“You’re grounded?” Simon asked, laughing.
“It’s not funny.”
“You snuck out, went to a fight, and your dad was waiting for you when you got back. I think that’s hilarious.”
“Ha ha, very funny.” Tabitha sighed. “It gets worse, he’s picking me up from school. Whizz is doing the same for Daisy as well. We’re being treated like kids.”
“It’s how you punish kids.”
“You know I’d punch you if you were here.”
He snorted. “I’m with your dad on this one. You shouldn’t be going out.”
“Kiss his ass, why don’t you?”
“No, seriously, how are you?” Simon asked. Daisy had texted him late on the night in question in case he struggled to get in contact with her. He would’ve called Tabby’s mother if she didn’t answer. Her parents knew he loved her so it wasn’t like he was saving any kind of face.
“How am I? I don’t know. Bored. There’s nothing to do when you’re confined to the house. I’m not even allowed to go to the clubhouse so it’s full-on grounding.”
He leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. “Sing to me.”
“Not happening. You know I only do that when I’m in the mood and right now I’m not. I wish you were here. Are you still not coming for Halloween?”
He groaned. “Not this year. I promised Mom I’d help out with the trick or treating. It feels like a hundred kids want to go and beg for candy. I’m sure if she asked, Dad would just buy them what they wanted and I’d be off the hook.”
“Are you dressing up?”
“Probably, I think I’ll go as a zombie biker.”
She chuckled. “A hot zombie though, right?”
“Totally. You’d have to give me the kiss of death.”
“I wouldn’t kiss a zombie.”
“If it was the end of the world and I was bitten, and for whatever reason the way to bring me back would be to kiss me, you wouldn’t?” he asked.
“It depends. Will you have bad breath?”
“I’d be dead.”
“Then you, my love, would have to stay dead.”
“Charming, and here I thought our love would last a lifetime.”
“Oh, it will. I’ll keep you locked up and pet you.”
“Like a dog?”
“No. A dog won’t eat me. You would.”
“You’re willing to make me jealous of a dog.”
“Totally,” she said. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Just this, being you. I don’t feel like I’m going quite so crazy anymore.”
“I’m always here for you. I don’t know if I’d be able to cope with you being grounded. I’d piss your parents off, climbing into your window.”
“Hiding under my bed?”
“Good times.”
Her laughter came over the line and it warmed him from the inside out.
“I love this.”
“Me too, but you haven’t told me what you’re wearing this Halloween.”
“Daisy and I still need to go and get costumes.”
“Will they even let you go to the party?”
“I figured if they don’t let us go out shopping soon, I’ll phone for reinforcements.”
“Anthony?”
“You got it. He wanted her to go. I can’t guarantee she’ll see it as a date, and she hates me for it. She’s not one to party, but it’s what he wanted.”
“I wouldn’t wait around. Call him, get him to agree. They’ll have some prospects go with you, or a couple of their guys. It’s not like it’ll be hard.”
“I think we scare a couple of the prospects. Daisy hates being followed around. I think her father is sniffing around her again.”
“Again?” Simon asked.
“Yep. She’s in that bitchy mood which means she’s keeping secrets. The only one I know, her dad. I don’t know why she doesn’t let Whizz handle it.”
“You know why,” he said.
“Yeah, I know but it’s stupid. I’m sorry. I just, I hate it when it’s like this, you know? Daisy shouldn’t have to deal with it, but if he was killed, then she’d blame herself.”
“Why don’t you get Anthony to pay him a visit?” Simon suggested.
“Really, did you listen to what I said? Anthony would kill him, without a doubt. No question. He’d be dead.”
“I’m just throwing it out there.”
“It’s a bad idea,” she said. “I feel like I’m always talking to Anthony at the minute.”
“He’s going to take over as club prez,” Simon said. “It makes sense.”
“Yeah, he’d be a good prez. A strong one. Scary.”
Simon thought about her twin. “What about Miles?”
She groaned. “No, he doesn’t have what it takes to be a leader. Besides, he’s screwing everything he can get his hands on. It’s sick.”
“Sick?”
“Yep.”
There was a knock at his door, and seconds later, Lexie poked her head around the door. “Dinner’s in ten.”
He nodded.
“You got to go eat?” Tabitha asked.
