I’ve been known to be comforting.” “Probably when you’re telling someone their death will be quick and painless.”

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

I was going to start calling him The Defender of Deceit at this point.