Jake was standing in line for a club in the city, a few of his friends from home had called him and asked him if he wanted to go. It was either go clubbing with his friends or stay at home and worry about Grace, she had gone back to the city earlier that night. He thought about calling her but he knew she wouldn't answer the phone. So he was standing in the freezing cold waiting to get in, his friends had invited some girls, one of which was Mandy Horowitz and her big sister. Mandy was hanging on his arm, flirting and laughing at anything he said. She was cute, and nice enough. But she wasn't Grace.
Speaking of Grace, Jake couldn't help but notice that a girl a few people in front looked a lot like Grace. He knew it couldn't be her, Grace was only 17 she couldn't go clubbing.
"Oh look who it is," said Mandy spotting the girl Jake was watching.
"Happy to see me?" Grace smirked turning round. She glanced up at Jake, but gave nothing away about how she was feeling.
"What do you think?" sniped Mandy.
"You really don't want to know what I thing, sweetheart," snapped Grace.
"What are you doing here Grace?" asked Jake. Grace shouldn't be at a club, she was underage and…she was gorgeous and there was too many perverts out there.
"Well I heard this place was pretty good," she said casually. "So I thought I would come out and have some fun."
"Gracie…" Jake growled.
"You know each other?" said Mandy not looking amused in the least.
"You could say that," said Grace. "Let me take a wild guess…he is the hot college boyfriend you've been banging on about all week."
"Yes," said Mandy smugly.
"Good for you," muttered Grace. "If you like my sloppy seconds."
"You coming Grace?" said a guy in front of Grace.
"Who's that?" demanded Jake.
"None of your business," smirked Grace taking the guy's hand and going inside.
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"You're underage!" said Jake angrily. It took him almost an hour to find Grace inside, when he did she was dancing with some friends and had a bottle of beer in her hand. He snatched the bottle from her hand and pulled her aside.
"So are you," snapped Grace.
"I'm not drinking."
"Where is your girlfriend?"
"I don't know I had to come and make sure you weren't getting into any trouble."
"Who says you had to? I didn't ask you to and I don't need or want you to."
"Grace, you shouldn't be here. Don't you know how dangerous the city is for someone like you?"
"What do you mean someone like me?" shouted Grace not caring that half the club could hear them now.
"Young, naive and…you know what…"
"No why don't you enlighten me?"
"Well you're not exactly ugly are you?"
"Gee thanks."
"You know what I mean."
"Yeah I do," shouted Grace. "But I'm not your problem anymore, so just stay the hell out of my life!"
"Grace…"
"I mean it! Just back off and stop being a pain in the ass!" Then she was gone, she disappeared into the crowd.
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Around 3am a cab dropped Grace off at her Dad's apartment, Mark was still in Seattle. Grace hadn't been drinking, after Jake had snatched her first beer from her she had just stuck to water. She was standing in the street looking up at the building, she didn't want to go inside. She was afraid of what she would find, another intruder or worse nothing and no' one . Being alone in an empty apartment, a luxury penthouse with the best of everything but still empty.
"Why aren't you going inside?" asked Jake. He had been waiting outside Mark's building for almost half an hour waiting for Grace.
"What do you want?"
"To make sure you're alright," he said stuffing his hands in his pocket and looking up at the penthouse like Grace was.
"I'm fine," said Grace.
"You're standing in the street alone at 3am," said Jake. "What's going on Gracie?"
"I don't like going home," she admitted. "I thought if I stayed out, I would be so exhausted I wouldn't care that I was all alone…with nobody in the world."
"You're not alone in the world," said Jake surprised that Grace had finally opened up.
"I know," she said. "It just feels that way sometimes."
"You don't have to be alone tonight if you're scared," he said softly.
"I'll be okay," said Grace. "You should get back to Mandy."
"She went home hours ago, she was in a huff because I ignored her…couldn't stop worrying about you."
"You don't have to."
"But I do anyway. All it take is one creep."
"I know," said Grace. "I'm not stupid."
"I know that," said Jake. "I know you are anything but stupid."
"Just underage and naïve then?" said Grace sarcastically but Jake knew she wasn't angry with him.
"I have missed you Grace," said Jake softly. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you too."
"I meant when I said I never wanted to hurt you Gracie."
She didn't answer she just looked up at the sky.
"Grace…"
"I heard you," she said quietly. "Can I ask you something?"
"You can ask me anything."
"Why did you do it?"
"Gracie…" sighed Jake.
"Please can you just tell me?" she asked.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"I'm sure I don't want to spend another year wondering why you did it."
"You're Dad…he uh found out about us…I don't know how maybe just put two and two together…but he reacted the way you always knew he would," said Jake. "He got me the job in LA and…he made me do it. He said…that I would cause you more harm than good…he-he made me, I didn't want to do that to you. I promised myself I would never hurt you and he made me break that promise."
"I'd be lying if I said that it never crossed my mind that Dad found out," said Grace after a few minutes.
"I'm sorry."
"I think I'm going to go up now," she said.
"I'll walk you up," said Jake. "I can stay tonight so that you're not alone."
"Thanks," said Grace.
They both got on the elevator and didn't speak another word until they were standing in the kitchen.
"I'll make up the spare room for you," said Grace quietly.
"Okay," said Jake. "Grace can you talk to me about what I tol…"
"No I don't want to talk about it," said Grace. "It doesn't change what happened."
"I still love you."
"Do you remember the day I came back to New York, when my mother showed up again? We were in Uncle Derek's apartment and the talk we had?"
"Yeah I remember."
"You said you could take anything anyone threw at us."
"Yeah I did."
"But you didn't," she said. "In the end you left me because Dad made it a little difficult."
"It wasn't like that."
"It is from where I am," said Grace. "I trusted you, I thought you were the one person I could always depend on."
"I am."
"You're not," said Grace.
"I'm sorry Gracie."
"You could have told me what he said, instead of breaking up with me I mean, you could have told me."
"I should have."
"Shame you realised it too late then."
"Grace, I love you. I love you so much," said Jake desperately. He reached out and cupped her face with his hand.
"You have a girlfriend," said Grace flatly. "And I can't trust you anymore."
"Grace."
"I understand if you want to go home now," she said bravely.
"I'm not going anywhere," he said. "You shouldn't be left alone."
"I'm used to it."
"You shouldn't be used to it either."
"Thanks Jake," said Grace gratefully.