“Yep, and I’m starving, but I can eat it cold.”
“Don’t be stupid. Go and eat. Call me when you’re done.”
“Will do. Love you,” he said.
“Love you too.”
“Bye.”
He hated hanging up and often didn’t hear her say goodbye. As he climbed off his bed, Lexie had a large laundry basket on her hip, which he took.
“You don’t need to do that.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Dad would be pissed to know you’re doing everything. You need to relax.”
“How did I get so lucky with you?” She cupped his cheek with a smile. They headed downstairs. Elizabeth and Josh sat at the kitchen counter. The scents of tomato and garlic were heavy in the air. His mouth watered.
“Hello, loser,” Elizabeth said.
“Takes one to know one, Squirt.”
His sister stuck her tongue out.
“How’s Tabitha?” Josh asked.
Simon glanced at his brother. He knew his brother had a bit of a crush on Tabitha, not that he’d admit to it.
“Fine, grounded.”
“Of course she is.” Josh went completely red in the face.
“Maybe next time you can go to Fort Wills and ask her out on a date,” Elizabeth said.
“Enough,” Lexie said, giving her daughter a pointed look.
“Oh, come on, this is so lame.”
“Coming from the girl who has the biggest crush on Drew.”
Elizabeth’s face turned red. “Loser.”
“Bitch.”
“Simon, enough. Please, enough.”
“What is going on?” Devil asked, entering their home. He had a large bag of groceries in his arms.
“Ice cream?” Lexie asked.
“Only the best for my woman.”
“I love you.” Lexie grabbed Devil’s face and kissed him hard. “So freaking much.”
“If it was only this easy to get in your good books, woman. I’d give you ice cream every single day.”
“The kids.”
“Ignore them, I do.”
Simon snorted. He started to put away the groceries. They had a big family and it meant weekly shopping.
“How have you been feeling lately?” Devil asked, touching Lexie’s cheek softly.
“Fine. Just a little tired. I’ll be fine. You know me.”
“I do.” He gripped the back of her neck. “Take it easy.”
“Always. One day at a time. It’s what I do.” Lexie pulled away. “Now, wash up. Dinner, kids.”
Simon finished putting away the groceries and stopped, looking at his mom as she stirred the sauce into the pasta, adding some cheese as she did.
“Are you okay, Mom?”
“Of course, honey.”
“It’s just Dad never worries unnecessarily.”
“I know. He is just the kind of guy to worry about everything. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be more than fine. Trust me.”
He did trust his mother, but … he couldn’t help but feel they were hiding something from him. Lexie was always the kind of woman to do everything. She never wanted a nanny, even though there had been a short time one was in the house, but that was a long time ago.
“Will you pick up the costumes from Natalie tomorrow? She put some finishing touches to them and I totally forgot to ask her to bring them on by.”
“I can do it tonight if you want?”
“Nah, it can wait until tomorrow. We’ve got plenty of time between now and then to get everything ready.”
“Do you think we need to take them trick or treating? It’s kind of lame.”
“Lame or not, it’s what I want to do. I love Halloween. I do appreciate you doing this for me. I know you like to sneak off to Tabitha’s.”
“It’s fine. She’s got something going on at the high school.” He shrugged.
“How is she handling the grounding?”
“You already spoke to Eva?”
“Yep. Tiny was waiting for her when she snuck in.”
Simon laughed. “She’s doing fine. She hates being grounded but who doesn’t?”
“Simon, I hope you know if I ever catch you sneaking out and back in, you won’t be able to leave the house for thirty-plus years.”
“Is this because you don’t want to be a grandma?”
“I want to be a grandma,” she said. “What makes you think otherwise?”
He raised a brow.
“Devil,” she said. “Of course. The idea of becoming a grandpa seems to freak him out. Oh, well, just take care. I know we live in a good neighborhood, and the town is somewhat safe, but you know the risks.”
“I know. I get it. I do, Mom.” He hugged her. “I’ll carry this in for you.”
He took the food to the table. Elizabeth and Josh were already fighting and Devil merely watched while he put the cutlery down.
When Lexie came in, everyone was silent as she served up. Extra cheese was passed around to sprinkle on the top.
