The Falling of Grace (The Falling Series Book 2)

by Marisa Oldham

“You need me to call someone for ya?”

  Grace shakes her head. Alone in the middle of the night, sitting at a bus stop in Hollywood, panic takes over. “I’m fine. My boyfriend and I got into a fight. He’s just around the corner. I’ll be just fine.”

  The young man steps forward. “Are you sure, sweetheart? You don’t need to be afraid. I tell ya what, there’re far worse people on this street than me. You should probably get your pretty self on outta here.”

  Something behind his kind eyes tells her that she can trust him. “I need a cab,” she sobs.

  “I’m Jerome. What’s your name?”

  “Grace.”

  Jerome pulls his cell phone from his pocket and his fingers bounce against the buttons. Grace’s head swims, driving her further into an irrational stupor, as she listens to him mumble.

  “Ahh, here ya go. Where do ya need a ride to?”

  Grace’s mind will not focus. She tries to recall the name of the street she used to live on and it causes her even more anxiety.

  “Calm down now, sweet lady. We’ll get ya taken care of. Just take a deep breath.”

  She cannot believe how lost and desperate she has become, but in the depths of her swirling mind, a name ventures forth. “Stone Oak Drive!” she shouts. “It’s off Mulholland.”

  “That’s more like it.” He lifts the phone to his ear and speaks to a taxi service.

  Grace’s entire body is shaking and the overwhelming feeling of needing to cry takes over once again as she bursts into tears.

  ~ ~ ~

  The sound of gravel crushing under tires, which are coming up his driveway, surprises Jaden. It’s almost 1:30. Reaching his front door, he flips on the porch light. He opens the door and there standing at the end of the stairs to his old Victorian home, stands Grace. Rushing down the stairs, he sweeps her limp body into his arms, barely noticing something isn’t right with her.

  “Grace!” he yells. “What are you doing here?” as he swings her around, laughing and excited to see her.

  “Put me down Jaden,” she says, sadness radiating from her voice.

  When he looks at her, it is obvious that she is extremely distraught. The redness and puffiness of her eyes and the smeared mascara are a dead giveaway. “What happened?’

  “I don’t want to talk about it right now. I just want to know if I can stay here tonight,” her voice wavering.

  “Of course!” he says, as he grabs her suitcase.

  They walk inside the house and Grace’s eyes swarm the entryway. “I just want to go to bed.”

  “Let’s get you upstairs.” He lays his hand on the small of her back as they walk up the stairs together. The stairs creak with every step they take.

  Her body shivers under his palm and he knows something is terribly wrong with her. He has only seen her this upset one time before. It was when she and Ian broke up years ago. He recalls the week that followed. How Grace constantly cried and how she would barely eat a thing. He leads her to Michelle’s old room. “Is this okay?”

  Grace nods as he watches the tears pour down her face. “Awe, honey, what happened?”

  Grace walks past him into Michelle’s old room and plops down onto the bed, then falls apart. She throws her head into her hands and deep painful cries come from her. Jaden is at a loss for what to do. “I would’ve come to get you at the airport. Why didn’t you call?” Jaden says, sitting next to her.

  “I had other plans,” she says, sadly. “Jaden, I need sleep.”

  “Oh yeah, yeah, of course, let’s get you tucked in.” He rises, walks to the closet, and opens the door. He pulls two blankets from the top shelf and turns to stare at her. “You wanna talk or should I leave you alone?” he asks, with a husky voice.

  “Just leave me alone. I’m really mad at you, but we’ll talk about that tomorrow.” Grace gets up from the bed and walks to the dresser.

  Jaden’s stomach drops. Ian must have found her. He puts the blankets, pillows, and a set of sheets down on the corner of the bed. Grace is staring at herself in the mirror attached to the dresser, silent tears fall from her eyes.

  “Are you going to be okay, sugar?”

  “I’ll be fine. I just need to sleep,” she says, not turning to face him.

  “When you wake up in the morning, wake me up. You know where my room is. You’re welcome to a bath. There are fresh towels in the bathroom.”

