(unedited)
Bikers, Chains and Bad Boys: Chapter 17
It was so warm in here. It was dark and quiet. I couldn't see two inches in front of my face. It smelled like lavender and campfires. Something was cooking, like meat over a fire. My stomach growled. I turned, looking around, but it did no good. I couldn't see a thing. I wasn't even sure there was anything there, or if it was just perpetual darkness. My heartbeat picked up as I reached my arms out, pushing them through the air.
"Hello?" I called. I didn't get a response and my heart lurched a bit. Where was I? My feet moved; first the right, then the left. I continued to take steps, swinging my arms slowly around me, until my hand hit a solid surface. A wall. It was warm, almost too warm. A thin sheen of moisture covered my forehead and the back of my neck. The long sleeves of my shirt began to stick to my forearms and started to feel constricting.
My brows furrowed in confusion. My heart pounded in my chest as my feet moved quicker along the wall. I put both hands on it, searching for something; a doorway, a window. Something. I heard a noise on the other side, too low to determine what it came from. My heart jolted and my hands and feet moved faster, almost frantic.
"Hello?! Is someone there?" A sweat broke out above my lips and a drop rolled down the side of my face. It was so hot. I pounded on the wall as I ran around, seeing nothing but darkness. Suddenly, my hand hit something else. It was metal, scorching to the touch. I yanked my hand back with a hiss, shaking it out and holding it to my chest. What the hell?
Another noise came from the other side of the wall, louder this time. A cry. My heartbeat pounded in my ears as I banged on the door but got no response. I turned, searching for something, but I still couldn't see a thing. I faced the door again.
The knob. I reached my hand out tentatively, patting around for the doorknob I'd touched a minute ago. I tried to wrap my hand around it, but it was too hot to hold, so I wrapped the front of my shirt around my fist and tried again. It was still far too hot, but it gave me enough of a barrier to hold on long enough to twist the knob and shove it open.
Light suddenly engulfed the room and I slammed my eyes shut, covering them with my hands as the light burned my eyes. Heat engulfed me and I blew out a breath, swiping my sleeve across my forehead. Slowly, my eyes began to open, adjusting to the sudden intrusion of light.
Fire. Everywhere. The walls were covered in rolling waves of fire, turning the light, yellow walls into cracked, blackened boards. The heat was consuming, and my shirt felt like it was suddenly glued to me, twice as heavy as before. I swung my eyes around at the sound of another cry.
In the corner, three figures were huddled, crouched low. The fire was closing in on them, beginning to lick at their clothes and arms. Simultaneously, they lifted their heads and looked straight at me. Tears leaked from their eyes, but no sound came from their mouths as the fire began to consume them, igniting their clothes and blackening their skin.
I looked on, horrified and paralyzed. My heart was pounding furiously in my chest as I began to hyperventilate, panting from the heat and the terror caused by the scene in front of me. They stared at me, tears continuously rolling down their cheeks. I was completely frozen, despite the burning heat around me. I couldn't do anything. Tears filled my eyes and spilled over, rolling down my face as I stared back helplessly.
Then, they opened their mouths as if to say something, their faces crumpling in pain-
And screamed.
I gasped, jolting up. I panted, heart beating erratically as my eyes flickered frantically around my bedroom. Slowly, as awareness creeped back in, my heartbeat slowed as I slumped back in bed. I wiped my face, closing my eyes. I was drenched in sweat. Peeling the covers off me, I crawled out and made my way to the bathroom.
I splashed cold water on my face and took a few calming breaths, bracing my hands on the sides of the sink. I couldn't get that image out of my head, like it was seared into my brain. And the screams. They echoed around my head. I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head, as if that would dislodge them from my brain. No luck.
As I made my way back into my bedroom, I swiped a t-shirt from the armchair in the corner and threw it on, followed by a thin sweater from the closet and leggings from the floor. I quickly made my way down the stairs, stopping just long enough to slip into some running shoes before I slipped out the door. I plugged my headphones into my ears as I hurried down the steps, setting my playlist and shoved my phone away, taking off down the street.
