Until I Met You

She's Staying (37) Grace

I woke up. Feeling exceptionally warm. I realized it was Jake who was clinging to me and I to him. He looked so peaceful while sleeping. Like he didn't have a single worry in the world. His brows weren't furrowed in annoyance and all the lines that he kept on his such a good-looking face were now cleared. When I was admiring his face, his lips formed a self satisfying lazy grin.

"Like what you see?" He asked without ever opening his eyes. I couldn't help but grin in return.

"Oh. More than you can imagine." I said. His grin disappeared and he opened his eyes. And his eyes twinkled mischievously. I started backing away from him, but he spun us around so that I was beneath him, and he was over me. His hands were on the both sides of my head.

"Does that mean that I'd, finally, get to taste your lips?" He asked, smirking at me. I rolled my eyes but my cheeks flushed at his words. I decided to play with him too. So I put my arms around his neck and pulled him to me. I was going for his lips when he called out to me.

"Grace?" He looked at me like I was gone mad. I smirked at him and leaned back.

"Scared to play your own game?" I asked him. He stroked my cheeks.

"I will be with you all the time today. Okay? So... don't worry about anything." He said. I melted at his words.

"Do you know that you're the best thing that has ever happened to me?" I asked him without realizing that I was asking it out loud. He looked really surprised at my admission. I smiled at him. Even though what came out of my mouth wasn't supposed to be said, it was true anyway. I rolled out of his arm's cage and stood up.

"Let's get ready." I told him. I picked up my clothes and walked inside the bathroom. I took a quick shower and freshened up. I came out of the bathroom and Jake then went inside. I walked downstairs. It was unusually quiet. I thought I would meet Jake's parents but there was no sign of them.

"Mr. Davis?" I called out. Where were they?

"They are not here." Jake said as he descended the stairs. He was buttoning up his shirt and his hairs were still wet from the shower.

"Mom messaged me. She will directly meet us into your lawyer's office. My dad's got a meeting, so he won't be there. We should be there by Nine pm. So we should leave early." Jake told me as he rolled up his sleeves. When he looked at me his eyes were glassy.

"Are you going to leave with your hairs still wet?" I asked him and without waiting for his reply, I walked upstairs. Picking up a dry towel, I walked downstairs. I extended my hand with a towel still in it, to him. "Dry your hair." I told him. He bowed his head to me.

"Do it yourself or I'll go there looking like this." He smirked when he said that. I raised one eyebrow at him. Without waiting for any other second, I put the towel on his head and started drying his hair. While doing this, he closed his eyes and smiled. When his hair almost dried, I left his head and dropped the towel on a nearby chair, to let it dry.

We ate breakfast and left to my lawyer's place. We didn't talk during the ride but I couldn't get the anxiety out of my system. My knee was bouncing up and down as proof that I was nervous. I felt Jake glancing at me from time to time, but he kept quiet which I was glad for. I didn't have the mood to talk the anxiety out.

Just like my knee, my mind was bouncing from one thought to another. What would happen there today? Would they really be there? What if I lose this case? What if I'm sent back to them? They can't do that. No. It won't happen. Mrs. Davis promised me that she'll try her best. Please, God, don't let it happen.

Finally, we reached our destination. We got out of the car and walked inside. Outside the lawyer's office, I saw them. My supposed foster parents. Beth and Chad. My mind flash backed everything that had happened in the past. I swallowed hard when Chad smirked at my very visible tremble in fear. He still had that sort of impact on me from this much distance. That terrified me. A warm hand held mine. When I looked at Jake, he whispered in my ear.

"Relax. They're so ugly that your lawyer will dismiss this case without even listening to their side of the story." Despite the situation, my lips tucked up in a smile.

We walked together towards them, hand in hand.

"Hello Grace. It's been a long time since we last heard from you." Beth said in an awfully sweet tone. She even raised her arms and went in for a hug but Jake pulled me back and put himself in front of me. Beth dropped her hands down and smiled sweetly at Jake. Like she was so happy to meet him.

"And who are you, gentleman?" She asked Jake with a smile on her face.

"I'm her boyfriend. Jake Davis. And I very much appreciate it if you keep your distance from her." He told them. I noticed recognition passing from her eyes, and she glanced at Chad who gave her a look. Do they know him? "We mean no harm to her. She's like our daughter. We just want our daughter back." Chad said. Their behavior was bizarre. Why were they acting so different from their usual self? Because they were in public?

"Jake. Grace." I heard Mrs. Davis' voice from behind us. We turned to see that Mrs. Davis was walking towards us. She came to our side and looked behind us at them. She smiled when she looked back at me and Jake. "Everything is ready. Let's go inside." She said and we walked inside. My former lawyer, Mr. Nathan Smith, was on his phone. He hung up when we entered his office room. I felt a rush of resentment pass through me at the sight of me. Jake's mom sat down and greeted him. Beth and Chad followed the suit and sat down while greeting him.