Simon took seconds, listened as his parents talked about school, and what some of the teachers had said. For all of Elizabeth’s good-girl routine, she’d gotten into a few fights at school. Of course, he’d been there with a couple of other Chaos kids, but seeing as he was the oldest, he never meddled in their mess.
His dad had asked him to allow others to fight their own battles, and with him being older, he’d be in more shit if he did.
He had a couple of friends he’d kept with him who weren’t club members. They were close, not as close as he was to some of The Skulls, but a close second. Dean and Eddie came from rich parents, but they were the kind that had a country club. Both of them were forced to wear polo necks and khaki shorts, and they both hated it. They didn’t completely understand what it meant to be part of club life whereas the guys back in Fort Wills did. He missed them. Tabby the most. He even missed Daisy. There was a time she offered an easy smile but now, she just seemed permanently attached to being a bitch, but again, he didn’t know her. Tabby told him she was going through stuff and it wasn’t his deal, so there was no reason to delve into that kind of drama. This was what made his life different to Tabby and The Skulls. Fellow Chaos Bleeds kids were younger. Even Vincent and Phoebe’s kids were older than him. For the most part, he was alone.
After dinner, he did the dishes with Elizabeth, and his father called him out to the backyard as he picked up his keys. He’d gotten a text from Eddie about a meet-up at the back of the library.
Pocketing his keys, he walked out back to find his dad putting some chair together.
“You okay, son?” Devil asked.
“Yeah, I was just about to head out and spend some time with the guys. That okay?”
“What about school?”
“I’ll be back. You know that.”
Devil leaned on his knee. His father was near sixty but didn’t look a day over forty, at least Simon didn’t think so.
He suddenly realized that one day, he was going to wake up and his father wasn’t going to be around anymore. The club would be his. He didn’t like it. To him, Devil was going to live forever, but he couldn’t deny his dad was constantly getting older. What would he do when Devil wasn’t there?
After pulling out his cell phone, he texted his friends to let them know he wouldn’t be there tonight, removed his jacket, and knelt down. “What do you need?”
Devil chuckled. “I can still put shit together, son. No, I was wondering on our next run if you’d like to come with.”
“Your run?”
“You know, when we have to go and pick out a woman or a family from a bad situation.”
“Oh.” That was what The Skulls and Chaos Bleeds did now. They worked as a protection detail with the Billionaire Bikers MC in helping families or women in fucked-up, abusive situations and provided them shelter, a home, anything they needed. Simon had also heard that they helped to rescue trafficked women. It was the Billionaire Bikers MC’s MO. They helped lost women.
The Skulls and Chaos Bleeds were part of it. They helped where they could. There was a time a run meant delivering guns, drugs, whatever Ned Walker wanted, or whatever deal they had going. Simon had been young at the time. When both clubs had nearly been wiped out more than once by long-forgotten enemies, Lash and Devil had both agreed for the safety of their clubs and families that it was time to go legit. No more danger surrounding them. The days of lockdowns were so far in the past, he struggled to remember them. It was crazy.
It was during some of The Skulls and Chaos Bleeds lockdowns that he’d gotten close to Tabby. The love of his life.
“If you’re not up for it, I understand. We never know what kind of shit we’re walking into and it’s not for the faint of heart.”
“No, it’s not about that. Believe me. I want to.” He laughed, running a hand down his face. “You know, one day, I want to be like you.”
“No, son, you’re going to be better than me.”
“I doubt that.”
Devil stopped twisting a screw and looked at him. “Being a leader, the club President, you need to have doubt from time to time. What you need is to own up to it, and accept it. You’ve always got to be one step ahead of the game. You think I’ve been rooting for your education because of your mother, it’s not. I need you to be able to think on your feet in case anything goes wrong.”
Devil rubbed the back of his neck. “These runs, Simon, they’re dangerous. I’m not going to pretend with you. I know how desperately you want to be part of the club, and if so, you need to know what you’re getting yourself into.”
“When do you know when a run is going to happen?”
“We get a call. We organize. We never go in half-cocked, unless we have to.” Devil took a deep breath. “You still know how to shoot a gun?”
“Wow,” he said.
“Yeah, wow. Some of the places we go, we still have to deal with people.”
“By deal you mean kill.”
Devil looked past his shoulder and nodded his head.
“I bet Mom already knows the kind of shit you have to do.”
