Page 1 of Fall From Grace
one
Travis
“It’s time to payup, sucker.” The smirk on Tanner’s face tells me all I need to know—my brothers aren’t going to go easy on me. Combine that with the looks on Turner and Tucker’s faces, and I know I’m in big trouble.
Last year at this time, I was convinced I would win the bet about who among the four of us would get engaged first. I had just met Grace Mattson. She was only in town temporarily, but I hoped to make it permanent. Unfortunately, nothing went as planned.
Fast forward a year, and I’m the only sibling left besides Tessa, who isn’t in a relationship. Tanner, Tucker, and Turner are all in committed relationships with travel nurses, like Grace, but theydecided to stay in Wintervale to be with my brothers. Unlike Grace, who chose her career over a life with me.
They say the pain of heartbreak eventually fades, but I’m not convinced. I’m happy for my brothers, especially Tucker. He’s marrying Sky next week, and they’re expecting a baby. But that should be me and Grace. Hell, we could have already gotten married and had a baby by now if she hadn’t left.
“The girls helped us with your punishment. It seems like they had a surprise planned for you anyway.” Turner lifts a bottle of water to his lips, taking a drink, reminding me that he’s supposed to be bartending right now.
“Who’s watching the bar if all of you are out here?” I stretch my neck, glancing behind me toward the bar. “And where exactly are the girls?” My brothers’ girlfriends are the best of friends, along with our sister Tessa, which heightens my suspicion, since I know for a fact that Tessa enjoys pranking us at every opportunity.
“The new guy, Jake, is tending bar. And as for Hazy, Rayne, Sky, and Tessa..." Tucker trails off as he nods toward the four smiling women walking to our table.
“Hey, guys,” Hazy says, climbing onto Turner’s lap, just like Sky and Rayne do with Tucker and Tanner. “Perfect, you got us a table right up front.”
That’s when I realize our table is right next to the stage, and it's Karaoke night. I haven’t sung karaoke since Grace left. It wassomething she loved to do, so I did it with her. We would stand on stage, holding hands and singing all the classic love songs.
I first met Grace when she was singing karaoke during the new nurse initiation that the veteran nurses at the hospital make all new employees go through. But the joke was on the veteran nurses—instead of the off-key singing most people do, Grace had the voice of an angel.
My pulse starts to race just thinking about stepping onto that stage and singing without Grace. “I’m not singing some stupid song on stage.”
“Sorry, bro, but you lost the bet," Tanner shrugs. “Now you have to pay up.”
I shift my gaze from each person at the table. My brothers seem way too confident, while the girls look uncertain, and even Tessa looks nervous. “Fine. What song do I have to sing?”
Surprising me, Sky—the normally shy one—speaks up, “Your song is Shallow by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.”
“What the fuck? You want me to sing both parts?” I don’t know why I’m so hung up on singing both parts, but it doesn’t feel right singing without Grace.
“Language. There are children present.” Tucker places his hand on Sky's stomach.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, the baby can’t hear what I’m saying.”
“In the parenting books I’ve been reading, it says that babies can hear outside the womb.”
“Enough, Tucker. I don’t want to hear about Sky’s womb.” I push out of my chair, stomp over to Dale, our cowboy/dentist DJ, grab a microphone, and take my place on the stage, glaring at my siblings and their significant others.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a treat tonight. Singing Shallow by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, the one and only grump of Wintervale, Travis!” Dale announces to the crowded bar.
The music begins, and I can’t help but compare the lyrics to Grace. Is she happy, or does she need more? Was she searching for something I didn’t notice? I barely get through Bradley’s opening lyrics, my thoughts so tangled around Grace. I open my mouth, waiting for Lady Gaga’s part, but before I can sing a word, a voice I have only heard in my dreams for the last ten months fills the room.
The bar lights are dim, with spotlights blinding me on stage. I can’t tell where the voice is coming from until she walks up the steps onto the stage and stands next to me, reaching out her hand for mine.
Grace.
She’s still as beautiful as ever, if not more so. I’m frozen in place, not trusting myself to take her hand—barely able to finish the song. Somehow, I manage to finish it, all without touching her to make sure she’s real.
I’ve spent the last ten months reliving every word, every touch, trying to figure out where it went wrong, but nothing adds up—especially when she’s right in front of me. “Grace.” I find myself saying with a nod, as if she’s no more to me than an acquaintance, which is all she can ever be again.
I step off the stage, hand the microphone back to Dale, and leave Grace alone on the stage while I sit with my siblings, who are all staring at me like they’re not sure if I’m going to bite or not, like some rabid dog or something.
“Surprise. Grace is back," Tanner is the first to speak, shaking his hands in the air like a cheerleader. When I don’t say anything, he drops his hands. “Too soon?”
Too soon? Is that really all he has to say about Grace showing up after ten long months apart? I want to shout at all of them and tell them this isn’t fair. I was finally starting to get over her—at least that’s what I keep telling myself. Now she’s back, just before Tucker and Sky’s wedding.
