A/N: Just to let you guys know, the rest of the CBI team will most likely join into the investigation that is going to occur. I also changed some facts about Grace's family, like how she's a small town girl and all that. I'm trying to update as many chapters as possible. Keep tuning in!!
Chapter 3:
(Grace's point of view)
"Come on Grace we've been sitting here for over thirty minutes." Wayne wined.
I still didn't have the nerve to get out of the car to face my family. I could just imagine all the different ways they could embarrass and torment me in front of Wayne. Knowing Wayne, I know he wouldn't think less of me, but I would be mad as hell.
"Fine." I said not too willingly and got out of the car. We left the luggage in the car, so I could make my brothers get it if they bothered me. Walking up the old brick path sparked different memories from my childhood. One time my brothers and I were playing assassin on the front lawn, and Chad, the oldest of my three brothers, knocked me down on the path so hard that I broke three different bones in my right arm. I wouldn't talk to him for over a month but we finally made up like we always do.
As I came to knock on the front door I could hear the sound of my father's laughter bellowing inside the house. I slowly lowered my hand and took a step back, not ready to face the heavy crowd that awaited me.
"Grace you can do this." Wayne said grabbing my shoulders and slightly shaking them.
"You can not believe how scared I am. I'm the one that never met them! You should be happy to see them. Come on, I'll knock on the door if it will make you feel better." He said knocking on the door twice.
The house quieted down, and I could here someone whisper "It's them".
We could hear the locks turning and then it flung open to reveal my dad in his San Diego Chargers jersey.
"Gracey!" He yelled and flung me into the air with his big powerful hands.
"Oh darling we've missed you so much. My, my what a hunk of a boyfriend have you got here sweet cakes." said my twenty eight year old stepmother Leanne, blowing me air kisses, and batting her eyelashes at Wayne. She and my dad met in a café two years ago and have "fallen in love" ever since.
I walked through the door trying to squeeze through the enormous amount of kisses being planted on my cheeks, and relatives yelling there hellos. I turned to see how Wayne was doing, and could see he was getting even more attention than I was. His face turned red as one of Leanne's friends whispered something in his ear and smacked his butt. He looked up at me as he heard my laugh and joined in soon afterwards. I had finally reached the living room were my grandmother Sylvia was sitting watching the football game on the T.V. Her old wrinkled face smiled at me as she saw me come towards her.
"Ah Shelly, I thought you'd never come. Come on, I saved a spot just for you." She said. I froze and looked at her.
"Sylvie, it's me Grace." I whispered and sat next to her on the tattered old couch. She took her thin hands and moved them across my face, scrutinizing me with her dark brown eyes.
"Oh Grace, it is you. But where's Shelly." She asked, a confused look spreading across her face.
"Mo- I mean Shelly dead Sylvie." I said trying to hold back the tears.
"Oh, yes, yes of course." She said looking away in confusement.
"Why is it that I'm getting so much bad energy from here?" Somebody said from my left. I turned around and saw *Yolanda standing beside me with a colorful scarf wrapped around her head. She wore a long ebony dress with a purple belt around her waist. A pair of gold sandals peeked from under her dress, and four different ankle bracelets. Her skin was still as tan as the last time I saw her, and she added a piercing in her nose to the numerous other ones she has in her ears.
"YOLANDA!" I screamed colliding into her. She wrapped her thin arms around me and squeezed me back. I could smell the familiar aroma of scented candles and Thai food that always seemed to cling to her clothes. Out of all my cousins, Yolanda is the only one I actually like and is friends with. Since she lives in Nevada I don't see her too often, so at these rare moments when we do meet, it's hard to separate us.
"What are you doing here?" I asked surprised by her presence.
"Well I heard you have a new boyfriend" she said in a sing song voice. "And I had to meet him and see if I approve of someone to take my dear Gracey's heart."
I laughed and hugged her again, happy that one thing was going well so far.
"Okay, I've got to go and check on Wayne. I don't want another one of Leanne's friends to hit on him."
"Jealous much?" Wayne said coming from the side and holding my hand.
"What this cute little girl, no guy could be good enough to make her jealous." Gerald said running from behind me and lifting me up like dad did before.
"Ugh, Gerald let go of me!" I yelped but smiled anyway.
"How are you cutie?" he asked giving me a normal hug this time.
"Oh, I'm fine. Gerald this is Wayne Rigsby, Wayne this is my brother Gerald." I looked at them shaking hands, both of them feeling uncomfortable in each other's present. Gerald was the only one of my brothers who wanted to impress my father so much that he actually became a football player. My father had been coaching the high school and college football teams every since I was a little girl and Gerald played on both of them. He was a big shot NFL player but had a heart of gold. There was never one family reunion he ever missed, and he tried to call every one of our relatives at least once a week. I could see Gerald scrutinizing Wayne. They were both about the same height and size, muscular but not in an unhealthy way. The four of us stood there, an awkward silence that could not be ignored. When Gerald saw that Yolanda was standing with us he took the chance to hug her and try to get a conversation going.
"Would you guys excuse us, I still haven't introduced everyone to Wayne." I said grabbing his hand and dragging him to an empty corner.
"So, who did you meet so far?"
"Well Leanne's friends have been very kind." he said trying to make me envious.
"And I sat with your dad who interrogated me for what seemed like hours. I talked to some of your cousins and aunts and uncles but that's about it."
"But you know what I really want to see now?" he asked me wiggling his eyebrows.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Your room." He said kissing my neck.
"Okay" I giggled "But don't kiss me in front of my family, they'd never stop making fun of me."
I seized his hand and led him through the hallway to where my bedroom was at the last door to the left. The door was still painted with my name across it and the date that I had wrote it. My bedroom looked about the same as it had when I left. The mahogany bed still had the white net draped over it with the pink pillows with little flowers sewn into them. My desk still contained all the notebooks I had written in and the yearbooks from all my years at school. The bookcase I had so carefully picked out was layered with a fine coat of dust, and it contained only half of the books I hadn't taken with me. There were some posters of Nirvana, The Backstreet Boys and other bands I had listened to from the 90's. Wayne laughed as he saw a picture of me at twelve with a mouthful of braces, smiling for the camera so they could see every single one.
"Oh come on, I was so little back then." I said taking the picture away from him.
"You know, we should come here more often. Besides your family attacking me at all possible hours, I love learning every little thing from your past." I tried to give him my best smile, not so happy that he wants to know everything from my past. What if there would be something he doesn't like?
Before I could say anything else he stepped forward and kissed me, wrapping his arms around me. My thoughts soon evaporated as I couldn't think straight when he kisses me. He laid me gently on the bed moving his hand onto my leg, caressing it slowly. I heard a noise coming from somewhere, but ignored it and tried to focus on Wayne.
"Echem" someone coughed from the corner of the room. Wayne released his hold on me and stood up very quickly. I looked to the side and saw my two other brothers, Chad and Derek folding their arms in disapprovement.
"Oh, hey guys, what are you doing here?" I asked.
"Well I think I should ask you guys the same question." Chad said. I could feel my face burning of humiliation.
"Well I was just showing Wayne my room." I said not sounding to convincing.
"Ah ha." Derek said glaring at Wayne through his bright green eyes.
"Well alright, I'll talk to you guys later." I said and grabbed Wayne as we made yet another escape.
"Oh, and I almost forgot. Our luggage is in the car, if you could get it please." I said looking at their annoyed faces as Wayne and I faced the crowd again.
*If you remember, Yolanda is Grace's psychic cousin who Jane did not believe was actually psychic and Grace argued the point many times.