  “Thank you, Jaden,” she whispers.

  “It’s nice to see you.”

  She turns to him and glares and it causes his stomach to sink deeper. He leaves her in the room alone and goes downstairs to his room. She knows I lied. Oh my God, Ian really went to see her. She’s going to hate me forever.

  Jaden crawls into his bed with a tremendous sense of unease. He has no idea how he will be able to justify his lies. As he closes his eyes, a sense of dread washes over him.

  Chapter 10

  The next morning, Grace wakes to the sound of birds chirping outside the window of Michelle’s old room at Jaden’s house. Fury consumes her, coursing through her veins. Anger taints the breath that flows through her lips. How could he do this to me?

  She rubs her tired, sore eyes. A lump forms in her throat and she swallows hard. She sits up in the bed, combing through her hair with her fingers. The scene from the night before, the spiteful words from Ian’s girlfriend, play over in her mind. She shakes her head in disbelief. Ian has once again managed to rip her world apart. He has taken her heart and stomped on it until all that remains are fragments. She now knows that she should have trusted her first instincts and never let Ian into her loft and into her heart.

  Grace slumps over and stumbles down the stairs of the old Victorian home, searching for Jaden. The house is quiet except for the rustling of a bag coming from the dining room. Grace peers around the wall and stares into the room, still not believing where she is and why she is there.

  “Mornin’,” Jaden says, as he lifts his concerned, dark eyes to meet hers.

  She walks into the dining room and takes a seat at the table. Jaden pulls out a breakfast sandwich from a paper, fast-food bag and sets it on the placemat in front of Grace.

  “You made breakfast,” she says, sarcastically.

  “I did.” He laughs.

  She unwraps the sandwich and stares at it. Her stomach twists and nausea flows over her.

  “You gotta eat,” Jaden says, as he takes his seat across the table.

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Do you wanna talk about it?”

  “First, let’s talk about why you lied to me for years.”

  Jaden stops mid-bite and his eyes grow wide. “I thought I was doing what was best for you.”

  Grace’s lips jut out with an angry pout and her eyes grow small and turn hateful. “Who are you to decide what is best for me? Just because you care about me doesn’t give you the right to interfere with my life! What, did you and James take notes from the same asshole handbook? You’re supposed to be my best friend. I don’t know how I’m ever going to forgive you for this.”

  Jaden gets out of his chair, walks around the long table, and sits on the side of the chair next to her. He does not say a word. He only throws his arms around her stiff body and hugs her tightly.

  Grace remains frozen in his embrace. She is so overwhelmed with emotions that she does not know which one she should feel. Heartbroken over Ian? Furious at Ian? Or angry with Jaden for his years of betrayal? She shrugs, causing Jaden to release her.

  “There’s nothing I can say in my defense,” he finally speaks.

  “You’re right. Nothing you could possibly say would make sense. What you did was unforgivable!”

  “I was afraid that he would hurt you again.”

  “It wasn’t your place to poke around in my business. To keep things from me. I thought he was dead Jaden! You let me believe he was dead for so long.”

  “I’m sorry. When I realized that I had made a mistake, my lies were so thick, so deep, I was afraid if I
told you the truth you would hate me forever.”

  The back of Jaden’s hand brushes softly across her cheek. His eyes become heavy and lustful, with a hint of pity and regret lurking in his gaze.

  With his touch, understanding descends over her. Memories of all the times she has spent with Jaden over the years flood her mind. She gasps. “It’s not just about the fact that you were trying to protect me, is it? It’s about the fact that you’ve always loved me and you didn’t want me to be with Ian again.” Her own words bring her clarity on the situation. “You wanted to keep me to yourself! Didn’t you? I think you need to get a grip,” she snaps. “You need to get your shit together. You didn’t want me to be with Ian so you kept him away from me. You lied to me, but you didn’t have the balls to be with me yourself,” she hisses. “Why?”

