Author's note [July 22nd, 2024] -

At first, this and the following chapter were written to add enough words to this book to be able to enter it into the Wattys. But I lost hope that I can. However, this will be bring closure for Gracie finally achieving her dream of becoming a published author.

At the same time, I don't want to be ruining this story either. If you have any suggestions for this chapter, please feel free to comment.

Chapter 42 - 𝓨𝓸𝓾'𝓿𝓮 𝓝𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓢𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓢𝓷𝓸𝔀 𝓑𝓮𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓮??

Saturday, January 7th

Since getting on this plane, Gracie had adopted a few new fidgeting habits; bouncing her knee up and down, weaving her freshly-manicured fingers and oscillating between watching a movie and checking on her story. There's Only You was the book she was hoping Daniella would like - because it was good. Not because she was just doing this for a favor.

She'd never been to the Big Apple. That was where Healing Hearts was set, but it would feel surreal to be surrounded by those tall buildings in person. Gracie closed her eyes and imagined what her life would look like if her book gets published. The book would be as big and thick as the Twilight books, no matter how short as her stories were. She would surprise her mom with a copy for Christmas.

She wouldn't know why she got her a book until she read the author's name at the bottom. Perhaps it turns into a movie like Beth Reekles' and Anna Todds' books did. Her family would show up to the movie premiere. Including her nieces and nephews who would refer to her as the coolest aunt ever.

She would spend the money she got from directing the movie and selling the books on an expensive car and her own house. She would finally move out of mommy and daddy's house so she wouldn't be a burden on them anymore. Everything in her life would be perfect. None of that was realistic, but a girl can dream.

She gripped the armrest until her knuckles turned white when the wheels of the plane touched ground. This was the best part of flying. When the chances of plummeting to your death in the middle of the ocean become zero.

Mr. Walker noticed and grabbed into her hand that was on the armrest. That was the wrong move. Now her nails were clawing on his skin. And so were his wife's. This was what you got for trying to comfort your son's girlfriend and your own wife.

Gracie and Cory's parents waited until it was the first class' turn to vacate the plane. It didn't take long for their luggage to show up at baggage claim, but they visited a restaurant to wait for Cory's teams' flight to come in.

Gracie was devouring her meatball sub. Suffice to say, she was starving. Her body dysmorphia, inflicted on by her oh-so-critical grandmother, created a voice in her head that told her to skip the most important meal of the day. She was starving before they even made it to the market.

The bakery items were a dangerous area for her to be at in her condition. Gracie was eating sloppily with marinara sauce slowly dripping down her chin. Not the best way to eat in front of your boyfriend's parents when you'd only met them for the first time two weeks ago. She was too hungry to care.

The napkin was in her hand in point two seconds to wipe her chin when Mrs. Walker's hand landed in front of her.

"I know that going on vacation with your boyfriend's parents who you barely even know can be intimidating. Especially if your boyfriend is gonna be away at football practice. But just... treat it like a bonding trip. For us to get to know each other better." Her other hand reached for Gracie's hand that was apparently scratching her nose.

Little did she know, it was a habit that Gracie adopted; scratching a body part that didn't even itch. She didn't need to be nervous to scratch her nose, chin or eyes whether it was with her fist or her index finger.

An hour had passed and suddenly, a rowdy team of football players stormed the airport.

Once Gracie spotted Cory in the midst of the crowd, she sprung out of her seat, leaving behind her basket of fries, and leaped into Cory's arms. Her arms threw around his neck in a dangerously tight grip, but he didn't seem to mind.

"How was your flight, baby?"

The term of endearment elicited a warmth that spread through her cheeks.

"It was okay. Yours?"

"Long. I'm so sorry that you had to fly with my parents. It's just that—"

"Cory, I'm here. In New York. For the first time ever. I don't care who I had to travel with."

Gracie could only admit to herself that it would be awkward and slightly uncomfortable to spend the day with his parents. But Sydney was right. Maybe this would give Gracie a chance to get to know them better.

Hopefully, by the end of the day, she'll feel comfortable enough to be around them alone. Not only that, but she hoped that she could look into their eyes without sounding like she didn't know how to talk. She scoffed to herself at the low possibility. That was wishful thinking.

"Hey, Gracie. Could I talk to you for a second?" Jake was nervous about talking to Gracie in private. By the looks of it, so was Gracie. He just wanted to apologize to her for what he said at the party the other night. Calling her a party pooper and inviting Kendall who made her feel pressured into karaokeing. His black eye was slowly, but surely healing.

Jake recoiled away from Cory who was shooting fire through his darkened eyes. With assurance that he wasn't going to hurt her, he guided Gracie far enough away where everyone else was out of earshot.

He glanced back over his shoulders to make sure that Gracie was following him and not just standing there feeling uneasy, arms crossed over her chest. Jake felt relieved when he saw her following. "I wanted to apologize for what I said at the party."

