Sons of Mayhem 1

Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Nicole

I didn’t feel like speaking much, and nor did Lucy or Jase. When he’d come out of the meeting room, his face had been grim, but different to when he’d gone in. He didn’t look any happier - who could in a fucked up situation like that - but there was a new look of determination on his face. It was a look that said, I’m going to make things right.

He thumped on the rickety counter of the bar to get everyone’s attention. He hadn’t needed to of course, all eyes were on him already. “If you’re not a member or a prospect we’re going to need you to leave. Everyone!” His voice boomed across the room and no one dared to question him. His voice meant business and I could feel the underlying rage boiling underneath his barely controlled voice. I shivered a little and assumed he meant me too. Even though I’d done nothing wrong I still felt nervous.

I pushed myself up from the table and wondered what to do. Will someone call me a taxi? I don’t even know where we are.

Maybe I should have insisted on a taxi for me and Lucy. But no, Jase came over. “I’ll drive you two back. I’ve got some errands to run.” His voice was different to yesterday. He wasn’t being cold, exactly, but there was a harshness and disinterest that hadn’t been there before. It was like he was only half there. Not surprising, poor guy.

He led me over to where Lucy was sitting, head down, at a table. She looked younger than her twenty-one years sitting there in yesterday’s skimpy outfit; like a young teenager dressing up far beyond her years. She raised her head dully as we approached.

“Let’s go Lucy. Let’s go back to the dorm.”

She nodded, though from her eyes you wouldn’t have known she’d comprehended what I’d said. They were empty of emotion, though the trails down through her ruined makeup showed where she’d been crying before. She’s spent.

A few minutes later we sat in the front of a pickup truck. Jase was driving, I was next to him, and Lucy sat with her head pressed against the window, staring at the dull desert scenery as we left the compound and headed back to the college.

I stared forward as we drove down the road. It felt strange now to be going almost sixty miles an hour and not feel the wind rushing through my hair and over my body. Has it only been a day? It seems like a lifetime ago I left old Nicole behind.

I turned to watch Jase as he drove. He was holding the steering wheel with one hand, the other arm resting on the door. I could see the tendons in his forearm flexing as he controlled the truck. Around his wrist I noticed a tattoo written in cursive script. Due to the steering wheel and the angle of his arm I couldn’t read it properly.

My fingers ran over the soft hairs of his wrist as I indicated the tattoo. “What does it say?”

Jase glanced down as if he’d forgotten what was on his wrist and needed to check himself. His expression turned cold when he saw where my fingers rested. I gulped.

“It’s bullshit.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say. It was obviously a sensitive issue.

Jase sighed and spoke again, “I got it when I was young. In high school. Me and…” his voice trailed off.

“Brodie?” My voice was soft. Poor guy. I can see he’s hurting so bad. Has he even cried?

He nodded. “He got it too. We were fuckin’ idiots. Hadn’t lived. Didn’t know what we were doing.”

I wondered what could be so bad. I could make out what looked like love, and none, but I wasn’t sure what the rest said. “Even if it’s stupid, at least you’ll have it to remember him by.” God that sounds trite. You’re still an idiot Nicole.