Chapter Text
It was about 11am when Grace woke up. It was a Friday, so she didn’t have to be anywhere that day. Unfortunately for her, Izaya had to work at the farm from 9-12 to do a wedding setup that morning. She always disliked being away from him for a long period of time, even if it was only a couple of hours. The two of them were the closest of friends and they felt connected to each other in a way they couldn’t explain. But she couldn’t act like it was miserable, because she still had the rest of Izaya’s family to spend time with. After continuing to lay in bed for a few more minutes, she made herself get up and get dressed. She slowly made her way upstairs to brush her teeth before getting something to eat for breakfast. Once she got up to the kitchen, she was surprised to see Lyn sitting at the kitchen table.
“Lyn?”
“Oh, good morning, Grace!” Lyn said. “How did you sleep?”
“Uh, I slept pretty good.” She responded hesitantly.
“Are you alright?” Lyn asked.
“Oh yeah, I’m good.” Grace answered. “I-I thought you worked on Fridays.”
“I took an off day today.” Lyn told her. “Figured I’d get some stuff done around the house and tidy it up a little for your friend when she gets here tonight.”
Grace lit up when Lyn mentioned her friend, Stephanie Lauter.
She was coming down for the weekend for a campus tour of the Ohio State University in Mount Holly. She had already applied there a few months ago, but she wanted to get to know the college a little more by visiting it personally before enrolling. When she told Grace she was coming to Ohio for a few days, she got so excited. Even though they talked all the time via text and FaceTime, they hadn’t seen each other in person since Grace’s surprise prom party back in late May.
“Well, it’s almost noon.” Lyn pointed out. “How about you and I go out for lunch.”
Grace was caught off guard by her gesture. “Oh, y-you don’t have to do that for me.” She said humbly.
“I know.” Lyn paused. “I want to.”
Grace smiled at her and got a little flustered. “O-Okay. Let me get my stuff real quick.” She said before she turned to go down to the basement.
“Alright, I’ll be right here when you’re ready.” Lyn said.
Grace looked back and nodded at her before rushing downstairs to grab her phone and her small pink backpack. She slipped on the pair of magenta Crocs that Izaya gave her, and then rushed back upstairs to find Lyn exactly where she said she’d be.
“I’m ready!” Grace announced.
“Alright, let’s go!” Lyn said as she stood up from the table.
Lyn grabbed her purse off the couch and the both of them went out the front door and walked towards the Smith’s red Toyota.
“So, where do you wanna eat?” Lyn asked as they got in the car.
“Oh, um…” Grace trailed off. She didn’t really know where she wanted to go. “I don’t know…”
“Do you wanna go to Canes?” Lyn suggested.
Grace turned to look at her with a wide eyed expression. “But that’s 30 minutes away!”
“So what? If that’s where you wanna go for lunch, then we’ll go there.” Lyn told her as she turned on the car.
Grace just sat there stunned. Lyn must’ve really liked her if she was willing to drive that far for food.
“Lyn, I don’t want you to have to drive all the way to Delaware-”
“Grace,” Lyn interrupted her. “I really don’t mind driving that far. This lunch date is about you today. We’ll go wherever you wanna go.”
Grace blushed and smiled a little. “Okay. Then let’s go to Canes.”
“Sounds good!” Lyn said as she put the car in reverse.
They pulled out of the driveway and made their way to Delaware for some Raisin Canes.
~~~~~~~~~~
After they ate lunch, the two ladies decided to do some clothes shopping at a nearby Kohl’s. Lyn told Grace that any clothes that she wanted, she would buy for her. Grace tried to protest, but Lyn insisted to pay for her. As they scrolled through the clothes, they talked about various things, like what Lyn thought about her job, or what Grace would like to do in the near future. They discussed their likes and dislikes, what they liked to do in their free time, what their childhoods were like, and they talked about each other’s families. Once Grace had picked out enough clothes, she took them to a fitting room to try them on and see how she looked in them. She would come out every so often to show Lyn before going back to change into a new outfit. There were some she didn’t care for, and some she liked a lot, but there was one pair of clothes she thought looked really nice together.