I didn't want to think, I wanted that image out of my head. As my feet pounded against the pavement, my hand slid into the pocket of my sweater, turning up the volume to drown out the scream resounding in my head. I was too distracted to notice the car across the street with two sleeping figures in it.
I kept a steady pace, close to a sprint. When I started, it was still dark, the sun not quite breaking the horizon. I pushed myself, shoving every thought out of my head. I didn't want to think. If I started to think, the thoughts would consume me, and I'd break.
My ribs had started to hurt a few miles back, but I pushed through it, the pain a welcome distraction. It gave me something else to focus on. I stopped in front of the shop, panting and bent over with my hands braced on my knees.
When I finally pulled myself together, for the most part, I straightened and made my way inside the open shop door. The clock on my phone said it was three minutes until nine. I'd run for over three hours. I sighed as I slipped my phone back into my pocket and made my way over to clock in. I used the elastic band around my wrist to pull my damp hair up and out of my face. I turned the music off on my phone and made my way across the room to the office to start work.
As I pulled the clipboard off Andy's desk and turned to leave the office, I slammed straight into someone. Andy caught my arm to help as I caught my footing and righted myself. I mumbled an apology as I slipped around him and got to work.
I'd kept to myself most of the day, keeping quiet as my mind drifted through millions of thoughts. I'd finally gotten the scream out of my head, but when I stopped thinking about other things, the image of them in the corner as the fire engulfed their bodies flashed back into my mind. I tried to distract myself and keep myself as busy as possible. I'd counted every single item we had in the shop and took care of every single customer we had at the desk.
Someone dropped off pizza for lunch, but my stomach rolled at the thought of eating, so I continued what I'd been doing. It was half past two when Andy called me into his office. He pointed to the chair on the opposite side of his desk as I stepped in. I closed the door behind me and perched myself on the laminate chair and looked at him. He stared at me for a while before he spoke.
"What's wrong?" My brows shot up at his question, before coming together above my eyes. I cleared my throat as I shifted on the seat.
"Nothing." I said. "I'm fine-"
"Cut the bullshit." He cut me off. I shut my mouth and swallowed thickly. I looked away, out the window of the office for a few minutes. He sat patiently, waiting with his hands clasped atop his desk for me to talk. I sighed when my eyes met his and I realized he wasn't going to let it go and slumped back into the chair.
"Today is the three-year anniversary of the death of my mom and little brothers." If he was surprised, he didn't show it. He kept quiet, attention on me as I fiddled with my hands, trying to pull up the courage to say what happened. I took a deep breath and cleared my throat. "Three years ago, my mother, Dahlia, and my younger brothers, Mark and Luke, burnt to death in a house fire with my mother's friend, Jennifer, and her son, Mason."
He kept it together well, only letting his lips part the slightest bit in what I assumed was surprise or shock. I looked back out the window as I let that sink in for a while. He didn't say anything, and I didn't expect him to. There wasn't anything really to say.
"Come on." My head swung back to him as he stood up, making his way to the office door. I stood, following him out the door and toward the back corner of the shop floor. I rubbed gently at my sore ribs as we came up on a black Harley in mid-build and he took a seat next to it, motioning for me to join him.
That's where we stayed for the rest of the day, working side by side on that bike as I told him funny stories about my crazy little brothers and their life mission to terrorize me when we were younger. My mind stayed busy telling stories and my hands stayed busy on the bike, the perfect distraction to get my mind off everything.
When closing time rolled around, Andy and I made quick work of cleaning up and shutting everything down for the night. As we locked up, I stepped out the door to find Jared leaning against his bike, arms folded across his chest and a frown on his face. As I made my way closer to him, he spoke up, frown deepening.
"I stopped by your house this morning when you didn't text me to come back and take you to work." I paused mid-step, face paling and eyes widening, I hadn't even thought about texting Jared this morning. Dad was home so he wasn't there like he normally would be, and I was so distracted that it completely slipped my mind. No one had any idea where I was this morning and if something had happened, no one would've had a clue. I paled further at the thought.