“Either way, I don’t want her to know the full extent of all the bad shit that goes down. She doesn’t need to be aware of it.”
Devil ran a hand down his face. “You can go on out with your buddies.”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Really? You’re willing to spend time with your old man after all the shit I’ve heard about you being free to make your own choices and shit?”
Simon snorted. “Dad, I’m a teenager. Making your life hard is what I’m all about.”
Devil shook his head. “One of the best days of my life with you was holding you.”
“You never talk about it much. Why?” Simon asked.
He watched as Devil opened his mouth, closed it. “You know the drill. It was a hard time. Your mother and I, we didn’t always see eye to eye.”
“You know what I don’t get,” Simon said.
“What?”
“With Elizabeth, Josh, and all the others, there are so many photos of Mom pregnant. What happened to the ones with me? Mom doesn’t have any with her being pregnant with me.”
“They were lost, son, in a fire.”
“Right.” He stopped, wondering. “What kind of fire?” Simon asked.
“The kind that takes photographs. Go and grab me a soda, will you? I’m thirsty.”
Simon shrugged, got to his feet, and headed into the house.
His mom was in the kitchen, stirring something on the stove. The scent of chocolate was heavy in the air. After all this time, Lexie was still trying to perfect the best hot chocolate that Angel had perfected years ago.
“Hey, Mom,” he said.
“Hey, sweetie. I thought you were going out with some friends?” She turned to look at him.
“I was but I decided to help Dad.”
“Ah, he’s still pissed that his chair didn’t come with instructions. He’s determined to build it up from scratch.”
“He’s all manly. You know that. It’s what he does.”
She chuckled. “I love him so much.”
He grabbed two cans of soda and closed the fridge. “Mom, can I ask you something?”
“Sure thing.”
“What happened to pictures of you when you were pregnant with me?”
“Oh, I had them on my phone. It wasn’t a great phone but it took pictures. It got lost and they were all gone.”
“Right,” he said.
“Is that all?”
“Yeah, that’s all.”
He headed outside and handed his dad a soda. “What’s up, son?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all.” He had to wonder why his mom and dad had a different answer for the pictures of her being pregnant.
****
“He asked tonight,” Lexie said.
“What about?” Devil switched off the bathroom light, watching his woman as she put her book to one side.
She wore a sexy negligee that displayed her heavy tits.
After all these years together, he was never bored. Not once. His dick hardened at the sight.
“Me being pregnant with him.”
He’d hoped this kind of conversation would never happen. “Yeah, he asked me too.”
“Oh, no, what did you say?” she asked.
“I said they were gone in a fire.”
She winced.
“What?” he asked.
“Er, I said it was on one of those phones and it got destroyed. Did he ask you about it?”
Devil shook his head.
“What do we do?”
“For now, we wait and see if he asks any more questions,” Devil said.
“What if he does? What do we do? How do we tell him that I’m not his real mother? That she dumped him and then was killed?” Lexie covered her face and Devil went to her. He held his woman.
“You’re his mother, baby. You will always be his mother and he knows this. You did everything you could to protect him.”
“But he’s going to hate us. We never told him the truth.”
“He was too young to understand the truth.”
“But what about now?” she asked. “We’ve left it too long and now he’s going to think the worst.”
Devil caught her face in his hands. “This was the decision I made. I will face whatever anger he has. I will not let it come near you.”
“But—”
He slammed his lips down on hers. “No buts. No nothing. I wanted this. You don’t have to worry. I’ll take care of it.”
“What if he finds out the truth?” she asked.
“He won’t. Not until we’re ready to tell him.” Devil pulled her close, kissing her and using his hands on her body to distract her.
There was no way he would ever allow any harm to come to his woman. He would deal with his son when the time came.
****
“Man, you missed one hell of a party last night,” Eddie said.
“Party? I thought you were hanging out at the library?” Simon asked.
Dean snorted. “Dude, we can go to the library any fucking day of the week. Nah, there was a party at Amber’s, and guess what, she was asking about you.”
Amber was the school queen. Most guys wanted to fuck her, and the girls wanted to be her. She was beautiful, rich, and popular. He didn’t give her the time of day and he figured that was what pissed her off. She couldn’t get under his skin and it wasn’t personal. He was taken.
“Tell her I’m not interested.”
