Faye was sitting on the couch with her knees pressed to her body and deep in thoughts she chewed on her fingernails, which she usually never did because her looks were too important for her. But right now she just didn't care. Someone had tried to kidnap her. Would they stop now? Probably not. Her feelings for Happy were killing her, but on the other hand she was glad to be here.
Happy had switched his mind to club modus, so that he was no longer bothered by Faye's feelings or the strange tension that was there between them. She was sitting at the couch and staring at the tv, although he didn't believe she really saw something. She seemed still in shock by the fact that someone had not only caused a car crash by accident, but someone had tried to kidnap her now too.
His thoughts were cut off when the bell rang. Pulling his gun, he walked to the front door. The only one ringing the bell in this place, was the pizza deliverer. And he had ordered no pizza. He opened the door on a crack, looking through it. Stunned, he saw the church girl standing there, looking at him as if she was looking at Satan himself.
"The hell you doin' here?" he huffed.
Grace stared at the man with wide eyes. The look in his eyes was so cold she wanted to turn around and run away, but she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "I"m here for Faye," she said. Despite the fact that she was trying to man up, her voice was shaking. Her gaze shot to the gun his hand. It was a real gun... although it wasn't pointed at her. Would he ever have shot someone? Killed someone? Something told her he had, but at the same time she brushed off the thought. No, Faye would never fall in love with a man who killed people.
"How'd you know she was here?" he grumbled.
"How do you think," she asked a bit annoyed. "Let me in, please."
The man raised his eyebrows. For a moment she thought he would keep standing there, challenging her, but in the end he stepped aside. Grace stepped into the house, leaving behind the hallway to look for her friend. She stood up from the couch as Grace stepped into the living room.
"Hey," Grace said, giving her friend a squeezing hug.
Faye let out a soft sigh. "Hey, thank you for coming," she murmured, sitting back down on the sofa. "How are you? I didn't hear from you all week."
"Well, we didn't part in a very friendly way," Grace sighed, thinking about the fact that all their subjects had ended up in a discussion.
"We just had different opinions, that's normal. Next time we'll talk about this before we don't talk for a week or more, okay?" She looked at her friend almost desperately.
Grace agreed with a nod. "I didn't know what to say to you. But I'm good. Adrian and I are organizing a big fund raiser next week, to raise money for the orphanage we want to erect in Kenya. That took a lot of time."
"Oh, that's cool. Maybe I'll come by!" She'd love to get some distraction from all this shit.
Grace smiled. "I'd love to see you around, it's open to anyone so..." She shrugged. "But my parents are there and I'm mainly working, so we can't really hang out." She looked briefly at her friend's face, that was still pale. She didn't look good at all, there was no point in asking how she felt. "But what exactly happened to you?" she asked.
"Oh uh, a young blond woman tried to kidnap me but Miles was there to stop her."
Grace sat down on the couch. "Miles?" she asked confused. "Why? And why would someone try to kidnap you?"
"I think that my father sent him after me and this time I'm glad he did. And well, maybe someone doesn't like the club. Are you thirsty?"
Grace shook her head, even though she was. She however had a feeling that Faye was trying to turn away from important topics again ‒ and there was still something she needed to know. "You said Zobelle... It isn't Ethan Zobelle, right?"
"You know him?" Happy's deep voice sounded.
Grace startled a bit, looking over her shoulder. She had completely forgotten that he was in the same room. He stood in the doorway, leaning against the door frame.
"He's in my church, it's a very friendly man... He can't... He can't be the one who wanted to kidnap you, right? I mean... he's my friend's father."
With a sigh Happy looked at the girl. Great. This was just great. The church girl was befriended with Zobelle's kid. He glared at her, leaving a further explanation to Faye.
Faye swallowed softly. Great, now she had to tell the truth, which would give Grace more insight in the club life. But she had never expected that Grace would know Zobelle. She glanced at Happy before she turned her attention to Grace again. "Yes, I talk about Ethan Zobelle. He's not that friendly as it seems, Grace. And his daughter is probably just like him," she murmured, knowing this would probably lead to their next discussion. "You should be careful around them." Faye sighed deeply, stood up and walked over to the window to look outside.
"Do you... you think Polly was the blonde girl?" Grace asked, shaking her head in disbelief. No, that couldn't be true. She had no reason to do such a thing.
"I can't say it for sure, but it would make sense. She was my age, that would fit." The girl shrugged and bowed her head. Seems like Polly wasn't the perfect friend for a church girl either.
"I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding."
"No, it's not, Grace. They tried to kill me in a car crash, because of this Ethan guy I can't get kids anymore, and now his precious daughter tried to kidnap me because his men were too stupid for it."
