Who is stalking who?

[Gracelyn Cordova]

and i won't take defeat

template by punki-chan of adoxography

Toyota Park
Bridgeview, Illinois

The clock was running down and Grace saw the ball heading for her and she leapt out smacking it hard with her head to sail it in the other direction. All she had to do was keep Seattle out of the goal while the team ran the clock down. It was a wonder she didn’t lose any more brain cells than she felt she had each time she head smacked a ball across the field. She heard the buzzer on the clock and breathed a sigh of relief. Game over.

It wasn’t that Grace didn’t like playing but this game had been draining for her. There had been a lot of activity going on and she was one of the only players on the team that didn’t always trade out. She went back to the sidelines and grabbed her things and then headed off the field through the locker room.

Throwing her stuff down she cleaned up and got dressed before heading out to go see Matt. He’d told her that he would be coming. Grace was going to try and sneak up on him if she could. Though she figured that would be difficult because he was waiting on her and he was one of those super alert people that drove her bonkers. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try. When she got the opportunity she came up jumping on his back to surprise him. How she was still so full of energy after the game was beyond her, then again showers had magical energy revitalizing powers and all the players knew it.

“Night Cordova.” She heard someone calling her, she waved and latched back onto Matt’s back. The better part of the afternoon was gone. Grace slid down Matt’s back and she was smiling from ear to ear. So that night at the coffee shop had changed things between them just slightly. Things weren’t so awkward as they once had been.

"So hi" Grace greeted Matt smirking.

Tag: Matthew Cole Nathaniel Cordova

[Nathaniel Cordova]

Nate watched Gracelyn make the winning save from the upper levels of the stadium – close enough that he could see her, but far enough that he wouldn't be recognized, especially amongst a sea of other people. He couldn't help but to beam with pride. This wasn't his first time coming here to watch her play. Each time, Nate had planned on telling her the truth – that he really was alive – but every time he thought he'd worked up the nerve, he'd lost his steely resolve almost as quickly. He could face down dangerous terrorists without batting an eyelash, but God forbid he should have to face his own sister. Jia knew the truth, of course, but she'd stumbled across that quite by accident.

Today was more of the same. Instead of making his way down closer to the field, Nate continued lurking in the nosebleed section, even after Gracelyn disappeared to the locker room. A few more minutes – enough for Gracelyn to finish her usual postgame routine – and then he'd leave. It wasn't hiding, but he wasn't exactly being obvious either. Although, if Nate was going to tell her, it needed to be within the next couple of weeks. With the terrorist threat to Chicago thwarted, he'd used all of his accrued leave just to stay in the area. Two weeks was all he had left.

When Gracelyn finally reappeared, heading into the stands, Nate should have taken that as his cue to leave, but something made him stick around just a little bit longer this time. Long enough to see Gracelyn jumping on another man's back – a good friend, or maybe a boyfriend. Had things changed that much? Nate hadn't expected time to stand still in his absence, but that would be one more person to judge him for lying. Definitely not the day to tell Gracelyn.

Gracelyn Cordova , Matthew Cole

[Matthew Cole]

