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On his shoulder, Liam was holding a sleeping Everleigh, who always wanted in his sturdy arms. The rest of us were unraveling, and she sensed it.
Just then, Dad marched through the main room where we were and barked, “Liam, church. Time to patch you in.”
I grumbled, “He’s not your dog.”
Dad stopped dead in his pissed-off tracks.
“Boy,” Liam tried to save me.
Eerily, Dad faced me. “What did you just say to me?”
Hand to Ev’s back, Liam stood, telling Dad, “Brother, breathe.”
In the corner of my eyes, I saw Stallions paying attention and closing in.
Dad took a deep inhale but didn’t get to finish. I didn’t care how disrespectful I was being. I had something to say, and I was going to be heard. “I belong in church, too.”
Dad’s jaw ticked as some sort of crazy flashed in his eyes. “You ain’t a man yet, little boy.”
I huffed. “I’m the only one here who was capable of sending a bullet into one of Mom’s killers.”
Red? Black? You choose the color spectrum Dad saw before he charged. Liam stepped in front of me while other Stallions grabbed their Prez, all yelling for him to calm down and not do anything he’d someday regret.
The ruckus woke up Ev, who started to cry, yet again.
Her tears were becoming my undoing. Every drop of her innocent emotions grated my nerves.
“Duuuke?” From over Liam’s shoulder, she reached down his back to touch my head.
I stepped away, glaring at her with all the unfair blame that was in my heart.
Men were still holding ‘Prez’ back, as I shifted some blame back to him. “Huh. Who could have guessed a little girl could be the reason for the death of a wonderful woman?” I backed away, shooting fire toward my dad. “You?”
And there it was.
I had just publicly blamed my dad for my mother’s murder.
As I walked into a hallway to get as far away as I could from the man I now hated, I heard his men wrestling him to the concrete floor. The carpet had been ripped up long ago because of heavy partying, hence puke and booze.
Dad screamed, “I fucking loved her! My fucking wife, you little fucking prick! My wife is dead!”
Letting my heart go cold—to a freezing degree—I told it we didn’t care about Dad’s pain. I told my heart, “He’s not our dad anymore. Let ‘Legend’ earn his title and never be forgotten for cheating on my mother.”
A few more weeks had passed when Liam found me in his room. Putting out his cigarette, because he no longer smoked in his room, he now wore a black leather cut with Steel Stallion emblems. “Hey, Pup.”
I was sitting on his bed that had been moved into the corner so that Everleigh wouldn’t roll out. I slept there with her. Liam was on a cot right next to my side of the bed.
Clothes retrieved clothes from our home, now took over Liam’s dresser and closet. Ashtrays on his nightstand had been replaced with a nightlight that shined stars on the ceiling. Toys were all over the floor and teddy bears were between the biker’s pillows, even one on his cot because Ev wanted to share. Yet, this man had not one complaint.
Amongst all my complaints, I’d been told Ev and I would eventually get our own rooms, but for now, we had our personal guard. That was where we were to be.
Dad hadn’t offered for us to stay in his room. I don’t think anyone thought that was wise; he was still unhinged after losing Mom. Plus, he and I were actively butting heads like raging bulls.
Me not responding to Liam’s greeting, he entered while I played Atari.
Frogger was my favorite. Trying to cross a road without getting squashed felt like good practice for my real life.
When I still didn’t say anything, he spoke up. “Lynx, as a personal favor, can you take it easy on your pops?”
