Sister of Grace.

Chapter One | Runaway.

A little girl wonders the streets.
Alone.
Weak.
Afraid.

She wipes her burning tears away swiftly with the sleeve of her tattered and worn jacket. The jacket that he gave to her and the jacket that he'll never get back. The brown jacket reeked of cheap cigarettes and alcohol. The smells that he always wore.

She makes her way down an abandoned alley with a stolen pack of cigarettes in her fragile hand.

'They won't find me here...' she thought as she slumped down on the dirty asphalt concrete between two dumpsters which were in the middle of the alley. The cops have been chasing her down the cold and damp streets of New York City. They weren't letting her get away with stealing cigarettes for the 50th time that month. The store manager was sick of it, seeing that fifty percent of all the cigarettes he had storaged in back, were gone. But cleverly enough, she out ran them. 'They have no idea where I am now' she thought with a smirk on her face. She then lit her cigarette and took a long drag.

"Fuck!" She began wiping the newly formed tears with her sleeve a second time. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about him. Wearing this jacket was a constant and painful reminder of his face. She hated crying for him. She didn't want him to see her like that. Not that she was ever going to see him again anyway.."I'm not a little girl! I'm not weak!" she whispered to herself angerly. "He won't break me down..." She began rocking back and forth, her burnt cigarette still in her hand.

Where she was going to go now, she didn't know, nor did she care. As long as she was away from....him she would be okay. She looked up at the setting sun, wondering if she should just stay here, or just abandon everything and start over. 'You can't just re-start your whole life, can you?' She thought aimlessly. She felt so pathetic and alone sitting on grimy concrete littered with candy wrappers and mcdonald's bags. She felt like an abandoned puppy left alone in the rain, or a stray cat hunting for food in people's garbage cans, fighting other strays for the same piece of meat.

She leaned her head back on the brick building behind her, which was one of a thousand Mcdonald's restuarant's that were scattered across the city. She could faintly hear a costumer arguing with a worker over the intercom about their order which they un-convientantly screwed up. That's McDonald's for you!

She closed her eyes and took another drag from her cigarette, listening to all the sounds across the city that never sleeps. Sounds of shitty rap music being blared out of car windows filled her ears. 'Why do they think it's so cool to crank up the volume of their stereo like that? It's fucking annoying as hell is what it is...' she thought with a look of disguist on her face. 'Men are such pigs...'

Maybe she could change her name, or maybe move to a different state, or even a different country. She could start all over, get a job, maybe even get her GED. She then could go to school and try to make something of herself...

'I'm only nineteen years old. It's not too late to change' She told herself. 'I'm not going to be dependant on him anymore, that fucking bastard. Knowing him, he'd eventually screw me over again and again if I came back. That would just all the more prove him right, about me being weak and all. What does he know...He apparently doesn't know shit about me! I'll prove him wrong and he'll be sorry for everything he's done...'

She turned her head to the left and watched all the people of New York City walk down the sidewalks. A woman with a little boy walked by, his little hand placed in her big one. The little boy looked over curiously at her, wondering what kind of strange person would just be sitting in an alleyway sandwiched between a Micky D's resturant and an old abandoned warehouse, and she gave the boy a small smile as he passed her. 'Cute kid.' She thought to herself. She began to drift off into her own thoughts, wondering what it would be like to have a child of her own, a nice house, and a man who was worth being with. One that actually gave a shit. One that was successful with his own business. The perfect family. A family worth fighting and dying for...

A man with a long coat, diamond rings and necklaces, and leather boots walked past the alleyway and glaced over at her. "Hey there good lookin!" He whistled with a sly smirk on his face. She gave him a dirty look, gave him the middle finger, and turned her head away. 'Fucking pimps...'

Like she said before; Men are pigs.

She sighed and put out her cigarette by crushing it with her shoe. She never thought she'd be the kind of person to smoke. Then again, she never thought that she'd do half the shit she's already done, being with him. She wouldn't be where she is now if it weren't for him, unfortunately. He'd smoked ever since he was thirteen years old. It just kind of rubbed off onto her.

A couple of tears fell from her eyes. As much as she kept telling herself that she wasn't weak, the more things that piled up proved otherwise. She should've refused that first cigarette, but she just didn't have the will power to. She was so dependant on him, it was hard to refuse anything he'd offer her.

