Chapter 4 – Tears

Bobby glared at her but didn't say a word. Gracie's eyes were full of tears, and she looked so pissed that he had a feeling he'd deserved the smack.

"I saw the movie," she said quietly, the tears rolling down her face now. "Why did you let them make that shit?"

"Oh, that," Bobby said sheepishly. "We needed money. Did you like it?"

"No, I didn't fucking like it. I watched Jack die!" she sobbed, burying her face in her hands. "I ran out on my boyfriend, packed a few things, and drove straight here from Florida."

"Gracie," Bobby murmured soothingly, pulling her hands down and embracing her. "You have a boyfriend?"

Grace jerked away and punched him in the arm. "That's all you have to say to me?" She turned the shower off and scrambled out of the tub, yanking a towel off the rack. It had been the only towel on the rack.

"Grace, wait," Bobby protested, trying to shake the water off of himself as best as he could before following her naked and dripping into his room. "I'm sorry," he said, watching her yank his dresser drawers open and rummage around inside them for something to wear. "Besides, it was a movie and you knew Jack didn't die in real life."

Grace let her towel drop to the ground and pulled on a pair of Bobby's flannel pajama pants. "I didn't know that," she argued avoiding eye contact with him.

"Where did these come from then?" Bobby asked, brushing his fingertips over the puckered skin on her shoulder and left breast.

"They're just old scars," she replied as she slapped his hand away and walked out of the room. Bobby picked up her discarded towel and followed her into Jack's room as he dried his hair. "I have lots of scars Bobby."

"Those are some scars," he noted as Grace began rifling through Jack's hanging clothes. "They look a hell of a lot like the ones Jack got from being shot last year." Bobby commented as he tucked the towel around his waist.

Grace stopped moving then slowly closed her eyes and pressed her hands together as though she were praying for the images to go away. "There was so much blood by the time I got there. I pressed my hands to him as hard as I could, but it wasn't for very long. I ran away as soon as I heard the sirens coming. It didn't seem like enough, Bobby. I figured I'd left him for dead."

"Gracie, you saved my baby brother's life," Bobby said as he approached her and kissed the scars. "And for that I will be eternally grateful."

"I can't save lives Bobby. You know that." Grace turned back to Jack's closet.

"You did," Bobby insisted, but decided not to argue any further. "How did you know he was shot, anyway? I mean, unless you were like hanging around outside the house…"

Grace plucked a black sweatshirt bedecked with skull and crossbones off the hanger and threw it on before she sat down heavily on Jack's bed. Bobby sat down beside her.

"I went to the store to see exactly where Evelyn was…killed, and then I felt the worst pain in my chest," Grace began. "I thought I was having a heart attack, but I realized it was pseudo-pain – you know the pains I would get when someone near me was hurt. I've never felt it that strong before though. Plus, I've learned how to block it out over the years. The only thing I could figure is that one of you was in trouble. I ran here like I'd never run before."

"Jack saw you at Ma's funeral," Bobby commented. Grace's eyes widened with surprise. "How did you know she died?"

"Green called me."

"Green? You stayed in contact with him?" Bobby asked with surprise.

"A year or so after I left, I called Detroit PD to give an anonymous tip on the disappearance of Grace Chambers. I was transferred to the officer in charge of the case, and oddly enough it was Green. I wasn't going to tell him it was me. I had called in order to put a halt to the investigation by saying I had witnessed her suicide or something, but I broke down. I told him it was me when I realized he was my only link to the Mercers."

"I always wondered what had made him stop looking for you. I figured he just realized like the rest of us that you wouldn't be found unless you wanted to be."

"After that he would call every once in awhile to give me a report. I haven't heard from him since Evelyn's funeral. I called the PD one day and they told me he wasn't working there anymore. Do you know what happened to him?"

"He's dead," Bobby answered calmly. "He pegged his partner as a mole last year and the fucker killed him."

Grace nodded as though she wasn't surprised to hear that. "I imagine you took care of the partner."

"He kind of took care of himself," Bobby grinned wryly. "The credit for that one goes to Angel."

"Good. I liked Green. He was an honest man in a city of dishonest men."

"Yeah," Bobby said sadly. He rose from the bed and strode towards the door. I gotta go get dinner started."