“Is this all about that Tab chick?” Eddie asked.
“Don’t, Eddie,” Dean said.
“I’ve told you many times, Eddie, you don’t understand, and if you talk shit about my girl again, I’ll hurt you.” He wasn’t afraid of fighting. He’d gotten suspended a few times over the years for defending his club.
Piston County High, so original, was like any other school. The same groups of people. The jocks, the nerds, the hippies, and then of course there was him, the bikers. There were a few biker groupies as well. A couple of the guys liked to ride and play the part of an MC, but they weren’t part of Chaos Bleeds.
“Sorry, man.”
“I told you once and I’ll tell you again, don’t ever bring her into this.” Tabby was for him and him alone. Eddie and Dean hadn’t seen her yet. Whenever she visited Piston County, he rarely shared. His friends weren’t a high priority during that time. Just his girl.
They entered the school. He carried his books but they headed to Dean’s locker, which also happened to be next to Amber’s.
Simon looked down the hall to see the little group of jocks. Wayne was one of them. Captain of the football team and all-around asshole. They’d come to blows a few times when they were younger. Now, they just had verbal sparring.
“What’s happening tonight?” Dean asked.
“Got that thing with my parents.”
“You’re still doing the trick or treating thing? Come on, really?”
“Yes, really,” he said. He looked at his friends. “What?”
“There’s going to be a party and we figured seeing as you’re here and all for the first time, you’d come with us,” Eddie said.
“Not happening. I don’t back out from my responsibilities.”
“Hey, Simon,” Amber said, coming to stand close to him. Behind her were five other girls. All of them wore short skirts and had this weird smile on their lips.
“Amber,” he said.
“You weren’t at my party last night.”
“I was busy.”
“Well, what about you make it up to me for Halloween? You be my date?”
“I’ve got nothing to make up for.”
Amber pouted. She went to touch his arm and he caught her hand before she even got too close to him.
“Don’t ever fucking touch me. Do you understand?”
This was the first time Amber had come on to him strongly. Sure, she’d smiled at him and tried to giggle and laugh. He’d ignored her. He had his woman back in Fort Wills. Anyone else wouldn’t do.
Eddie and Dean said it wouldn’t count if he wanted to fuck a chick. Tabby would never need to know, but he wasn’t going to cheapen their time together by fucking another chick. What he felt for Tabby wasn’t some quick flirtation. He loved her so damn much. He only saw his future with her. That was never going to change.
“Come on, Simon, don’t be that way.”
He got into her face. “I’m not someone you can control or manipulate. Go back to the pussies who want yours. I’m not interested.” He let her go, turned on his heel, and walked toward his homeroom class.
Eddie and Dean weren’t far behind him.
“Are you fucking crazy?” Eddie asked.
“I guess you can say that,” he said.
“I can’t believe you did that. No one has ever defied her at all. Holy shit, I think I’ve got a hard-on for you right now.”
He laughed. “Don’t be crazy.” He took a seat in the back. Amber would try to piss him off again. He’d heard a few tales of what she liked to do to hurt the guys who wouldn’t give her the time of day. He hoped if she tried, she was ready for a fight because he was more than happy to take her on.
The rest of the day went by without much event. Sure, people were pointing at him, but Amber kept a wide berth. At lunch, the tension mounted, but he sat at his usual table, staring at the jocks, waiting for one of them to come and try to defend her honor. He relished it, in fact.
Nothing happened. By the end of the day, he was a little disappointed. Unlike in Fort Wills, Piston County didn’t have a fighting club. Any fights he got into were on school grounds, or sparring with a couple of the club guys.
After school, he arranged to meet up with Eddie and Dean later on that night, and stopped off at Natalie’s to pick up the Halloween costumes. There were so many of them and she told him Lexie was expecting them at the club.
He didn’t linger to chat, even though he adored Natalie. She was a lovely person. Instead, he made his way to the clubhouse, pulling his bike up at the end of the lot. Compared to all of the Chaos Bleeds crew, his bike looked so small and pathetic, but this was just practice for him. He intended to join the crew as a prospect as soon as he hit eighteen. He removed the large bag stuffed with all the costumes as he climbed off his bike.
