Chapter 11 PT2 ("The road less traveled")

It was late in the afternoon now, and Grace was sitting in the very back of a church that she had been going to for quite some time. It was the same church that she had met Jack in, the same church that she had heard Rev. Stone's speeches in, and the same church that she attended when her father died. She felt like an outcast. She knew that going to the youth group would be a bad idea, so she decided it would be best to attend the adult class. All of her Christian friends had rejected her by now, and she found that ironic considering Christians were supposed to continue to forgive you. Yet, she didn't feel in place anymore. She wasn't the "good girl" like people had always thought that she was. And if she was, she certainly didn't feel good. She kept wondering about Jack. He still hadn't shown up, and she felt like it was all her fault. Even though he said that he had other things going on, she couldn't help but feel hurt that she had added to whatever was going on with him.

She drew in a deep breath as the music began to play. She had successfully gotten through the sermon without being recognized by anyone, and she wondered if that was partially because Rev. Stone wasn't here today.

"May everyone rise as we end today's sermon with our last song of praise?" Pastor Gregory, a substitute minster smiled at the members as he talked. Grace rose up with everyone else, blending in with the crowd. She expected the typical hymns that they played frequently, but what they were playing today surprised her. Pastor Gregory kept talking, "I know you all are used to are traditional songs of worship, but the church thought it would be a nice idea to go ahead and switch things up. Please enjoy the songs and pay attention to the words. Today we'll be having our lovely choir lead us in worship."

The church members clapped for them. Up on the stage Grace saw a group of familiar faces. They went to her school and participated in the Teen Abstinence group. They were smiling as they stood on the stage, and Grace sighed. She missed hanging out with them. She missed being at the church, and most of all she missed not having the feeling of guilt hang over her head every day.

Drowning away her thoughts, the music began to play.

[I do not own Beautiful - by Mercy Me]

The days will come when you don't have the strength
When all you hear is you're not worth anything
Wondering if you ever could be loved
And if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His
You're beautiful

Grace felt something in her stomach drop. Her heat beat was speeding up, and she didn't know if she wanted to smile or cry. Hearing the song reminded her of how much God loved her. She had always felt like a failure after having sex with Jack. She felt like nobody truly wanted her, and even with all of those guys that she had been with over the years, she still felt alone. But being at church reminded her that there was a higher being out there that loved her regardless of all of her mistakes, and that was enough to give her some type of strength.

And praying that you have the heart to find
Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight
For all the lies you've held inside so long
And they are nothing in the shadow of the cross

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are made so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His
You're beautiful

As the song kept going, she remembered the whole reason that she came to church. It wasn't just because of her parents. It wasn't just the fact that these morals and religious ideas had been engraved into her head before she could talk, it was because being at church gave her hope. Even when everything was going wrong in her life, she realized that she would always have God to fall back on. She was smiling now, but she was also getting teary-eyed.

Before you ever took a breath
Long before the world began
Of all the wonders He possessed
There was one more precious
Of all the earth and skies above
You're the one He madly loves
Enough to die

You're beautiful
You're beautiful
In His eyes

You're beautiful
You were meant for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You're meant for so much more than all of this
You're beautiful
You're beautiful
You are treasured, you are sacred, you are His

Grace was so deep in thought that she had barely noticed that the song had ended and everyone was leaving now. As she watched everyone exit the church, she spot a former friend of hers that she used to attend Bible camps and extra church activities with.

"Hey Marsha!"

The brunette spun around at the sound of her name being called. Not only was Marsha a member of the church, but she had also been kind enough to attend Adrian's baby shower. Her and Adrian were lab partners and Adrian stayed behind to help Marsha with her assignment. She walked towards Grace, a shocked expression on her face, "Grace? You're a Christian again?"

Grace knew she shouldn't have been irritated at hearing this. After all, Grace had always been on and off with her faith. The blonde smiled, "Well I'm trying to figure it all out, you know work on my relationship with God and everything...How is the Abstinence group?"

Marsha shrugged, "Just the same as it always has been...I do have to say that there has been more people since..." Marsha's voice trailed off. She didn't want to offend the girl, but Grace already knew what she was thinking.

"More people are coming now that I left?"

"I...I'm sure it has nothing to do with you Grace," she spoke gently, but Grace knew it was all a lie. She remembered the gossip that she heard in the bathrooms and as she walked down the halls. Most people at Grant High thought she was a hypocrite, but they'd just never say it to her face. Grace barely noticed that she had stopped talking. Marsha looked at her awkwardly, "Good luck on your faith Grace...I guess I'll see you around at school?"

Grace faked a smile and nodded, "Yeah...Of course. Bye Marsha." And with that the brunette took off.