“Alright, what do you think about these?” Grace asked happily.
Lyn turned around to face her and was taken aback. Grace was wearing a pale pink double scoop tank top and a pair of light grey cotton shorts. It was a very simple look, but it was also extremely effective.
“You look so cute in those clothes!” Lyn exclaimed.
Grace blushed. “You really think so?”
“Honey, I know so.” Lyn assured her.
Grace started to get a little teary eyed. “Thanks, Lyn.”
Lyn walked up to Grace and gave her a big hug, which she immediately embraced. “You’re welcome, sweetie.”
They stood there in each other’s arms for a few more seconds before Grace let go and went to try on a few more clothes before deciding on the ones she wanted to keep. After making her decision, she and Lyn went to check them out at the register and then made their way out of the store and back to the car.
They continued to talk and laugh about random things on the way back home, but when it got quiet, it wasn’t uncomfortable. That wasn’t usually a problem though, since both Lyn and Grace were talkers.
“Hey, Lyn?” Grace said out of the blue.
“Yeah, Grace?”
“Thank you for taking me out today. I had a great time.” She told her gratefully.
Lyn took a quick look at her to smile at her before turning back to face the road. “You’re welcome, sweetie. I’m glad you had fun.”
“Sweetie”. She loved it every time she called her that.
When they finally made it home, Grace got her bags of clothes and made a beeline to the basement to sort out her new clothes and put on her cute pair to show Izaya. Once she was down there, she dumped all of the new clothes on her bed. As she was sorting through them, she was giggling and smiling, thinking of Lyn and the wonderful time they had together.
Everyday, Grace came to love Lyn more and more. She was grateful to have an authority figure who cared for her as much as her own children and loved her for who she was. She was like the mother she never had before.
Not even her own ‘mother’.
She had always loved and respected her ‘mom’ growing up, but they never got along the way that her and Lyn did. She could also say the same thing about her ‘dad’ and Scott.
Her ‘mom’ and ‘dad’…
She didn’t think about her ‘parents’ very often, but the few times she did, it never really effected her, so she always dismissed those thoughts. But for some reason, thinking about her parents now seemed to bother her. She wasn’t sad or anxious, she just felt… bothered. She just wasn’t sure why.
Grace stopped sorting through her new clothes and sat on the edge of her bed, trying to process the thoughts and feelings she was having. She wondered if Mark and Karen still thought about her, still missed her.
And those thoughts worried her a little. Not because she was afraid that they didn’t miss her…
But because she was afraid they did.
If she was being honest, she never missed her parents, not even once. In fact, she was glad to be away from them, especially after having found a new family in the Smiths. She could finally be herself and not worry about pleasing Mark and Karen and following their strict guidelines. Plus, she knew they would never understand why she left Hatchetfield to begin with, and that they would reject her for what she did.
And yet at the same time, she wanted to let them know that she was okay.
She didn’t want them to worry about her anymore. She wanted them to move on from her entirely.
And that’s when she got an idea, but she wanted to wait until Steph got there before going through with it.
After taking the time to process her thoughts, Grace stood up and changed into her new cute clothes. She ran up the stairs to find Izaya and show him.
“Izaya?” She called out as walked into the living room.
“Hey, Grace!” He responded back as he stepped out of his room and approached her. “Dad told me you and mom went out to lunch. How was it?”
“It was so much fun!” She quickly replied. “We went all the way to Delaware to eat Canes, and then we went clothes shopping at Kohls, and me and her got to bond some more!”
Izaya chuckled. “Sounds like you had a great time.”
“Mhmm! Speaking of which, what do you think of these clothes?” She asked him.
He took a good look at the new clothes she was wearing before smiling at her.
“I think you look really cute in them.” He told her sincerely.
Grace smiled back at him as she walked over to him for a hug, which he gladly accepted.
“Thanks, Izaya.”
“You’re welcome, Grace.”