"You're cooking? Damn, I was hoping for a good meal," Grace teased, trying to lighten the mood as she got up to look through Jack's dresser for a pair of warm socks. Bobby made a face but didn't say a word as he retreated back to his room to get dressed.

Bobby, clad in jeans and a thermal shirt, was putting a pot of water on the stove when Grace entered the kitchen a few moments later. He glanced up at her and noticed that she'd brushed her waist-length golden-brown hair and it was beginning to curl as it dried. "Are you warm enough?" he asked, reaching into the fridge.

"For the moment," she answered as Bobby tossed her a beer. "What are we having?"

"Spaghetti," Bobby answered pulling a jar of sauce from the fridge.

"Yummy," Grace commented as she took a seat at the table and drew her knees up under the sweatshirt. "Can I do anything?"

"You can sit there and keep all comments about my cooking to yourself."

"Fine," she agreed and opened her beer to take a swig. "So what's going on with Angel? It doesn't look like he's living here anymore."

"He moved in with a crazy Latin bitch," Bobby replied with disgust.

"Sofi?" Grace said with a laugh.

"Yes," Bobby griped.

"You just don't like her because she doesn't take any shit from you," Grace commented.

"I just don't like her because she's fucking insane," Bobby argued as he dumped the sauce into a pan.

"Green told me Jerry got married and had kids. That doesn't surprise me somehow. He was always the most straight-laced out of the four of you." Grace took a long drink from her beer before asking as casually as she could, "What about Jack? Is he seeing someone?"

Bobby looked at her sharply. "Nah. He's pretty busy."

Grace raised an eyebrow at the absence of a homosexual joke but didn't dig any deeper. "And you, Bobby? How's your love life?"

"I'm always getting into trouble when women are involved," he muttered. "So I'm laying off for awhile." Bobby stirred the sauce then gave her a long and steady look. "Your turn."

"For what?"

"Supplying some information."

"There's not much to tell. I moved in with my aunt for awhile then went to college while working for a veterinarian who specialized in abused animals. Since I graduated, I've been doing some freelance writing and working on a novel. I've been with a dozen men in the last six years, and none of them have meant anything to me."

"That's because your man is here Grace."

Grace sighed and fiddled with the label on the beer. "He's not mine."

"Yes, he is. I don't know why you try to deny it."

"I've treated him horribly," she answered with a deep breath. "I was in love with him and I had sex with his brother which he saw."

"You were badly in need of attention at that moment Gracie, and he wasn't around. I was there, and it's as simple as that. I should have had the fucking guts to stop you. I was the adult and I was the one responsible for what happened." Bobby was stirring the sauce so violently that it began slopping over the sides of the pot and sizzling on the stove.

"You're not to blame Bobby. This is why you always get in trouble with women. It was not your fault. I knew what I was doing, but that's not why I'm not meant to be with him. It's because, were I able go back and erase that moment in time, I wouldn't. I wouldn't take my virginity back from you for anything in the world. That's the fucked up part."

Bobby stared at her for a moment as if he weren't sure what to say. Finally, he spoke, "Are you in love with Jack?"

Grace looked down at the table as tears pooled in her eyes. "Yes," she answered miserably as she looked at him.

"Good, then you'll be very interested in what I have to say." Bobby opened the fridge and pulled out two more beers.

"I doubt it," Grace murmured then downed the rest of her beer.

"You're going to need this," he advised, tossing her one of the cans.

She caught it easily and glanced at it before looking up at him with trepidation. "What's happened?"

"That movie you saw. The one you saw that made you come here."

"Yeah."

"Like I said, it was just a movie and it wasn't entirely accurate."

"Jesus, Bobby, just spill it," Grace urged anxiously.

"The guy who shot Jack isn't dead," Bobby announced. "He disappeared for awhile, but I got a lead on him the other day."

Grace stared at him in shock even as the front door opened and deep male laughter filled the house. "You fuckers," she heard Angel say.

"Don't cry Angel. It'll only be about 18 years till you have her all to yourself again," came Jerry's reply.

"I'm too young for this shit," Angel protested.

"What do you mean? You're like 30," Jack said then laughed even louder. There was a loud thump which Grace could only guess was Angel knocking his brother to the floor, but Jack's laughter did not subside. Damn, she loved him.

"So, were gonna fuck him up right?" Grace asked Bobby quietly.

"It's the Mercer way," he answered with an angry gleam in his eye. In unison, they threw back their heads and chugged their beers.