Chapter 3

UNEXPECTED PHONE CALL

All I can see is darkness around me and I hear the screaming from a distressed woman and a man screaming "YOU FUCKING DICKHEAD!!" I'm pretty sure he slaps her hard on the backside and she yelps. I see a little girl running toward a hiding place and starts to cry, a guy with a leather jacket walks up to her and says "There you are you little prick get here." He grabs her by the neck and burns her skin with his cigarette bud, she yelps and cries again. My subconsciousness wonders "Who is this girl and man?" I then realise the little girl is me and this is my birth dad. Next thing I know I'm plunged into darkness again. I wake up sweaty palmed and mortified with my subconscious repeating to me "It was just a nightmare, it was just a nightmare." I turn to look at my alarm clock, its 9:00 (9:00 am.)

As I come out of the shower I put on my clothes and my phone pings, I'm hoping it to be Christian, but I'm a little disappointed to see a text from Ana *Hey Grace I haven't talked to you since Monday. You wanna hang out? –Ana* I sigh only if she knew, I text back *Sorry Ana I have plans today I'll see you on Tuesday in the library at lunch. –Grace* I put down my phone and it pings again. It's Ana…. again *Okay Grace see you on Tuesday at lunch. –Ana* I text back *Thanks Ana see you on Tuesday. –Grace*

I'm at work and in the middle of my shift when my phone rings, I check the number and realise its Christian. I pick up the phone trying to remain cool, but my subconsciousness is jumping up and down with excitement. As I put the phone to my ear I hear Christian's muffled voice in the background, it sounds like he's in pain "*Grunt* Hey Grace." I'm worried, I ask him "Hey Christian, Are you okay? You sound like you're in pain." Its silence, I hear another grunt and a moan from Christian. He's also talking to someone, all I can make out is this "No I have to go to her she's in trouble he's coming for her I need to protect her." Shit, who's coming after me? And why am I in trouble? Then there's another voice it sounds like a teenager about his age but I'm not sure, "But your unstable Christian if you go to her now you might hurt her." Christian screams "I don't care! Her safety is my priority!" Danm can he sound anymore romantic and hot at the exact same time. The next thing I hear it sounds like he's jumped out of the window and into his car. Christian says through the phone "Grace don't move I'm coming to pick you up I'll be there in 5 minutes, okay." And before I can answer him he hangs up the phone. My subconsciousness is thinking. "What has happened to Christian? Who's after me? Why am I in danger?"

And before I even get out of the door Christian pulls up outside of my work place and yells from the car "GRACE GET IN QUICK BEFORE HE COMES!" I look at him puzzled but I look at his face he's not joking I run to the car and jump in, Christian starts the engine and as it roars to life he accelerates pushing me back in my chair. He looks at me with a worried face, but that's not the only thing that looks different about him he has black circles around his eyes again, and he looks pale in the face and all his hair is coloured dark copper brown. Christian exhales and asks "Grace are you okay? Thank god you're not hurt." There's fear in his expression, and I say "Yeah I'm fine, what about you? You look sick and your hair is dark copper brown, also you look like you haven't sleped in ages." He sighs and says "Grace not now I need to take you somewhere where you're going to be safe and I'll tell you everything when we're there. Okay?" I blink at him and say "Okay Christian." And we zoom through Seattle traffic.

Christian pulls up near his house and takes me up to his room, and says "So Grace what would you like to know?" I stare at the godlike person in front of me and remembering him saying over the phone "I don't care her safety is my priority!" I finally manage to say "Well Christian first things first, why do you look like you haven't sleped in hours? Look like you're really sick? And why is your dark copper brown and not the usual light copper brown?" He looks at me with a worried look on his face and finally says "Well Grace I need you to do one thing for me. Could you just believe whatever I say?" As he says this I realise the crack in his voice.