Chapter Three
The sun floodedhis room through the uncovered window. Steel groaned as the light seeped through his cracked eyelids. He covered his eyes with his arm, pressing down hard in a vain attempt to stop the throbbing in his temples. His mouth tasted like he drank a bottle of sand, and he grudgingly grasped the end of his nightstand and pulled himself up. Sitting upright, his head pounded relentlessly. He pulled open the nightstand drawer and took out a bottle of aspirin, shaking out three pills and popping them in his mouth before swaying to the bathroom to get a glass of water. As he gulped them down and looked at himself in the mirror, puffy eyes greeted him. He splashed cold water on his face to cool down his hangover. Glancing at the clock on the shelf over the toilet, he realized that he’d overslept. He hurriedly jumped in the shower, having wanted to be at the hospital an hour before.
After drying off and throwing on some clothes, Steel walked into the clubhouse’s kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. He loved it black and strong, so Lena, the woman who worked in the kitchen, always made sure she had a pot waiting for him just the way he liked it. “Want a breakfast burrito?” she asked as he sat at the island sipping his coffee. He shook his head. “You sure? Not good to start the day on an empty stomach.”
“I started plenty of days without food when I was a kid. It didn’t hurt me.” He knew if he didn’t nip the conversation in the bud, Lena would talk his ear off, and that was the last thing he wanted in the shape he was in.
Lena had started working in the kitchen three years before after her old man—Cross Bones, one of the brothers—left her for a woman half her age. In her early forties, Lena had been devastated. What made the betrayal even worse was that the other woman was the old lady of Chains, another club member. The club kicked Cross Bones out and brought Lena in to supervise and work the kitchen. She’d been lost when her old man dumped her, missing the club she’d become a part of through him. In the past three years, the Night Rebels had enjoyed some damn tasty dishes. The club girls helped out, but the understanding was that what Lena said went, and none of the brothers would ever contradict her. For the most part she and the club girls got along, and the men were well fed.
After he finished his coffee, Steel jerked his head at Lena and went out to his Harley, jumping on and riding to the hospital. When he entered Chenoa’s room, she was sitting up in bed, a breakfast tray in front of her, her dark eyes glued to the television.
“Hey, sunshine. How’re you feeling?” He came over and kissed her head while running his fingers over her cheek.
“Dad….” She grimaced when he said her nickname.
He laughed. Ever since she was a baby, she was always smiling and grinning at everything, and her eyes would light up just like the sun. He’d started calling her his little sunshine from then on. Now that she was seventeen years old, he still called her “sunshine.” She pretended not to like it, but the way her eyes lit up, he knew she still loved the term of endearment. “They feeding you pretty good in here?”
She lifted the silver dome over a bowl of lumpy oatmeal. “What do you think?”
He ruffled her hair. “Fucking nasty. I’ll smuggle you in a cheeseburger with fries and a strawberry shake.”
Her eyes danced. He loved it when they did that. Looking at her wide grin and glittering eyes, he wished he could freeze the moment forever. He never wanted her eyes to turn flat or her face to grow placid. She’d always be his little girl—his sunshine—and he wanted to protect her from the world.
“Can you go now and get it? I’m starving.”
“Large fries and shake?”
“You know it.” He walked toward the door. “Dad?” He turned around. “Thanks. I love you.”
He nodded. “I love you too, sunshine.”
***
After she’d eaten,Steel pushed the tray away and sat down next to her, taking her hands in his. “You scared the shit out of your mother and me, you know?”
She bowed her head. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not saying this shit to make you feel bad, just telling you like it is. You got a problem, little girl.” He held up his hand as she began to respond. “I don’t want to hear your bullshit denials. You’re an addict and you gotta fix yourself or you’ll be lost forever. I know your mom and I don’t want that, and I’m pretty sure you don’t either.”
“I want to go home.” She looked up at him.
“I know you do, but you’re not ready to be on your own. You gotta stay in here for the next three weeks to detox your system.” She groaned and covered her ears, but he gently pulled away her hands. “I know you don’t want to hear or face this shit, but you got yourself in a mess and you gotta get out of it. I’ll come by every day to visit you. Your mom will be here. You’ve got our support. You just have to get better, and stay away from drugs. It’s shit and you know it.” He stared pointedly at her.
“Can’t I do it through an outpatient program?”
“No. ODing tells me you’re in deep. After you get out, I’m in charge. I want to know all your friends’ first and last names. You can write out the list today and I’ll take it with me when I come back to see you.”
“Dad, you’re going to kill my social life. I know you won’t just hang onto the list. You’ll browbeat and bully all my friends so that by the time I get out of here, I won’t have any left.”
“Your real friends will be left.”
She shook her head, her dark eyes narrowing. “Mom’s cool with my friends.”
“Your mom doesn’t know half the shit you do. Anyway, this is between you and me. And you gotta get your ass back to school. Your mom told me you dropped out a couple of months ago.”
“Breanna is setting me up with taking classes to get my GED. You should be happy about that since it’ll keep me busy.” She stared at the television.
When he heard the caseworker’s name, he paused. “Has she already come by to see you?”
