Chapter Two
Brynn
EVERYDAY IS THE same for me.
I get up and clean my house before grabbing breakfast.
Once breakfast is done and I’ve washed the dishes, I take my shower and get ready to head to Turn the Page.
The last few days I have been focusing on working and not reading all the books in the store that I want to buy to expand my library instead of leaving them on the shelves for other customers to purchase and take home.
The story I’m working on is completely consuming me to the point I dream about upcoming scenes when I go to sleep each night and can’t wait to get back to writing.
However, at the same time I’m distracted while I sit in the same chair in Turn the Page, waiting for the biker to show back up.
He told me he doesn’t give up when he sees something he wants and supposedly he wants me.
I’m not sure what’s going on, but he hasn’t been back to the book store since our initial meeting and it’s kind of disappointing.
No, I haven’t changed my stance on dating bikers at all.
I don’t want to be with a man who has temptation in front of him every second I’m away.
Those women are fucking crazy and will go to any lengths to get what they want.
Most of the time it’s becoming an ol’ lady to one of the members and they prefer officers over fully patched members with no official position in the club.
I’ve known these women to poke holes in condoms, telling any single woman entering the clubhouse that certain men are off limits, and so many other vile things to get a woman who’s never been around a club to back off and leave the guy she likes alone.
Even after all the years my parents have been together, I would see the newer club bunnies back home try to get between my dad and mom.
They don’t understand my parents are in love and no one will ever get between that love.
My brother is going through the shit right now.
He’s been dating the same girl since high school and she’s dealt with every imaginable scenario when it comes to the club bunnies.
They’ve even pushed her into the corner of the bathroom and started beating the hell out of her.
I found that situation playing out and made sure to end it.
Maddox still doesn’t know what the hell is going on with Amara, his girlfriend, and I’m not going to be the one who loses her trust in me by telling him.
Maddox needs to figure out what the hell he wants and make things right with Amara if he truly loves her the way he says he does.
The last time I was home, I could sense Amara getting ready to leave my brother and he has no clue.
I know something is going on with her, but I don’t know the details.
It’s because I’m a lot younger than she is.
I’m good enough to help get the club bunnies away from her, but not good enough to confide in.
It’s always been that way with everyone in my life and I’m kind of tired of it.
I let my thoughts wander to everyone I’ve ever had in my life.
With me being the ‘oops baby’ I get coddled and don’t get told the most important information because people think I’m too young to handle the truth of any situation we’re put in.
That’s so far from the truth that I can’t stand things going the way they are.
It’s one of the major reasons I’ve left home to be on my own.
In Pine View I can make my own decisions and not have someone tell me I’m too young to understand anything.
Every single day I make decisions I’ve never been allowed to make on my own before.
I get that my parents want to protect me from things, but they can’t.
This world is an evil place and I will always see, hear, and experience things I shouldn’t because of various circumstances.
The thing my parents, especially my dad, doesn’t understand is that no one will ever be completely protected from the horrible parts of life.
I experience that shit every single day and no one knows about it.
Over the last month, I’ve randomly found items, pictures, and shit like that at my house after being gone all day long.
There have been dead roses left in a box on my porch with a typed note that I belong to someone and they’re just waiting for the right chance to take me.
Other notes have brought up different things I’ve done during the day—where I’ve been, what I’ve had to drink or eat, people I’ve talked to.
The day I met the biker in Turn the Page, I got a scathing note about what a slut I am for talking to a man and giving him the smile reserved for whoever is leaving me all the notes and shit.
I’ve upgraded my security system at the house and then got a note that it wouldn’t keep them out—nothing will keep us separated once all of their plans are in place and they’re ready to take me home where I’ll live with them forever.
It’s very creepy and I know I should bring in my family, but they have no reason to come to Pine View.
Right now, this is nothing I can’t handle so I’ve opted to ignore the shit and just keep adding it to the pile of shit I’ve been given over the last month.
I’ve got a tote that’s on the smaller side.
Every single time I find a note, package, or pictures, I put on a pair of gloves and bring all of the items in and seal them off to be dealt with at a later time.
When the security system was upgraded, I stayed home when the company came over to install it and nothing seemed out of place.
However, I can’t help but think that one of the men doing the installation is my stalker.
Yes, I fully recognize them as a stalker at this point in time.
