Post by Lindsey on Aug 12, 2007 13:22:17 GMT -5
Here's the next chapter, my faithful readers...(hehe) I hope you all like it. It's a little action, a little romance. Anyways, I wrote it really quickly but I wanted to put it up while I still have the wireless internet in my hotel room. There may be some errors--I hope I won't have to change anything later, but...anyways... Please comment and tell me what you think!
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Grace’s eyes opened to darkness again. Her heart pounded as she became conscious of where she was, but then she became acutely aware of Apolo’s arm still around her, even tighter than it had been when she’d fallen asleep. She could tell she had shifted further onto him as she’d slept, as she could feel his chest rising and falling with each breath he took.
Should I move? she wondered. Of course you should, Grace; this isn’t appropriate. What if he wakes up and finds us together like this? Well…would that be so bad? I don’t want to move. I want to stay like this. It can’t hurt anything. Ehh—don’t be dumb, Grace. You should move, she finally convinced herself.
She began to pull away from him, or at least readjust, but then she found it was more difficult than she’d thought. Something was restraining her left hand—and then she realized it was Apolo’s hand. Grace could suddenly feel her heart beat stronger in her chest—she was sure Apolo would hear it. She moved her fingers again, and then noticed that his hand wasn’t just wrapped around hers—their fingers were actually intertwined. She swallowed, knowing that if she pulled away, she would disturb him enough to wake him. Slowly, she allowed herself to settle back down onto his chest, and her hand stayed in his. As she sat there, practically snuggling with him, she knew she would never fall asleep. How in the world did he end up holding my hand? She let her mind wonder if he’d done it intentionally but ended up rationalizing the thought away. That was nothing to think about at a time like this.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps down the hall outside the room. Instinctively, she shook Apolo, breaking his hold on her hand. “Apolo, wake up.”
He didn’t flinch. “I’m not asleep, Grace.”
Grace felt her cheeks grow warm. She drew away from him, staring at him even though she unable to see him. So he knew he was holding her hand like that? She didn’t have time to think about it more. The door banged open and for a split second their eyes met as the lights flickered on. His face was serious and calm, and he was looking straight into her eyes. Flushed with embarrassment, Grace pulled herself away and quickly looked to see who had just come in.
She shrank back in surprise, backing herself up against the wall. It was three men this time, and they just stood there, looking at them. Two of the burly, almost heavy-set, men carried the billy clubs and the third had a pair of handcuffs.
Just one pair of handcuffs. Grace’s mind raced. They’re taking one of us away! She couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from Apolo. Not now.
The men suddenly rushed the two of them on the floor, and Apolo sprang to his feet.
“Don’t let them take you from me,” he quickly said to her and dodged a blow the largest man had sent in his direction. He met the man full-on, punching and kicking—fighting as hard as he could, his hair flying everywhere.
Grace scrambled to get up, but the room was small, and there was no place for her to run. Another one of the men was already on her, grabbing her shirt as she cried out.
She could see Apolo looking in her direction and as if in slow motion, she could see the third man approaching him while he was distracted. She opened her mouth to scream to him, but no words came out. Apolo looked back just in time to see the other man descending upon him, and wrestled himself away from the first man’s grip. But the two of them lunged at him, grabbing both his arms, and as much as he struggled, two men were too much for him.
Grace reached out to him, but her assailant had a firm grip around her waist and was poking something hard into her back. She hoped it was the billy club and not something else, like a gun. She heard the click of the handcuffs and watched them clamp down onto Apolo’s hands, devastated. They couldn’t be taking him away from her.
He looked back at her with a defeated look on his face, and she looked back at him, shaking her head. The muscle in his jaw tightened, and he suddenly gave the man holding onto his arms a fierce kick in his groin. Stunned by the power that came from Apolo’s strong legs, the man yelped like a girl and fell backwards, releasing his grip on him. The other man closed in on him, but Apolo swung both fists around, still handcuffed, and hit the man squarely in the jaw.
