Love, Lies & Amen

Chapter two

Grace's pov

Hours earlier…….

“I can't believe he forgot his laptop here again.” I said to myself.

“Let me call him to make sure he gets here on time before I leave.” I proceeded to reach for my phone on the kitchen counter and then dialed his number.

“Hello Daniel.”

“Hey Grace. I know what this call is about. Please don't be annoyed. I promise it isn't intentional.”

“I know it isn't intentional, but you’ve got to stop forgetting your things here anytime you visit.”

“I promise this is gonna be the last time.”

“Hmmm…. Indeed.” I said sarcastically.

“You know me too well.” said Daniel.

I could see he found it amusing, and I know he is probably smiling right now, trying to hold his laughter. I just sighed and told him to make sure he gets here before I leave. Then I cut the call and dropped the phone back on the counter. I decided to begin cooking.

As I reached for the cupboard to pick out the ingredients, my phone rang again.

“What does this boy still want?” I thought.

Then I reached for the phone and immediately I saw the screen, I frowned a bit. It was an unknown number, which is very strange because I'm a private person and only talk to a particular set of people, which will probably not even reach 10 people in total. “Did I give anyone my number recently?” I thought to myself but couldn't recall. I decided to pick up the call when the unknown number called the second time.

“Hello?” I said.

“ Is this Grace?” the unknown person asked.

I immediately recognized the voice and gasped.

“I didn't think you would call so soon.” I said shakily.

I wasn't really sure why my voice was shaky. Was I nervous? I don't really know.

“I didn't think so too, I'll be coming to your place now.”

“Have you decided yet?” I asked with hope.

“We'll talk when I get there.”

Then I heard the sound signaling the call had ended. I gripped my phone tightly, a million thoughts coming into my mind.

I sighed and decided to no longer cook and just wait for the caller to arrive. I went to sit in the living room, but before I knew it, I began pacing around instead. For some reason, I felt giddy, like I would throw up any second from now. I decided to take a deep breath to try and calm myself.

I heard knocking on the back door, which was the door that led directly into the kitchen. That was odd. The person decided not to use the front door, but I didn't think much of it.

“It's now or never, I guess.” I thought to myself as I proceeded to open the door.

Present day……….

Daniel's pov

“What is that annoying sound?” I thought to myself, still half sleepy as I rolled on the bed. I placed the pillow on my head, but the ringing sound didn't stop, and I finally decided to get up, letting out a frustrated sigh.

Someone was ringing the doorbell. I checked the time on my phone. It was just 6 am. I got up and went downstairs to open the door. I checked the CCTV and saw it was Jake. I then opened the door.

“Hey dude.” said Jake.

“Why are you here this early, I thought we were to meet 10am?” I asked.

“We were, but it turns out your dad wants me to look into something for him concerning one of his rivals, so I had to come earlier. You still haven't given me that explanation we talked about at the station.” Jake replied.

“Where do I even start?” I said, already feeling a headache coming.

“Where else? From the beginning.” Jake said as he grabbed an apple from the bowl in the kitchen. We then moved to the dining area to sit.

I told him everything that happened from the moment Grace called me to the point where I rushed over to her place just to see her dead and was arrested. When I finished, I looked at Jake and saw him frowning, still holding a half-eaten apple. He seemed to have lost interest in the apple.

“Well? Say something, Jake.” I said expectantly.

“I have nothing to say for now.” Jake said, but there were obviously a lot of things on his mind which he is trying to sort out.

“So you know you have to help me, right? You are the only one I can trust with this, and frankly, you are the only one who can help.” I said in a matter of fact way.

Jake chuckled.

“See you, demanding my help.” Jake replied jokingly.

“You are a private investigator, 's about time your skills to become useful to me.” I teased back. Jake smirked and said “I've got to go now, man.”

He aimed at the trash can and threw the half-eaten apple into it.

“Why would you waste a perfectly good apple? You really should stop wasting food.” I said while walking behind him towards the front door, but of course, he ignored what I said.

“Don't miss me too much.” Jake said.

“I won't.” I said

“I'll come back here after work.”

“Please don't.” I replied, but I knew he would still do what he wanted, so I just sighed.

He finally left, and I just stood in the living room, looking around and wondering what I would do today. I can't go to work or even go out at all unless necessary. To make things worse, my laptop was still at the station. They said it was still evidence, so it needed to be cleared first. I probably won't get it back till next week, so working from home wasn't an option right now.

It's not like I am a workaholic, but I don't like doing nothing and absolutely hate doing things I see as a waste of time, like over-sleeping and watching series. Movies I can manage, but series? Nahh.

I needed to do something to get all these off my mind. Everything that happened yesterday still feels like a dream. No….a nightmare. I was feeling too many emotions all at once.

I finally decided to go to my gym room. It's been a while since I've done a serious workout. I jogged back upstairs, wore a pair of shorts, threw on a random top, grabbed my headphones, and entered the in-door gym.