Lies You Tell (DE)

34.

" Mommy why do you want to buy a new house all of a sudden?" Grace asked as they walked through a property for sale.

Emily poked her head into a random room looking around.

" I want to be closer to you, that's all," She said simply. " I want to be closer to Nia and Prie, I want to watch Kash grow up. It's time I move back, I'm tired of New Jersey,"

Grace cut her eyes at her mom not really buying what she was telling her. Emily practically built the home in New Jersey from the inside out, she loved that house and to suddenly want to move back to New York was strange to Grace.

" I don't believe you,"

Emily chuckled. " What's there to believe?"

" Because I feel like you hide stuff from me mom. I feel like you've always hid stuff from me. I know you like the back of my hand, you don't think I don't know when something is up?" Grace questioned.

Emily ignored her comments. But Grace was right, she had been acting strange, ever since Pries baby shower. Ever since she came face to face with Max again. She wanted to be able to tell Grace what was going on but she couldn't. Emily's sense of security vanished the second Max stepped into her backyard. She wasn't worried about Grace's safety because she knew Joseph would never let anything happen to her but she was worried for herself.

After all, she was the one he wanted.

Emily and Max had a long history together, going back to when they were teens. Max was one of Richs best friends, him and Darnell. The three of them were inseparable. Together, they created their drug empire with Richy at the head of it all, he was the brains. But Max let greed cloud his vision and get in the way of a great friendship and it caused things to turn very sour.

Emily never liked Max growing up. He was the hard headed teen that was always getting into trouble and getting everyone around him sucked into it. Max was always in drama, always starting fights and getting into stuff. He was a very selfish and self absorbed individual and Emily hated Rich to be around him. She always had a feeling that Max would be his down fall, but Richy loved Max. They were practically brothers and Rich was very loyal to a fault.

Emily could never forget the day Rich told her if anything ever happened to him, it would be Max that did it.

" It's nothing for you to worry about," Emily said.

" Clearly it's something if you're trying to move back to the city. I'm not a child anymore,"

" You're MY child," Emily said sternly. " I don't care how grown you get or think you are. Some things are better left unsaid so when I tell you don't worry about it, don't worry about it,"

Grace frowned staring at her mother.

" The older I get the more I feel like I don't know you. I don't know my dad, is he even dead for real or are you keeping that a secret too?"

Emily swiftly smacked Grace across the face startling the realtor who quickly dismissed herself from the heated argument. Emily's nostrils flared as she smoothed out her pantsuit bottoms. Graces cheek stung as she stared at her mother in shock. Emily had never hit Grace before.

" Don't you ever, fix your lips to say anything like that to me again. You will never understand the sacrifices your father made to make sure you lived a privileged life after he died," Emily pointed her manicured finger in Graces face.

"Living in big houses all your life and going to the best schools, getting a car for your sixteenth birthday was because of him! You still get money to this day because of him!" She yelled.

" Your father loved you more than anything on this earth and if he could be here he would! I've spent my whole life protecting you and if I tell you you don't need to know about something don't you dare question me because I know what's best, I'm your mother!"

Grace chewed the inside of her cheek to keep from crying. Emily instantly felt bad for slapping Grace but she had to remind her who the parent was and who the child is, no matter how old Grace gets.

One day Emily hopes to tell her daughter the truth of her father. She hates that Grace has had to grow up in the dark her whole life but it was better that way. Emily has only ever had her daughters best interest in mind, and especially right now with Grace being in such a deep committed relationship with Joseph who's uncle is Max, she could be putting her daughter in grave danger exposing that truth.

Some things were better left unsaid.

After Emily finished scolding Grace she headed straight home without saying another word to her mom. Grace definitely knew something was up after that. Emily had never yelled or raised her hand to Grace her whole life. She couldn't understand what could be such a big secret that her mother was so on edge about.

" Hey baby this Michael, our manager for the club," Joseph said from where he sat at the table with Michael, greeting Grace as she walked in.

It looked like they were looking over documents together. Michael waved and Grace waved back, mustering up a smile.

" What are you guys doing?" She asked quietly walking over to Joseph.

He slid the floor plan papers over for her to look at.

" We goin over the floor plan and design for the club,"

" It's looks good," Grace said softly. " I'm going to go lay down,"

Joseph noticed the red mark on Graces cheek and furrowed his brows but said nothing as they were in front of Michael.

" Excuse me for a second," He said before getting up and following Grace into their room.

" What's wrong with you?" He asked, closing the door.

She shook her head, kicking off her sandals and climbing into their bed.

" So you gone just lie to me like I don't see that hand print on yo face? Who put they hands on you,"

" There's nothing you can do about it," She chuckled.

" The hell I can't, watch me," He said, grabbing her face by her chin and examining the welt on it.

" My mom slapped me,"

He pushed his brows together. " For what?"

" Because we got into an argument,"

That concerned Joseph. Grace and Emily were extremely close and for and argument to get that far between them had to be serious.

" She's never hit me before, ever,"

" What did you say to her?" He asked, sitting onto the bed next to her. " What was y'all arguin about?"

" I just feel like my whole life has been a secret. I feel like I barely know my mom, I don't know anything about my dad. She always tries to keep stuff from me and I questioned her about it. I asked if my dad was even dead for real and she smacked me,"

" Bae," Joseph chuckled in astonishment. " Why would you ask her something like that?"

" Because she keeps everything from me. She's trying to buy a new house all of a sudden for no reason. Ever since Pries baby shower she's been acting weird and she won't tell me why,"

" Maybe she just wants a new house.."

" No. She loves her house in Jersey. I'm not stupid, I know somethings up and I know she's hiding something and I'm tired of being kept in the dark,"

Joseph sat quietly thinking about the conversation Emily and he had at Graces graduation dinner.

" Grace is different from you and I, I just want to see her safe and happy,"