Inspired by his efforts, Grace twisted out of her capturer’s grasp, catching him by surprise. She punched him in the eye, knowing she wasn’t strong enough to do much damage but hoping she could hurt him enough for him to buy them a little time.
“Get out!” Apolo yelled to her as he kicked the second man swiftly. Grace’s eyes darted to the open door. They could escape!
She dashed to the doorway, and Apolo was close behind. They both made it out the door and Apolo slammed it shut behind him, locking them inside. Grace couldn’t believe it—they’d really escaped. But then Grace heard the sound of keys jingling inside.
“Run,” was all Apolo said, and the two of them broke out in a run down the long, empty hallway. Now they had a chance. Their attackers didn’t have the build of fast men—they were big, bulky men and probably could hit someone a lot easier than chase someone. Grace prayed that she and Apolo could outrun them.
Grace could tell they were underground somewhere, as she could see the ductwork above them. They had to go up to get out. There had to be a stairwell somewhere—there just had to be. The two of them rounded a corner, and as they did, she saw the men huffing and puffing some distance away from them.
Grace and Apolo ran even faster now, but Grace kept a lookout for an elevator or stairwell.
Then she spied a door and reached her arm out to stop Apolo.
“There--” she whispered and pointed.
Apolo shoved the stairwell open with his shoulder and the two of them looked up the stairwell as they entered.
“We must be way underground,” Apolo said simply. The stairs went up what seemed like forever, and Grace could see no exit door anywhere. Maybe there was one they couldn’t see from their vantage point, but there was no use waiting, thinking about it.
The two of them started up the stairs. Grace was amazed at how easily Apolo ran up the stairs, while she was starting to get winded. He was several steps ahead of her but noticed she wasn’t following him as closely.
“Are you okay?” he asked her.
Grace started to reply but then they heard the door at the bottom of the stairs open a few floors below them, and her heart sped up, the adrenaline kicking in again. Her legs found untapped strength, and she was soon matching his pace as they ran up the stairs.
“They’re coming up the stairs!” she heard one of the men yell out, and then she recognized the crackly sound made by a two-way radio. Her heart skipped a beat. There were more of them.
She caught Apolo’e eyes looking up the staircase. “They’ll be coming soon,” he said. “We have to find a place to get out of here.”
Grace imagined the two of them being trapped between a mob of masked men, and she almost started to cry. They’d have to go back to that dark room and meet who knew what fate. It was incomprehensible. She nodded vigorously in agreement with Apolo. “There has to be a way out.”
The sound of feet—Grace couldn’t tell how many—above them sent a jolt of fear into her heart.
“Apolo, what are we going to do?”
As soon as she said it, they saw an exit door, and hope flooded her heart.
“Wait,” Apolo stopped her, sensing her excitement. “I have an idea.”
He kicked the door open and let it slam back on itself. Then he motioned with his wrists for Grace to follow him around to the back side and under the stairwell, where he crouched in the shadows. Grace followed him, hoping his plan would work and that their pursuers would think they’d gone out the door.
It wasn’t long before the descending men reached the door. Not even bothering to look around him, the lead man called down to the two men below them, “They went out this way.” Two others followed him out the door.
Grace almost let out a sigh of relief, until she realized that their greatest danger was yet to reach them. It would be far easier for the men coming up to notice them than it had been for the men coming down. Apolo scooted farther back into the shadows, and Grace turned to look at him. She knew the fear was evident in her eyes. He looked at her, motioning for her to come farther back with him. She slid closer to him, conscious of how hard her heart was beating.
She could hear the men wheezing as they came up the stairs and knew they were almost upon them. Without thinking, she reached for Apolo’s arm, gripping it for all she was worth. She’d never been more afraid in her life.
Grace watched, holding her breath in anticipation, as the two of them got to the stairway door. One of the men swung it open, and in a moment it had closed behind the both of them. They hadn’t seen them. As she let out her breath, she felt Apolo’s arm relax, unaware of how tense his muscles had been. She quickly let go.