"Imagine my surprise at the lecture and threats of bodily harm I got when I knocked on your front door, asking your Dad if you were home." My jaw dropped and my eyes widened infinitesimally.
"No wonder I got a call asking if you were at work today." Andy said. I sighed.
"I'm so sorry, Jared. I was so distracted this morning when I left to go for a run, that I forgot to text you."
"A run?" Jared straightened from his position and scrunched his eyes. "Your dad said you left before six this morning."
"And you showed up here running at nine." Andy said.
Uh oh.
"You ran for over three hours with your ribs not completely healed? Are you nuts?" Jared said, dropping his arms to his sides and looking at me as if I was crazy.
"Let it go, Jared. Are your ribs alright?" Andy came to stand in front of me next to Jared. My shoulders slumped in relief.
"I'm fine." He shot me a look. "They're a little sore, but no real pain. I'm ok." He nodded.
"You have any plans for tonight?" I shook my head. I didn't have anything planned to do tonight since it was the anniversary day. "Go home and get cleaned up and come up to the bar. A few guys from the club and the boys are gonna be there tonight. You should come hang out for a while – play some pool or something." I nodded.
I climbed on Jared's bike behind him at we took off toward my house so I could get changed. He wasn't truly mad at me about what my dad said this morning, he was just joking around about it. But, when he found out I went for a run, and a long one at that, by myself this morning with partially healed ribs, he said I was lucky he didn't hit girls, or he'd knock some sense into me. I'd laughed and told him I'd be the one to drive him to start hitting girls. He just rolled his eyes at me.
A few hours later, I stepped away from the bar with a drink in my hand and made my way to the pool tables. The bar was almost full, mostly of Reapers. I leaned against the wall next to the table that Corey, Jeb, Tyson and Paul had claimed earlier. Dustin was up at the bar attempting to sweet talk a brunette girl into going home with him. I couldn't tell if it was working or not, though.
"Damn." Jeb stood back up from his bent position. The cue ball rolled away from the eight ball he'd hit and missed in the corner pocket he'd been aiming for. Paul smirked, making his way around the table. He got into position, aiming for the right corner pocket down the table and sunk the eight. Corey whooped, slapping hands with Paul as Tyson and Jeb rolled their eyes.
"Alright! My turn!" Dustin shoved his way between the guys, grabbing someone's cue as he did so. He slapped the rack on top of the table and started gathering and arranging the balls. "Who's up for losing a little bit of money?" He looked around the table as he smacked a folded twenty-dollar bill on the edge. No one said anything, so I downed the rest of my drink, pulled out a crumpled twenty and pressed it onto the edge in front of me.
He smirked and winked at me. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on ya." A hint of a smile graced my lips.
"Thanks."
A few other people gathered around as we were chalking the cues and Dustin bent to break the balls.
"Good luck." He winked at me. "You'll need it."
Two hours later, I was shoving another twenty into my pocket. I was up over two hundred bucks. I'd won quite a few, against a couple of the guys. I'd just beaten Dustin twice in a row on technicalities. The first he'd sunk the cue ball with the eight. The second, he called the eight on a corner pocket and sunk it on a bank shot in a side pocket, forfeiting the game.
We gathered a bit of a crowd. I popped my hip out, holding my cue stick in one hand and propping my other hand on my hip. "Who's next?"
Brody sat a whiskey on the table next to me and threw me a wink. I shot him a smile in thanks and took a sip. I looked back at the crowd, raising a brow and waiting for my next victim. The crowd parted and Bear strode through, grabbing a cue and slammed a wad of cash on the table. My jaw dropped. He raised a brow in challenge and leaned against the table. I couldn't tell if it was casual or done on purpose to hide him swaying.
"Five hundred too much for you?" I raised my brows and smirked. Everyone was watching now.
"You sure?" I asked. He slammed the rack on the table in response and I let out a breath. Let's go, then. "You break."
Ten minutes in, Bear was on his third ball. The man took for fucking ever to take a shot and I was honestly getting bored.