They know way too much about my daily life to be anything but a stalker.
If things get any worse, I’ll call my dad or grandpa to come help me with the problem.
I’m just trying to wait until the very last minute before I bring them in.
This is because I know they’ll take over and my dad will move me back home in the blink of an eye once he learns about what I’ve been dealing with.
Shaking my head, I let my thoughts turn to the rider I ran into a week ago.
When I can’t sleep at night, I tend to go out riding.
I know it’s not the best decision to make with everything going on in my life, but it’s the only way I can keep the nightmares at bay.
See, I went through something no one knows about and if my family ever found out, I’m not sure how they’d react.
Anyway, I ride because I can’t stand to be in the house alone after a nightmare and it brings me a sense of peace and freedom those nightmares rip away from me.
The same thing happened a week ago and I was out riding through Pine View.
I stay within the city limits when I ride in the middle of the night.
There are too many things that can go wrong if I get on the highway and no one knows I’m riding.
If my stalker is following me, it would be the perfect place to get me and take me away where no one can find me.
So, I try to prevent that shit from happening.
There are just enough people still in the city no matter what hour you’re out to keep my stalker from getting his hands on me.
After seeing the biker and knowing they were trying to catch up to me, I ended up racing home and hiding my bike in the garage I have at the side of the house.
I stripped out of my riding gear in there and carried everything inside the house to put up where it belongs.
In a matter of hours I heard the familiar sound of a sport bike slowly riding down my street and knew deep in my soul it was the person who tried to catch up with me.
I’m a lone rider and don’t go to bike meets or anything else.
While I know I can handle riding my bike in almost any situation, you never know what’s going to happen on a group ride and I’ve seen videos of people crashing because they try to keep up with more experienced riders and all sorts of shit.
So, I prefer to ride on my own and not have someone else push me past my comfort level to prove some kind of point or other bullshit like that.
I try to force those thoughts out of my head because nothing will ever come of them.
The biker will never find me because I’ve gotten really good at covering my tracks over the years.
So, two different bikers have made an impression on me and nothing will come with either one of them.
One is in a club and so full of himself that he hasn’t had the balls to show back up after his strong words to me.
The other is a sport bike rider who will forget about me the second something new and shiny grabs his attention.
No, not all sport bike riders are like that, I just have a feeling he’s a guy who can’t make up his mind and there’s nothing I will ever do to convince him otherwise.
I’m not the girl the guys want on their arm because they’re in a relationship with.
I’m the girl who’s every guys’ best friend and is there to do things with when no one else is available to hang out.
That’s why I’m truly not surprised to discover the biker has never made a second trip to the book store.
It's easy to accept that I’m never going to be good enough for a guy like that biker.
My own family doesn’t treat me as if I’m good enough.
I’m not saying they don’t love me or anything like that because I know they do.
It’s always felt as if I’m an afterthought.
It’s probably because I’m an oops baby and wasn’t planned.
The age difference doesn’t help either and I know it’s a matter of time before I end up breaking down and letting my family know exactly how I’ve felt all these years.
I’ve felt like saying something so many times over the years and have always held back.
I don’t want to give my brother and sister more ammunition to use against me.
As I continue to sit in the book store, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket and pull it out to see my grandma’s name flashing on the screen.
With a smile on my face, I answer the call after making sure no one’s around me.
“Mimi, how are you today?”
I ask, answering my phone as I allow the last of my negative thoughts fade to nothing while trying to put on a brave face so I don’t sound upset.
My grandma, or Mimi as I’ve always called her, is a force to be reckoned with.
She knows when any of us is having a bad day or going through something and doesn’t drop it until she knows every single detail about what’s going on.
Honestly, I’m surprised she didn’t know about the bullying at school before my grandpa because I withdrew even more when it started to get really bad.
“I’m missing my favorite girl something fierce.
Are you coming home for a visit anytime soon, Brynn?”
she asks me, a light tone to her voice even though I know she truly means she misses me a lot.
“I don’t know, Mimi.
I’m trying to find my groove here and get work done.
It’s been slow going and I have finally found my rhythm.
I think I have any way,”
I answer her, not telling her the truth about the situation because if I leave, I know I’ll lead my stalker right back home to them and then I won’t ever be free until the situation is dealt with.
“Why do I get the feeling that’s not the truth of the matter, Brynn? I have a feeling something more is going on and you’re being stubborn and not telling anyone about it.
