^Imagine the hair longer. But that's how I imagined her to be.

Chapter 30- Gracie

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After telling Zayden that I'll be right back, I saunter toward the house feeling giddy from his warm hands and his amazing luscious hair. His hair is so nice and beautiful that I want run my hands through it all day.

I pretty much bounce with every step I take with a small relaxed smile stapled onto my face. I think at one point, I even giggled. I think I'm becoming lovesick.

I need to call Kathleen ASAP!

As soon as I enter the building, the prominent smile that was on my face, is wiped off immediately when I see my father standing in the middle of the hallway, in front of the stairs, face stoic with his arms crossed. His face is red with anger and his hair is disheveled and his eyes are glaring with disgust.

I trudge toward the staircase and swallow before I speak up. "Father."

"Madison." He nods not moving an inch from blocking my path to the stairs.

"Excuse me, I'd like to go upstairs..."

"No."

I blink at him taking a few steps back. "But it's urgent!" I try to bribe him out of my way so I could go to my room for a while.

"The conversation we need to have is urgent, too."

I freeze. Heart hammering. Head pounding. Body shaking. My arms wrap around myself subconsciously for some sort of protection from the storm brewing. "I guess I'll just go to the bathroom downstairs..." I trail turning and shuffling slowly away.

"You will go no where." His voice booms through the room causing me to jump then stick in my position. "Why did you leave the gazebo without my instructions? You were suppose to stay and speak with Gerald's son!"

"I did." I murmur. "But he was making me uncomfortable." I refuse to turn around.

He laughs bitterly and then a heavy footstep hits down. "Don't make me laugh! You ran away with that butler of yours!"

"He was helping me-"

"Helping you what?" He shouts in anger but then his voice turns soft. "Don't you understand that your mother and I are trying to help you? To find your one true partner! Because you can't go to an event and speak. Trying to find someone with a stable job and someone who'll support you. And you just go running off with some commoner friend every time!"

I whirl around, now infuriated. My father had taken one step. From the staircase. "Zayden is not some commoner!" I cry out. "He stopped being a commoner when he became my butler!"

"I'm not only speaking about that butler, young lady!"

My eyes widen and a lump forms in my throat.

"You're getting too attached, again! What if he screws up? What if you screw up? And he leaves? You know what happens!" He glares daggers at me taking another step forward.

"I'll make sure it doesn't."

"I'm sure that's what you thought when Gracie was here." He spits her name with disgust.

"You have no right to speak about her, you monster!" I match his deadly glare. He seemed a little surprised by it for a second.

"I just don't want to see you like that anymore. The state you were in." His expression falls into sadness. But it's all a façade. All of it. "I'm sure Gracie wouldn't want to see you like this-"

And that's when I snap.

"Don't you dare try to speak for Gracie! Don't you even fricking dare, you son of a bastard!" I retort and he looks taken aback then opens his mouth to reply but I'm quicker. "You lost that chance! She would've still been alive and able to speak for herself if it wasn't your stupid useless rule!!" I cry out with tears rolling down my cheeks.

"You're blaming this on me?!"

"Hell YES I am! Because it was your fault! ALL OF IT!" I push strands of my hair that stuck to my face because of tears and sweat. "Stop being protective! I'm 18! 18! I can take care of myself! You aren't nearly as protective with the others!"

"You weren't, and still aren't, capable of communication! You weren't really making friends!"

"And yet you took away the only friend I ever had as a child." My voice soft as I choke out the sentence. "You took away the only person who I could speak too. You took away the only person I could play with because I was constantly at home. You took away the person that stop me from becoming stir crazy." I inhale. "And you're going to do it again. You're going to take everything from me."

Silence passes through and he steps forward.

"Madison-"

The front door is forcefully pushed open in the living room and it hit the wall. Madelyn swears and takes a step forward in her heels. She's about to say something else until her eyes land on my sweaty, puffy red face. Then my father's flaming red in anger face. Then back at me. Her eyes narrow glancing between us. "What the hell?" Then I realise she probably can't see us properly because she wasn't wearing her glasses nor contacts. She digs through her handbag, probably trying to find them.

I don't give her a chance to look at me. I dash around my father and up the stairs to the dark storage room instead of my bedroom and lock the door from the inside.

I breathe heavily resting my head on the door wiping the unending tears from my eyes. I turn, with my back against the door instead and slide down. I hug my knees to my chest and burying my face between them.

Why did Gracie have to die?