“Now what?” she asked him.
Apolo shook his head. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet,” he said, and almost laughed. “I guess, go up.”
They started up the stairs, more slowly and quietly than before. Grace glanced at Apolo. He looked tired—she remembered that he hadn’t slept all night and that he’d probably gotten a pretty good beating down in the little room as they were getting away.
“Are you hurt?” she asked.
“Naw,” he shrugged it off. “I’d kinda like to get these off, though,” he waved his handcuffed hands at her.
They trudged up the stairs a little further, maybe one or two more flights. Grace wondered how much longer it would be before another landing. Suddenly, she heard a shuffling noise behind them.
“Apolo, did you hear that?” she asked.
“What?” Apolo said, and they both looked over their shoulders.
Grace’s heart hit her stomach as she saw another masked man only a few steps below them, a gun pointed straight at Apolo. In a flash, she remembered that there had been three men in the room downstairs. He must have been following them from a distance—how could they have been so careless? Shaking, Grace grasped Apolo’s arm again as the man slowly approached them.
A few minutes later, the door shut behind them in the little room. Grace faced Apolo, her eyes filled with utter hopelessness. The light went out, and they were in darkness again.
“Really, now—what is the need to shut the light off?” Apolo yelled out, obviously angry, but it was no use.
Grace felt the tears threatening to fall, but she tried her best to hold them back.
Apolo was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry, Grace,” he said at last. “We tried.”
That did it. The tears spilled over. Grace sucked in her breath, trying to stop. She felt ashamed, just standing there, crying, while Apolo was being so strong about it. She was aware of him moving closer to her.
“These stupid handcuffs,” Apolo said, sounding frustrated. “Come here.”
She stepped closer to him, and he reached forward with some difficulty, trying to pull her in with one hand through the handcuffs. It wasn’t a real hug, but it was the best he could do.
“Don’t cry, Grace.”
A sob escaped her throat, and in anguish, she impulsively reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and clung to him, resting her head on his shoulder as she soaked his shirt with her tears. She must have wept on his shoulder for a solid minute. Everything that had happened in the last few days flashed through her mind—Apolo receiving the death threat, her rash writing of her notes at the newspaper, the headlines the next day, her quitting her job (had she really quit her job?), the attack at her apartment, Apolo joining her in the room, their escape, their capture—it was all a blur and all crystal clear at the same time. It weighed down on her and she couldn’t hold anything back. She was conscious of Apolo moving his head closer to hers, as if trying to comfort her. What was he going through? Was he scared, too? Apolo seemed to be solid as a rock, like nothing affected him. But he had to be worried about their situation—probably about his father, too.
“I wish I could hold you,” she thought she heard him say, but she couldn’t be sure. Whatever it was, it startled her out of her crying, and she backed away from him, asking herself what she thought she was doing.
“Grace--” he whispered. “Don’t go.”
She trembled. What does that mean? She’d gotten ahold of herself by now—her tears were spent—but now Apolo was calling her back to him? She was too afraid to get closer to him now.
But then Apolo stepped forward to her. He just stood there for a moment, and then she felt him move even closer. She felt his warm breath against her skin, and her stomach flip-flopped. Her eyes closed—she was nearly overwhelmed by his closeness. And then, so softly she wasn’t sure if she was dreaming, she felt his lips brush hers. It wasn’t even a kiss yet, but it gave her chills. He paused, standing less than inches from her, as if waiting for her consent. She didn’t back away, so he moved closer and tentatively kissed her mouth. Grace’s head spun as the kiss deepened. It was beautiful, perfect, nothing she’d ever imagined it would be. Even as awkward as it was, having his hands in cuffs in front of him, his gentle kiss was so full of purity and sincerity she couldn’t have even dreamt it would be like this. The kiss began to grow stronger, but it scared her and she pulled away, her cheeks flushed. She heard him sigh a little.
“Grace,” he whispered again.
