Rosa Nera: Saving Grace (BWWM) | ✓

Family.

"Pick a dysfunction and it's a family problem."
~Robert Downey, Jr.

Grace kept her narrowed eyes on the eldest Stryker, who paid absolutely no attention to her.

"Andre!" Called out a feminine voice that Andre recognised, it belonged to his mother.

"Mother." He smiled as she rushed over to him with her husband following close behind her.

"Great." Paolo grumbled as he made eye contract with his long term rival.

The mother wrapped her arms around her eldest son, who was much taller than she remembered.

He melted into his mother's embrace, that he had longed for for a long seven years.

"I thought you were still in jail, I-" She was on the verge of breaking into tears, but fought to keep her composure.

"I got out five years ago. I was only in jail for two years, didn't dad tell you?" All the members of the Grayson family turned to the head of the family, Don Grayson.

"I only had a gram on me, so I was charged with a second degree felony and a sentence of two years. You would've known if you came to my hearing, but dad was there."

Grace's glare didn't once falter, but it was on another person now.

Instead of glaring at Mr Stryker, she was dead on glaring at her father.

"That's irrelevant. It's bad enough that these two are best friends, now I have to deal with those two being in a relationship." Groaned Mr Stryker, running his fingers through his well kept hair.

"We are not-"

"So what if we're in a relationship?" Shawn interrupted Grace, deliberately trying to annoy his father.

"They are not in a relationship!" Mrs Grayson barked at Mr Stryker, turning her head to glare at Shawn.

"And if we are?" Grace bit back, joining in on Shawn's lie just to spite their parents.

"I didn't know you-"

"You don't know a lot of things. Like for instance, you don't know that I have a car- which Shawn gave me. You don't know how I got this dress, this necklace and these shoes- which Shawn also bought for me. We're not as close a family as you think, mother." Grace narrowed her eyes at her mother.

It was easy saying those things, considering the fact that they were all true.

"You have a car?" Mr Grayson's eyes shot wide open, shocked by the news he was hearing.

"You gave her a car?" Mr Stryker's eyes shot wide open, shocked by the news he was hearing.

"Yes." Grace and Shawn answered their respective fathers in unison, both having glares on their faces.

"How much money did you blow on this, girl." The way Mr Stryker said 'girl' reminded her of Obadiah and Jule.

"Over a hundred thousand, give or take." Shawn shrugged, tightening his grip around Grace's waist.

Grace winced a little at the amount, but her face quickly returned back to its glaring state.

"Wow, I'm impressed brother. I didn't think you'd ever get a lady friend." Darius grinned along with Andre, both mocking Shawn's inability in getting a relationship.

He could if he wanted to, but he never saw a need for a relationship and honestly, he still couldn't.

"Shut up." He growled lowly.