She then stood up, took off his brown jacket, and placed it down on the ground. She then laid back down on top of jacket and curled up into a ball, placing her arm under her head for a "pillow".

She then drifted off to sleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

Great first chapter Chelsea, can't wait to see what happens next!

Chapter Two | Sunday Best (Part 1):


Gloria awoke to the sounds of church bells ringing in her ears.

She sat up slowly from where she was lying and rubbed her aching eyes. Dark black smudges appeared on her grungy hands from the eyeliner that she wore the previous night. She sighed heavily, stood up, and grabbed his brown jacket from the ground. She then snatched up the stolen pack of cigarettes that were lying next to the jacket and shoved them inside of her front pocket. She then cautiously stepped out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalks of New York City.

There were people everywhere, but that was to be expected in the massive city. Everyone walked so closely together, as if they were all scrunched up inside of a tiny sardine can. In a city like this, it's hard not to feel indifferent and awkward, feeling like only one of a million people that resided there. Gloria lowered her head down slightly as people walked by. 'People are probably staring at me,' she thought. 'I don't exactly look like the most welcoming person in the world...'

Honking horns, screeching bus tires, and drilling noises were only a few of the many sounds that frequented the city. 'It's enough to drive you nuts...' she thought bitterly as she trudged down East 12th Street, past a small restaurant called Gotham's Bar and Grill.

She began reminiscing about her past as she walked down the all too familiar street. She used to live in the west coast over in Oakland, California, being born there and all, and as much as she hated to admit it, she missed it over there. She missed the warm climate and the warm welcoming people, the clean suburban streets, and the amazing view of the Golden Gate bridge that connected Oakland to it's neighboring city, San Francisco.

At times, especially in the winter, New York seemed so...frigid and, although there were millions of people that walked the streets every single day, it still felt so vacant. Even on the brightest and hottest day in New York, things still seemed dark. A hazy fog always seemed to suffocate the city with its polluted aura. New York can be a beautiful place when it wants to be, but sometimes it just looks like complete shit. Gloria hated everything about this city and the fact that people seemed to just love being here was enough to make her want to vomit on the already filthy sidewalk. 'I swear, if I see another person wearing another fucking "I Love NY" t-shirt, I think I'm going to kill someone. This city is so fucking overrated.'

As she continued to walk past various restaurants, convenience stores, and other small businesses that, sadly, no one seemed to care about, a thin, petite woman with medium length graying brunette hair walked up to her holding a brochure and a cheesy smile plastered on her face. She was an older woman, possibly in her fifties, and she wore a nicely ironed beige blouse that was buttoned all the way to the top and a knee length floral skirt that had ruffles at the bottom.

"Well, hello there!" She chirped in a high pitch, over-enthusiastic voice.

"...Hi." Gloria awkwardly replied.

"I'm Sheila Morgan and I'm from The Church of Divine Hope over on East 14th Street. Can I interest you in a brochure?"

"I'm sorry, but I don't really consider myself a Christian..." Gloria said.

"Oh, but you don't have to be a Christian to visit our church," she insisted quickly, with that same cheesy smile pasted onto her face. "The church is absolutely perfect for anyone who's looking for a new start, a new beginning to life."

"Oh, I don't know." Gloria stated weakly.

"I'll tell you what," she began. "Our service begins in fifteen minutes, so it'll give you plenty of time to decide. Here's the brochure." She responded, practically forced the brochure into Gloria's small hands. The woman smiled wider before ending with, "See you there! Have a nice day!" She then walked away, heading for a man with a scruffy beard and torn up clothes behind her.

Gloria stared at the brochure in her hands. For a brief second, she thought about tossing it into the trash can that stood about three feet away from her, but curiosity made the thin paper stay securely in her hands. She looked down at the cursive font that was neatly written on the front cover. "Church of Divine Hope" was on the top of the page and centered in the middle was a picture of the small church. The chapel was white and had a gray triangular roof. The stained glass-paneled windows were scattered all over the building, which provided the main source of beauty to the church.

Underneath the picture where the lines, "The church is absolutely perfect for anyone who's looking for a new start and a new beginning to life."

