AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Tarek … he seems like he wants to know everything about me. He keeps asking me questions about my past, my childhood.”
“And that’s a bad thing?” she asks.
“No. It’s not. I just don’t know how to open up to him. No one has ever wanted to get to know me as a person. The way I grew up wasn’t like everyone else.”
“Then that’s what you tell him.” Just as she says that he’s standing in front of me, offering me his hand. How could I say no to him?
I slide my hand into his, and he pulls me to my feet, quickly kissing my forehead before he pulls me through the main room. We’re out the door in no time, and he’s passing me a helmet.
“I’ve never been on a bike,” I tell him.
“It’s easy. Just hold on and lean when I lean. Let your body follow mine and relax.”
“Where are we going?”
“I want to show you somethin’.” His smile couldn’t get any brighter. There’s something about this man that calls to me.
I slide on the helmet and climb onto the bike behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He pats my thigh and causes bumps to erupt over my flesh before starting the bike. It rumbles beneath us before he pulls out of the parking lot and takes off.
I follow his instructions, and eventually, I relax into him. He takes the road as if it were made just for him. It’s amazing to see him become one with his bike and the ease in his posture.
The ride is nice. I never thought I’d like being on the back of a bike, but I do. Or maybe it’s being with him. I can’t really say for sure.
The bike slowly comes to a stop, and he kills the engine. I climb off with Tarek following me. I look up at the old brick building and wonder where he brought me.
He offers his hand once more, and I take it in mine. He leads me toward the building and finally inside. It doesn’t look like anyone has lived here for a long time, but I don’t question him because I feel safe with him. I walk with Tarek up what’s left of the crumbling steps and down a hallway.
“It was here where I met her. She wasn’t supposed to be here,” he tells me, giving me another piece of his past. Another piece of him.
“What was she doing here?”
“Being a rebel. Tryin’ somethin’ new. She wanted to do whatever her parents told her not to.”
“And then she met you.”
“Then she met me. I remember seein’ her in the hallway, peekin’ around the corner. One of the other boys who lived here was with her. They were laughin’ and fuckin’ with the older kids. She came around that corner,” he says, pointing it out to me. I look up at his face; it’s almost like he’s right back there again. “They were chasin’ them. I remember them barrelin’ around the corner after the two of them. She took off runnin’, laughter burstin’ out of her, and slammed right into me. I grabbed her and held her even though she tried to fight out of my grip.”
“You saved her,” I whisper. Tarek’s smile gets bigger.
“The older kids came around the corner, and her eyes widened. She was scared of what was gonna happen. She didn’t know me or if I was with them. They came toward us wantin’ to get to her, but I wouldn’t let them. I fought them instead. I fought them to keep her safe,” he tells me.
“You really did save her,” I repeat. He looks down at me and shrugs.
“Not when it counted.”
“You can’t do that to yourself. You can’t blame yourself for what happened.”
“I can, and I do. Over time it’s become easier. Lettin’ go of the guilt, I mean. The pain, though? I don’t think that will ever get any better, but you help, Pierson. You help me more than you could ever know.” My heart swells at his words.
“I never knew my mother. She was there one day and gone the next. We weren’t allowed to discuss it, and I never knew what happened to her. I tried to ask my father over the years, but he just blew me off and said we weren’t to speak of her. It was just me and my brother growing up.”
“What was it like? Livin’ with him?”
“Most of the time, we didn’t even see him. He was always so busy doing whatever it was he did. We were mainly left to the maids to raise. My brother tried his best with me. He did what he could for me but was in line to take over for my father one day. That meant he had to learn the ropes at an early age. He still made sure to check up on me.”
“So you don’t know much about your dad?”
“Not really. I know he’s a killer and has no feelings. He didn’t want us. If he did, he would have been there for us.”