"But why? Why would he want to kill you?" Her voice cracked, tears jumped into her eyes. The whole situation was upsetting her more than she had thought, the fact that the father of her friend had tried to murder her other friend was just... insane.
"I don't know, I really have no idea. But I've never done anything to him. So maybe he likes it to see people suffer? Or he judges everyone who doesn't wear a suit ? Ask him... or Polly." Maybe her words were a little harsh, but Grace was blinded by them because they seemed to be nice, because they believed in god or whatever. "But it's better if you don't mention that you know us. I'll be right back." Sighing, she went to the kitchen and got herself a glass of water.
Grace sighed, rubbing her temples because of a sudden headache. It just made no sense. She would definitely go to Polly to ask her, maybe she could help solve things. It had to be one big misunderstanding, she was sure of it. "Polly knows about Juice," she sighed as Faye got back. "But that's over, so I don't think that will be of influence."
"She knows about Juice? Perfect. Let's hope she believes it, because it isn't really over, right?" she asked softly, trying to stay calm. "But I'm glad you found a friend. Maybe she understands you better," she added quietly, sitting down on the sofa again. Maybe she sounded jealous, but she wasn't, she was just worried about Grace.
Grace shrugged, her heart feeling heavy again now she thought about Juice. "It feels like it's over," she whispered. "There's no reason Polly would think it isn't."
"And why is it over? You wanted the distance, Grace. Just call him if you miss him." She sighed, Juice still couldn't think about anyone but the blonde girl.
"I have considered that many times, but what's the point of it? We can't be together, not now." She peeked at the doorway, but saw that Happy had given them some space. "We just have to forget about each other."
"What the point of it is? Uhm... I think you know that. You can't let him wait for months, Grace. Do you have any idea how much he misses you?" She looked at her friend, but at the moment she wasn't sure if Grace was a big fan of this friendship. "If there really isn't a chance that you go back to him, just tell him right away. Otherwise it's torture for the both of you."
Her heart hurt as Faye mentioned how much Juice was missing her. Would he have told her that? Or was she just guessing? "We decided to see each other again after three months," Grace answered. "And then we will decide if we want to try to be a couple again. He knows that, he agreed with it."
"I know that he agreed, did you ever ask yourself why? Because he really likes you. But it's hard for him. He's even afraid to text you because you wanted distance." She smiled weakly and shrugged her shoulders. "But that's none of my business."
Grace raked a hand through her hair. "I know that, Faye. I know he likes me and that's why I want things to work between us. But he showed up drunk at my house, told my father very, very private things about us. He was the one ruining it. I wanted him to introduce him to my parents properly, showing him that he is a sweet and friendly man, despite his cut and tattoos. But then he just... blew it all up!" She shook her head; she was still mad about it. "What do you suggest I do? Meeting him in secret? He doesn't want to keep it secret, he already told me that. And what if my parents do find out? They'll lock me up and I have betrayed their trust forever. Taking a break, that was the only solution I could think of, so we can try again later. And I hate it, I really really hate it, but I have no choice. I just have to pull through this another eleven weeks."
"I know that he messed it up, Grace, I don't say this was you. And he knows that too. He still feels so bad about it. Since that day he is different, quieter. He's not that happy person with that goofy smile anymore," she told her, looking her in the eye. "You're twenty, your parents can't do shit. They can't lock you up. All they can do, is give you a bad feeling, they want to make you feel guilty for the most normal things. Tell me, is this how you want to live? You think those three months will change anything about their opinion about him? It won't."
"They will. They have to." Her voice trembled. "I have to believe that, okay?" Suddenly she started to cry. All this was making her so tired, Faye saying all those things about her parents, and her parents saying all those things about Juice and Faye. She just wanted them all around her, wanted to disappoint no one, wanted everyone to be happy. She bent over, burying her face in her hands. Her back hurt now it was curved, the welts stung. "I hate this. And I miss him so much, staying away from him just feels so wrong and I... I just don't know what is wrong and what is right anymore and I hate it, I hate it," she sobbed.
"No, please stop. Don't you see what this is doing to you?" Faye was mad because she just couldn't understand it, but she also felt so bad for Grace. Yes, her words were hard, but her parent's where the ones who forbid her to talk to her and Juice. Faye pulled the girl into her arms, wrapping them tightly around her. "Shh... it's okay. I'm sorry for being so brutal, but you can't only do things to make your parents happy. What feels right to you, hmm? What do you want?" she asked softly, rubbing her back gently. It felt strange as her hand glided across the fabric, but Faye couldn't tell what it was.