Grace turned around, prepared to leave the church when her eyes widened in shock. She had never in a million years expected him to be here, and certainly not by himself, "Ricky?"

Ricky's head shot up and he looked at Grace, a little embarrassed, "...Grace?"

"...You NEVER just take off without telling me again, do you understand!"

"I'm nineteen mom, not nine! I know how to take care of myself!"

Didi scoffed, "I'm gonna ask you one last time Jack, and I expect you to be HONEST with me. Just try telling the truth, you know, something you haven't been doing lately. Where were you?"

"I told you around!"

"JACK!"

"OK STOP IT! BOTH OF YOU STOP IT!" Tom Stone (Jack's father), looked at the two of them as if they were crazy. He sighed as he ran a hand through his thinning hair. He looked over at his wife, "Look honey, I want answers just as much as you do but maybe going about it like this is the wrong way. You guys have been yelling at each other for a while now and where did that get us? Nowhere, so let's just take a breather. Didi, honey, can I talk to Jack alone?"

Didi rolled her eyes, "Yeah why don't you do that? Maybe you can get through to him since he doesn't seem to want to listen to his own mother." She stormed out of the living room and into the kitchen.

Jack let out a breath as he took a seat on the couch. Jack had never argued with his mother so much, and he was starting to feel very guilty about it. Tom took a seat next to Jack and looked at him with questioning eyes. Jack looked back at him with agitation, "What?"

"You think it was right of you to yell at your mother like that?"

Jack sighed, "No...It's just that I want some space. I mean I'm nineteen years old. I'm in college."

"And you were also almost killed by a pimp Jack! Don't you see why she's so worried? If you could have just told her where you went..."

"I told her I was just around. I drove around a lot. You can't expect me to remember every place that I went to."

"Jack, your my son...maybe not by blood, but you're still my son ok? And I know when you're lying...And right now, you're lying."

"Dad-"

"You don't have to tell me where you really went today or even tomorrow but I know that eventually you will tell me Jack, because you're a good person. And even though you mess up a lot, you always try to make things right."

"It must be a Christian thing," Jack muttered bitterly.

Tom tossed him a small smile, "No, it's a godly thing." He patted his shoulder and then slowly got up from the couch, "I need to make a few calls for church. Try to make up with your mother for me?"

Jack sighed, "Yeah of course."

Chloe, Leo, and Camille had all gone to celebrate at Jeff's restaurant. They had successfully gotten Mike arrested and Chloe couldn't be any happier. That night was very emotional for her. She wanted to cry, and scream and hit him all at the same time. He took away her childhood, he took away everything. But now Chloe couldn't be any happier. She had a real family who loved and appreciated her more than her parents ever had. Ben decided to stay at home, having been in a bad mood for reasons unknown, although Chloe was sure that it was something about Amy (as usual), and Ally decided to stay because her parents were supposed to arrive soon and she wanted to wait around for a phone call.

As Chloe ate dinner with Leo and Camille, Ally made her way into Ben's room. Now that Chloe was out she didn't really have anyone to talk to, and her parents still hadn't called. She was about to knock on the door when she noticed that it wasn't fully closed. From the crack of the door she saw Ben looking at something rather eagerly. When she made her way inside he practically jumped and Ally raised an eyebrow, "Wow? I didn't know I looked that scary."

He shut his laptop instantly and cleared his throat as he looked at Ally, "Sorry I just didn't expect you to barge in here."

"Oh right...Sorry, the door was already open and I just-"

He smiled, "It's cool really, it was just unexpected. Um, did you need something?"

"No, I just...Chloe's not here you know? And I had no one to talk to so I just...You know what, maybe I should just go-" She turned to head out the door but he stopped her.

"No, wait...Really it's cool. Have a seat somewhere."

She awkwardly took a seat on his bed and he sat across from her near his desk, "So...Are you excited to see your parents again?"

She smiled, "Yeah, but I'm really nervous you know? Now that we've got Mike in jail and everything, I think my parents will be more than happy...But it will never be the same. Not to mention I still have a court appearance in a few weeks where I'm going to have to talk about how I was the victim all over again..."

"I'm sorry Ally."

"It's not your fault...I just don't know how I'm going to do it. I don't know how I'm going to stand there in front of hundreds of people who are judging me on my life, and what happened to me, and go through with it."

Unexpectedly he made his way over towards his bed to take a seat next to her. He touched her hand gently and started talking, "Call me crazy but I think you can handle it...I mean you went through having to tell your parents about what happened to you, you got through being raped and becoming a prostitute, and you got through having to talk to some lawyer that you didn't really know. You're probably a lot stronger than you think."

She looked at him with kind eyes, "Thank you Ben...Are you always this sweet?"

