Let Go (6 page)

He climbs down
the stairs to find Trinity situated snuggly in Parker’s lap at the
kitchen table. He averts his gaze and aims for the fridge. Again,
an apartment of his own is looking like a really good idea. But
that requires an income of which he is lacking at the moment.

When he turns
back to the table Trinity has moved to a chair beside Parker. Her
hair is piled on top of her head and her face is free of makeup as
if she just woke up. She lifts her coffee cup and smiles over the
rim, “Hey Grey, how are you?”

Parker adds in
a teasing tone, “Yeah, how are you? Are you sore from your ass
kicking yesterday?”

Trinity
punches him in the arm, “Parker, leave him alone. Just wait until
he trains more, you’ll be sorry you ever opened your mouth.”

Greylan sits
across from them and picks at the plate of fruit in the center of
the table. He looks up after popping a grape into his mouth, “You
know dude, she’s right. Give me a couple of weeks.”

Parker smirks
and stands, suddenly seeming full of misplaced energy, “I’ll take
you up on that Greylan. Carlo can set it up.”

Greylan
fingers the fruit and looks up to see Trinity in Parker’s arms, her
face resting against his chest. Something isn’t sitting right. His
uneasiness toward Parker is normal big brother stuff but there is
something else he’s still uncomfortable with. Parker releases her
and calls back over his shoulder as he leaves the kitchen, “You two
have a great day. See you later.”

Trinity moves
back into the chair, brings her feet up and rests her chin on her
knees. A moment passes before she states in appreciation, “Grey,
thank you for accepting all of this.”

Greylan takes
a sip of his juice before admitting, “You know Trin, I really don’t
have much of a choice.”

She looks away
but he assures, “Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy. He seems
genuine. I’m not happy that you picked a fighter though.”

Her voice
pleads, “Come on Grey, you don’t always get to choose. Sometimes
love chooses you.”

Greylan shakes
his head, “I’m not sure I agree with you. But if this is your
choice, then I will support you.”

Her smile
brightens and she hops out of her chair tackling him in a hug. The
chair almost falls over with the force but he halts the tilt. His
laugh vibrates through the room. As much as his apprehension toward
Parker is there, he won’t mention it to Trinity; at least not until
he has a reason for it. He’s been gone a while and the men he lived
with in closed quarters, were anything but trustworthy. It may just
be his guarded way of approaching things out of habit.

After getting
dressed, Trinity drives him to his appointment with his parole
officer. They arrive at two o’clock on the dot. A tiny receptionist
ushers them down a hall into the tiny office of Jane Mason. Upon
entering the sparsely decorated office, Greylan notices that she is
the opposite of anything he would call feminine. She is wearing a
brown jacket over a blue and white striped button down shirt. Her
dark hair is piled in a bun at the nape of her neck and her voice
as she speaks into the phone receiver, resting on her shoulder is
deep. Greylan wouldn’t be surprised if she’s been a smoker for a
large part of her life which looks to be probably all of forty or
forty-five years. But the lines above her lips from the habit make
the years seem more. She ushers them into the stained chairs facing
her desk that is barely recognizable because it is covered two feet
high with piles of papers and folders.

She continues
speaking into the phone making Trinity and Greylan uneasy.

“Yeah, Sam, I
think it’s a given. He’s gonna run. Have a bounty drawn up on him
and get to it.”

She hangs up
leaning forward. Her hands grasp a folder splayed out in front of
her as her eyes scan the contents.

“It says here
you went away for killing Theodore James.”

Greylan winces
at her words. Relaying those words in his mind is bad enough. When
they are spoken, his heart falls as it makes it all so much more
real. He nods in acknowledgement of her statement.

Trinity forces
out, “It wasn’t his fault. He didn’t mean it.”

Jane Mason
turns her gaze to Trinity. She stares a moment before stating, “You
must be the sister. I can see the resemblance; same brown eyes.”
She looks between them, “Same color hair. That’s about it though
isn’t it? He’s a lot bigger than you huh? Able to land a punch on
someone that puts the lights out.”

Trinity frowns
that she completely ignored her outburst. She’s about to make
another statement but Greylan grabs her hand and squeezes. She
glances over to see him shake his head just slightly.

Jane sets the
folder down after another minute and straightens up. At that moment
Greylan notices a coffee stain on the lapel of her jacket. He looks
around again as the realization hits him that he’s just a number to
this chick. His story or even his name means nothing. She could
care less. She probably sees him as scum just for going to prison.
He knows she won’t give him any slack but he doesn’t want any
either. What he did probably qualifies him as scum to most
people.

Her voice
comes out even as she states, “Okay, here is the deal. You make it
here to my office once a month. We will set the date for the next
month each time you come. You need to update me on your search for
a job and anything else you are doing to get back into society
legally. Under no circumstances are you to leave Jersey and I
shouldn’t have to say this but every time some schmuck doesn’t take
me seriously they go back to the slammer.” She leans closer to the
piles on her desk, “Don’t. Break. The. Law. Or you’ll find yourself
back in prison for a longer stint this time.”

She moves back
leaning into her chair lazily, “Are we clear?”

Greylan nods.
He has nothing to say to this woman. She is passing the time in
this shit job that she obviously hates. He squeezes Trinity’s hand
harder reminding her not to utter any other words. Greylan wouldn’t
trust this woman with his life. She’s not worth his sister’s
attempt.

Jane places
her hands together over her stomach and states, “Okay, we’re done
then. Mr. Pace, a job would be in your best interest. I want to
hear about your progress with that next month.”

Greylan stands
pulling Trinity up as she glares daggers at the woman behind the
desk. He smirks at his sister’s protectiveness and leads her out
the door and down the hall. Once they leave the desolate building
she lets go of his hand and moves in anger, “I just, Oh my God
Grey, can she be any more of a bitch? What the hell? Can you
request a different parole officer?”