  “Because, I couldn’t do that to Ian,” he says, as she watches shame wash over his entire face. “He’s my best friend, Grace, my brother. Maybe not by blood, but he is. It doesn’t matter how I feel about you or how you feel about me. I could never do that to him. He’d hate me if he knew what happened between us in Paris or if we took it any further than that. He’d never speak to me again. I couldn’t risk being with you and have that happen.”

  Jaden reaches into the pocket of his tight jeans and pulls a smashed pack of cigarettes out, slips one from the package, and slides it between his lips. His eyebrows knit together, and Grace sees the pain in his eyes.

  “You’re right,” he says, after a long pause and a couple drags off his cigarette. He shakes his head and Grace knows in her heart that he is disappointed in himself. “I had no business playing God with your life. I honestly thought I was protecting you from Ian. But, there was nothing to protect you from. He’s been clean for years.” His lanky, trembling fingers bring the cigarette back up to his lips.

  The sound of Jaden’s breath, as he sucks on the cigarette, brings an odd sense of calm over Grace. No matter how furious she is with him, his mannerisms always distract her and soothe her soul. Pushing the good feelings away, she narrows her eyes again.

  “I’ve loved you since the day you stepped out of Ian’s pile of junk Nova. You made my heart beat a little faster. I wanted you the moment you smiled at me.” He looks away from her. “I still do. I can’t deny that.”

  Grace’s chest fills with a confusing mixture of emotions. Jaden has always had a special place in her heart as well, but when a relationship between them did not work out, only because Jaden did not allow it to, she gave up on her feelings for him.

  “I guess… I guess when you were with Eddie, I never viewed him as a threat, ya know? I mean, I could see it in your eyes, sugar. You weren’t in love with that guy. If I had told you about Ian, then you would’ve pushed any feelings you had for me away and—”

  “That’s so wrong in so many ways,” she says, shaking her head. She rises from her seat and he reaches for her arm, but Grace snatches it away.

  “Are we going to be okay?” he asks, from behind her.

  Grace does not answer him. She does not turn around. She walks out of the room and up the stairs in complete silence, and crawls back in her bed.

  Grace wakes up from a nap realizing the futility in being pissed off at Jaden. No use screaming at him, ignoring him, or ending their friendship. She needs him. She loves him. Being angry will not change the circumstances. It will not change the fact that Ian lied to her again and has a pregnant girlfriend. A pregnant girlfriend, she thinks. She needs Jaden’s friendship. She needs him to comfort her, to take her mind off things. He has been there for her through so many of her life’s hard moments and she has been there for him in his. How she will forgive him, eludes her.

  Grace slides out of bed and walks across the pitch-dark room patting at the walls in search of the light switch. When she flicks the light on it hurts her eyes. She opens the bedroom door and looks out while listening for Jaden. She makes her way down the stairs, letting the light from the parlor guide her steps. She needs someone to hold her and tell her that everything is going to be okay, and even though she still carries anger toward him, Jaden is the person she needs to do it.

  His gangly body sprawled across the couch, Jaden throws one of his arms behind his head in the midst of his fitful sleep. A gentle snore escapes his slightly parted mouth. Dark hair falls over each of his shoulders and his long, dark eyelashes kiss the skin under his closed eyes.

  Grace bends over him and shakes him. “Jaden, wake up.”

  He greets her with large, alarmed eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  Grace waves her hand for him to scoot over and he moves quickly to make room for her. She plops down next to him and snuggles her way under his arm. The moment her body touches his she breaks into uncontrollable shrieks.

  “What happened, sugar?”

  Grace tells Jaden what happened in Paris and at Ian’s condo, which only seems to make him feel guiltier. She cannot help herself. She has to talk to someone and with Michelle being halfway around the world, Jaden is her closest option.

  “If I had told you about Ian, none of this would’ve happened.”

  Grace agrees, so she remains silent, besides the cries that she is trying hard to keep down.

  “Let’s get some fresh air.” Jaden stands and leans his head toward the front door.

  The sounds of crickets and sobs fill the night air as Grace chokes out the remainder of her story. She barely gets the words out. “And she’s pregnant Jaden!”

  Jaden’s mouth falls open. “What?”

  “She said she’s pregnant with Ian’s baby,” Grace cries.