Gracie released a breath that she was holding in and her shoulders that she didn't realize were tensed relaxed.

"For calling you a party pooper, for pressuring you to go inside. I'm also sorry for inviting Kendall who made you feel pressured to karaoke and called you a boring bitch. Rest assured, she will no longer be allowed to hang out with us."

"That's okay."

"If it makes you feel any better, we missed you after... you know. When Kendall was always with us and referred to herself as Cory's girlfriend. I had never seen Cory so low. He's usually the most talkative at press conferences, but instead, he was short with his answers, he showed up to practice all doom and gloom and we had to beg him to go out for drinks with us. I'm telling you, Gracie." Jake took a peek over Gracie's shoulders to see Cory smiling an ear-to-ear smile as he spoke with his parents. "He's at his happiest when he's with you."

That prompted a warmth to take over her cheeks and the tips of her ears. Knowing that she was liked by Cory's teammates and was even missed, despite only spending that night with them. Gracie followed Jake back to where everyone else was gathered.

"We'll meet you at the hotel?"

"Sounds good, my love. Good luck." Sydney kissed her son's cheek and led her husband and Gracie outside.

Gracie was in awe when she stepped out into the city. Everyone moved fast with purposeful steps around her, cars honked and seventy-story buildings towered over her.

If there was one thing she missed about living in Washington, it was the snow. Of course she missed her childhood home as well. It didn't snow that much very often in the city they were from, but some Feburarys, they were blessed with waking up to a white neighborhood.

Sydney and Robert were instantaneously freezing their asses off. They lived in Arizona their whole lives and even when they traveled here to visit her friend, they would come during the summer. They admired Gracie who seemed to be unfazed by the cold weather with her green winter coat layered over an oversized hoodie.

Sydney hailed a cab and they didn't waste time to file inside, Robert sitting in front.

"I miss the snow so much."

Gracie stared lovingly at the snow that decorated pieces of the street.

"You know, I'd never seen snow before."

That seemed to bring Gracie out of her daze right away.

"You've never seen snow before?"

Sydney shrugged with one shoulder. "No. Lived in Arizona my whole life. It never snowed in any of the cities we've traveled to either. Did it snow a lot where you're from?"

"Not a lot. I think there was one year it snowed on Christmas Eve. It snows sometimes in February. But there was one year where we had a snowstorm. We even lost power."

Gracie pulled her phone out from her pocket and unlocked the screen to show Mrs. Walker her home screen. It was of her front yard after the aforementioned storm. She didn't know how much snow there was, but it was enough that if you stepped on it, grass was still hidden under a blanket of white.

Sydney's eyes flew wide open. She'd never seen so much snow.

"Had I known that my parents were gonna move us to Arizona, I would've taken advantage of the snow more."

"Maybe, during next winter, we can visit your hometown and maybe... we'll get lucky enough to see snow like that." She felt hopeful at the thought of Gracie still being around by that time. In the short amount of time that she'd known her, she was like a daughter to her.

The cab arrived at the hotel. Visitors were in and out through the revolving doors dressed in layers to stay warm and it had an open floor plan where kids were playing tag.

The Christmas decorations still lingered in the lobby with the tree adorned with ornaments. Wreaths were hung on all the doors and garland with a string of lights tangled in the branches was rolled on the front counter.

They both followed Mrs. Walker into the elevator and once they reached the fourth floor, they easily found their room. It was a basic hotel room; yellow walls, two queen-sized beds, a TV on a table with a mini fridge and a container of silverware underneath and a little desk area.

"How about we take a quick power nap first and then after, we'll take Gracie sightseeing?"

Her suggestion was followed by a chorus of agreements. Robert and Sydney were sharing the bed closest to the window with her dad and Gracie claimed the other bed closer to the door with her suitcase already on top.

Gracie was excited about being in New York for the first time. She never thought that she would ever be here seeing as her parents were skeptical of the city. But before she could get bouncing-off-the-walls excited, she needed to catch up on her sleep. She laid down on the bed, under the covers and was out like a light.

-

Gracie's hair was all gathered on the back with a claw clip, she was still clad in her black 'I'm a writer. Anything you say can and will be used in a book' hoodie and she was munching on the Hostess powdered donuts that we bought for the plane ride. Gracie was picking at her lip as she studied the words that strung the first chapter together. Her fingers peeled off a scab on her lips and grimaced as she flicked it away.

Cory Walker:
Sent 1:30pm

What room number are you in?

Gracie Summers:
Sent 1:30pm

418

Cory Walker:
Sent 1:32pm

Are my parents sleeping?

If so, open the door. I'm right outside.