Glancing past the bikes, he saw Dick on the ground, eyes closed, legs crossed, hands resting on his knees. He was one of the guys who had no choice but to put himself in rehab. Chaos Bleeds hadn’t been strict on their rules and Dick had been a user, an addict.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
Dick opened one eye. “I’m meditating. What the fuck do you want?”
“Why are you meditating?”
“It helps me to find inner peace.”
Simon couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing. Now Dick was staring at him with both eyes.
“Inner peace.”
“You ever tried it?” Dick asked.
“Hell, no, that shit doesn’t work.”
Again, Dick was staring at him.
“Does it?” Simon asked, trying to be polite.
“I won’t tell you if it does or not. Piece of shit.”
Again, he laughed. He just couldn’t help it. He held up his hand in surrender. “I’m sorry.”
“Leave him alone,” Martha, Dick’s wife, said, coming out of the clubhouse. “Lexie’s waiting for you inside, and meditating helps.” She sat in front of her husband and Simon watched as the two held hands, their knees touching.
Simon couldn’t look away.
Both were staring into each other’s eyes. Their connection clear. They breathed as one and were together. At that moment, he missed Tabby.
She would be his one.
Whatever was happening between Dick and Martha, they were a team and could handle anything that was thrown at them, together.
“Right, I better, go.”
He didn’t want to keep watching what he couldn’t have, at least not yet. He hadn’t heard from Tabitha that day, and he was already missing her.
Heading inside, he couldn’t see his mom. Ripper was playing pool with Snake.
“Hey, guys, you seen my mom?”
“She’s outside,” Ripper said. “Judi’s with her.”
He nodded and headed out back to see Judi already helping with some of the costumes. A couple of the kids were in shorts and a vest.
After he dropped the bag, Lexie came at him with a hug. “You’re a star.”
“That’s what I am. I’m hanging with some friends tonight.”
Lexie reached into her jeans pocket, handing him some cash. “Don’t forget to eat, and don’t be too late. Your dad will be pissed.”
He took the cash, kissed his mother, waved goodbye to the rest of the guys, and headed back to his bike. Martha and Dick were still doing some kind of breathing and totally digging each other.
Sending a quick text to his boys to meet him outside of the library, he took off and didn’t stop until he was right there, going through the main street of the town, seeing it was still pretty busy, before riding around the back.
After turning off his ignition, he climbed off, leaned against the wall, and saw on his cell phone that Eddie and Dean were having some kind of family crises and would be there as soon as they could. He was bored.
Pulling up Tabby’s name, he dialed.
“Well, this is rather late of you,” Tabby said.
“It’s been a busy day.” He told her about what happened in school with Amber, then the outfits for Halloween. “You talked to Anthony yet?”
“Yep, I did after we stopped talking yesterday. Daisy and I are going shopping tomorrow.”
“That’s cutting it a bit late, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but it’s fine. I’m just pleased I’ll get to get Daisy’s ass into a costume. She’s in her pissy mood. We’ll see what happens.” She sighed. “So, tell me more about this Amber chick.”
“You’re not jealous, are you?”
“No, but you don’t think I don’t know girls like her. I do and believe me, I don’t like them. I don’t like her being near you.”
He couldn’t help but smile at that. “I won’t ever stray.”
“Simon, I know you won’t, and I can hear you smiling.”
“I can’t help but smile. You care.”
“I’d be careful if I was you. It sounds like this Amber is a bad person and I’d hate for you to be on the firing line.”
“All of the guys were there. Nothing will come of it.”
“Don’t be alone with her.”
“I won’t. Maybe you can come and meet me one day when you guys are visiting?”
Tabitha laughed. “You think she can take me?”
“I think you’ll be the one being pulled off her,” Simon said.
“What are you doing now?”
“Waiting for a couple of the guys.”
“These the preppy boys?”
“One and the same.”
“Why are you friends with them?” Tabby asked.
“They’re good guys and besides, all of my friends are over there.”
“We miss you,” Tabby said.
“I know. I miss you as well.” He sighed. “Wish you were here.”
“I wish I was there as well. I’d show you how to have a good time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, and our clothes would stay on,” she said.
“There you go spoiling it. Hey, Tabby, can I ask you a question?”
“Simon, this is what we do.”
“I know, but, never mind.”
“Talk to me,” she said.
“Okay. It’s stupid.”