"So without further ado, I want to know, on what basis my client's guardianship is being offered to her former foster parents?" Mrs. Davis asked. Nathan smiled and took out a file and gave it to Mrs. Davis.

"At the age of seventeen, Grace moved out of her foster parents house without their consent. While she was still under their guardianship and still legally is. They still have legal rights of her custody by law. And it means that she has to go back and live with them, if they want it." He explained nodding to Chad and Beth. Both of them smiled but I knew that their smiles were fake. Beth looked at me with the very still smile on her face. I wanted to gag, badly.

"Of course, we want her back. She's like my sweet little daughter. We didn't know where she disappeared two years ago. We searched for her everywhere but couldn't find her." She said, making a sad face.

"Yet, you didn't file a missing person report?" Mrs. Davis asked. Beth looked taken aback by that question but hurriedly covered it up with another smile.

"We were so confused and nervous that we forgot it at that time. We would have done it if we were in our right mind and not panicking about her disappearance." She explained.

"For two years?" Mrs. Davis asked. This time Beth didn't say anything. Instead, Chad spoke up.

"That was in the past. We found her now and we want her back. We want our daughter back." He chided in.

"We really can't do anything about it. Grace has to go back. If that's what her parents want." Nathan said.

"Foster parents." I retorted. Jake squeezed my hand. Nathan's phone started vibrating and he excused himself. Mrs. Davis also stood up.

"Jake, come with me for a second. I need you." Mrs. Davis said as she moved outside the door. Jake hesitated.

"Come on." Mrs. Davis urged him.

"I'll be back in a second." He whispered and walked outside to follow his mom outside. I didn't want him to go and leave me here with them but it happened so fast that I couldn't even move fast enough to stop him.

All that was left there was me, Beth and Chad. I looked at them and it was like they had taken their mask off. Their expressions were now of hatred and disgust. Beth stood up abruptly and I took a step back in caution. Chad smirked at my reaction. He also stood up and walked towards me. I backed up until my back hit the table.

"You've grown up looking fine." He commented as he crowded my personal space. I looked at him in disgust.

"And you've grown up looking uglier." I commented back. He grabbed my both sides of the cheeks and squeezed them hardly.

"And I see that you've grown guts as well." He said. I pushed his hand away.

"I was born with my guts intact, idiot." He raised his to slap me but Beth's voice stopped him.

"Not now. Later." She told him. He pushed him to a side and looked at me.

"So, he's your boyfriend, huh?" She asked. I looked at her a bit confused but then I understood what she was saying.

"Is he the one whose dad owns two multi-millionaire companies?" She asked. That's when I understand why they wanted me back.

"No. He's not." I lied. Beth looked at Chad.

"But that boy told us that he was -" She asked him, but he cut her off.

Boy? What boy?

"She's lying!" Chad said and looked at me, angry.

"You -"

"What's going on here?" Mrs. Davis asked as she entered the room. She looked at us. Chad plaster a smile on his face.

"Nothing. We were just trying to convince her to accept our offer and come with us." He told her. Nathan and Jake entered at the same time. Chad and Beth moved back. Jake eyed them suspiciously as he came over to me and tucked me to his side.

"So where were we? Oh, yeah. Your client does not have any choice in this matter. She has to go back and live with them." He said and the fear I felt, chilled me to my bones. I saw Chad and Beth giving each other a victorious smile. "Actually, she does." Mrs. Davis interrupted.

"By law, anyone the age of eighteen or more than eighteen years old, is considered to be an adult individual. My client is nineteen years old, and she is also considered, by law, an adult. Who can make her own decisions and live alone. So she doesn't have any obligation to go and live with any of her former foster parents." She said. Her declaration almost brought tears into my eyes. I gave Jake the biggest smile I could muster. He hugged me to his side and smiled brightly back at me. When I turned to look at Beth and Chad, both of their faces were pale. They both didn't expect it to happen.

"Here's the paper signed by a judge that defines in detail that by law, my client is considered an adult as well, and she is separated from any sort of guardianship." Nathan took the papers from her and scanned it. He gave it back to Jake's

mom.

"So the problem is solved. Grace decides if she wants to live with them or not." He said.

"No, thank you. I've moved on." I said. Nathan raised an eyebrow and smiled at me like for the first time, he was seeing me as an adult and not as a kid. Mrs. Davis stood up and we all walked outside. As soon as we got outside, I hugged Jake's mother tightly. Maybe I was choking her but I wanted her to feel how much I appreciate her. When I pulled back she was smiling at me. Right then, Beth and Chad came outside as well. Jake's mom pushed me to her side.

"I'm very politely and respectfully telling you both. I don't want to see any of you, ever, near her. If I did find out that you were trying to reach her or trying to harass her. I will not so politely, get rid of you both. I hope you understand." Mrs. Davis said. Last line with the same sort of fake smile that both of them were putting throughout the day. They both left without saying anything.

Hopefully leaving me alone, for once and all.