Chapter Fifteen
Melissa
T ODAY IS A day for errands. It’s been a week since Zeke showed up at my house when I was working and the kids were napping. Jace, better known as Grudge now, was here helping me because I was so behind on work. I’ve never once missed a deadline and I wasn’t about to start now. Plus, I had to take a test for one of my classes. I’m so close to being done with my degree to become a paralegal and I can’t wait. Anyway, I haven’t heard from him since. I haven’t sent him a message or called either. Jace gave me Zeke’s number and I did put it in my phone. I’m just not sure what to say to him. Not right now at least.
Since I’m done with my project now and don’t have anything to do for my classes, it’s a day to run around and make sure I don’t have anything left to do for the weekend. I’ve put in for a few projects and want to start working immediately. All of my homework is done and I’ve read ahead for my classes as well. Everything might be online, but I still try to stay ahead in all of my classes in case something happens. You never know when something will happen, especially with kids, and I’d rather be ahead than to fall behind.
First up, I have to get groceries. We’re running low on a lot of things and with my pay just getting deposited in my account, it’s the perfect time to go. I’m not low on money, but I like to save some every time I get paid. After dressing the kids and getting them ready, I get ready and we head out for the day. Maybe we’ll stop to get ice cream or something on the way home. It’s easy at this point because I can get one dish and share with Zeke and Delilah.
Getting in the car, we head to the store as the twins babble back and forth in the back seat. I love listening to them and don’t take a single second of time with them for granted. These thoughts lead me to think of Zeke. He should spend some time with the kids. When I’m done running around today, I’ll send him a message to come over if he can to see them. I’m sure the kids would love to see him. I can even make us dinner and let him stay over. It won’t fix us, but it’s a start to let him spend time with the twins and get to know them. Something I should have been doing sooner.
Parking in the lot of the grocery store, I grab a cart from the return place in the parking lot I parked next to. Getting the kids in the cart, we make our way in the store. It’s not the best way to shop for groceries, but it’s the best I can do right now. Walking in the store, I grab what I need starting with the produce. I grab some fresh fruit before heading up and down the rest of the aisles. Little Zeke is in the back of the cart sitting among the groceries as he takes them when I put them inside. His little body is covered in food and he loves it. It’s what he does every time we go shopping.
As I round the corner at the end of an aisle, my cart is hit from the side. Zeke gets jarred and hits his head off the side of the metal. A red haze fills my gaze as I look up to find the woman from the clubhouse standing there and smirking at me. I’m ready to beat her ass and not give a shit about going to jail over pounding her into the floor at my feet. This bitch ran into me on purpose and there’s no way in hell I’m gonna let this stand.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I snap, checking Zeke to make sure he’s not bleeding or anything else.
“Look who it is. The fat as fuck whore who thinks she can come in and take my man. You’re nothing more than a trashy home wrecker who deserves everything that happens to you,” she sneers, glaring at my children.
“You didn’t fucking hurt me, skank. You hurt an innocent child. Someone who hasn’t done a damn thing to you,” I grind out, my anger continuing to rise.
There is something seriously wrong with this woman. I want to do nothing more than get away from her and forget this ever happened. Not that I’ll be able to because my son was just hurt by her.
“I don’t give a fuck about the brat. You need to fucking listen and listen good. Homicide is my man. I’ve been working on him since he joined the club and now, you’re not gonna swoop in and take him from me. I don’t give a fuck about your past or anything you thought you had with him. Ever since I came in the clubhouse and saw you two together, things have changed. I just found out I’m pregnant and Homicide is over the moon with happiness. He even proposed to me,” she gloats, flashing a huge diamond ring on her finger in my face.
“Good for you. I hope you have everything you want. However, I don’t believe you’re pregnant at all. Just a feeling if you will. Not to mention, it’s one of the oldest tricks in the book to manipulate a man. I’m sure Homicide will come to his senses before the actual wedding ceremony so he’s not tied to your skank ass for the rest of his life. Not to mention, I haven’t done a damn thing. I told him about his kids and we spent some time talking. Unlike you, I actually know how to hold a conversation with a man. I don’t just drop to my knees or lay back and spread my legs for any guy to fuck me. I’d say out of the two of us, you’re the whore and I’m a mom. A decent person who doesn’t have to lie and manipulate others,” I growl out, trying to move my cart around hers to get away.
It’s pointless to have any type of conversation with this woman. Everything that’s said to her goes in one ear and out the other one. She doesn’t hear anything if it’s not what she wants to hear. I’ve met more than one woman like her over the years and can see through her bullshit without even trying.
“I’m not done talking to you yet,” the woman seethes as she glares at me.
“Well, I’m done talking to you. I have things to do today that don’t include you or being anywhere near you.”
“Stay the fuck away from Homicide, skank. If I catch you around him again, I’ll make sure everyone in town knows what a home wrecker you are,” she warns me.
I can’t stop the laughter from bubbling up and spilling out. She has no leg to stand on and I couldn’t give a fuck what anyone in this town thinks of me. I’m here for my kids to be close to their dad and that’s it. Anything I do here in town doesn’t need to be judged by a single other person. Not when they haven’t walked in my shoes and don’t know what I’ve been through.
