“Jody!” Dad said sternly. “Where are you going? It’s a weeknight, there’s a nine o’clock curfew, remember?”
I eyed Dad and felt pity. Any love I had for my parents had long disappeared. Mimi and Myles were both younger than me and spoiled rotten. No matter what, I was blamed for everything. Hell, Mimi and Myles had done things in front of my parents, and I was still the culprit. I was looking forward to freedom, which came courtesy of Magic.
“Didn’t you get the memo, Dad? I’m moving out,” I stated, and Dad’s jaw dropped open.
“You can’t!” he spluttered.
“Sure, I can. I’m twenty-one and an adult.” I knew what was coming and began counting down.
“You can’t leave without warning,” Mom gasped, looking at Dad.
“Because you’ll miss me. Aww, Mom, that’s so sweet,” I cooed, knowing that wasn’t the reason.
“You’ll have to pay six months’ rent up front. That’s the cost of moving without notice,” Dad said.
Bingo. They wouldn’t miss me, just my money.
“Nah, not happening. You’ve had plenty out of me. Make Tweedledee and Dum get a job. Because I’m not paying for their sorry asses anymore.” I picked up my purse and bag and stared at Dad. “Are you going to move?”
“Not until you give me a cheque,” Dad replied.
I tilted my head toward the window and smiled coldly. Dad’s eyes darted to the side. “Outside are some bikers. They’re friends of Magic. If I shout for help, they’ll kick the door in and come in. They won’t take any prisoners either.”
Mom blanched as Mimi flinched back. “Bikers?” she whispered.
“Yup. Problem?” I replied.
“What have you become? Some biker whore? Who’d have thought my daughter would have turned out like this?” Mom lamented, and I laughed.
“Let’s get this straight. Your daughter? For twenty-one years, you’ve rued the day I was born and made no bones about it. Constant criticism, never-ending punishments for things I didn’t do, continuous putdowns. You didn’t want me and made that perfectly clear. Nothing I ever did was good enough.
“But Mimi and Myles? Oh yeah, the perfect children. Great at lying to your faces, deceiving you, stealing, being drama queens, cruel, spiteful, and petty on top of all that. Why the hell would I want to stay? Because I’m nobody to you.”
“That’s a lie!” Mom exclaimed, wringing her hands together.
“Is it? When I was nine, you took the bike Aunt Sophie bought me and gave it to Mimi. Why? Because Mrs Potts told you Mimi had beheaded all her roses. Despite Mrs Potts stating it was Mimi, you somehow decided it was me and that I was to be punished. Mimi had blonde hair, unlike my dark hair, but thatdidn’t factor into your logic. At six, Mimi pushed Alison Tate into the lake, again perfectly identified by Alison’s mom. But again, inexplicably, I changed hair colour and lost my doll collection.” I paused and looked at Dad.
“I had college planned, courses picked, and a scholarship won. Yet you stopped me attending because of what? Oh yeah, I wasn’t clever enough to attend. Out of the three of us, I got the best grades. But according to you, Mimi and Myles were much cleverer than I. Instead of getting a higher education, you forced me to get a job.
“Well, guess what? I’m going to college after all. My boss thinks I’ve got talent and wants to witness me excel. The egg’s on your face. Don’t stand there bullshitting about how you love and want me, because that’s pure bullshit. I wish you luck with those two spoiled, lazy, lying, stealing brats you raised. They will never give a shit unless it suits their manipulative ways. See ya,” I stated calmly.
If I showed emotion, that would be used against me.
“If you leave here, don’t ever come back,” Dad threatened.
“Oh, I won’t, not even if I’m homeless. I’d rather be a hooker than live with you again,” I declared and walked past them.
“Mom, my earrings!” Mimi cried. A short laugh escaped. I was leaving home, and all Mimi cared about were those blasted earrings. Well, they were compensation for some of the shit she’d stolen from me over the years.
“Screw them, Mimi, how are we going to pay for yours and Myles’ colleges and maintain a good standard of living!” Mom snapped. I sighed, not a single regret.
“That scum won’t keep you!” Dad roared. “Magic’s a jailbird and will never be a contributing member of society! Christ, Jody, he runs a dive bar!”
“At twenty-eight, Magic is more a man than you are! And Magic doesn’t run it, he owns it,” I retorted and slammed thefront door. Outside the white picket fence, four bikes sat idling. The frontman looked at me with approval. His name badge said Onyx, and underneath was a second stating President, and I knew the club was the Riders of Vengeance.
“Okay, woman?”
“Yes. Let me get my car. Thanks for coming,” I replied.