Grace couldn’t even respond. She was shy, nervous, and dizzy all at once. But he was waiting for her to answer him. “Yes?” Her voice was trembling, despite her efforts to sound calm.
“I didn’t mean to do that, really,” he said. “I was just caught up in the moment, I guess.”
Her head immediately cleared. What? she wanted to cry out. You didn’t mean to do that? “It’s okay,” she heard herself saying. No, it’s not okay! I wanted it to be for real, and now you’re taking it back.
“Let’s just go sit down or something. I’m really tired now.”
She heard Apolo shuffle to the wall and sit down, without waiting for her. Apolo never admitted he was tired. What was wrong with him? She stumbled in the darkness to the wall and slid down next to him, but far enough away that no part of them touched. She grabbed her knees and pulled them to her chest, resting her forehead on them. She felt horrible. She’d finally allowed herself to admit that she wanted Apolo to care for her—even started to care about him that way, too—and now she discovered that his care for her wasn’t any more than just friendship. Why had she done this to herself—let herself start to care? The memory of his kiss floated through her thoughts. It had been so perfect—until he’d practically told her it had been a mistake. She was hurt, confused, and angry. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
Apolo sighed again. He was probably worried about the whole death threat thing after all. Unfortunately, that was the furthest thing from Grace’s mind at the moment, and she felt a little pang of guilt. She was being so selfish—stressing about what was going on in their relationship, while she should be focusing on why in the world they were being held without explanation in this stuffy, windowless room in the dark. What was the explanation? Apolo hadn’t done anything wrong—he hadn’t pulled out of the competition in September yet, but they’d barely given him a chance to. Sure, she’d written the article, but—
Then it hit her. This was all her fault. How could she have been so blind? If she hadn’t written those notes—if that article hadn’t come out—none of this ever would have happened. Why had she been so stupid? Apolo was just being nice by saying he understood what happened—he really must be furious with her. Grace knew she was being irrational, letting her thoughts run around like this, but there had to be some truth in her emotional speculations. And now, there was nothing that either of them could do to get out of this. They’d just have to wait. Again.
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Grace’s eyes opened to darkness again. Her heart pounded as she became conscious of where she was, but then she became acutely aware of Apolo’s arm still around her, even tighter than it had been when she’d fallen asleep. She could tell she had shifted further onto him as she’d slept, as she could feel his chest rising and falling with each breath he took.
Should I move? she wondered. Of course you should, Grace; this isn’t appropriate. What if he wakes up and finds us together like this? Well…would that be so bad? I don’t want to move. I want to stay like this. It can’t hurt anything. Ehh—don’t be dumb, Grace. You should move, she finally convinced herself.
She began to pull away from him, or at least readjust, but then she found it was more difficult than she’d thought. Something was restraining her left hand—and then she realized it was Apolo’s hand. Grace could suddenly feel her heart beat stronger in her chest—she was sure Apolo would hear it. She moved her fingers again, and then noticed that his hand wasn’t just wrapped around hers—their fingers were actually intertwined. She swallowed, knowing that if she pulled away, she would disturb him enough to wake him. Slowly, she allowed herself to settle back down onto his chest, and her hand stayed in his. As she sat there, practically snuggling with him, she knew she would never fall asleep. How in the world did he end up holding my hand? She let her mind wonder if he’d done it intentionally but ended up rationalizing the thought away. That was nothing to think about at a time like this.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps down the hall outside the room. Instinctively, she shook Apolo, breaking his hold on her hand. “Apolo, wake up.”
He didn’t flinch. “I’m not asleep, Grace.”
Grace felt her cheeks grow warm. She drew away from him, staring at him even though she unable to see him. So he knew he was holding her hand like that? She didn’t have time to think about it more. The door banged open and for a split second their eyes met as the lights flickered on. His face was serious and calm, and he was looking straight into her eyes. Flushed with embarrassment, Grace pulled herself away and quickly looked to see who had just come in.