"The town fair's next weekend." Someone said.
"Yeah, we should totally go."
"I'll definitely be there. Need to scope out the market." Dustin said. I rolled my eyes as Corey and Tyson came up and stood on either side of me. Corey handed me another drink and I nodded my thanks and gulped half of it down.
"So," Tyson started. "Becca's been hounding me about having you over for dinner." Corey snorted. I looked at him, missing the glare Tyson shot him over my head. He smirked. I turned back to Tyson.
"When?"
"Are you free tomorrow after work?"
"I have tomorrow off, so yeah I'm free."
"Cool," He said, smiling. "I'll be by around six?" I nodded in response, smiling back before watching Bear slowly make his way around the table, scoping out his next move.
"Moving at a glacial pace for this one, I see." Corey whispered. I grinned and he smiled back at me. "There it is. I've been waiting to see that smile all day." I gave a halfhearted chuckle. "Why were you so upset earlier today?"
I looked at him, surprised. He stared back expectantly, waiting patiently. I sighed, watching Bear aim at a blue ball for a corner pocket. It took a minute for me to reply. "Today's the anniversary of the death of my mom and little brothers." His lips parted in surprise, eyes widening. Before either of them could ask, I continued. "They burnt to death in a house fire three years ago."
They were silent for a few seconds, and I focused on the game in front of me. Suddenly, an arm settled over my shoulders and a kiss was pressed to the side of my head. I swung my head left to look at Corey and he gave me a sad smile.
"I'm sorry." He murmured. I shrugged one of my shoulders, leaning into him as I looked back to watch Bear ready his stick to make the shot.
Three, two, one – smack! The cue ball flew across the table, smacking into the solid blue ball, sending it flying toward the corner pocket. I held my breath as it rolled –
And missed, catching the edge of the table and ricocheting before it could make it into the pocket. I let out a huge breath of relief as I stepped forward.
"Fucking finally." I muttered. "I think I aged ten years just watching that." A few people laughed and he glared at me, but I ignored him, taking stock of the table and calculating my moves. I bent down, taking aim and sunk the nine ball. I walked around the other side, mapping the table and readied my aim, sinking the thirteen next.
It went quickly after that. First the eleven, followed by the fourteen, twelve and ten. Then, the fifteen. I took a deep breath as I looked at the eight-ball sitting between the corner pockets on the other side of the table.
I didn't think I could swing it into either of those. I sighed. I was going to have to make a bank shot. I bent over, taking my time as I aimed. Took a deep breath in and let it out as I took the shot. The cue ball flew across the table, through the three and seven, and smacked straight into the eight. The eight slammed into the edge, ricocheting back and rolling back passed the five.
My heart beat frantically, and I held my breath as it rolled passed the four, slowing as it rolled toward the left corner pocket and sunk right in.
A smile bloomed onto my face as Corey shouted, throwing his arm over my shoulder and jumping around. Bear growled in anger, chucking his cue onto the table and stomping back through the crowd toward the bar. People laughed as they turned to go back to whatever they were doing earlier before our big show.
Dustin slapped the wad of cash into my hand, smirking at me. "Damn, that was funny to watch. You beat his ass!" He chuckled and I smiled at him.
I caught Andy's gaze and threw him a grateful smile. His lip quirked as he tilted his head to me.
"Alright," I sighed. "I'm heading out." Sounds of protest flew around me and I laughed. "I gotta leave before I do something stupid and lose this big wad of cash I won." I said, patting my sweater pocket.
"Wanna binge watch movies with me? I got tomorrow off and Casey's at a friend's, so I don't want to be home tonight." Corey looked at me hopefully. I raised my brows at him.
"Of course. How could I turn an offer like that down?" I laughed and look over to Jared. "Seems like you get a night off." He laughed and hi-fived the guy to his right and I turned back to Corey. "Ready?" He smiled, throwing his arm over my shoulder and leading us toward the door.
He looked down at me pointedly. "You're picking up the popcorn of course." I threw my head back and laughed.
"I guess I can handle that."
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