He chuckled, "Yeah, it's my biggest flaw."

"What do you mean? It's definitely not a flaw."

He sighed, "Every girl I've been sweet and kind too has pretty much screwed me over in some way, not that I didn't have my part in it, but sometimes being the nice guy doesn't get you anywhere."

"And sometimes there's girls out there who really want a nice guy. You just have to find the right girl...Chloe told me about Amy."

He smiled sadly, "Yeah...I love her...And ok, I know it's invasion of privacy but I read her e-diary...That's kind of why I freaked out when you came in. But anyway, after reading it I just have this sort of hope that she loves me too."

Ally rolled her eyes, "Ben! You can't just read through a persons stuff like that and if she loves you then she'll come around. You don't have to sit here all miserable and wait for her."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you need to get your mind off of Amy." Ally looked at him with a smirk, "And I think I can really help you with that."

"What do you-"

She cut him off by pressing a soft kiss to his lips. She gently wrapped her arms around his neck and he was in daze. He snaked his arms around her waist without really thinking and just as he leaned in to deepen the kiss, she let go, "See? Were you thinking of Amy then?"

He couldn't speak for a moment.

Ally chuckled as she got up from his bed, "If I learned anything from being an ex-prostitute, it's kissing. So when you're tired of waiting around for that Amy girl, give me a call." She winked and he found himself chuckling as she walked out the door. He was grinning like an idiot, but in the back of his mind he was wondering just what he had gotten himself into.

"So Jack went missing because you cheated on him?" Ricky looked at Grace with widened eyes. The entire situation was just crazy.

Grace shrugged, "That's what I think at least...though he said he had some other stuff going on."

"Well maybe it's for the best...I always told you that you were too good for him."

Grace looked at him as if he was crazy, "What do you mean? I was the one who cheated on him Ricky!"

"After how many times of him cheating on you?" Ricky challenged and she sighed.

"Hey, you never told me why you were here...I mean I thought you didn't believe in God."

"I don't."

"Then why-"

"Well um...I needed to pick up Ethan. He got busted for holding drugs for a friend at school, and fortunately all they gave him was community service. Now he has to help out at this church. I asked Leo to give him a job at the Butcher shop but he said that there weren't any spots open, so Ethan ended up talking to some members at this church I guess, and they were nice enough to accept him. He helps out in the Youth Group. He mostly cleans."

"How does he know people from this church though? I mean I know he played music that one time," Grace shuddered at the thought. That day at church was terrible for her, "But I thought he got kicked out for-"

"Yeah well I guess he went on your guys' website. I'm surprised with how he find it too."

"So that's all you're here for? It seems like you stayed for the entire sermon."

He wasn't looking at Grace now. He was staring at the statue of Jesus that was a few feet away from him. He clenched his hands together, and Grace noticed his body tense. It reminded her of the night that Bob came back during their date, and she immediately felt her heart racing due to fear. She wanted to touch him, to give him a reassuring hand squeeze or just to calm him down, but she was struggling with the thought alone. What if he pushed her away? She drew in a deep breath and just took a risk, and the response she got was more than surprising. He squeezed back.

"Ricky...I know we're not really close or anything but...You were there for me when Marshall died, and I want to be here for you too...Is it really that bad?"

His eyes were getting watery as he drew in a shaky breath, "Do you ever wonder Grace, how God can give some of the worst people in life, all the best things. How is it that my father's not dead yet when he deserves to be? How is it that kids get stuck with terrible families for no reason? I guess I'm just here to figure it all out...I mean I don't know if this whole God thing is real, but if it is, maybe he's angry at me for something, because it seems like he's taking everything away from me."

"I don't understand God's plan Ricky, and to be honest, no one really can. His plan for us is something that we can't comprehend because we're only human. I don't think God was trying to give you a terrible life Ricky. God loves you," Grace gave him a sad smile, "It's just that, when sin entered this world, so did evil. And so people do bad things, and it's not like God wants them to, but since he has given us free will, people are allowed to make those choices...But Ricky look at everything he has given you. Most people who have been through what you've been through wouldn't be as far as you are now. You have a child and you're still in school, and you got a really good job. You have Margaret and Shakur, and you have Amy and John. You do have a family Ricky."

Ricky didn't say anything for a moment, "I guess I never took it like that...But I just don't understand why bad things just have to keep happening...I don't understand why he's trying to take her away."

Grace's first thought was that something had happened to Amy. She felt the panic take over. Even if Amy and her weren't that close, they were going to be step-sisters, "Something happened with Amy?"

He shook his head and she waited for him to continue. It took him a few minutes, but Grace was patient.

"If you tell anyone Grace I swear-"

"I would never do that Ricky. You can trust me."