She shrank back in surprise, backing herself up against the wall. It was three men this time, and they just stood there, looking at them. Two of the burly, almost heavy-set, men carried the billy clubs and the third had a pair of handcuffs.
Just one pair of handcuffs. Grace’s mind raced. They’re taking one of us away! She couldn’t bear the thought of being separated from Apolo. Not now.
The men suddenly rushed the two of them on the floor, and Apolo sprang to his feet.
“Don’t let them take you from me,” he quickly said to her and dodged a blow the largest man had sent in his direction. He met the man full-on, punching and kicking—fighting as hard as he could, his hair flying everywhere.
Grace scrambled to get up, but the room was small, and there was no place for her to run. Another one of the men was already on her, grabbing her shirt as she cried out.
She could see Apolo looking in her direction and as if in slow motion, she could see the third man approaching him while he was distracted. She opened her mouth to scream to him, but no words came out. Apolo looked back just in time to see the other man descending upon him, and wrestled himself away from the first man’s grip. But the two of them lunged at him, grabbing both his arms, and as much as he struggled, two men were too much for him.
Grace reached out to him, but her assailant had a firm grip around her waist and was poking something hard into her back. She hoped it was the billy club and not something else, like a gun. She heard the click of the handcuffs and watched them clamp down onto Apolo’s hands, devastated. They couldn’t be taking him away from her.
He looked back at her with a defeated look on his face, and she looked back at him, shaking her head. The muscle in his jaw tightened, and he suddenly gave the man holding onto his arms a fierce kick in his groin. Stunned by the power that came from Apolo’s strong legs, the man yelped like a girl and fell backwards, releasing his grip on him. The other man closed in on him, but Apolo swung both fists around, still handcuffed, and hit the man squarely in the jaw.
Inspired by his efforts, Grace twisted out of her capturer’s grasp, catching him by surprise. She punched him in the eye, knowing she wasn’t strong enough to do much damage but hoping she could hurt him enough for him to buy them a little time.
“Get out!” Apolo yelled to her as he kicked the second man swiftly. Grace’s eyes darted to the open door. They could escape!
She dashed to the doorway, and Apolo was close behind. They both made it out the door and Apolo slammed it shut behind him, locking them inside. Grace couldn’t believe it—they’d really escaped. But then Grace heard the sound of keys jingling inside.
“Run,” was all Apolo said, and the two of them broke out in a run down the long, empty hallway. Now they had a chance. Their attackers didn’t have the build of fast men—they were big, bulky men and probably could hit someone a lot easier than chase someone. Grace prayed that she and Apolo could outrun them.
Grace could tell they were underground somewhere, as she could see the ductwork above them. They had to go up to get out. There had to be a stairwell somewhere—there just had to be. The two of them rounded a corner, and as they did, she saw the men huffing and puffing some distance away from them.
Grace and Apolo ran even faster now, but Grace kept a lookout for an elevator or stairwell.
Then she spied a door and reached her arm out to stop Apolo.
“There--” she whispered and pointed.
Apolo shoved the stairwell open with his shoulder and the two of them looked up the stairwell as they entered.
“We must be way underground,” Apolo said simply. The stairs went up what seemed like forever, and Grace could see no exit door anywhere. Maybe there was one they couldn’t see from their vantage point, but there was no use waiting, thinking about it.
The two of them started up the stairs. Grace was amazed at how easily Apolo ran up the stairs, while she was starting to get winded. He was several steps ahead of her but noticed she wasn’t following him as closely.
“Are you okay?” he asked her.
Grace started to reply but then they heard the door at the bottom of the stairs open a few floors below them, and her heart sped up, the adrenaline kicking in again. Her legs found untapped strength, and she was soon matching his pace as they ran up the stairs.
“They’re coming up the stairs!” she heard one of the men yell out, and then she recognized the crackly sound made by a two-way radio. Her heart skipped a beat. There were more of them.
She caught Apolo’e eyes looking up the staircase. “They’ll be coming soon,” he said. “We have to find a place to get out of here.”