~~~~~~~~~~
For the next two hours, Grace and Izaya would help Lyn tidy up the house before Steph got there later that afternoon. Izaya vacuumed the carpet in the living room, and mopped the kitchen floor, while Grace wiped down the bathroom and helped Lyn setup Steph’s space in the left corner of the basement near Grace’s space. Grace and Lyn would then go on to wipe down the kitchen counters and table, and make sure all the dishes were clean, while Izaya went to his room to tidy it up a bit so it would look presentable. Once they were done tidying up the house, Lyn went to the store to get some groceries and snacks that Steph liked.
Izaya and Grace decided to relax for a little bit and watch an episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars while they waited. They had been slowly chipping through it for the last few months after finishing the original six movies. Before they made it through their second episode, they both heard a knock at the door, which caused their dog, Bailey to start barking.
“Bailey, stop it!” Izaya snapped at the dog.
Grace quickly got up and opened the door to see Stephanie Lauter standing there with several bags.
“Steph!!” Grace shouted with excitement.
“Grace!!” Steph shouted back.
They both rushed towards and embraced each other in a big, tight hug.
“I’ve missed you so much!” Grace said emotionally.
“I’ve missed you too!” Steph returned.
They both let go of each other to get a good look at each other.
“Are those new clothes?” Steph asked.
“Yeah, I just got them today!” Grace answered enthusiastically. “Do you like them?”
“Like them? Girl, you look so darn cute!” Steph told her.
Grace smiled and blushed at the compliment. “You’re looking pretty stylish yourself.” She pointed out.
Steph had a pair of sunglasses resting on top of her head, and was wearing a short sleeved pale yellow v neck blouse and a ripped pair of short denim jeans.
“Aww, you’re just saying that.” Steph said humbly.
“Steph, please.” Grace began to say. “You’re one of the most stylish people I know.”
They both smiled ear to ear and giggled at each other.
“Come on in! Here, let me get one of your bags.” Grace said to her.
“Why thank you, Miss Chasity.” Steph responded.
“You’re welcome, Miss Lauter.”
As they walked into the house, Izaya stood up to greet Steph.
“What’s up, loser?” He said to her playfully.
“Not much, idiot.” She played along.
“I’m surprised to see you came all this way just for a campus tour. I figured you’d just wing it.” He continued with the playful banter.
“Ha ha, you’re hilarious.” She responded.
They both smiled at each other as they went to hug each other.
“How are you doing?” Izaya asked as he exited the hug.
“I’ve been alright. How bout you?” Steph asked back.
He just shrugged. “Pretty good. Can’t really complain.” He paused for a moment. “Are you excited for your campus tour tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She responded causally. “It’ll be nice to check out the campus, but I just wanna get it over with already.”
“Yeah, I get that.” He sympathized with her.
“Hey, Steph,” Grace spoke up. “Can you come down to the basement with me for a minute?”
Steph turned to look at Grace with a look of concern. “Yeah, of course.”
“Great! I’ll meet you down there.” Grace said.
As she left to go downstairs, Steph turned back to Izaya.
“Excuse me, doofus.” She said to him playfully before turning to leave.
“Later, moron.” He returned as he smiled.
She looked back and smiled back at him before heading down to the basement. Once she got down to the basement, she saw that Grace had put her stuff near her living area, and that Grace was sitting on her bed.
“That’s where you’ll be sleeping.” She said as Steph looked at her. “We can move it around if you don’t like it.”
“Don’t be silly, it’s perfect.” Steph said as she sat down on Grace’s bed. “Besides, now I get to be closer to you.”
Grace gave a brief smile towards her before letting it fade, and Steph noticed.
“You okay?” Steph said dropping her playful act.
Grace looked down at the bed for a few seconds before returning her gaze to Steph.
“I-It’s about Mark and Karen.” She got out.
Steph’s expression softened at the names of Grace’s birth parents. “Okay… what about them?”
Grace started to fiddle with her fingers, struggling to find a way to voice her thoughts.
“I need your help with something.” She started with.
Steph motioned Grace to keep going. “I wanna write them a letter.” She continued.
And what she said next caught Steph completely off guard.
“I want to tell them everything so they can disown me.”