Her back hurt underneath Faye's touch, causing more tears in her eyes. But it reminded her of the promise she had made to live a better, purer life. "They just want what's best for me," she said quietly. "What I want?" She wanted to put her own wishes to the side, she needed to do what God wanted her to do. But Faye would never understand that. "I just want this three months to be over."
"I'm sure they want the best for you, but they don't see what makes you happy and what doesn't. I don't say your parents are bad people... but they have to let you make your own decisions," she explained with a soft voice. "Maybe... if you want, I can bring Juice with me to the fundraiser. Only if you want. If not, I promise to keep him away," she offered the girl. Faye just wanted to help, but she had no idea how she could help Grace.
"No..." she said with a shaky voice. "No he can't... he can't be around. I can't... I can't deal with that."
"Okay, that's okay, I won't bring him," she assured her and she really wouldn't do it, this would only cause more problems. "Hey, you okay? What's wrong with your back? It feels... strange," she asked carefully as she kept rubbing her friend's back. The tears were still coming. Grace just seemed so desperate and sad that it almost scared her.
She flinched again under Faye's touch. "I fell from the stairs," she muttered, "yesterday."
She pulled her hand back as Grace flinched. "What? Did you let a doctor check on you? But... you're not lying to me, right?" Faye was a bit skeptical. Maybe Grace said the truth, but falling down the stairs would give her bruises and she definitely felt something else under the fabric.
Her skeptical look made Grace sweat. What should she say? Lying was forbidden, but she couldn't tell her that she was hurting herself. She felt too ashamed of that for she knew Faye would never understand. "No I just slipped when I went downstairs," she said, a little agitated.
Faye looked at Grace and she had the feeling that she was lying to her, but she didn't want to sound rude and ask more questions. "Okay.." she nodded briefly. "Do you want to stay a little longer? Or do you have to go?"
"Ehm, I have to help Adrian with some preparations for the fundraiser," she answered. "We were just on our way to do that when you texted me." It wasn't a lie; they had really been doing that, even though she just felt uncomfortable around her friend after the difficult conversations they had had. "Sorry."
"Oh, I wish you could stay a little longer, but that's okay. Just have a little fun with Adrian and don't think too much, okay?" She smiled briefly and kissed her cheek. She really wanted this friendship to work, even if it still felt difficult. "Thanks again for stopping by."
Grace smiled, but her lips were still trembling. She had the feeling she could start crying any moment and decided to go home instead of going in town with Adrian. "How eh, do you feel about... being here?" she asked before she left, feeling bad because there was so much emphasis on her feelings while she'd come here for Faye. "With him?"
"I want to run away... far away. It's so hard to stay away from him, but I have to accept how it is," she told Grace, swallowing softly. "But at least they don't forbid me to work." Because if she'd be twenty four hours around Happy, she would go crazy.
Grace gave her hug. "I really hope you'll find someone else soon," she said. "Someone who's really into you too."
"Yeah, maybe." Faye also hugged her friend and smiled weakly. No, she'd never find someone like Happy, but she had to, she knew Grace was right. "Thanks."
Grace said goodbye to Faye and left the house. Instead of giving Adrian a call, she decided to walk home. Google Maps told her it was at least a 30 minutes walk, but she wanted to be alone for a while, focusing her thoughts and coming clean with herself. The first hours of the day it had been quiet in her head; the pain had absorbed all thoughts, but now she had spoken about Juice again, it felt like their was an itching inside her skull and she just couldn't scratch.
. . .
Happy had been sitting on the stairs in the hallway, waiting until Grace would leave again. Luckily it didn't take long. "What's going on?" he asked as he walked into the living room again, seeing Faye's face. It was clear that she was upset.
"Nothing, just a rough time," she answered and she tried to smile, but it was hard to fake happiness all the time. "I think I'll go get some sleep until I have to work. You don't have to watch me all the time, there are prospects out there." Of course she would feel safer with him, but she needed to stay away from that man.
"Yea, not gonna hand your life to the hands of a prospect," he snorted. "There's a reason they're not patched in yet."
"I think they are smart enough and know how to pull the trigger, right?" This time she gave him a real smile. "Thank you." Faye hugged him tightly. Of course she'd love to feel his lips, his touch, but right now she just wanted to say thank you. After a few seconds she let go of him and laid down on the couch to get some sleep.
Happy had never seen the prospects shoot, so he had no idea how good they were at aiming. He however didn't want to worry her and just nodded, a little overwhelmed as she suddenly hugged him. He didn't know what to say, so he sat down in a chair and played with his knife while watching her trying to fall asleep.