Grace imagined the two of them being trapped between a mob of masked men, and she almost started to cry. They’d have to go back to that dark room and meet who knew what fate. It was incomprehensible. She nodded vigorously in agreement with Apolo. “There has to be a way out.”
The sound of feet—Grace couldn’t tell how many—above them sent a jolt of fear into her heart.
“Apolo, what are we going to do?”
As soon as she said it, they saw an exit door, and hope flooded her heart.
“Wait,” Apolo stopped her, sensing her excitement. “I have an idea.”
He kicked the door open and let it slam back on itself. Then he motioned with his wrists for Grace to follow him around to the back side and under the stairwell, where he crouched in the shadows. Grace followed him, hoping his plan would work and that their pursuers would think they’d gone out the door.
It wasn’t long before the descending men reached the door. Not even bothering to look around him, the lead man called down to the two men below them, “They went out this way.” Two others followed him out the door.
Grace almost let out a sigh of relief, until she realized that their greatest danger was yet to reach them. It would be far easier for the men coming up to notice them than it had been for the men coming down. Apolo scooted farther back into the shadows, and Grace turned to look at him. She knew the fear was evident in her eyes. He looked at her, motioning for her to come farther back with him. She slid closer to him, conscious of how hard her heart was beating.
She could hear the men wheezing as they came up the stairs and knew they were almost upon them. Without thinking, she reached for Apolo’s arm, gripping it for all she was worth. She’d never been more afraid in her life.
Grace watched, holding her breath in anticipation, as the two of them got to the stairway door. One of the men swung it open, and in a moment it had closed behind the both of them. They hadn’t seen them. As she let out her breath, she felt Apolo’s arm relax, unaware of how tense his muscles had been. She quickly let go.
“Now what?” she asked him.
Apolo shook his head. “I hadn’t thought that far ahead yet,” he said, and almost laughed. “I guess, go up.”
They started up the stairs, more slowly and quietly than before. Grace glanced at Apolo. He looked tired—she remembered that he hadn’t slept all night and that he’d probably gotten a pretty good beating down in the little room as they were getting away.
“Are you hurt?” she asked.
“Naw,” he shrugged it off. “I’d kinda like to get these off, though,” he waved his handcuffed hands at her.
They trudged up the stairs a little further, maybe one or two more flights. Grace wondered how much longer it would be before another landing. Suddenly, she heard a shuffling noise behind them.
“Apolo, did you hear that?” she asked.
“What?” Apolo said, and they both looked over their shoulders.
Grace’s heart hit her stomach as she saw another masked man only a few steps below them, a gun pointed straight at Apolo. In a flash, she remembered that there had been three men in the room downstairs. He must have been following them from a distance—how could they have been so careless? Shaking, Grace grasped Apolo’s arm again as the man slowly approached them.
A few minutes later, the door shut behind them in the little room. Grace faced Apolo, her eyes filled with utter hopelessness. The light went out, and they were in darkness again.
“Really, now—what is the need to shut the light off?” Apolo yelled out, obviously angry, but it was no use.
Grace felt the tears threatening to fall, but she tried her best to hold them back.
Apolo was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry, Grace,” he said at last. “We tried.”
That did it. The tears spilled over. Grace sucked in her breath, trying to stop. She felt ashamed, just standing there, crying, while Apolo was being so strong about it. She was aware of him moving closer to her.
“These stupid handcuffs,” Apolo said, sounding frustrated. “Come here.”
She stepped closer to him, and he reached forward with some difficulty, trying to pull her in with one hand through the handcuffs. It wasn’t a real hug, but it was the best he could do.
“Don’t cry, Grace.”
