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“Well. We better get a waffle maker for the cabin because to be honest with you, I don't know what the fuck is out there. Hell, I don't even know if the stove works anymore. I’ve not been there in ages.” Kingpin caught me in his arms. “I don't need anything. All I need is a week with you. Away from all this bullshit. A week to be Sky's lover.”
The next day came, and our bags were packed. But there was a knock on our door, and then Kingpin said something important came up.
We didn’t go to the cabin.
The kicker was that my Ol’ Man was still seeing Eve. After he disappeared for a long while, I heard they had a performance planned together tonight. Probably why we didn’t leave on our little trip.
I put on the mask I decided I’d wear in the club after I’d seen the doctor. To keep all the secondhand smoke away from me. The doc had agreed I shouldn’t be around so much. It was just as bad as smoking. It was my compromise. There was no way in hell I was just going to let Kingpin hang out all night at Royal Road without me.
He’d told me he’d ban smoking, but that was unreasonable. I didn't want to cause a stink. And boy, did it stink in here. The mask not only protected the baby, but it also kept me from vomiting. Pregnancy had caused my sense of smell to increase like I was a bloodhound.
I only removed it so Kingpin could give me a kiss before him and Eve went on.
Taking his guitar, he joined Eve onstage. She was as beautiful as ever. The prettiest girl in Nashville, I remembered Kingpin’s words. They hurt. Therefore, I reminded myself he’d just kissed me, his Ol’ Lady.
In a lacy, white, flowing dress, Eve resembled the beautiful bride she was supposed to be on the day I’d married Kingpin. I'd heard Hallow hadn't been around much. The word from Paisley was that he got drunk and forced himself on her. Rightfully upset, Eve wouldn't see him. I couldn’t blame her.
However, he was here tonight. I wondered how he got the bruises on his face. Bikers around here often looked banged up. Yet with everything going on, I wondered who’d beat him up. Had Eve punched his light out? Nah, she couldn’t have done that much damage.
I reluctantly watched the show. As Kingpin and Eve sang most of the songs together, about an hour's worth, I wished I could drink. I’d be drunk. His performance took my breath away as always. He had just as much talent as his star brother, but it came out raw and unpolished, somehow making it better in my book.
And I couldn’t argue with Eve’s talents. She was all perfection, and I hated her for it. I couldn’t sing or play a thing. I’d always been smart, and I could dance, but Kingpin never allowed me to dance here.
Just when I thought it was over, they played one last song. Their rendition of Noah Cyrus’s “Dear August” kicked me in the gut. Eve chanting that she didn't know where her road headed anymore, did me in. Chills ran all over me. That girl really didn't know what was happening. Her laser focused stare went anywhere but to Hallow who sat in a corner. That hadn’t alleviated my worries. But my husband was singing to her. The way he gazed at her as she hurt was the worst.
I decided to have a word with her afterwards.
While Kingpin was cutting up with his crew, smashing beer bottles, and smoking joints, I excused myself. I followed Eve to the bathroom.
Inside, I took off my mask. It didn’t smell strong in here. As she wiped her wet eyes, I appeared in the mirror behind her. Even though I was the young woman in Kingpin’s life, Eve was even younger than me, barely twenty-one.
I watched myself cross my arms. We were opposites. Where I was goth, with my straight as a stick, long black hair, she had blonde bouncy waves. She was all light and frilly, like my mom, Maddy Mae who Kingpin had been in love with his whole life.
My stomach twisted in knots.
“Oh, Sky. How are you, honey? How are you coming along?” She spoke of my pregnancy.
I ignored the bile rising in my throat.
“I'm doing great, spending a lot of time with my husband.”
“Yeah, about that. You know nothing has ever gone on between me and our dear Ol’ Prez, right? I am so sorry about that night. It was your honeymoon night, and I shouldn’t have used Kingpin as a shoulder to cry on? I realize that now. You know what they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty and all. But at the time, I just didn't know where else to turn.”
“Why? Why did you turn to him in the first place?”
“I gave up everything to be with Hallow. I gave up my family. I gave up my career and my friends in Nashville. It felt like Kingpin was all I had.”
“You don’t have any friends here?”
“Yes, I do. At the Eagle’s Nest, yes. Here at Royal Road, I couldn’t rely on one of the whores. They’d fuck Hallow before they’d help me get him back. Paisley, she’s the worst. I meant Kingpin was all I had who could get through to Hallow. On account of our deal, I was following the chain of command, sort of. Well, big mistake. You see how that worked out?”
“Yeah. Pretty bad. But Kingpin explained to me that he has absolutely no feelings for you.”
I’d been waiting to throw that one in.
“It’s all good,” I lied.
“Well, bless his heart, I certainly don’t have those sorts of feelings for him either.”