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Everyone at one point came banging at the door, even Nicholas. He was probably the most common visitor along side Zayden. Zayden and Nicholas would sometimes sit on the other end and speak to me. Even though sometimes it'd be a one sided conversation.

This went on for about two days. Including the day I locked my self in here. This would be the beginning of the third.

I could hear music downstairs. Christmas and New Years music. The Old Years Eve party at Grandma's house. I'm missing it, like usual.

I stand up, switching the light on. The easels were pushed into a corner along with bags of paints, paintbrushes and pencils. With sketchbooks. On a table next it were cameras. About 4 of them. In the opposite corner were a keyboard and a violin. Against the walls were barres for me to practice on and in the middle of the the room was a cardboard platform.

I stroll over to the platform, thinking of something to sing. The room is pretty spacious so it'd take a while for me to get there. When my foot landed on the cardboard, I immediately thought about the song I sang at the family reunion when I was eight.

"You would not believe your eyes, if ten million fireflies," I sing a note or so higher since it was a little too low for me. "Lit up the world as I fell asleep."

I begin twirling around the room on my toes. "As they filled the open air and leave tear drops everywhere." I twirl back to the middle of the room and glance around in wonder. "You think me rude but I would just stand and stare."

I push a stray strand in my face behind my ear, nervously. For what reason, I have no idea why. The music downstairs got louder and I smile breathing in for the chorus. "I like to make myself believe, that planet Earth turns slowly."

"It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep." I let out a sigh when I hear the knock on the door. "Cause everything is never as it seems." I sing as I walk toward the door unlocking it. I pull it open with a smile, seeing as it's Zayden. I step side allowing him to enter before shutting the door behind him. "Cause I get a thousand hugs-"

"From ten thousand lightning bugs. As they try to teach me how to dance." He continues it for me, as I gasp in shock.

He's a keeper.

"Never thought you'd be into Owl City, Lucky."

I shrug humming the song. "It was a Gracie and I thing." I answer. "She told me that if my significant other didn't like or know Owl City or even that song, I had to break up with them." I smile recalling the memory. "I agreed with her."

He remains silent but I could feel his eyes burning into my back as I walked around the room with my hands behind my back. "A foxtrot above my head. A sock hop beneath my bed-"

"A disco ball is just hanging by a thread." He continues again and I whirl around to glare a him, while in the process of slapping my face with my hair. "I know how much you hate people singing with you."

I huff pointing my nose into the air. I just settled on humming instead. I like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly.

"Who got you into them?"

"Gracie did." I answer briefly. "She was obsessed with them and asked- forced me to listen to them. I personally really like this song." It's hard to say that I'd rather rather stay awake when I'm asleep.

"Why? Want to talk about it?"

I stop walking, considering on answering. "I had issues sleeping back then. And I found it... Calming." Cause everything is never it seems. When I fall asleep.

"Hm.."

Leave my door open just a crack. I continue. "And I was angry an unstable." Please take me away from here. "I have dreams and nightmares of leaving the house, escaping." Cause I feel like such an insomniac. "I just wanted to walk through that front door for once." Please take me away from here. "But I'd get scared that something might happen and repeat my attacks." Why do I tire of counting sheep? "Yet all I wanted was to be a normal child." When I'm far too tired to fall asleep.

He just leans on the door and watches me with his full attention.

To ten million fireflies. "She was the only friend I had, and now she's gone." I'm weird cause I hate goodbyes. I got misty eyes as they said farewell. "Kathleen is the only friend I have close enough to her." But I'll know where several are. "But I still get nightmares and my dad isn't better." If my dreams get real bizarre. "To the point where I just feel like running away." Cause I saved a few and I keep them in a jar.

"You thought about running away?" He questions with a curious voice. I turn to him, watching his eyebrows narrow.

I nod. "I did, and I still do."

I like to make myself believe,

Running a hand through his brown hair, he lets out a sigh in frustration. "Want to talk about her?"

That planet Earth turns slowly.

Everything stops except the song in my head. "What? What are you talking about?" I panic.

It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep.

He looks up at me with sad eyes and a sad smile. "I want you to tell me about Gracie. Your eyes light up when you talk about her."

Because my dreams are bursting at the seams...

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Helloooo!

I'm here! I'm aware that I missed two choruses in the song but I really wanted to chapter to end like that so... I might change the song though.

I'm sorry?

Also, I love this song so much! <3 It's so beautifully slow and calm. I just scream!

I'm weird.

Favourite song? Mine is Bring Me To Life.

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~Author