Amazing Grace
Chapter 1
Two Years Later
"Ava. Ava baby, wake up." I was startled out of dream with a confused groan. Ava? Who was Ava? Oh right.. that was me, or at least that was the new me. I sat up to see Zak sat on the edge of my bed with two mugs of coffee, fully showered, shaved and dressed. I smiled sweetly at him through my sleepy eyes because even in groggy vision he was handsome.
"Rise and shine love, we have a lot to do today!" he said gently nudging me upright and handing me the mug of coffee. I then remembered we'd planned to go furniture shopping for the new apartment we'd just bought together. Deciding to buy a place of our own was a big step since we'd only been together a year, but I felt like it was a step I needed to take in order to live a normal life again.
"What time is it?" I asked between sips out of the mug he'd handed me.
"Around 8 babe, time to get up." He walked out of the room and into my living room. I could hear him turn the TV on and the squish of the leather couch cushions as he sat down; at 6'5" he wasn't exactly the quietest person that ever lived.
I sat down my coffee on the nightstand and chekced my phone. One message from Helene flashed on the screen. 'I hear you snoring from my room.. invest in nasal strips, I beg of you'. I giggled at her annoyance and got out of bed. Helene had simply started out as my witness protection agent and now she was best friend and roommate. She was the only person in Lodon who knew my secrets, and I liked it that way.
After brushing my teeth and brushing my hair into a messy bun I decided to forego the makeup and throw on a hoodie, my worn jeans, and Toms. I didn't expect the weather to be anything less than crappy so I prepared myself by shoving a pair of gloves in my purse and walking down the hall to the living room to greet Zak.
"Ah it's a miracle! You've awakened!" Zak said in mockery, picking me up in a hug and kissing my forehead. I smiled at how genuinely sweet he was. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, holding out his hand for mine. I nodded my head yes, grabbed his hand and walked out the door with him. The thing about Zak was that he was sweet, and gentle, and caring, and reliable. Zak was a safe option, and things with him were comfortable, and although I wasn't IN love with him, I did love him and that was good enough for me.
We meandered through the furniture store picking out things I liked for the bedrooms and things he liked for the living room. After a while though I could see his interest in womanly shopping fading away.
"Wanna go by the grocery store and grab some stuff for dinner?" I asked hopefully, smiling as I watched his eyes light up at the mention of food.
"That shouldn't even be a question" he said grabbing my hand and tugging me out of the store at lighting speed. We sprinted through the sheets of rain that fell on the busy streets of the city and bursted through the automatic doors of the store in a fit of giggles. "I'll go get some meat and sauce, meet you at the register" he said while planting a kiss on my forehead. I just nodded. I was glad Zak was comfortable with my silence, because I wasn't sure how to be the life of the party anymore. I wandered down the produce isle not sure what i was looking for, or if I was even hungry. As I scanned the displays for food my eyes hit jackpot. There was one clump of bananas sitting on the shelf. Ugh, a banana smoothie sounded like heaven right now, so I made a beeline straight for it, but as I reached out my hand bumped into someone else's.
Seriously? All I wanted was a banana, why can't people just be respectful and let me have a damn banana. I looked up to the face where the hand was coming from and froze. My eyes locked on to that beautiful pair of emerald eyes that I would never forget. Harry. His eyes widened in recognition as he took in my features. My hair wasn't black anymore but instead a reddish brown and I'm sure that time had changed my face, just like it had changed his. He was much much taller now, lanky, yet still achingly gorgeous. His mop of curls was tucked into a worn green beanie, and his blue courdoroy jacket clung to his broad shoulders. His perfect lips drew up into the biggest smile I'd ever seen.
"Grace?" he said breathlessly. His voice had gotten deeper and it gave me chills. "God, Grace is that really you?" he said again, a little louder this time.
I forgot all about the bananas, flipped up my hood and darted off in the freezer isle.
"Uhhh no, I think you've got me mistaken with someone else" I said quickly as I searched desperately for Zak so we could leave. Finally I spotted him, grabbed his hand, and rushed him toward the door.
"Wait babe, don't you want food?" he asked confused.
"Lets just order take in at my place, ok?" I said in a hushed tone of voice. We made it outside and thankfully the rain had slowed to a fine mist. I felt like I could breathe again once we exited the store and started to walk towards my place. Zak didn't ask any questions thankfully, just walked in silence along with me. I was enjoying the silence until I heard that voice again:
"Grace! Grace wait!" I heard Harry's hurried footsteps behind me. Don't look. Breathe. Don't look. Just breathe. I was hoping Zak wouldn't notice, but he did. He stopped and nudged me, signaling to Harry as he called after me.
"Who's that guy?" he asked very seriously.
"I saw him in the grocery store and he thinks I'm my cousin Grace. Let me just talk to him and straighten it out." I lied flawlessly. That was something I'd gotten good at since I'd moved to London. Zak nodded and turned on my heel in Harry's direction. When he got close he slowed his pace, until we came to a stop, standing face to face under a dim street light on a misty night in London.
