Lifeless (Book II)

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Chapter Eighteen

Grace lay on her bed feeling the same frown overtake her features again. Luckily her father had no seen them kiss but God did she regret walking back into the house. The only thing that held her from staying there was what her father had said. Also the way Alex seemed to beg her not to leave made her skin prickle with fright.

"Gracie, phone for you!" she heard her mother shout. She jumped off the bed, deep within her gut hoping it was Alex but quickly pressed down the idea of it all and answered the phone.

"Grace, it's good to hear from you. How have you been?" Came Jenny's voice.

Grace chuckled and looked behind her to find the living room empty, then settled on the couch.

"I'm doing very well. What about you?"

"Working hard. It's a little lonely but I guess I can't complain. Becca seems to have found her crowd and that alright." Jenny said.

"Well, I'm still here?" Grace replied.

"Thanks Grace, it really does mean a lot. However, I've got some news and I'm not sure how you are going to take it seeing that you are dating the boss." Jenny said.

"I'm not dating Alex, we simply had a date and I haven't seen him ever since I quit." Grace explained.

"Really? I thought you two had a real connection. Guess I was wrong." She muttered.

"What news?" Grace asked.

"Read the newspaper?" she replied.

"No."

"Front page of the Journey's newsprint says "Is Alexander Jewels hiding something?"

"Hold on Jenny," Grace said and placed the phone down. She rushed to the front door and opened it to find the newspaper on the front steps rolled up. She quickly picked it up and took it with her into the living room once again nestling into her spot on the couch. Pulling off the rubber band Grace pulled the paper open and read the front page. It held a picture of Alex walking out of a morgue a few papers in hand. Then there was another taken from the Towing Business her father worked in as well.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, I am," she whispered.

"So do you think he's hiding something?"

"I don't know Jenny, I really don't."

"Keep following the story they also show a picture of Victoria Elven there, you are going to freak when you see it," Jenny said her tone a little excited. Grace follow instructions and flipped the page to find a picture of a lovely girl in black squared glasses and a shy timid smile. Next to her was a layered cake, and on the bottom of the photo it read, "Victoria Elven, deceased fiancée of Alexander Lucian Jewel's.

Grace felt a pang of jealousy hit her as she stared at Vicky's beautiful face. It was almost as if she had seen her once. Grace bit her lip and turned back to the front page lightly brushing her fingers over his lips. She shook her head and crumpled the paper quickly disposing of it.

"So what did you think?" Jenny asked.

"About?"

"Victoria Elven, you did see the picture right?"

"Yeah I did what about it?"

"Grace...you look identical to Victoria Elven."

Grace froze and rushed back to the trash can quickly trying to straighten out the page where it held the photo.

"Impossible," she gasped.

"This is so freaky Grace," Jenny muttered.

"Jenny can you come over, I think I need someone to talk to," Grace sighed. She closed her eyes and slumped back into the sofa hanging up the phone. Alex was going insane; he had only looked at her because she held features that of his dead fiancée. This was kind of twisted as she thought about it. Alex had kissed her but she was more than certain he had been thinking about Vicky. She closed her eyes and remembered how he had confessed he needed her, how he begged her to stay. He was delusional and probably going absolutely berserk. Maybe Alex was trying to hide something after all, and making Grace fall for him was probably a plan of his to make him feel less guilty about taking that young girls life. But no matter how much Grace wanted to hate him and be so disgusted by it all she couldn't. Her heart seemed to tell her otherwise. He couldn't possibly be guilty!

A groan escaped her and she covered her face feeling sick with herself for still feeling something for Alex even though he was probably a crazy psychopath. She needed someone to talk to and who better than Jenny. She was going to get to the bottom of it all.