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"Are you saying you won't come get us?" Layla whines.
"No. I'm on my way."
She was right. It didn’t matter how much our dad hated Knox. They got married on her eighteenth birthday, before she even graduated high school. Dad told her he would kick her out if she married him, and she did, and she moved into the clubhouse with him, leaving me all alone to deal with our parents.
“You’ll get married one day, Nell,” Layla promises at the kitchen table in her house. Knox built the house and the damn table, too. “You’ll find a nice man and settle down. You’re only twenty.”
“I hate the sound of settling down. I don’t want to settle. I want what you have. I want a man that loves me enough to build me a giant house so I can fill it with dogs.”
“Dogs? Not babies?“
“Dogs.Not everyone wants babies, Layla.” I know that’s going to hurt her, but I don’t mean for it to. It’s just the truth.
“And what if I can’t have any? You’re not going to give me nieces and nephews?”
“No.”
Layla sighs and rolls her eyes at me. “You might change your mind. And with the right man it doesn’t feel like settlingdown, it feels like upgrading.”
“You won the lottery on men. Admit it.”
She holds her hands up and smiles. “I admit it. I have a damn good husband, and someday you will, too.”
“But If not, at least I’ll have dogs.”
“Nell, can I talk to you for a minute? Shit, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
I need to put a sign on my back that says ‘skittish, proceed with caution’. I clutch my chest and focus on slowing my breathing before I turn around to face Pres. “What’s up?”
“I got you a job waitressing at my restaurant, BIBO. You’ll work the same shifts as Clara, one of our girls here, so she can drive you and train you. Does that sound okay?”
“Yeah, that sounds fine.” I hate being a waitress but I’ll do anything to be in control of my own life again.
“I need to get your information for some tax paperwork and a background check. Is there anything I should know about before I do that?”
“No. There’s nothing on my record.” Not that I didn’t tempt fate a thousand times, but Knox saved our asses every time.
“Great. Follow me down to Chapel and I can have you fill everything out.” As we walk down the stairs he says, “Is everything going okay so far?”
“Yeah. Maya was really helpful. Thanks for sending her.” I would never have found my way around this place if she hadn’t given me the tour. I’ve been here before, but it looks a little different now. They must’ve done some serious remodeling.
“And Tree? He’s been helpful?” Pres is being supremely accommodating. More than I would ever have expected, but maybe that’s me being judgemental. The tattoos on his fingers and neck don’t make him less of a person.
“As much as he can be. I know losing my sister was hard for him. I can tell how much it's affecting him.” I’ll have to figure out how to get him out of his funk.
“Right. It’s definitely been a tough time for him.”
Chapter Six
Tree
Jesus ChristI’m sore all over. I open my eyes to the concrete ceiling. Concrete. Where the fuck am I? My limbs are slow to move, but I finally get my hand to my face and rub at my eyelids. I roll over on the scratchy couch and blink my eyes open.
Someone groans in a chair across from me. He still has a fucking needle hanging out of his arm, and he’s not the only one in the room like that. How’d I end up in a heroin den? I have to get out of here. I shove up the sleeves of my shirt to check for track marks, but thankfully there are none. The coffee table in front of me is covered in white powder, and that’s probably from me.
How many days have I been here? I can smell myself, and it’s not good.You’re a piece of shit.I kick the table over on my way out. I still haven’t finished fixing my bike from the wreck, so I drove the truck. I think I’m okay to make it home. The drugs are flushing out of my system. The last thing I remember is getting hit by a wrecking ball of guilt for laughing with Nell.
Layla would tell me it’s okay to smile and feel joy, but she’d be wrong. It feels disgusting to eventhinkabout happiness again, like I’m betraying her. Our love was so strong that it feels like if I even dream of smiling again I’m making what we had meanless.
