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***
Bright light assaults my eyes as soon as I open them. I must have fallen asleep as soon as I flopped onto the bed last night and forgot to close the curtains. The strong scent of coffee filters under the door, listening as someone sings somewhere in the house. It takes me a moment to remember that I’m not at home, I’m in the home of complete strangers, it shocks me so much because I actually slept. I haven’t slept great in other peoples houses since I was little, never felt safe enough so there must be something about being here with Edna that somehow relaxes me.
I assume the person I can hear singing is Edna. My stomach growls at me telling me that I better go have something to eat.
The first thing I notice as I enter the kitchen is the fact that there's an older man sitting at the table, newspaper in one hand and a mug in the other. Edna is busy cooking and has her back to me as she turns she clasps her hand to her chest.
“Oh, I almost forgot you were here, dear,” she says smiling as she puts a plate of bacon and eggs down in front of the man, “darling, this is Tamara. Our new house guest.” The man puts his paper down and stands up.
“I’m Vic, it’s nice to meet ya sweetheart,” he says as he holds out his hand for me to shake, all the while having a huge grin on his face.
“Nice to meet you too,” I say returning his smile.
“Sit and I’ll sort you some breakfast, bacon and eggs okay?” Edna asks as she goes back to the cooker.
“Just eggs please,” I say grabbing a plate from the stack on the table, Vic passes me another plate that has some toast on it. Edna places my eggs down on the table and takes a seat herself.
“After breakfast, you can freshen up and then I’ll take you across to meet Frankie,” Edna says, her tone motherly, concerned. I nod my head because truth be told I need a shower after travelling last night and then falling straight asleep in yesterday’s clothes.
“I’ll lend you something of Leah’s,” Edna says pointing to one of the photos on the kitchen wall, “Leah is our daughter, she’s away to college but you look to be around the same size as her and I’m sure that she won’t mind.”
We finish eating in silence, I’m amazed that neither Edna nor Vic ask me any questions about why I’m here. It’s nice though because it means that I don’t have to come up with some half-truth, most of Damons explanation is true just the running from my ex part, instead I’m hiding from my psychopath of a dad and his pompous friends.
Edna shows me where to find the main bathroom and all the essentials that I need, then she leaves me to it. Turning on the shower, waiting for it to heat up, Edna and Vic have been very welcoming, I just hope the rest of the people here are the same. Stepping under the hot spray I let the water wash away all my worries and nervous energy, my muscles start to relax.
Usually I prefer a bath but sometimes a shower can help relax me faster than a bath can, I take my time in the shower being careful of my bruises and ribs which are still a little tender but I can move a lot easier today than I did yesterday.
“You can do this,” I repeat to myself, I’ve used this mantra for years, anytime I feel overwhelmed and nervous it makes me feel calm and less anxious. Once I’m clean and have washed my hair, I get dry and dressed, piling my hair into a messy bun on top of my head. “Okay, let’s face this new world,” I murmur to myself as I do one last check in the mirror before going in search of Edna.
“I’m glad they fit,” Edna says as I find her sitting in the living room, she looks over my borrowed outfit. The jeans and vest top that she lent me fit me like a glove and I’m thankful that she was right about mine and Leah’s sizes, Edna hands me a hoodie that has the same bear wearing a crown logo that was on the wall when we entered the compound.
“Frankie can’t wait to meet you,” Edna says as she walks towards the front door.
We walk across to the clubhouse that Damon pointed out last night, I notice how quiet it is now. There’s no music or people around so I assume that means everyone is still asleep, we enter the main clubhouse door and I notice a blonde woman with two full sleeves of tattoos cleaning the tables, she turns at the sound of the door closing behind us.
“You must be my new help, I’m so fucking grateful to have an extra pair of hands because this lot get really fucking rowdy and demanding after more than a few beers, so it’ll be nice to have someone helping out around here,” she’s talking so fast that I struggle to take in what she just said, the blonde smiles warmly at us. “Sorry, I talk a lot when I’m stressed,” she says putting down her cleaning supplies and making her way towards us, holding out her hand. “Hi, I’m Frankie,” she says shaking my hand.
“I’m Tamara, it’s nice to meet you, thank you for giving me this chance,” I say as I smile back at her, Edna remains silent just watching us with a huge grin on her face.
“What?” Frankie asks when she notices Edna watching our interaction.
“Nothin’ just nice to see you smile sweetheart,” Edna says rather cryptically. Frankie grimaces slightly but doesn’t comment, “you be okay here Tamara dear?” Edna asks me, I nod my head.
I’m okay for now because it’s quiet and there’s no surly, grumpy bikers around. Edna leaves me with Frankie who begins showing me the ropes and explaining the way things work around here.
“Deliveries are on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, usually after lunchtime but sometimes Al, likes to turn up around eleven in the morning,” Frankie says as she shows me where to find the delivery schedule and order books, “orders are done on a Saturday morning that way we know what we need for the next week.”
“Who the fuck is she?” someone demands, Frankie spins coming face to face with a leggy brunette.
“Good morning to you too Viv,” Frankie spits, something tells me that she doesn’t like the brunette that much, maybe it’s the sneer on her face or the way Frankie’s eyes are filled with disdain right now. “This is Tamara, my new bartender,” Frankie says as she comes back over to the bar where I’m standing. Normally I’d be showing Viv the type of person that I am by ripping her hair out of her damn head but I have to remember what Dax said and I need to stay out of trouble. That’s why I’m standing here, motionless, not saying a damn thing.
“I’ll show you where to find everything hun,” Frankie says as she leads me to a small cleaning cupboard next to the kitchen. “We serve food after four pm but the guys usually have breakfast and sometimes lunch as well, that’s why there’s always stuff in the cupboards because those guys can put away some amount of food,” Frankie explains. “Cleaning supplies are in here,” Frankie says opening the cupboard door, handing me cleaning chemicals and a couple cloths.
We head back towards the bar; I notice that Viv has left; I start spraying and wiping down tables then I help Frankie organise the bar and wash some glasses, leaving them to dry on the little rack. Frankie plays some music, which has us both dancing to the beat as we clean and organise getting ready for the bar opening at night.
I’m cleaning the bar top when strong hands circle my waist.
“You can shake that ass at me anytime you want, sweetheart,” a gruff southern voice drawls. I spin to the face of the guy, but instead, I’m met with nothing; the guy is flat on his back with a huge German Shepherd dog snarling in his face, and the guy cowers beneath the dog.
