Chapter 53 Blaze
My brain was just chanting the same three words over and over again.
Oh, shit, fuck. Mom and Dad’s reaction was, oh my fucking god.
I swallowed. Dad just went…I mean, I’ve seen him angry before.
Well, what I thought was angry. This was next level.
This was beyond next level. Mom—I’d never seen her crazy before.
She was a quiet, calculated, angry person.
She planned revenge, not chaos. Now she and Dad were like…
a tornado ripping through Matchstick’s stuff.
A scream broke through the panic in my head. I saw Midwife catch Molly in midair. She flailed like she was trying to escape a full-body harness.
“They’re desecrating his memory!”
She screamed, her face showing her panic. My heart sank for her. He was all she had. She refused to see him as anything but her hero. And my parents really were quite literally ripping his memory apart.
“Stop!” she screamed again, tears running down her distressed face.
“Oh, shut up, you stupid woman. He took Lacey from them,” Crackers snapped.
He stood up from where he was leaning behind the bar and sneered at her.
“He couldn’t stand up to you and your temper tantrums, so he hid his pregnant girlfriend and daughter for nineteen years, so you and he didn’t have to grow up and face reality.
Matchstick was an embarrassment to the club, and you. ”
“It was twenty years, you old fool, she’s nineteen years old. He said if she was a boy, he’d divorce me and go with her. But she’s not. She’s a girl, and he stayed mine!”
My brain stopped. Matchstick actually said to Molly that he’d leave her if he had a son with someone else? But he loved Molly. He always went home to her. She allowed him to be a real man, instead of one of those schmucks who had to keep it in their pants after marriage.
“You knew about this?” The question floated in the air incredulously.
“Of course I knew about this. What do you think I am? An idiot? I’m the one who made sure she stayed away. He’s mine! He came home to me!” she screeched.
I saw Midwife give up. I saw the eye roll. He spun his body around so Molly was facing the door. “Run. If you can make it to your car, you might survive.” His voice carried in the hushed room.
Survive?! What did he mean survive? Mom screeched, and a moment later, Dad roared. I jerked my eyes over to see my parents drop the debris from the mess they made of the memorial wall. Mom flipped the big knife that she held and lifted it high, then she ran. Dad followed her, bellowing. Molly ran.
Laughter filled the room as the doors swung closed. People turned back to their companions and picked up conversations. Behind me, I heard the door to the play area open. Kids came running in, yelling and talking. I took a step towards the memorial.
“Oh my Gosh, that was so much fun! Does this happen every weekend?”
I looked up at the excited tone in Amber’s voice. Her eyes were shining bright. My brain was imploding. She thought what had just happened was fun?
“What?” I blurted out.
“Does this happen often? I mean, Tank had family days that I was allowed to, but nothing like this ever happened. That was cool!”
“Cool?!” I repeated in shock.
“Yeah!” She frowned. “Are you okay?”
I stared at her. No, no I wasn’t okay.
I felt a little hand grip mine. “Dad? Why was Grampy angry?”
I looked down into my son’s eyes. I opened my mouth and then realized I had no child-safe explanation. He saved me with typical child curiosity.
“An’ what’s a cousin?”
I blew out a breath.
“An’, can I sleep with D2 tonight? She said I could,” he added.
“Dylan, stop.” I slowly crouched so I could look him in the eyes. I finally noticed D2 standing just behind him, holding his hand.
“Which question do you want answers to first?”
“Um, mm, the sleeping one.”
Oh, fuck me dead.
I saw Bull suddenly notice us. He paused the beer that was on its way to his mouth. That made this easy.
“While we’re here tonight, sure. Just make sure you actually sleep. No playing games.” I tried to sound stern.
Dylan and D2 both squealed and ran, giggling to the bedrooms. I slowly rose as Bull left his seat and started making his way over.
“What’s going on?” he growled at me.
“Uh, Dylan and D2 are planning to have a nap for a bit.”
Bull nodded, and a small smile creased his eyes. “He’s a good kid,” he grunted at me, and then turned to Amber. “Hi, I’m Bull,” he bluntly introduced himself, holding out his hand.
Amber simpered. “Amber.” She gave him a flirtatious grin and flutter of the eyelashes.
His smile turned stoney. He nodded and disengaged his hand.
“I don’t know what your experience with other clubs is, but here we hold relationships as sacred.
Apart from your father and this idiot, a man’s ability to stay faithful to his ol’lady is a sign of his ability to stay faithful to the club.
” His smile completely disappeared. “And every man here is loyal. Be careful who you flirt with. I’ll back any woman’s threat if you try and damage their relationship. ” He turned and walked away.
“W—what did he mean?” she asked.
I sighed. The warning was clear. “It means don’t try and fuck around, Amber. If you insult an ol’lady, everyone here will turn a blind eye to your punishment. Especially my parents.”
I turned and walked away towards the bedrooms to tuck the kids in.