Between You & I

It Was The Past..

"Yas, did Grace come home last night?" Troy asked from the bathroom just getting out from the shower

"I don't think so, I checked her room before going to sleep and no one was in there but her stuff should still be in there"

"You wouldn't mind if I go looking for her, would you?"

"Of course not babe go ahead"

"I ask because, I may have to go to the strip club" I say looking at her cautiously hoping that she won't get mad

"Why would you have to go there?"

"I know I promised you that I wouldn't but I just want to make sure that she's safe.."

"Troy, what are you not telling me.." she says in a tone that makes me wonder how else to tell her

"Grace is a stripper at Liam's Strip club and she's a part-time bartender...she dropped out of high school in our junior year because her parents were going through things. Her dad was on drugs and her mom had a hard time..I didn't want to tell you all of this at once before you've actually spent some time around her.." he said while getting dressed and then sitting on the bed next to me wearing a tshirt and a pair of black pants on with a big gold diamond ring on his pinky finger and his hair now curly almost reaching his shoulders

"Troy how could you jus-, I have no problem helping her out and getting her to a better place in life but she's a stripper at Liam's place, what the fuck were you thinking! he could find her here if she told anyone, then we'll all be dead. This is why I told you that you should leave them.." she says holding her face in her hands

"Yas-" I begin before she cuts me off

"No more excuses!, You need to find her and take her somewhere away from our home but to where she can still work and support herself at the company. I don't need those people finding and threatening any one of us Troy"

"She has to stay here, there's no one that knows them like I do..except Paris."

"Who's Paris? Let me guess..one of your strippers" she says looking disgusted at me

Paris was actually the one I'd hook up with here and there way before I left the strip club and decided to stop and to get a really nice job and work my way up

"They are friends so they should get along for the next few days" I say knowing that Yasmine hates the fact that I did all of this in my past and that she just now finding out these things

"Just go find her before something bad happens and get back home safe, and call me if anything happens" she says laying back down so she can watch tv

"Alright" I hover over her trying to give her a long kiss before I go, gladly she let me before I made my way out to my car.

I really hope that Grace is okay, I haven't heard from her since yesterday and I tried to reach her but she won't pick up.

I finally make it to the club and it's packed full of drunk men, girls laughing and caressing eachother. Then that's when I see Grace over at the counter having a shot of whiskey.

"Grace, what are you doing ?, You're suppose to be at the company finishing up before you open tomorrow" I say as I get close enough to get her to turn around

...as soon as she turned around, I instantly felt anger rising in me.

Her face was scratched up, bruises on her body and she had a black eye, and her shirt had small rips and holes in it.

" Who did this to you! Tell me right now!" I say putting my hand on my gun ready to kill anyone around us that did this to her..

"I couldn't go back to my shop because I had to come back over here to pack up the rest of my things. That's when Liam slapped me after he found out that I was trying to leave the club then that's when he pulled me into the girls locker room, sadly I was the only girl in there." she says while taking another shot of whiskey

" Grace..I could've gotten your clothes from here, why didn't you just tell me that you needed them?"

"Because you're too good to be here, your girlfriend loves you! You have what I don't have, you have what I will NEVER HAVE, someone who really loves and cares.. I suggest you to leave before he sees that you're here, he's already out looking for you."
She says yelling then slowly lowering her voice before turning back around to ask for another drink

"No. No. You are not staying here,  I'm not going to let him hurt you or Yasmine, so go back and grab your stuff and let's go." I ask her while grabbing her arm and pulling her out of her seat as she's slightly tipsy

I can't let this happen, she was doing so good, No way am I going to let her go down again.

She quickly runs to the car with two medium bags full of clothes and I couldn't help but wonder why she had all of them there..

" You were sleeping there? Weren't you?" I ask while turning on the ignition as she threw her stuff in the back and got in the car.

"Yes, I was" she says looking down at her fingers

"For how long?" I push further scared that she had been hiding there in one of the dance rooms with the couches and poles for private dances

" two weeks.." she says with a tear rolling down her face

"You went without food for two weeks Grace?" I say while getting road rage at some guy stopping at a green light

"No, the girls brought me food whether it was homemade or store bought, they really helped me out and kept me sleeping there a secret."

"You know that you're done doing that right?, That's not going to be your life anymore, me and Yasmine are going to help you.." I say looking at her then the road

"I know, and thank you both once again for everything"

"You can stay at my house for tonight and Yas will help you get cleaned up and rested just tell her that I'll tell her about it when I get home, she will understand. And STAY IN THE HOUSE THIS TIME" I warn Grace as she grabs her stuff  and waves goodbye before going into the house

Now where is Liam.