Matt was in the stand rooting for Grace and her team along with the rest of the crowed. He watched on as Seattle tried for the score. Matt wasn't a huge sports fanatic Per se, but being a Bostonian meant that his competitive side came through whenever he did get invested watching in a game. Matt raised his arms and let out a massive cheer when Grace blocked the goal. "Yes!" He cried as half the stadium cheered in victory and the other half groaned in defeat. Truth was Matt had never watched a womans soccer game until he had started dating Grace a few months ago. He had happily promised her that he would come to a match or to practice to see her in action and had come to a few games after that. Though he found the matches enjoyed enough he was really only there because Grace played for the team and that wasn't a secret. He looked at Grace from where he was in the stands, smiling at her proudly as he applauded with the crowd. After everything settled down Matt began making his way out. But just after he started to leave he stopped as he noticed a man in the higher stalls. He thought he had seen the guy a couple of times over the past few months and he knew he had definitely seen the guy at several games. Him being at the games wasn't anything strange in itself if the man supported the team, but it was the way he seemed to watched Grace throughout the games showing little interest in the matches themselves that had caused Matt to even notice him. After all Grace had said herself that night in the diner that she had to put up with over the top fans who tried to get to close. Though the guy had never actually approached Grace so maybe he was just making something out of nothing. He pushed it to the back of his mind and made his way out to the car park to wait for Grace. He was by his car when she came up behind him. He had sensed her coming a mile off and didn't even realize that she was trying to sneak up on him when she jumped on his back. He had just thought that she was being her usual playful self and wanted a piggyback. Which he was happy to give her as he hooked his arms around her legs to help prevent her from falling off as he carried her around. "So hi" "Hi." He smiled. But his smile half faded as he saw that same man watching them from across the car park. He knew better than to bulldoze straight in so he brushed it of momentarily before putting Grace down and turning to face her. "You played a good game out there." He told her as he looked down into her eyes with a smile on his face. Matt kept his back to the man in an angle that would allow Grace to look in the distance but have it appear as if she was looking at him. He put a his hand on her cheek and continued smiling, acting normal as he went on to speak to Grace, "I don't want to worry you, but there is a guy near the blue Honda over there, I think he might be following you. I need you to very discreetly take a look and tell me if you know him before I go over there and talk to him." Tag: Gracelyn Cordova , Nathaniel Cordova . ~*~

[Gracelyn Cordova]

and i won't take defeat

template by punki-chan of adoxography

Grace was happy on Matt’s back even if only momentarily. She pecked his cheek. Though she noticed he was looking at something. His attention was divided. It didn’t take rocket science to figure that much out. “Thanks.” She had definitely gotten her workout that was for sure. Seeing him smile relaxed her a little bit but she was shaking. He was worried about something.

Ah, so he did finally spit it out. Her head rested in his hand. She glanced onto see if she could make out the figure. Despite time, it was unmistakeable. Grace froze for a second, counting to three she took a breath and took hold of Matt by the hand. “He’s definitely following me.” Well that was probably not the best choice of words.

In all likelihood, she was going to have her brother and boyfriend mauling each other but right now she didn’t care if Matt beat the snot out of Nate or not, she was angry she was upset and all logical train of thought had just left the station. She marched straight towards Nate until she was within earshot of her brother. “Nathaniel Xavier Cordova,” her voice sounded just like their mother had when scolding them as kids.

So much for discreet, Grace looked her brother over and tried to keep from breaking down. Though Grace was about as terrifying as a cinnamon roll. “Matt meet my dead brother. Nate meet my boyfriend.” Even if she wasn’t terrifying she was angry. Turning to Matt she spoke “Arrest me if you have, but he deserves this.” She reached out slapping Nate across the face before breaking down into tears but standing her ground. There was no holding her composure. Now she just had to figure out what else she wanted to say before Nate or Matt got a hold of each other.

She’d buried her brother, grieved, and let her whole world fall into her work and alcohol. Matt friended her at church when she really needed someone most. Sure she had her teammates but they were more the type to take her out drinking and just letting her drink til she fell over. Matt had taken her away from all of that in recent weeks and she was feeling better, doing better. Now she was wishing more than ever she had a few beers to numb everything. No words anymore all she could do was cry.


Tag: Matthew Cole Nathaniel Cordova

[Nathaniel Cordova]

Nate hadn't been entirely committed to staying out of sight. A piece of him still wanted to approach his sister, but he had put so much distance between himself and his family – in order to protect them – for so long that he didn't know how to anything else. There had been no Thanksgiving dinners, no exchanging gifts on Christmas… nothing. So when Gracelyn and her friend started heading towards him, he found himself hesitating. Gracelyn had every right to be upset with him. Because of that, Nate probably should have expected what came next. The slap stung as much as her disapproval – she sounded exactly like their mother when she had been unhappy with one of them. He rubbed at his cheek.