"Ava. Ava baby, wake up." I was startled out of dream with a confused groan. Ava? Who was Ava? Oh right.. that was me, or at least that was the new me. I sat up to see Zak sat on the edge of my bed with two mugs of coffee, fully showered, shaved and dressed. I smiled sweetly at him through my sleepy eyes because even in groggy vision he was handsome.
"Rise and shine love, we have a lot to do today!" he said gently nudging me upright and handing me the mug of coffee. I then remembered we'd planned to go furniture shopping for the new apartment we'd just bought together. Deciding to buy a place of our own was a big step since we'd only been together a year, but I felt like it was a step I needed to take in order to live a normal life again.
"What time is it?" I asked between sips out of the mug he'd handed me.
"Around 8 babe, time to get up." He walked out of the room and into my living room. I could hear him turn the TV on and the squish of the leather couch cushions as he sat down; at 6'5" he wasn't exactly the quietest person that ever lived.
I sat down my coffee on the nightstand and chekced my phone. One message from Helene flashed on the screen. 'I hear you snoring from my room.. invest in nasal strips, I beg of you'. I giggled at her annoyance and got out of bed. Helene had simply started out as my witness protection agent and now she was best friend and roommate. She was the only person in Lodon who knew my secrets, and I liked it that way.
After brushing my teeth and brushing my hair into a messy bun I decided to forego the makeup and throw on a hoodie, my worn jeans, and Toms. I didn't expect the weather to be anything less than crappy so I prepared myself by shoving a pair of gloves in my purse and walking down the hall to the living room to greet Zak.
"Ah it's a miracle! You've awakened!" Zak said in mockery, picking me up in a hug and kissing my forehead. I smiled at how genuinely sweet he was. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, holding out his hand for mine. I nodded my head yes, grabbed his hand and walked out the door with him. The thing about Zak was that he was sweet, and gentle, and caring, and reliable. Zak was a safe option, and things with him were comfortable, and although I wasn't IN love with him, I did love him and that was good enough for me.
We meandered through the furniture store picking out things I liked for the bedrooms and things he liked for the living room. After a while though I could see his interest in womanly shopping fading away.
"Wanna go by the grocery store and grab some stuff for dinner?" I asked hopefully, smiling as I watched his eyes light up at the mention of food.
"That shouldn't even be a question" he said grabbing my hand and tugging me out of the store at lighting speed. We sprinted through the sheets of rain that fell on the busy streets of the city and bursted through the automatic doors of the store in a fit of giggles. "I'll go get some meat and sauce, meet you at the register" he said while planting a kiss on my forehead. I just nodded. I was glad Zak was comfortable with my silence, because I wasn't sure how to be the life of the party anymore. I wandered down the produce isle not sure what i was looking for, or if I was even hungry. As I scanned the displays for food my eyes hit jackpot. There was one clump of bananas sitting on the shelf. Ugh, a banana smoothie sounded like heaven right now, so I made a beeline straight for it, but as I reached out my hand bumped into someone else's.
Seriously? All I wanted was a banana, why can't people just be respectful and let me have a damn banana. I looked up to the face where the hand was coming from and froze. My eyes locked on to that beautiful pair of emerald eyes that I would never forget. Harry. His eyes widened in recognition as he took in my features. My hair wasn't black anymore but instead a reddish brown and I'm sure that time had changed my face, just like it had changed his. He was much much taller now, lanky, yet still achingly gorgeous. His mop of curls was tucked into a worn green beanie, and his blue courdoroy jacket clung to his broad shoulders. His perfect lips drew up into the biggest smile I'd ever seen.
"Grace?" he said breathlessly. His voice had gotten deeper and it gave me chills. "God, Grace is that really you?" he said again, a little louder this time.
I forgot all about the bananas, flipped up my hood and darted off in the freezer isle.
"Uhhh no, I think you've got me mistaken with someone else" I said quickly as I searched desperately for Zak so we could leave. Finally I spotted him, grabbed his hand, and rushed him toward the door.
"Wait babe, don't you want food?" he asked confused.
"Lets just order take in at my place, ok?" I said in a hushed tone of voice. We made it outside and thankfully the rain had slowed to a fine mist. I felt like I could breathe again once we exited the store and started to walk towards my place. Zak didn't ask any questions thankfully, just walked in silence along with me. I was enjoying the silence until I heard that voice again:
"Grace! Grace wait!" I heard Harry's hurried footsteps behind me. Don't look. Breathe. Don't look. Just breathe. I was hoping Zak wouldn't notice, but he did. He stopped and nudged me, signaling to Harry as he called after me.
"Who's that guy?" he asked very seriously.
"I saw him in the grocery store and he thinks I'm my cousin Grace. Let me just talk to him and straighten it out." I lied flawlessly. That was something I'd gotten good at since I'd moved to London. Zak nodded and turned on my heel in Harry's direction. When he got close he slowed his pace, until we came to a stop, standing face to face under a dim street light on a misty night in London.
5/31/13