Chapter 1-The New Neighbor

"Are you sure you want this one?" Timothy asked his younger sister, Grace, who was twirling the packaging for a necklace between her fingers. However, it wasn't JUST a necklace; it was two, with the charms forming a heart that said, 'best friends 4 ever'.

The young girl nodded, her braids shaking slightly. "Yes. It's two, see? One for you and one for me."

Timothy made a face. He should've never let her set foot in Claire's. "I hate to break it to you, Ci-Ci, but…I'm a little too old to wear something like that. You can give the other one to Ma, though; I'm sure she'll like it."

"No, I want to get one for you."

"Why?"

"Because you're my best friend."

Timothy sighed as he looked into the 12-year-old's eyes. He could hardly deny Grace anything, especially since they didn't have much to begin with. "How much is it?"

Grace grinned at him as she handed it to him. Timothy bought it for her, wanting nothing more than to see his younger sister happy.

When they exited the store, Grace reached into the shopping bag and pulled out the necklace. After unwrapping it, she handed her beloved older brother his half.

"For you."

Timothy laughed and put it on. Then, he helped Grace after the chain got stuck in her hair.

"Promise me something," Grace said, her face solemn.

"Anything."

"You'll never take it off."

Timothy smiled, "I promise."

16 years later

"Hey T, it's me again. I just… I just wanted you to know that I'm leaving Atlanta. Yeah, I finally caved. Lisa has been bugging me for months, so I finally decided to do it. Maybe for a fresh start, a change in scenery…I don't know. Ma's not too happy about it, but you know how she is. But I promised her that I would visit, and call, you know, often. I know it's not easy for her though, her baby leaving the nest. But the thing is, I'm free now. I've finished my probation and I'm done. There's nothing holding me back now, except Ma…and you. God, I miss you, T. I-I wish things had gone differently that day. But I promised you that I would get out, and…I did. Now, I'm gonna do my best to make you and Ma proud of me. I promise you that, T. I promise."

Grace wiped the tears from her eyes as she clutched the half-heart of her necklace. Then, she placed the fresh flowers she bought onto the plaque that read: Timothy Montgomery 'Beloved son, brother, and friend' April 23, 1985- May 10, 2012.

"He would've been proud of you, you know," Grace's mother, Rita, spoke as she walked to stand by her only daughter. Rita was the older version of Grace, with dark brown eyes, rich chocolate skin, and full lips slightly cracked from the hot Georgia weather. However, Rita's dreads were streaked with light streaks of gray and there were light bags underneath her eyes from age.

Grace smiled at her mother and pulled her into a side-hug. "I know."

The two women held each other in comfortable silence as they stared down at the grave of the man they still held in their hearts. Soon, they began the trek back to the car. Then, Rita said, "You can always change your mind. I don't mind having you around."

Grace smiled, "No, I can't, Ma. My plane ticket is non-refundable."

"Still, you can always come home if things don't work out over there. What are you planning to do over there in California anyways?"

"Don't know yet. I'll just, figure it out."

"Wow…is this place a dump," Grace's best friend, Lisa James, commented as they placed boxes on the dusty floor of her bare living room.

Lisa was a 5'2, slim blonde with a sharp mind and a sharp mouth to match. Still, the 29-year-old woman had a good heart and was very reliable.

"Well I didn't expect much from a place that charges $800 a month. But it's better than a box under a bridge," Grace replied as she came out of the bedroom.

After a few months of staying with Lisa and her boyfriend, Greg, Grace decided it was time to move out. Her commute to her job at Big Red's, a bar (and strip club), plus her commute to the community college she was now attending began to add up after a while. So, when Big Red, her boss, told Grace that she knew the landlord of some cheap apartments near the club, Grace jumped at the opportunity.

"Hey, you know you are always more than welcome to stay at our place," Lisa replied.

"I know, I know…but you and Greg JUST moved in together. I felt like a third wheel. Plus, you know Greg and I- "

"Hate each other?"

Grace shook her head and smirked, "No, no, just…don't like each other very much."

