Stealing Grace Read Online Free PDF Page A

strength to brush her teeth again. She checked the window in her room, knowing that it would be locked or nailed shut, not surprised when it was. She was exhausted and could fight it no longer.
    The bed was nice and big. The comforter a soft olive green pattern with brown circles interlocking, tidily made with soft matching throw pillows. The sheets smelled like vanilla and the pillow was so soft, smooth and inviting. Nothing like what she would have expected.
    And she hated all of it.
    She couldn’t help herself. She lay down in his bed, disgusted. She started to cry and crawled her way up to the sweet smelling pillow and felt her soul pouring out.
    She was sobbing, trying to stifle the noise with her pillow in her mouth. She thought she would burst from anger and sadness. Not like her life was so great before but this. She prayed for sleep to come, and sooner than she expected, it did.
    She dreamed horrible, wretched things that night. She woke up screaming more than once and had to go to the bathroom and splash water on her face to calm herself and wash away the images. She dreamed that she had been one of the girls in the back rooms of that disgusting hallway, all the things they would have done to her. She dreamed that she had been one of the ones rejected and taken to God knew where to be disposed of.
    Once, she thought she heard Alex come and check on her in the bathroom, ask her if she was ok, but the exhaust fan was blaring and she was too scared to see if it was real or not.

    * * *

    She was fully surprised when she awoke to the morning light beaming in through the window. She jolted up and looked around, realizing she was alone. He hadn’t come in last night. She was relieved but stumped. Did he have a spare bedroom I didn’t see? Why hadn’t he come in last night? What is going on here? I’m so confused. Was he just interested in a cook and maid? Would I never actually have to converse or interact with that monster except at dinner time?
    No sooner she was lost in thought, she heard him cough in the other room. She thought she smelled coffee. She hadn’t changed her clothes to sleep last night and didn’t plan to now either. She could care less what he thought of her and what she was wearing.
    She did straighten her hair back into a ponytail though. She rubbed under her eyes, trying to imagine the horrid mess she must have looked like but didn’t care enough to go see for herself. The worse she looked, maybe the more he wouldn’t think about putting his hands on her.
    She walked into the living room through the hall cautiously. There he was, shirtless, with his blanket wrapped around his legs on the couch. He wasn’t asleep but reading. He looked up and nodded a good morning to her and resumed, his eyes moving back and forth, one arm behind his head.
    She was determined to get to the bottom of this today. What was his big plan? Why had he brought her there? What was her purpose? She would flat out have to ask him if he didn’t say something soon, for she was in no better mood than she was yesterday regardless of the sleep in the big comfy bed. She already felt an outburst coming on.
    She walked into the kitchen and saw the coffee brewing. Coffee. Mmmm... She took a cup down from the cabinet directly above the coffee pot, looked in the refrigerator for creamer thinking surely there would be none. Of course. Clean sheets, fresh broccoli and creamer in the fridge. The strangest bachelor I’ve ever met.
    She pulled the half and half out and set it on the counter. She thought best to ask him if she could have some first. She feared she hadn’t seen anything of his real personality yet and also wanted to prompt the dialogue so he would feel it was ok to start giving her some answers if he chose to.
    “Can I have some coffee?” she asked timidly, peeking around the corner.
    She thought she sounded mousy and pathetic but it was all she could muster up at this time of morning and under the