Nate could have said something – could have made an excuse about how his job required him to go undercover – but would Gracelyn really understand duty? His sister wasn't military; the word wouldn't hold the same meaning for her. Nate had asked Jia, looking for some details – about the funeral, about how his parents and sister were… handling things. If her answers had been any indication, her boyfriend, Matt – that was the name Gracelyn had said – would undoubtedly want to punch him in the face. Operating on instinct, he reached out for his sister, pulling the woman into a hug. No matter what he said, those words were going to cheap. "I'm sorry, Gracelyn. This isn't the way I wanted you to find out." What else could he say?

Gracelyn Cordova , Matthew Cole

[Matthew Cole]

Matt noticed how Grace froze when she looked over at the man in question. “He’s definitely following me.” That was the answer he expected as he saw the look on her face and he held her hand in return as she held on to his. But before he had a chance to go and deal with the guy Grace stomped over to him.  Matt hurried to follow her with the intention of taking her arm to stop her approaching him. Then she shouted out the guys name in a very mother like tone letting Matt know she knew the guy and that he was not just some random stalking her. In fact Matt was sure Cordova meant he had to be a relative of hers, right? It all happened so fast, Grace introduced the man as her dead brother before slapping him across the face. Matt quickly looked at Nathaniel and then back to Grace, "Brother?" Needless to say Matt was more than a little confused, he looked back and forth between Grace and Nathaniel not entirely sure what was going on. But then he was more concerned over how upset Grace was as she began to cry. He moved to comfort Grace when Nathaniel moved in first.       Matt watched as Nathaniel put his arms around her, though if she was going to take the hug well was yet to be seen. Matt just stayed close, ready in case Grace wanted to run into his arms instead...or in case he needed to make Nathaniel back off. After all the guy wasn't favor of the month right now. Tag: Gracelyn Cordova , Nathaniel Cordova . ~*~

[Gracelyn Cordova]

and i won't take defeat

template by punki-chan of adoxography

Grace froze when Nate went to hug her. Though she didn’t pull away she didn’t put her arms up to embrace him either. The only indication she was even remotely okay with the hug was a slight lean into the hug. Then he said those words. Grace pulled herself away just enough to be out of the hug. “You LIED to me, to the entire family. We BURIED you Nate!” No, she didn’t want to go into how upset their mom had been over this. Grace had been going back to check on them from time to time. When she could get away. With her it wasn’t a case of leaving and never looking back. Family mattered to her.

Grace was well aware of the fact that Matt was right behind her and her few steps back undoubtedly had her stepping on his toes. Right, Matt had questioned her about her brother just a few seconds prior. It took a few seconds to register. “Yes, you heard me correctly. My brother.” The words were dripping in hurt, they weren’t snappy but they weren’t all warm and fuzzy either. Grace never talked about her brother, or the circumstances surrounding his death. It had hurt to much. No, she wasn’t going to admit that Nate was the reason behind her drinking. Grace leaned into Matt and took a deep breath. Grace right now didn’t want to hug anyone, her body language pretty much spoke for itself. She needed to be held so she could break.

The blonde looked over her shoulder at Matt and decided that she might need to start talking and fast. Nate and Grace didn’t even look slightly like they were brother and sister. “I was adopted by the Cordova’s when I was little. I don’t even remember my birth parents. They were neighbors.” She omitted the part where Nate left and never came back for her. Honestly, part of her couldn’t blame him for that. He’d known with her talent that she was already on the right track. Though if it hadn’t been for his disappearance, she wasn’t sure she’d have put her heart and soul into soccer. Nate and Grace had been close… once upon a time and right now she felt like lecturing him on family. Though she was shutting down emotionally. Her words seemed to be laced in fact, not in emotion.