"Well, to be fair, he has been acting all snooty since he got that job at the Life Foundation. It's all 'Carlton Drake this…and Carlton Drake that…'. I told him he should just build a shrine to him already," Lisa said as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, you were the one that told him to take that job," Grace said as she began unpacking boxes in the kitchen.

"I thought it would be good for him you know; benefits, 401k and all that. When was the last time I dated a guy that had a 401k?"

"Matthew Summers, the lawyer dude 2 years ago?"

Lisa snorted, "I didn't date that guy; I slept with that guy. Big difference."

Grace laughed. Even though she had only known Lisa for 5 years, Lisa had dated a very colorful lineup of people, men and women included. Then again, Lisa was a very colorful person.

Lisa's phone chirped, signaling she had been sent a text. She read it and rolled her eyes. Grace asked, "What is it?"

"My freaking cocksucker of a boss, John, texted me asking where I am. I told him yesterday that I was taking today off. But he was probably too busy stuffing his face with donuts to pay attention to what I was saying. I should've known; Dell always finds out."

"I still can't believe you, Lisa James, the girl who nearly burned a bar down during a wet t-shirt contest, got a job at Dell," Grace said with a laugh as she put a few dishes away in the little cabinet space she had.

"I did go to MIT. Granted, I dropped out, but MIT looks good on any resume," Lisa replied as she texted back her boss with a frown.

"Well, it seems that I gotta go. Call me later?" Lisa asked she headed for the door.

"Sure."

Lisa opened the door and with a groan, said, "I don't know how you're gonna live here. It smells like pee in the hallway!"

Lisa shut the door behind her, and Grace shook her head at her friend. Lisa may be overdramatic at times, but she was a great friend to Grace.

While her new apartment may not be ideal, it was one step forward to getting her life on track. She may not have a glamorous job, but it paid her bills and put food on the table. She may not have the money to go to a fancy university like Lisa and Greg, who graduated from Columbia University, but if she scraped, she could afford to enter a nursing program at a community college (with a few loans added).

Grace was determined to reinvent herself and start over. So far, she liked the directions she was taking.

…Until guitar music began blaring through her walls. It was so loud; her dishes began to slightly shake.

Grace immediately wondered if she could ask for her deposit back.

Eddie Brock's days had blended into a simple routine over the last few months. Get up, go for a quick run, eat breakfast, look for jobs, watch some tv, lift weights, eat lunch, look for jobs, watch some tv, go for a walk around the neighborhood (maybe stop by a bar or something), get dinner, and try to sleep despite his neighbor's horrible guitar blasting through the walls.

However, one day, his routine changed. As he entered the lobby of his building, he noticed a woman struggling to lift a tv up the stairs. The elevator barely worked, and their useless landlord rarely got around to fixing it.

He heard the woman mumble, "Sons of bitches didn't even bother to bring it up stairs…that's what I get for paying $60 a month to rent an HDTV…"

The woman was carrying several grocery bags in her arms, on top of trying to pull the 50-inch tv up the stairs, and there was no one else around to help her. Eddie felt a slight pang of anger over the fact the lazy delivery men left the tv in the lobby, rather than deliver it to her apartment.

Eddie raced up the stairs and caught the tv as it began to slip from her hands. "I got it. Lemme help you."

The woman looked around the tv and let out a breath, "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much."

Eddie maneuvered it so he was now holding the tv with both hands. It was heavy, but he could manage it.

"Where you heading?" he asked.

"The third floor," she answered.

"Me too," he said with a smile as he followed her up the stairs.

The woman took out her keys and opened the door to 307. Eddie perked up and said, "So, you're my new neighbor, huh?" as he entered.

Her apartment was very clean, but also very minimalist. There was a red couch that had seen better days, a metal tv stand by the front windows, and a small desk in the far corner with a stack of books on top. She couldn't have been here for more than a week or two, Eddie thought.

"You live on this floor, too?" the woman asked she settled her groceries on the counter.

"Yeah, 309, right next door," he answered, pointing in the direction of his apartment after he placed the tv on the wooden floor.

"Oh, I'm Eddie, by the way," he said slightly out of breath.

"I'm Grace," she answered with a smile.