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"Yeah, Maya showed me around. Hey, how the hell did Maya end up with two ol’ men? Does that happen often?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I can't imagine Knuckles sharing her with another member.
“Maya has two. One is the VP of your club and the other is the VP of another club, Aces of something.”
My eyes widen from the shock. “Since when?” I knew absolutely nothing about this.
“Dude, a few months at least! They’re looking at houses so they can all live together when the baby is born. Where have you been?”
I shake my head and scrub my blurry eyes. “I didn’t know. I haven’t really been much of a member lately. I’m just sort of out of it.”It's hard to pay attention to anything other than white lines right now.
Nell drives the rest of the way with my directions, to BIBO, in silence. Pres loves the name even though he didn't come up with it. We have no idea what it stood for originally, but he calls it Bikers In, Bikers Out.
I didn't think about the fact I'd have to drive myself back to the clubhouse, so I decide to hang around. Pres doesn't like us sitting in the regular dining area wearing cuts, so I ask the hostess for one of the private booths so I can sit and eat, pass some of the high maybe and then get back on the road.
I lean back in the seat trying to wrap my head around Maya being with Knuckles and Skip, pregnant, and looking at houses. It's a lot to ask me to process while my skin is coming alive. Every single one of my nerve endings is experiencing stimulation to the max. I'm on overdrive.
There's no way I can eat like this, so I get up and leave. I'm halfway home when I realize I didn't even wish Nell good luck on her first day. She asked me to be with her for comfort and I didn't give her any. I pull off to the side of the highway to text her.
I'm sorry I didn't tell you good luck. I hope you have a great first day. You're going to do great.
I finish the rest of my drive home and immediately start looking for Pres. He's out back smoking with Amy when I catch up to him. "Hey, I gotta talk to you."
"What the fuck? You shaved your beard off! I was starting to get used to the survivalist Tree."
I roll my eyes at him. "Yes. I shaved my beard. Can I talk to you?"
He takes one last hit before passing his joint to Amy and pointing at the door. "Chapel." He follows me in, and when we get to Chapel he shuts the door behind us. "What's going on?"
"I need to take some runs. I need money. I'm gonna scrap Nell's piece of shit car and that should give her enough for a deposit on an apartment, but I need to get enough to buy her another car."
"Sit down, Tree."
I don't want to sit. My legs and feet want to keep moving, but I sit anyway.
"Nell has a job now,” he says in the kind of condescending voice people talk to little kids in. “She can buy her own car."
"Don't talk to me like I'm a fucking kindergartener," I seethe, squeezing my hands into fists under the table. Pres and I have always been unafraid of each other, willing to risk it all to be heard, but I’m not going to sit here and be treated like a child.
"You've been given a lot of slack around here, but I'm about out of rope. Pretty soon I'm going to let you hang yourself on it. I'm not taking you on runs all fuckin' coked out. You don't even have a bike to ride. You need to focus on getting sober before you worry about taking on all of Nell's little problems."
"I can fix my bike up in two days, and I'll stay sober on the bike." I hate feeling like I’m begging for the right to make money, but that’s exactly what I’m doing.
"No. I absolutely refuse to take that chance. You clean up, fix your bike, and get your head screwed on right and I'll put you back on the road."
"My head is fine! I wrecked one time and you're acting like I killed a thousand people." No one was hurt in the accident but me. Everyone else survived. I made one mistake and now I’m not allowed to run with my club?
"My rope just got another inch shorter. How much more do you want to steal from yourself today?"
I huff, stewing in my desire to fight. If it was anyone else but Pres, I would've already started swinging. I'll find another way to get the money. My bike will be fixed by tomorrow morning if I can stay up all night, and I know just how to do it.
Chapter Seven
Nell- 2 weeks later
Waitressing is harder at BIBO than the last place I worked. It’s bigger, busier, and I’m running all day long. The pay is better, the customers snobbier, and the hours longer. I’m grateful for the job, but I’m running out of ways to convince myself that it’s worth it.
Being on my feet all the time leaves me sore and exhausted every day. My uniform feels like a peasant dress, and I don’t want to do this anymore. I need to find out how much longer Knox is going to be working on my car so I can do something different. He’s never around and I’m getting lonely in this house full of people.