Lastly, the address to the church was written in a small bold font at the very bottom;

The Church of Divine Hope
336 East 14th St. (near First Ave.)
New York, NY 10003

She let out a sigh and looked over at the direction that the church was in. She then remembered what she thought the night before about "starting over" her life. Maybe this was a sign that told her she maybe she could change her life. 'Well...I've got nothing to loose I guess...' she thought to herself. 'I can't believe I'm doing this...'

She then reluctantly pressed the "Pedestrian Crossing" button and waited impatiently for the light to change. She glanced over at an idling Cadillac where a man in black sunglasses also was waiting impatiently for the light to turn. He held his arm over the window of his expensive car, a burning cigarette dangling from his hand.

'Damn....now I really want another fucking cigarette....' Gloria thought to herself as she stepped a little closer to inhale the intoxicating ashy smell.

She then realized that she was actually attempting to step foot in a church and all she wanted at the moment was a fucking cigarette. There was no way she was going to walk into that church smelling like nicotine. Then again, living on the streets and all, there's no guarantee that you're going to smell like a garden of roses...

Finally the light decided to change and before walking across the street, Gloria managed to look over at the man in the Cadillac as he sped away, dropping his cigarette onto the already littered streets as he turned with a loud screech of his wheels. Oh yeah....you're a badass...totally...'

Turning right onto the corner of the next street, Gloria could see the grand church just a few feet away. Stepping in front of the church, she soon realized how much the church engulfed the other buildings surrounding it. It definitely posed as the dominate building and focal point of the whole street with it's beautiful architecture. It was obvious that it was a Catholic based church with its elaborately decorative exterior. It looked more like a piece of artwork, rather than a center for religious gatherings.

Gloria took a deep breath and slowly pulled open the doors of the church.

The interior was even more gorgeous than the exterior. Gloria stood at the back of the church in awe as she stared up at the immaculate religious paintings that were embellished onto the walls and ceiling of the chapel. Right in the center of the stage up in front was a huge statue of Mary, holding baby Jesus into her strong arms and near where Gloria stood was a circular fountain of holy water so that people could dip their hands into the water to recite the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. She was surprised at just how many people stood around the holy water at once, each of them eager to get their share of the holy water.

A few people looked over at Gloria for the first time and they stared at her up and down. Suddenly. Gloria began to feel out of place, being the only one in the church wearing tattered up clothing. Before walking into the church, she made sure to dispose of his jacket outside, but she knew that this wouldn't help get rid of her ashy breath. She began looking around, wondering where in the hell the bathroom was and once she found it, she quickly escaped inside to try and freshen herself up a bit.

Once inside, she came across a woman that looked to be about in her mid-twenties, helping her daughter up to the sink to wash her hands. The daughter was dressed in a prim and proper ironed red dress that fell to her ankles, a black bow secured tightly around her small waist. Her auburn curly hair was pinned closely to the top of her head in a bun. Even a little girl dresses nicer than me.....nice....,

The little girl looked up over at Gloria with a small smile as her mother turned her head and glanced over at Gloria.

"Well, hello there!" She said to Gloria, with a large cheesy smile.

Gloria gave her a half smile. "Hi..."

The woman's smile then turned into a twisted frown of puzzlement. "...Are you new here? I've never seen you here at Divine Hope before..."

Gloria nodded slowly. "Yes, I am.....I'm fairly new to New York actually..."

The woman smiled again. "Well that's great! New York is a wonderful place."

Silence.

"So...what brings you here to Divine Hope?" The woman asked in curiosity.

Gloria reached into her pocket and held up the brochure that Sheila Morgan handed to her over on East 12th Street.

"Ah.." the woman answered with a smile. "Well...my name is Aileen Kelley and this is my daughter, Cassidy. Say hello, Cass." The little girl, who was hiding behind her mother, her small hand holding onto her mother's looked up at Gloria with big green eyes. ".....Hi." She whispered, a small smile forming her lips.

Gloria waved at the little girl.

"Hey, why don't you come and sit by us during mass?" Aileen suggested.

Silence.

"Oh, come on!" The woman insisted, picking up her daughter and grabbing Gloria's hand, leading her out of the restroom and into the main room of worship. As Gloria was led into her seat, she then realized; she never did wash up.

'Damn........'.

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