"...It's my mother."

"Something happened to Margret?"

He drew in another breath, "No...To Nora. The doctors said-"

But their conversation was interrupted when Ethan made his way towards the main area of the church. Ricky let go of Grace's hand instantly and Ethan looked at the two of them suspiciously, "Hey...Dude are you crying?"

"Ethan just shut up," Ricky muttered in a bitter tone, "And why would I be crying? I have nothing to cry about...Let's go, you're done here right?"

"Yeah I'm done and sorry I just thought-"

"Well you thought wrong...Bye Grace, it was nice seeing you. Let's go Ethan." And with that Ricky and Ethan made their way out of the church before Grace could even say goodbye to them.

Jack watched as his mother angrily threw some stuff into a pan. Aside from a few simple breakfast foods, cooking wasn't something that Didi was very good at it, and she pretty much only did it when she was angry. It was her way of keeping her mind off of things, and she knew that she had to really focus when it came to cooking because it wasn't something that came naturally to her. As she did this Jack started thinking of some things to say. He drew in a deep breath, took both of his hands out of his pockets and walked over to her, "Uh, hey mom do you need some help?"

"Nope."

Jack sighed, "Look mom I'm sorry-"

Bang!

She angrily shut the cabinet when she got the spice that she needed, "Don't worry about it, you meant everything you said right?"

"I shouldn't have went about it like that...What I really meant to say mom, was that I just needed a little space. I'm tired of people tiptoeing around me because of what happened."

"Well can you blame them? It's not like you've been helping to ease anyone's thoughts lately." She lightly seasoned the chicken that she was cooking as she turned a nasal on the stove.

"Alright mom, I get that but just trust me ok...I promise that it will never happen again."

She finally turned to look at him, "Look Jack, your my son and I love you more than anything in the world ok? I just don't want to see you get hurt anymore. I want to know that you're always going to be ok."

"But mom we're never really going to know that. Something could happen to me today or tomorrow, or weeks from now. The only thing we can do is take each day at a time," he told her.

Didi grinned, "Since when did you get so wise?"

He chuckled, "I have two pretty wise parents."

She walked over towards him and hugged him, "I hate fighting with you Jack."

"Yeah, same here...Mom?" He pulled away from her with a concerned look on his face.

"What is it?"

He walked over towards the stove rather quickly and turned off the heat, "Uh...Maybe you should just order some pizza for tonight?"

She looked at the burnt chicken and sighed, "Yeah...probably."

The two of them chuckled as Didi went to dispose of the chicken, "Oh and Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Your grounded."

"What!"

"Oh come on, you had to have seen that coming. You still live under our roof Jack, and please don't make this a big deal or act like I don't trust you. I do, but what type of mother would I be if I didn't give you some type of punishment?"

"Mom seriously? For how long?"

"Just for a week. School, physical therapy, and home. That's all I want you doing."

Jack paused for a moment. How was he supposed to train when his mom was grounding him for a week? He didn't have the time for all of that.

"When does it start?"

"Today."

Jack groaned. This was going to be a hard situation to get out of. Before he could argue with her about it, he felt his phone ring. He made his way out the kitchen and into a bathroom downstairs. He answered the phone without checking the caller ID, "Hello?"

It was Shawna, and she was in tears.

"Shawna...slow down please, I-I can't understand what you're saying can you repeat all that?"

"...Duncan...He just got shot and I...I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do!"

Jack couldn't breathe for a second. Jack had always felt like he was a close friend of Duncan's, even if they hadn't seen each other in a while, "Alright Shawna I need you to relax, is he at a hospital right now?"

"Y-Yeah but they're saying he's not going to make it Jack! I just-I don't understand."

Jack sighed. He knew that it was too early to be breaking his mother's rules, but he had no choice, "Alright send me the address, and I'll be over there in a minute."

He hung up and made his way towards the door when he felt someone touch his shoulder. He turned around quickly, a little caught of guard. His father was standing there with a stern look on his face, "And just where do you think you're going?"

He couldn't think of lie on the spot, and so he thought that maybe it was just better if he came out with the truth. He looked at his father and then told him the entire story, well maybe not about how he got back into contact with her, but abut everything that had just happened when he got on the phone with her, "...So I really need to go. I know I shouldn't be going out but...Duncan was like a brother to me, and I can't just not go see him, especially if there's a chance that he...doesn't make it."

Tom sighed, "Well then, I'm coming with you. Let's go."

A/N: Ugh! That ending just wasn't right. I wanted it to end another way but whatever. So in the next few chapters, I think you'll start reading more about the court appearance and stuff and you'll figure out if Jack has decided to use steroids or not. Anyway, let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!