You don’t have to take care of everything on your own, my sweet girl,”
she tells me, her voice going slightly hard because if anyone knows how stubborn I am, it’s her.
“You just know I’m stubborn because you raised Dad and Uncle Ace.
I get it from them and you remind me of that every time you get the chance,”
I state, laughter filling my voice that’s genuine and something I’ve needed for longer than I realized.
“That I did, Brynn.
Out of all of my grandchildren, you’re the main one to inherit that trait.
While I love that you're independent and want to keep everything close to the vest, you have a large family who will have your back no matter what’s going on.
Brynn, we really do miss you around here,”
she tells me, her voice full of remorse as she lets her words drift off.
“I know I do, Mimi.
I just haven’t told you all how I’ve felt over the years about things.
There’s a lot no one knows and reasons I don’t feel comfortable coming home.
The last thing I want to do is make someone feel bad about things, but I can’t help how I feel either,”
I tell her, not giving my Mimi any details because she’ll end up going off on people without me wanting her to.
“Brynn, I know you’ve never felt as if you belong here with your family and none of us really did anything about it.
We thought you understood Zoey, Maddox, and the others were just teasing you because you’re the baby of the family.
Were we wrong in our assumption?”
she questions me, her voice taking on that sad tone only my Mimi can pull off.
“It doesn’t matter, Mimi.
Things will never change and that’s okay.
I’m used to dealing with everything.
It’s just easier being here in Pine View because I don’t have to hear stuff on a daily basis any longer.
But, I’ve gotta go.
Something for work just popped up and I have to take care of it,”
I tell her, not lying because I did just think of a scene for the story I’m working on.
“Brynn, I love you so much.
If you won’t come home to visit, I’m gonna come see you.
I don’t care if your papa doesn’t come with me either.
I miss you and want to spend time with my girl.
You can show me around the city and tell me why you like it there so much,”
she says and I know she’s smiling because there’s no way in hell my papa will ever let her come here alone.
“I love you too, Mimi.
I’ll see what I can do soon and let you know,”
I promise her before hanging up the phone and placing it back in my pocket.
Sitting up straighter in the chair that seems to be molding to my body from how often I’m here sitting in this exact position.
My fingers fly across the keyboard as this new scene explodes from my mind and onto the screen in front of me.
Everything else fades to the background as the words write themselves on the screen and I get lost in the world I’m creating.
No one in my family knows I’m writing a book.
It’s not that I’ll keep this from them long-term, but right now this is something that’s all for me.
Growing up reading, I’ve learned what I do and don’t like when it comes to the stories I read.
So, knowing that tropes and things I want to read about, I decided to try my hand at writing my own book.
It’s a long process and I’ve scrapped more words than what remains in the document.
Every single time I get rid of words, they end up in another document in case I find a place for them to go somewhere later in the story.
I’m also trying my hand at designing my own cover for this story.
Instead of having to spend money on a picture from a photographer, I took several pictures of my bike in various areas around the city and it will be on the cover of this book.
My female lead rides a bike and it fits her perfectly.
Then, I plan on changing the color of my bike again because I don’t want anyone knowing it’s my bike.
This will be the first time I do a wrap on my own.
Before I had my dad and uncle to help me.
Maddox even came out a few times to lend a hand when I needed help.
It was the time with my dad and uncle though which mean the most to me.
We got lost in our work on the bike and they shared stories of growing up with my grandparents and what they’d do with their dad when the three of them were in the garage at all hours of the night.
It’s also how I learned my mom knew them before she auditioned to be a stripper in their club.
They lost touch over the years until that fateful day she walked into their club and my Mimi recognized her.
I’m sure my dad and uncle told me stories I wasn’t supposed to hear, but I loved every single second of the time we spent in the garage together.
By the time I’m ready to take a break from writing, my fingers ache and I’ve managed to get four chapters of the story written.
It’s more than I’ve been able to do since I started this book and I’m happy with how my day has gone.
Grabbing my coffee, I drink the last of it and stand to gather my garbage to throw out before packing all of my stuff up.
Before making my way downstairs, I use the bathroom upstairs to put my riding gear and helmet on so I can head home.
Trepidation fills me with the thought of finding something new from my stalker, but I refuse to let them keep me away from my home.