Tag: Matthew Cole, Nathaniel Cordova

[Nathaniel Cordova]

Nate hadn't been expecting a warm reaction. Far from it. Sure enough, in response to his reaching out, what he got was the barest hint of a hug. That expectation had kept him from getting too close from his sister, or his parents. And, right now, Nate regretted letting Jia talk him into this. Grace had taken it the hardest when he'd left to join the Army. She wouldn't understand that this had been a classified operation, that he had only jumped onboard with this to protect her. Because she lived in Chicago – one of the three cities the CIA had pegged as a possible target. The frustration slipped out. "You know I can't talk about my job! What was I supposed to do? Trust someone else to protect you?"

Considering the odds and – no offense to her boyfriend – the kind of threat he had been squared off against, Nate wouldn't let anyone else keep an eye on his little sister. Whether Gracelyn wanted him to or not wasn't up for debate, but when she pulled away, retreating into Matt's arms, Nate let her go without a fight. It didn't take a genius to determine his return had stirred up old wounds. No matter how close the two of them had been, time had seen them since grown apart. Things might not be the same ever again.


"Gracie..." Nate used his old childhood nickname for her. A name no one else had ever been able to use – not even their parents. He could still remember the time his sister decked another boy at school for calling her that. "You've always been the better of us. Your talent, your intelligence... you had a way out of that neighborhood. The Army was my only way out. I didn't want to lie to you! You might not understand – I doubt I would, if I were in your position – but once I found out the situation, that you could be at risk, there was no option."

Matthew Cole , Gracelyn Cordova

[Matthew Cole]

Matt frowned as Grace yelled at her brother that she had buried him, it was the firs time he had heard her yell like that and it was the first time he had ever seen her THIS upset. He put his arm around Grace's waist supportively when she pulled away from Nate and stepped back to him. The fact that she had been adopted didn't matter in Matt's book, well of course it mattered as he cared about what she had been through, but he didn't care who she called family as long as she had a family to call her own. There was a lot more to family than DNA. Point was she was still Grace and him finding out the circumstances around her childhood and upbringing wasn't going to change anything. But when Nate raised his voice as his frustration slipped out Matt instantly gave him a firm look and took a step towards him, putting a small space between Nate and Grace, "Hey. Don't you raise your voice at her." He said firmly. Ok, Grace may have started the yelling but Matt wasn't gonna stand by and watch this guy raise his voice at her. Especially when he was the one who had pretended to be dead. Besides, more importantly high tension and raised voices was what often lead to things escalating...Though if Matt had to worry about a Cordova hitting a Cordova here, it would probably be Grace hitting her brother. "You've always been the better of us. Your talent, your intelligence... you had a way out of that neighborhood. The Army was my only way out. I didn't want to lie to you! You might not understand – I doubt I would, if I were in your position – but once I found out the situation, that you could be at risk, there was no option." A light scoff escaped Matt, didn't want to lie? "Well you did a bang up job of that didn't ya, pal?." He muttered. Ok, this wasn't really any of his business and it wasn't his place to put his nose in, but then Matt wasn't the type to always mind his Ps and Qs. Tag: Gracelyn Cordova , Nathaniel Cordova . ~*~

[Gracelyn Cordova]

and i won't take defeat

template by punki-chan of adoxography

Trust someone else to protect her? Oh, yeah like she really needed that. “I dunno I’ve managed to make it a better part of a decade without my brother holding my hand.” She’d only been 15 when he’d left. She had at least doubled in age since he’d left for the army. Feeling Matt’s arms around her waist she didn’t fight him as he closed the gap between siblings. She couldn’t blame Matt for being protective of her.

Though she heard Nate use that name. Gracie hit her like a freight train and she spun her back towards Nate putting herself between the two guys. “Let it go, Matt.” Her lip quivered and there was a slight pause. “Please?” Grace was doing the best she could to hold herself together. She set her hand up on Matt’s shoulder before finally whirling around to face her brother again.