Her eyes lingered on her screen for a few seconds extra seconds before she opened the door for Cory who greeted her with a forehead kiss. She traipsed back to the desk and continued to go over the first chapter.

"Gracie, what are you doing?" He whispered because he didn't want to risk waking up his parents. His mom gets cranky if she's woken up.

"I'm double checking the book to make sure it's absolutely perfect."

She was driving herself crazy the past few days by going over each and every chapter to check on all the changes she'd made. One minute, she felt confident that those changes were making the book a hell of a lot better with more detail.

The next, she feared that she was making it worse by unintentionally creating more plot holes. That was Gracie's writing weakness. Not knowing if there were plot holes she didn't think about or how to fix them. Would she have to write the whole chapter again? She wouldn't want to. The creative side of her brain was fried. She had to make those plot holes work.

"Since Gray would be in a more secure prison so he couldn't escape again, would he be allowed visitors? Would Bella be allowed to visit him? How would Gray's friend be able to sneak him drugs? None of that would make any sense!"

Gracie whisper-yelled in one breath. Then, she began to rub her temples to, hopefully, ease the throbbing sensation that was inside her brain.

“Also, what if they can't edit the book to be as long and big as I'd always dreamed?”

She got the overthinking and stress genes from her mom’s side of the family. If stress was a sport, they'd be Olympic champions. Especially her Auntie Jo. She'd be a gold medalist.

"I'm sure that Daniella's editing team would be able to smooth that out. And about the length of the book… Daniella works with the best editing team in the state of New York. I'm sure that, with your help, they'll be able to figure out a way to make it longer. Calm down, love. Take a deep breath." He rubbed soothing circles on the small of her back, but those words telling her to calm down triggered the stressed out writer.

"Do not tell me to calm down. Unless you wanna lose a finger."

Gracie's eyes were narrowed and she pointed a finger at his face, snatching another donut and chewing angrily.

"First of all," he took the Hostess bag away and hid it where it was nowhere in plain sight. "You shouldn't be eating that crap. My parents bought it for themselves. Old people don't care about their health."

That wasn't the case. His parents - especially his mom - were obsessed with looking young. She had a strict skincare routine and his dad worked out to keep himself in shape. They just bought donuts at the market on the way to the airport because they skipped breakfast and were starving as a result. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

"I snack when I'm nervous."

"You also snack when you're bored, stressed and tired. You snack when you feel all the things." Cory chuckled to himself. "And second, your book is already perfect the way it is. You already edited the whole thing, smoothed out most of the plot holes, made sure the grammar was top notch. Daniella is gonna love your book. I'm sure of it."

"But what if she only agrees to publish it because of your mom? Because they're best friends and she owes her a favor?"

"No." He shot that idea down quickly before she continued to overthink. "If she decides to publish your book, it would be because you're a very talented writer. Not because of anything else. Believe me, if she doesn't like anything about it, she will tell you. That woman is brutally honest," he added through chuckles.

He realized the mistake he made when he noticed Gracie return her focus on the chapter. Cory lowers her hands down. "That's not to say that she would have anything to be brutally honest about. If there are some changes that need to be made, she would have her editing team take a look at it until it's ready for publishing."

Gracie's phone lit up with a new message from her mom.

Mom:
Sent 1:39pm

Did you make it there safely?

Never leave their side.

Please be safe.

"Are your parents worried?"

"Yeah, but as long as your parents are here with me, I'll be fine. I just wish they knew that."

Cory sighed. "You know, if I didn't have to play in the stupid game, I would be walking the streets with you, showing you what the Big Apple was known for. The Statue Of Liberty, The Empire State building, real Italian pizza. Hell, I'd be able to provide more muscle than my mother and father combined. In case you forgot," he started with his eyes downcast and a chuckle vibrating in his chest. In one second, his smile was wiped off and a thin, straight line took its place. "I'm a professional football player."

"That may be true, my love, but your father's a lot stronger than you." Mrs. Walker approached them from behind. Her nicely done hair was now a frizzy mess. A smirk crawled across her face when she received a scared reaction from the kids like she intended.

"Mama."

"Let's call a spade a spade. He's stronger." She was enjoying every little bit of riling her son up.

And Gracie was enjoying watching Cory's face as he shot daggers at his own mother. Her phone lit up and her mom's contact name and picture flashed across the screen. She excused herself into the bathroom so she wouldn't wake up a still-sleeping Mr. Walker.

Once Gracie was out of earshot, Cory turned to his mom. "Mom, I want her first ever trip to New York to be something she'll never forget, but I have to practice with the team. Can you and dad make sure that nothing bad happens to her and that she has the time of her life?"

"Of course, darling. I promise you. Your girl is in safe hands."

Gracie skipped back into the room with a spring in her step and her hands interlocked behind her back.

"What are the plans for today?"

"How about some sightseeing? Just you, Robert and me."