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“I told you to leave me alone,” I clip. “You need to leave.”
Axel tenses but still says nothing, his fist clenching next to me.
“You have no loyalty, young lady,” my dad barks.
I just stare at them. “I’m done with both of you. Stay away from me.”
“I’m your mother,” she shrieks. “How can you choose these bikers over your own family?”
“You’re not my family. You are abusive, toxic, and vile, and I will say it one last time. Stay away from me.”
Her eyes get wider, and she steps closer to my dad who isn’t saying anything either. I look behind me, and Allie, Paige, and Beth are lined up behind us with their arms crossed. Wow. They’re here for me. Warmth fills me when I think about my newfound family we’ve created here. Sometimes family isn’t always blood.
Beth says, “You have about thirty seconds to get going.”
Paige picks up a pipe in the corner and rests it on her shoulder, ready for what, I’m not sure, but my eyes are wide in surprise and shock.
Allie pipes in, “My turn to speak. Leave town. Sell your house, whatever you need to do. But you better go. Don’t come back, there’s nothing here for you. If you do come back, we’ll make your life a living hell. All of us. Get.” She glares at them, and Allie is scary when she’s mad.
“You can’t make me leave town,” my dad spits.
“Why not?” Paige asks smugly. “It sucks when someone bullies you so badly you have to leave, doesn’t it?” She swings the pipe around, and he eyes it nervously.
“Ten seconds,” Mellie says from behind me.
“I don’t have to put up with this.” He turns and stomps to his SUV. My mom follows, looking back to glare at me one last time as she gets in. Because that’s it for me. I have my family now, and it’s not them. It never was.
SJ walks in and takes my hand and pulls me toward him, looking around cautiously at what just happened.
“What’s going on?” he asks as he takes in the scene.
Axel looks at all of us and says to SJ, “They are scary.”
“Who’s scary?” Beth asks innocently as she picks up a stack of pizzas and carries it to the break room. “We just brought pizza.”
“Are we going to eat or what?” Mellie asks casually from behind us.
Allie smiles sweetly. “We brought dessert from the bakery.”
SJ stops in front of me and asks again, “What just happened?”
“My parents stopped by. I told them to leave, and they did. With help from friends.” I try to hide my smile.
“You okay?” he asks, looking at me, his whiskey eyes full of concern.
“I’m going to be fine.” And for the first time, I believe this.
“Where’s our dog?” he calls over his shoulder as he goes to check on his dad.
“Upstairs with her grandpa,” I call back, and he laughs and shakes his head. “I’d love to see his face when you call him that.”
* * *
After everyone has eaten, caught up on everything going on, and given hugs and left, I watch SJ working on a car. I finally ask him the million-dollar question. “Why didn’t you just tell me that my dad threatened you and made you leave?”
He stops sanding down the car and comes over to stand in front of me. “I didn’t want to see you hurt again, and I was ashamed I let him get to me like that. Also, I was a kid,” he says. “I believed it when he said he would hurt you and everyone else.”
“I wish you’d told me.”
