Splinters: Part One

Part One | 39

Chapter 39

Awkward

"Almost there, Grady," I panted, narrowing my eyes on the lamppost. 

"Al...most..." he muttered.

It seemed like slow motion as we jogged down the side-walk. Finally, after nearly collapsing, we reached the lamppost, smacking our hand against the cold metal to confirm our three miles. It was flickering with light as the sky slowly dimmed to a light blue.

"Three miles," I said, out of breath, placing my hands on my hips.

Grady was bent over, but taking in my words, he looked up at me, smiling. I stuck out my hand for a high-five. I didn't care how sweaty both our hands were, I was happy, excited even! Grady ran three miles without stopping. 

"I did it," he said quietly, standing up. "I ran three miles."

"Wanna go hit the scale?" I asked him, pointing toward his house.

He nodded eagerly. We both began walking; way slower than probably necessary, but he needed it. In my head, I was hoping Grady lost a ton. He hadn't checked his weight in a month when he reached two miles. And with all the effort he's put in, he's got to have lost a good amount!

The short journey back to Grady's was quiet with little pants coming from both of us. The night suddenly got a bit colder just as we reached his house. When we walked inside, we heard quiet sobbing coming from the kitchen, throwing both of us off guard. We froze, looking at each other in confusion, then Grady's face fell in either annoyance or sadness. 

My mom, Grady mouthed to me. 

I lowered my eyes as we slowly made our way to the kitchen.

"Mom?" Grady called.

Immediately, sounds like pans and pots banged together with the last clash of a glass breaking.

"Mom?!" Grady yelled, running towards the kitchen, me right behind him.

When we entered, Grady's mom was knelt behind the island, picking up the pieces. I could only see her feet with white flip-flops on and long pants.

"I'm okay, Grady. I'm okay," she assured, hiding her face from us. "Why don't you go while I clean this up? I don't want you getting cut."

Grady went over and knelt down beside her. "Mom-"

"Grady, go!"

He sat back on his feet before slowly getting up. He gave me a tired look, nudging towards the exit of the kitchen. We headed towards the stairs that led up to his bathroom. Turning on the lights of the bathroom, he opened the closet door, taking out the scale.

"Is your mom okay?" I asked quietly.

Grady didn't look at me. "My dad's been seeing this new girl and he just barely finally told her about it. She's not taking it too well." 

He set the scale in front of the bathtub and pressed the ON button. When nothing happened, he lifted it back up and sat on the toilet, turning it over. I leant against the doorframe.

"What about you?" I inquired softly, not sure if he wanted to talk about it or not.

He shrugged, opening the battery compartment. "She's cool, I guess. I don't know her real well."

I nodded, although he wasn't looking at me. I crossed my arms. 

"It just sucks for my mom, you know?" Grady continued. "She says she's over the divorce, but..." He trailed off for a moment before huffing and looking at me. "It needs three triple A's."