“It’s only stupid that you’re not telling me. Stop being a dick and just tell me.”
He laughed. “Love you too.”
“Simon.”
“Fine, does your mom have pictures of her pregnant with you?” he asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Are there any with my mom?”
“Not that I know of. I’d have to go and check, why?”
“I asked my parents about it and they each gave me a different answer,” Simon said.
“What do you mean?”
He told her the two different stories.
“Simon, it was so long ago, I imagine they’ve forgotten.”
“Would they, though?” he asked.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m their first kid. Removing that memory, it’s got to suck, right? You’d remember losing something so close to you.”
“I guess. It could be that the memory of losing stuff is too hard. Shoot, Dad’s home and he’s been pissed. I’ve got to go. Don’t overthink this, Simon. There’s probably some kind of explanation that puts it all into perspective.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“I’ll talk to you later?”
“Yep.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.” He hung up just as Eddie and Dean arrived in a car. They didn’t own bikes and as they climbed out, Simon couldn’t help but laugh. They had some dress pants, a crisp pink shirt, and a vest over the top.
“Come on, man, don’t laugh.”
“I can’t help it. You both look like nice boys.”
“You’re a dick,” Eddie said.
“We hanging out or what?” Simon held up the cash. “My treat.”
“I need pizza,” Dean said.
“You start and I’ll follow.” He climbed back onto his bike and followed them just out of Piston County to one of the best pizza places in town. It wasn’t as good as Mia’s, but he couldn’t expect her to cook for him whenever he wanted it.
There were a couple of cars he recognized.
“Really, you want to come here where the jocks and their groupies hang out?”
“They’ve got the best pizza. Come on, man, it won’t be too bad,” Eddie said, slapping him on the chest.
Simon walked inside with his boys, and there was a spare booth. He clocked the jocks, including Amber. Giving them a wide berth, he took a seat, and the waitress was already there, ready to serve.
They ordered a couple of large pizzas, garlic bread, extra fries, and he was starving, so he had a couple of additional toppings on the side.
“Amber’s watching you again,” Eddie said.
“Yeah, she can watch all she wants, but she can’t have.” He ignored her.
“Simon, I want to ask you something,” Dean said.
“Ask away.”
“To get into your club, what do you have to do?”
Simon looked up, a little taken aback. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“You want to join Chaos Bleeds?”
Dean nodded. “I can’t take this shit much more, man. I’m…” He stopped, looking around the room. “They’re organizing my wedding. I can’t, fuck, I want my own life. I thought I could act with this shit, knowing I’ll be able to make it out on my own, but that’s never going to happen. I’m not going to get my chance.” Dean ran a hand down his face. “I can’t stand this shit. I just want a clean break from it all. Is it too much to ask?”
“It’s not too much to ask, but being with the club, it’s more than wearing a leather cut and riding a bike. It’s family, man. It’s about giving your life to them, trusting each other. Having each other’s backs and shit like that. It’s deep. It’s not some quick decision you make.”
“I get it, man.”
“Do you? It’s life or die.”
Dean nodded. “I’ve watched you guys for years. I remember the first time I saw you all in the café, years ago. I was like five years old. My parents were so uptight and pissed. They have this superiority thing where they believe they count, but others don’t. They’re greedy and like to control. You can’t be controlled. I need this.”
He stared at his friend, who looked almost desperate. “Are you sure?”
“I don’t want to get married at eighteen. If I do ever get hitched, I want to have some say in the woman I marry.” Dean shook his head. “I can’t, I’ve been thinking of getting emancipated.”
“Well, shit,” Eddie said.
“Is this happening with you?” Simon asked, seeing them both dressed the same way.
Eddie shook his head. “I had a family dinner.”
“And you’re still eating pizza?” Simon laughed.
“Did I say I ate it? My grandparents were down and when they are, we have to deal with proper protocol.”
“Right,” he said.
“It’s just what happens.”
“I don’t know how much longer I can take,” Dean said.
“Any lawyer you see through your family, they’re going to know,” Simon said.
“I know.”
“I’ll talk to my dad, if you want. He’ll be able to find someone who’ll handle this for you.”
“You’re serious?”
“If you’re serious about leaving your family, and you know what you’re doing, I can get someone to talk to you.”
“Fuck, yes. Please, yes.”