  “Emma’s pregnant?” He shakes his head. “I’m so sorry.”

  Hearing her name makes Grace cry even harder. Oh, my gosh. “When did he start seeing her?” are the only coherent words she gets out.

  “Umm, I think it’s been about three years? He started dating her a while after he went to Ocean View to try and find you.”

  She snuggles into his arms and the tears pour out as she thinks of her time spent with Ian in Paris. I should’ve known better.

  “I need to get you out of this house,” Jaden says, his hand rubbing up and down her arm. “Maybe we should go out tomorrow. I can take you to a club.”

  Grace does not feel up to an outing with Jaden, but he is probably right. Going out would do her some good. Get her mind off Ian for a little while.

  Ian…when she awoke from her nap, she had at least four missed calls and ten text messages from him. Each of the messages expresses his worry about the fact that Grace is not returning his calls.

  “Okay, we’ll go out,” she says, mustering up a smile for Jaden. “I’m going to go to bed if you don’t mind.”

  “How long will you be here?”

  “Not sure. I honestly don’t know what I’m going to do at this point,” she says, as she holds the screen door open, but stands on the porch.

  “You can stay as long as you like. This old place gets really lonely.”

  Grace half-heartedly smiles, lets the screen door slide out of her hand, and walks back over to Jaden. She bends down and plants a sweet kiss on his forehead. “I love you, Jaden.”

  “I love you too, shug.”

  Grace drags herself up the stairs and stops in the hallway, her eyes focus on her old bedroom door. She can feel her heart sink once more. With careful steps, she walks over to the room and places her hand on the doorknob. The sound of her phone ringing in Michelle’s old room stops her from opening the door. Grace rushes to her phone and Ian’s photo graces the screen. Half of her wants to answer it and the other wants to toss her phone across the room. Grace flops down on her bed and that lump returns to her throat, choking her. Tears flood her eyes. Barely able to see the words she types into her phone, she texts, I know about the baby. You lying bastard! I never want to see you again. She powers down her phone. I need to change my number tomorrow, she thinks, crawling under the covers.

  Chapter 11

  With her arm linked with his,
Grace and Jaden strut into a club on Sunset Strip. She has on a pair of dark blue jeans and a black tank top. Hanging loosely around her neck, a silver necklace leads past her cleavage and lands just below her voluptuous breasts. Her long, wavy, blonde hair parts down the middle of her scalp and flows onto her shoulders. She has on a stunning pair of black platform shoes that sparkle when the light catches them. For wearing such a simple outfit, she shines. She towers over Jaden, who is also dressed in a pair of blue jeans. He has on a white button down shirt, which is unbuttoned to his belly button, under a black vest. His long dreadlocks fall just below his shoulders.

  When they step inside the dark club, Grace can barely think over the loud noise. Jaden ushers Grace past the low, black wooden tables to one of the large, plush, burgundy booths. He holds her hand as she slides onto the seat. She looks around at the club and takes it all in. It is not as posh as the club she frequents back in Paris, but as far as a place to get her mind off Ian, it will more than do.

  “What do you want to drink?” Jaden yells to her from the other side of the booth.

  “A cosmo?”

  Jaden digs through his wallet, pulls out a wad of cash, and gives Grace a nod before he slides out of the booth and makes his way over to the bar.

  The band on stage ends their set and the noise that has been invading her ears subsides. The club is now a roar of voices as people rush to the bar to refill their drinks.

  “Just in time,” Jaden says, as he sets four drinks down on the table.

  Grace smiles despite the aching in her heart. “Two birds with one stone, huh?” Going out does not seem to be helping to take her mind off Ian.

  Jaden nods at her as he leans his head down and sips on his drink.

  “What did you get?”

  “Long Island,” he says, smiling.

  “Good thing we got here when we did,” she says, looking at the line of club-goers surrounding the bar. Grace admires the sexy bartender, dressed in a tight little black dress, flowing around the bar with such elegance. She has a crowd of drunken people shouting at her and she remains calm, cool, and collected. She makes Grace smile.