A sob escaped her throat, and in anguish, she impulsively reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and clung to him, resting her head on his shoulder as she soaked his shirt with her tears. She must have wept on his shoulder for a solid minute. Everything that had happened in the last few days flashed through her mind—Apolo receiving the death threat, her rash writing of her notes at the newspaper, the headlines the next day, her quitting her job (had she really quit her job?), the attack at her apartment, Apolo joining her in the room, their escape, their capture—it was all a blur and all crystal clear at the same time. It weighed down on her and she couldn’t hold anything back. She was conscious of Apolo moving his head closer to hers, as if trying to comfort her. What was he going through? Was he scared, too? Apolo seemed to be solid as a rock, like nothing affected him. But he had to be worried about their situation—probably about his father, too.
“I wish I could hold you,” she thought she heard him say, but she couldn’t be sure. Whatever it was, it startled her out of her crying, and she backed away from him, asking herself what she thought she was doing.
“Grace--” he whispered. “Don’t go.”
She trembled. What does that mean? She’d gotten ahold of herself by now—her tears were spent—but now Apolo was calling her back to him? She was too afraid to get closer to him now.
But then Apolo stepped forward to her. He just stood there for a moment, and then she felt him move even closer. She felt his warm breath against her skin, and her stomach flip-flopped. Her eyes closed—she was nearly overwhelmed by his closeness. And then, so softly she wasn’t sure if she was dreaming, she felt his lips brush hers. It wasn’t even a kiss yet, but it gave her chills. He paused, standing less than inches from her, as if waiting for her consent. She didn’t back away, so he moved closer and tentatively kissed her mouth. Grace’s head spun as the kiss deepened. It was beautiful, perfect, nothing she’d ever imagined it would be. Even as awkward as it was, having his hands in cuffs in front of him, his gentle kiss was so full of purity and sincerity she couldn’t have even dreamt it would be like this. The kiss began to grow stronger, but it scared her and she pulled away, her cheeks flushed. She heard him sigh a little.
“Grace,” he whispered again.
Grace couldn’t even respond. She was shy, nervous, and dizzy all at once. But he was waiting for her to answer him. “Yes?” Her voice was trembling, despite her efforts to sound calm.
“I didn’t mean to do that, really,” he said. “I was just caught up in the moment, I guess.”
Her head immediately cleared. What? she wanted to cry out. You didn’t mean to do that? “It’s okay,” she heard herself saying. No, it’s not okay! I wanted it to be for real, and now you’re taking it back.
“Let’s just go sit down or something. I’m really tired now.”
She heard Apolo shuffle to the wall and sit down, without waiting for her. Apolo never admitted he was tired. What was wrong with him? She stumbled in the darkness to the wall and slid down next to him, but far enough away that no part of them touched. She grabbed her knees and pulled them to her chest, resting her forehead on them. She felt horrible. She’d finally allowed herself to admit that she wanted Apolo to care for her—even started to care about him that way, too—and now she discovered that his care for her wasn’t any more than just friendship. Why had she done this to herself—let herself start to care? The memory of his kiss floated through her thoughts. It had been so perfect—until he’d practically told her it had been a mistake. She was hurt, confused, and angry. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
Apolo sighed again. He was probably worried about the whole death threat thing after all. Unfortunately, that was the furthest thing from Grace’s mind at the moment, and she felt a little pang of guilt. She was being so selfish—stressing about what was going on in their relationship, while she should be focusing on why in the world they were being held without explanation in this stuffy, windowless room in the dark. What was the explanation? Apolo hadn’t done anything wrong—he hadn’t pulled out of the competition in September yet, but they’d barely given him a chance to. Sure, she’d written the article, but—
Then it hit her. This was all her fault. How could she have been so blind? If she hadn’t written those notes—if that article hadn’t come out—none of this ever would have happened. Why had she been so stupid? Apolo was just being nice by saying he understood what happened—he really must be furious with her. Grace knew she was being irrational, letting her thoughts run around like this, but there had to be some truth in her emotional speculations. And now, there was nothing that either of them could do to get out of this. They’d just have to wait. Again.
I loved the kiss between Grace and Apolo, but didn't like what he told her. 
Ugh that was such a typical guy thing. 
I can't wait for the next chapter to see if they will escape this time around. 
So someday--maybe over Thanksgiving or something!! 