All it took was one look and everything fell apart. Grace put her arms around Nate and buried her head in his shoulder. “There’s only one person in this world allowed to call me that.” She knew he knew that but it was all she could think to say at the moment. Was she still mad at him for lying? Yes, yes she was but it was overridden by the fact she was realizing this wasn’t some crazy person or a dream. “For the record, you aren’t forgiven for lying to me.” She replied through tears.

Then there was Matt’s retort about doing a bang up job. Grace lifted her head and gave him a look. But she couldn’t help but share Matt’s sentiment though. Except she didn’t want a fight. But she wasn’t so sure about anything right now. So much trust had just been shattered. That was a conversation for later. Grace stared off of Nate’s shoulder watching Matt. She wasn’t trying to hide anything from him. It was clear that she was going to need someone to help her get through the coming days.

Tag: Nathaniel Cordova Matthew Cole

[Nathaniel Cordova]

Yeah, next time a terrorist decides to target the city you're living in… Nate would be there to protect her again, whether she knew it or not. Maybe she wasn't asking, but she would never need to. He was her brother; it went with the territory. If Gracelyn need her space, needed him somewhere else – anywhere else – then Nate would give her space. He had no words for her hasty retreat. Convinced, now more than ever, that coming back had been a mistake, he made the decision to leave her be. She could have her silent fury.

A decision that crumbled in the span of just a couple of seconds. Gracelyn spun back around, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder. Nate didn't even hesitate, enveloping his sister in a big hug. "The only person you didn't deck for it," Nate chuckled, his voice cracking from the emotion of the reunion. Even their parents had been forbidden from calling her Gracie. Maybe she hadn't forgiven him, but at least they could try to move forward from here. See where things went. It was a start.

If Matt and Gracelyn weren't dating, Nate would have planted the other man into the ground using extreme prejudice. Nate had to remind himself to play nice because, while very few people could withstand the trained lethality of a Special Forces operator, he didn't want to further upset his little sister. She'd been through enough already – all because of him. So Nate settled for a scathing look instead; when you could kill someone more than a dozen different ways with your bare hands alone, that qualified as nice. "Thank you. I wanted to know what the peanut gallery thought."

Gracelyn Cordova , Matthew Cole

[Matthew Cole]

Matt's eyes softened as Grace looked at him and asked him to let it go. He nodded gently, he only wanted to look out for her because he cared, he didn't wanna make the situation any more stressful for her than it already was. So if she asked him to back off then he would. He took a step back, giving the pair a little space as they bonded over the nickname. "Thank you. I wanted to know what the peanut gallery thought." Matt shot Nate a look in return. His attitude was not appreciated but Matt bit his tongue, for Grace's sake. Matt stepped back over to Grace and looked at her, gently touching her arm, "I'm gonna give you two a moment." He told her. He felt a little like a third wheel standing next to the emotional pair and he didn't want to get in the way...or get into an argument with Nate.   "I'll be just over there." He was giving them some space but he was sure gonna stay near in case Grace wanted him. He gently lowered his hand off her arm and stepped away, not able to help but shooting Nate a bit of a look as he turned. It wasn't like he was trying to start anything, in fact he was trying to NOT start anything, this wasn't about him it was about Grace. It was just that Nate hadn't rubbed him the best way. Tag: Gracelyn Cordova , Nathaniel Cordova . ~*~

[Gracelyn Cordova]

and i won't take defeat

template by punki-chan of adoxography

Grace heard the retorts of both Nate and Matt; she wouldn’t stand for the two of them going at each other over her. Matt was right. Nate even if he hadn’t intended to lie to her, he had. Grace looked over towards Matt and her eyes showed the storm inside. One she couldn’t possibly show to her brother. Grace broke the hug with her brother and went towards Matt as he started to back away. “No, I um… we should probably get going.” Yet she didn’t really want to leave. What if Nate left again?

