Saving Grace

Chapter Seventeen: Misadventures in Plotting Revenge

"No."

"But, Mom. She needs a place to stay!"

"I said no, Caspian. My answer is final." Colleen Tate stood behind the counter in the kitchen, gripping the edge of the granite top until her knuckles turned white. She'd been arguing with her son for the last ten minutes, but they weren't making a lick of headway. Her son stood on the other side of the room, a beanie pulled over his messy white-blond curls and his clear turquoise eyes glinting furiously from behind his thick coke-bottle lenses. He crossed his arms and fixed her with the fierce determination she recognized in her own eyes when looking in the mirror.

"She has nowhere else to turn," he bit out calmly. "Charlie hasn't woken up and her birthday is today. You can't just leave her to spend it alone. Please, Mom."

Colleen's sharp gaze never left her son's. She let out a long deep breath and brushed back a wayward strand of hair that had fallen loose from her tight bun. "I know you love her, Caspian," she said softly. "But she'll only hurt you. Trust me for once, that I know what's best for you. I won't tell you to stay away from her, but I won't watch you drown with her either. She's going no place good, fast. I can't let her live under my roof. I just can't do it."

Pi stayed silent for a long moment before his gaze pierced her and his grim expression had her swallowing the lump forming in her throat. "Gracie is not my dad. She's been dealt a shitty hand in life. Why do you have to judge her for that? So, maybe she isn't perfect, and maybe she's loud and says the wrong thing and comes up with the most insane ideas and has anger issues. She's also determined and self-reliant and loyal to the end. She doesn't treat you like crap if you're different and she's courageous and compassionate. I've never met anyone so worth the trouble, Mom. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it's not there."

"I didn't say she wasn't worth it. I've tried to help her. I can't do it anymore."

"You don't have to, Ms. Tate. Don't worry. It's okay." The deflated voice came from the entrance to the kitchen where Gracie lingered. Both Colleen and Pi jumped at her words, whirling to face her. She'd come up from the basement in need of a glass of water when she heard them arguing.

"No, Gracie, it's not-"

"Don't worry. I still have a place to go, Pi. I'm not homeless or anything." She let out a breathless laugh and her eyes twinkled with sincerity. She'd always known that Pi and his mom were close and she didn't want to jeopardize their relationship for something as silly as staying away from her apartment.

"But today's your-"

"I've had seventeen other birthdays, Pi, and I'm sure I'll have eighteen more, it's not special. Don't worry, your mom is right. We got a lot done on our plans for tonight. Enjoy the rest of your break with your mom, I'll see you on Monday." She felt an exorbitant amount of guilt for taking both Pi and Layton away from their spring break plans and that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

Pi shot her a glare that she could've read from a mile away. "Gracie, what if-" But Gracie interrupted him with a sharp warning look, one that Colleen hadn't missed.

"What if, what?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Gracie said quickly, while Pi's gaze never left hers.

"Gracie has-"

"Pi, not now. You're not allowed to tell her anything. It's my problem. I can fix it." Her hard stare was rigid and unmoving. If he said a word to his mother about anything that had been going on, he risked bringing what little luck Gracie had, crashing down on top of her. Nobody could know that her father snitched. Nobody was allowed to know that she and Charlie were smack in the middle of the Underground Riot, and nobody was allowed to know how far deep her family ties were. She would end up behind bars just like her mother and she would never be able to right the wrong Clara had committed. She still had to find Clara before she left the country with all the money she took. She wouldn't let the Visionary kids suffer because of something her ancestors had helped create. Sybil would haunt her for it if she did, of that she was certain.