He chuckles at
the sight of her ferociousness and shakes his head, “No Trin, it’s
okay though. I only have to see her once a month. You saw how quick
it was.”

She shakes her
head as they near her car, “I know but Grey, come on. Can she get
any more ugly and mean?”

Greylan
understands her anger but this is what he gets. He will take
whatever he must at this point. He still has his life which is more
than Theodore James.

He changes the
subject needing to get her mind off of his situation, “Hey, let’s
go get my license so I don’t have to depend on you so much.”

She rolls her
eyes and slips into the car. He shakes his head at what a spitfire
his sister is.

When they get
back to the house Greylan strolls back into the kitchen for a
snack. Trinity sits quietly watching him; her worry for him is
apparent on her face. He gives a questioning look and wonders what
is going through her thoughts.

“Grey, I was
just thinking, what will you do for a job?”

Greylan closes
the cabinet he just glanced at, not finding anything to fill the
sudden void in his stomach. He skirts around the table and scoots a
chair closer to her. His arm rests on the table as he faces the
worry across his sister’s features.

“Trinity, I’m
really not sure what I
should
do.”

She rests her
hand over his on the table.

“Grey, you
have taken care of me for a good part of my life. When mom got
sick, it seems so long ago now, you promised her that you would
always take care of me. And when she died you committed to that
promise you made. I never wanted for anything and I finished school
like a normal teenager because of you.”

He looks down
remembering those moments when their mom made him promise. She was
so small and frail from the cancer. She knew though, the day she
was diagnosed a year earlier that this would be it for her. She did
everything she could to prepare them. Trinity was only seventeen
when they got the news. It was up to him at twenty to take on the
role of caregiver for both of them. He wanted her to fight. It took
everything in him not to scream at her every night for giving up.
But he promised all those years ago and he failed when he left
Trinity at twenty to take care of herself with no warning.

Her voice is
sad, “Hey, I know what you’re thinking. I needed to be alone
though. I had to grow up sometime.”

“Not like that
Trin, I left without any warning. That wasn’t fair to you or to the
promise I made to mom.”

“Stop it.
Don’t beat yourself up over this. I needed the space, Grey. I
needed to find myself on my own.”

He looks
across the kitchen as if searching for an answer and turns back to
her, “Do you think this is it though? Parker is the first person
you have ever dated. Don’t you think you should, um, I’m going to
hate myself for saying this, but play the field first before
committing to someone for the rest of your life?”

Her brows go
up as she states in amusement, “You were gone for five years. Do
you really want to know about my life when you were gone? Let me
just fill you in that Parker is
not
my first boyfriend. I
know you want to believe I’m your innocent sister but…”

Greylan places
his hands over his ears and starts humming, “Lalalala, I can’t hear
you.”

She laughs and
pulls his hands down.

“Okay, too
much information, I get it. Just know Grey that all of these things
have happened for a reason. I have to believe that. It sucks that
you were gone for so long and I missed you so much but you’re here
now.”

Greylan lifts
his finger and pushes her nose in. She doesn’t squirm, instead she
smiles. His grin spreads and he removes his finger, “Okay, so
what’s a good job for a college graduate with a business degree
that has never been used?”

“Let’s check
the classifieds. Maybe we’ll find something interesting.”

A week after
Greylan’s visit with his parole officer he’s on his way to see
Jimmy T. Five years ago he left his life behind. It wasn’t a choice
he would have made but it happened and he faced it. Jimmy and Carlo
came to see him a few times but they got busy with their own lives
and dropped off after a while. He didn’t hold it against them
because life happens. He understands. That night at Brutis’ was the
last time he saw Meyer. A month after his sentencing, he received a
letter. It was painful but he’s known Meyer for most of his life.
Facing his own demons was always the hardest thing for him. Greylan
knew he wouldn’t be able to face the events of that night and he
was right unfortunately. If he ever sees Meyer again it will be on
Meyer’s terms and not Greylan’s.

The forty five
minute drive to the Westside gives him time to think and plan.
Carlo mentioned a few days ago that he should go and see his old
manager but it took a call from Carlo to push him into going. He
pulls up to the small shopping center situated on the corner of a
busy four way stop. A glass fronted door faces the sparse parking
lot. Etched into the clear window are the words
James Turner,
Amateur MMA Representative
. Greylan sits for a moment with his
hands on the steering wheel. His mind wanders to a conversation he
had with Jimmy T one night after a fierce fight that he almost
lost. Jimmy was hyped up on the win. They were out celebrating and
he painted a grand picture of their futures. Greylan remembers
Jimmy standing on a wooden chair and proclaiming to the bar,
“People, do you see this guy here?” Jimmy pulled Greylan up beside
him and pointed like a crazy person. He called again, “This guy,
you remember his name, Greylan Pace, remember it people because one
day, it’s going to be a household name. You’ll say one day, hey, I
saw that guy in a bar. I was told to remember him and I do.” At the
time Greylan was uncomfortable with the whole thing but Jimmy had
plans and dreams, not so different from his own.

Greylan shakes
his head at the memory and how he let them all down. His eyes avert
to the building in front of him. He switches the key to the
ignition and makes his way to the door. Reluctantly he pulls it
open to a flush of warm air as he steps inside. A woman behind a
short desk is leaning back in her chair, a phone resting on her
shoulder as she examines her long neon green nails. She looks up as
he enters. Her face is painted with way too much makeup and her
clothes at first glance seem a couple of sizes too tight. She
exclaims into the phone smacking her gum, “Yeah, girl, my future
husband just walked in, I gotta go.”