“This better not be the last time I see you Nate. I’m not going to let anyone play head games with me. Do you understand?” Grace didn’t want to spend the evening alone right now. She looked back towards Nate. “If you really want to fix all of this...the lies stop here.” Grace was trying to be persistent and put her foot down but she wasn’t exactly the type who was very good at when she was emotionally wound up.

“But I need some time, Nate. This is a lot to process.” She admitted as she scribbled her number on a piece of paper and handed it to him. “I’m staying with a friend until I can afford my own place.” Grace was working two jobs just to pay her friend to stay with her. “It’s probably better that you don’t scare Kelsey to death by pounding on the door.” Grace took a few steps back into Matt’s arms.

Grace lifted her chin only to look at Matt with a tear stained face. “Don’t let me do anything stupid.” She handed him her keys by stuffing them in his pocket. Driving this upset was a recipe for disaster. Grace wanted to drink and she wanted to forget this was even happening. In all likelihood she was probably going to drink this off at some point. Like she tried to drink everything away. Grace knew she needed a conversation with Nate but she knew there was no way it was happening now in her emotional state.

Tag: Matthew Cole Nathaniel Cordova

[Nathaniel Cordova]

Nate watched Gracelyn retreat, once more into the protective arms of her boyfriend. The damage, no matter how much Nate tried to repair it, had already been done. She had every right to be upset – to be angry, or even furious – but the patterns were all too familiar. Given the same choice, Nate had enlisted in the Army, using both time and distance to escape a bad Miami neighborhood, leaving his family behind in the process. Time and distance: Gracelyn would have plenty of both if the Army gave him new orders. If Nate continued down the same road. It was funny how things changed. "You're running. Same thing I did when I turned seventeen."

Nate wanted to be done running. He'd been younger and, perhaps, foolish the first time, but that only worked as an excuse once. In hindsight, the Army, which had seemed like his one way out, had come at a cost. It didn't take a line drawn in the sand for him to realize he'd made mistakes. Waking up each morning, Nate was confronted with arguably his biggest. The growing list of people he'd had this conversation with only reinforced that reality. "I was thinking about staying put actually," Nate told Gracelyn quietly.

A decision Gracelyn seemed insistent on pushing in the opposite direction. If she was going to run, then Nate wouldn't stop her, or run after her. It was her life; she was entitled to make her own choices without having him interfere. Nate would just have to figure out a way to tell their parents, while hoping that conversation went better than this one.

Gracelyn Cordova , Matthew Cole

[Matthew Cole]

Matt turned to step away in order to give the pair some space but Grace stopped him before he took a step. “No, I um… we should probably get going.” He turned back, putting his hand on her back, "Are you sure?" He asked gently. He didn't want her regretting walking away if she wasn't sure that she wanted to leave. He stayed by Grace while she finished talking to her brother, giving him her number and telling him not to disappear. She was trying to be firm and put her foot down but anyone could see how emotional she was right now. He looked down at her tear stained face as he looked up at him. “Don’t let me do anything stupid.” He shook his head 'no' letting her know that he wouldn't do that. He cupped her face in his hands and wiped her cheeks with his thumbs, "I won't." He told her gently. He was gonna keep hold of her keys and keep her company until she settled down. He wasn't gonna let her be on her own right now while she was so upset because that was the last thing she needed right now. "You're running. Same thing I did when I turned seventeen." Matt looked at Nate then back at Grace, he wasn't Nate's biggest fan but the guy had a point. He was Grace's brother and she obviously cared about him so despite his feelings for the guy Matt wasn't gonna rush Grace to leave, "I know you're upset and I'll take you home if that's what you want, but you don't get this moment twice." It wasn't everyday you got a loved one back from the dead and he didn't want Grace to just run away from it on impulse, though he could understand that urge. He could only imagine how he'd react if it was his father randomly turning up in the middle of a parking lot saying 'Hey, turns out I'm alive'. Tag: Gracelyn Cordova , Nathaniel Cordova . ~*~