Bikers, Chains and Bad Boys

Chapter 18

(unedited)

Bikers, Chains and Bad Boys: Chapter 18

Corey spent the night and I was so grateful that he did. I crashed on the couch halfway through the third movie. Corey had taken all the thick chair cushions and lined them up on the floor, covering them in tons of blankets to make a bed. Honestly, I was a bit jealous he got to sleep on it when I woke up in the morning; it looked so comfortable.

My night was plagued with nightmares, again. They were filled with Snake and Dave this time, though, instead of my family.

In the first one, Dave caught me in that alley and Snake didn't distract him like last time, so I didn't get the shot I did last time and I didn't get away. I was trapped and no matter who I yelled for or how loud I screamed, no one came for me. I woke up right before he did the deed, but there was a weight pressing on my chest that made it hard to breath as I thought about it, until I was able to fall asleep again, holding Corey's hand.

In the second, Snake was standing in the dark corner of my bedroom, taunting me as he smoked cigarettes and stubbed them out in my carpet with the toe of his boot. He would laugh and say they were coming for me, and that I wasn't going to get away this time. He said they had just been messing with me and that the real fun was about to start.

Every time I'd woken up from a nightmare, Corey was there, telling me I was okay – that it was just a dream. Then, he'd hold my hand until I fell asleep again. He told me he knew how it felt to be alone during these kinds of nights, and how much he wished someone was there – even just to hold his hand. I couldn't have asked for a better best friend.

I couldn't fall back to sleep after those two, though. Every time I closed my eyes, I just pictured them coming for me and succeeding all the times they hadn't before. They took me from the alley that night at the bar – Warren never came out the back door to run them off. Then, they were able to grab me off my bike and somehow, we didn't crash, and they got me to a van and took off with me. Right before I gave up on sleep, I pictured them beating my truck with bats, except this time I was in it and they pulled me out and beat me, too.

We bummed around on the couch the whole morning, watching TV and snacking on everything that wasn't a real meal. We regretted that later, though, and when Dad got up from his sleep, he joined us in the living room. I took that opportunity to make lunch for everyone as Corey hounded my dad about every detail of his life. Dad took it in stride; finding great amusement in Corey's enthusiasm to know everything about him.

Corey left around four when Casey called to get a ride home. They had to make the five o'clock curfew Elias had set, so they'd have time to get cleaned up before their "family dinner" at six that they couldn't miss. I hadn't missed the underlying emphasis he put on couldn't. Dad must have caught on to something, too, because before Corey left, Dad told him he and Casey were welcome here anytime, no questions asked.

Five rolled around quickly after that, and I went to get dressed. I'd been slumming it all day in sweats since the air conditioning was fixed and worked infinitely better than before. The house felt like you were stepping into the arctic and I loved it. Tyson was picking me up at five-thirty to go to dinner at his mom's and it was breaching ninety degrees today, so I threw on a loose tank top and jean shorts and gathered my hair into a ponytail.

I was making my way down the front porch steps after saying goodbye to Dad, when Tyson stepped out of Jeb's house and made his way to a red SUV in the driveway. He hadn't seen me yet, thankfully, because I caught myself running my eyes up and down his tall frame. He was freshly showered and had changed into a gray tee that hugged his strong shoulders and jeans that fell just right on his hips and hugged his thighs. It was so hot; I didn't know how he wasn't melting in those jeans.