Going Solo: Grace Gen 4.11

When I got home I broke down into tears. Jonas had been texting and calling me since I left but I wouldn't respond. I freaked out and ran away because I'm scared of the dark. I'm a grown woman scared of the dark. I pulled out my phone to call Hope, but remembered I couldn't. Last time we spoke she told me she'd been picked to go on some reality TV show called The One.

I thought she was crazy when she told me what it was about. She was one of ten ladies who were all trying to win the affection of the sole male on the show. What was she thinking? Those 'reality' shows are anything but. I was sure the whole thing was staged and the winner was predetermined by the producers but she assured me it wasn't. Even so, she said it would be fun and didn't see the harm since her dating life hadn't been going so well and she had tons of vacation time stockpiled.

Dad was not happy about the news, saying he didn't need or want to see his daughter making out or 'worse' on live TV. Mom was also a bit skeptical, but was supportive, Carter could care less, and Erin thought it was cool. She apparently watched that show and said the bachelors they picked were always so dreamy. Either way until the final show was taped she was not allowed access to the outside world. The producers didn't want the contestants giving away anything. My phone range again. It was Jonas again.

"Vor I can't talk to him. He probably thinks I'm even stranger now than before."

Vor curled up beside me on the couch, putting his head in my lap. I scratched him behind the ears as I contemplated my options. My phone buzzed again, this time a text message.

Grace please respond to me. I'm sorry if I did something to scare you.

"He's sorry? I probably ruined his birthday and he was sorry," I said to Vor who responded by rolling onto his back for a belly rub.

After giving in to Vor's request for loving, I pulled out my phone. I scrolled through the series of messages Jonas had sent. They all had the same tone, he somehow thought he'd done something. I was scared to talk to him, so opted to send a reply instead.

  

I'm fine. Sorry for running off. 

Will you answer if I call you? 

I looked at the message. If he called, he'd want to know why I left and I couldn't tell him I was scared to be out after dark without telling him why. No. Talking was out of the question. 

No 

 His reply was not instant. Minutes ticked by slowly.

Ok. Goodnight.

The next day Vor and I stayed home.

 

I worked in my garden outside since not all of my plants had gone dormant yet, then attempted to learn the art of canning some of my harvest. I managed to make come cherry jam that didn't taste too bad. Jonas sent me texts in the morning and afternoon and I responded, but noticed they were shorter than our normal ones.
 

After securing the house, Vor and I headed to my parents' place. Hope's first episode of The One was coming on and we were all gonna watch it together. Dad wasn't happy about it, but Mom told him he had to suck it up and deal. I'd never seen it before, but Erin was very excited. If nothing else, at least Hope got a free vacation to Monte Vista. It was a beautiful place, and I guess the perfect romantic setting for that kind of show. Erin was right about the bachelor, he was cute.

"What is she doing? Is she really flirting with that guy?" Dad asked nearly yelling the question.

"Well, that is the point. She is on a dating show after all and he's the prize," Mom responded, not bothering to hide her smile.

I couldn't help but to laugh. I don't think he was ever going to lose that my 'daughter's should be nuns' attitude.

"Where in the world is his shirt! Why is he shirtless?" Dad complained as he got up to start pacing.

"I like him that way. He's hot. I hope she wins, having him around at holidays would be great," Erin replied with a big grin on her face.

"What did you say young lady? He is too old and you are too young to be making those sorts of comments," Dad answered frowning over at her.

Mom and I just laughed while Carter spent more time texting than really watching. I couldn't say I blamed him, this isn't exactly how a teenage boy wanted to spend his evenings. It was kinda fun to watch, but those ladies all trying to get the attention of one man, how was anyone really able to find true love as the show claimed in that set up?

Either way, Hope made it past round one, so that meant we'd be doing this again for at least another week. Dad was not happy, but Caleb seemed like a nice guy based on the things he said during his 'confessional' time. Carter thought it was cool he was a vampire but that was the only highlight for him. He asked if he had to be forced to watch the rest of the shows and Mom said yes. We needed to support Hope.



That night, instead of Jonas calling me, he sent a goodnight text. Over the last few months I'd gotten used to talking to him, at least once a day. I thought about talking to Mom about it, but she had her hands full with Dad. He was busy trying to track down a number for Going Solo Productions so the could tell Hope to stop throwing herself at some stranger. I went to sleep feeling like a piece of my day was missing.

**A/N**

So Piazzagirl1015 decided to to a bachelor challenge with one of her side characters, Caleb McIntyre. All the contestants were donated by other players of this challenge. It's a completely hands off challenge (well mostly hands off) just to see which lady will be most compatible with him. I linked the challenge at the top of this post so you can read about it and see how it all ends. The challenge is over and the winner has been announced.

Since most of those shows are taped in advance, I'm telling Hope's involvement from the prospect that the show is just now airing. Hope that made sense LOL. Normally if someone uses one of my characters I don't link it back to my story because I suck at trying to make things fit like that LOL. In this case it's easy enough since Hope is only a side character anyway and we hear about what she's up to through Grace.

**TV shot courtesy of Piazzagirl's blog.