“You’re so pathetic that you don’t even have anything good to threaten me with. If you were really serious and not just trying to start bullshit with me because Homicide doesn’t want anything to do with you, I’d actually take you seriously. As it stands now, I’m more afraid of the grandma who lives across the street from me. She actually does something to those she threatens and I’ve witnessed it. Telling people I’m a home wrecker is nothing. I don’t care what people think about me. I know who I am and what I’m about. You change to fit with whatever guy you’re trying to fuck at that very second. Fucking. Pathetic,” I growl out, finally maneuvering my cart around hers to finish getting my groceries.
This bitch isn’t going to ruin my day. My kids are with me and they don’t need to be around such a vile bitch like her. I don’t want to be around a cuntasorous like her.
***
P ulling out my phone , I take a deep breath before typing out a message. The original plan was to message him about coming to see the kids, but I’m not sure if I can see him right now. I need to process what I was told and what his response is before I make any decisions about that. Maybe today isn’t the best day for him to come over.
Me: Congratulations!
I have been debating what to do for the last few hours since I ran into that woman. Either way I look at the situation, Zeke deserves to know what that woman is saying about him. If she’s pregnant for real, he should be there for his child. If, as I suspect, it’s all a pack of lies, he needs to make sure she understands what a bunch of bullshit it is that she’s saying that kind of shit.
Zeke: What are you congratulatin’ me for?
Me: I heard today you’re going to be a dad again and that you’re engaged. Congratulations! I hope the two of you are happy with your new life and son or daughter.
Zeke: Who the fuck told you that?
Me: The woman from the other day. She made sure to run into my cart at the store earlier to tell me about the baby and your engagement. Warned me to stay away from you. Not to mention made Zeke hit his head on the metal of the cart. Keep her on a leash and the fuck away from me. I’m not playing games with her!
Zeke: If she’s pregnant, it’s not my baby. I can assure you of that. I’ve never touched that woman. Or any of the women here at the clubhouse or in town. The last person I had sex with was you. I haven’t touched a single woman since the last time we were together. I’m also not engaged to her or anyone else. If I were going to take that step with anyone, it’d be with you. It’s only ever been you, baby girl.
I can’t text him back. Tears fill my eyes as I stare at his words. The last thing I expected him to tell me tonight, or at any time, is that he hasn’t had sex since the last time we were together. Though, if I know Zeke like I used to, I know he’s not lying to me. That’s the one thing I can count on when it comes to him. Zeke doesn’t like liars and believes his word is worth more than most other things in life. If he says something, you can bet he’s telling you the truth.
Before I can think too much on this, Oaklynn’s picture fills the screen of my phone.
“What’s up, bitch?” I answer my phone in one of my many greetings to my best friend.
“Checking on my favorite slut,” she returns, laughter filling both of us.
“That’s basically the second time today I was called a slut. I guess everyone knows something about me that I don’t,” I say knowing it’s been a long time since Oaklynn and I talked, or laughed, about anything together.
“Who the fuck is calling you a slut? Who’s ass am I kicking?” Oaklynn barks out. Instead of laughing and joking, she’s serious and ready to come here even though she doesn’t know where I am.
“It’s a long story. Have you seen Mad Dog lately?” I question her, not sure how much I should tell her right now.
“Nope. Shortly after you left Carter’s house, I stopped seeing anyone from your father’s club,” Oaklynn answers.
“Okay. I have a lot to fill you in on. I didn’t want to before now because of everything going on. It would have only painted a larger target on your back and that’s the last thing I wanted. Are you ready?” I question my sister from another mister while getting comfortable on the couch with my ice cream.
Chocolate Panda Paws ice cream is life for me and I always eat it when I’m upset. Well, it’s one of the things I eat when I’m upset. Or pissed off.
“I’m ready.”
“So, Zeke isn’t dead,” I say, dropping the first bombshell on Oaklynn.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” she freaks out, her voice raising several octaves.
“I’m serious as hell. Not only is he alive, but he’s the Enforcer for a motorcycle club. And, Jace is also part of the same club. They live in the town I’m now in. I’ve actually seen Zeke and we talked. He knows about the twins and we shared a bunch of information. No, he doesn’t know the details of what my father and the others put me through when they had me strapped to the table in the basement. No one other than maybe Jace and you know those details,” I tell her, tears forming in my eyes as I’m taken back to that time. “He did tell me that Mad Dog is the only one left. He killed everyone else in the club as his club backed him up. Zeke even killed my father. He was taunting Zeke until he snapped and he killed him. I’m not sad or upset about it. I’m glad I don’t have to worry about him going after someone I love or care about any longer.”
“Holy shit!” Oaklynn says through the phone. “It doesn’t surprise me that he did that shit. Zeke would do anything for you and everyone who has ever seen the two of you together knows that shit. Now, who called you a fucking slut? I’m not over that shit and I will be taking care of it.”
“Some girl that thinks she has some sort of claim on Zeke. She doesn’t even call him Zeke. He’s Homicide to her. Told me a few hours ago she’s pregnant with his baby, they’re engaged, and then I’m a whore and home wrecker. She literally ran into my cart and made Zeke hit his head on the metal since he was sitting in the back of the cart. Stupid fucking bitch!”
“I’m gonna kill her. She hurt my nephew and is trying to come between Zeke and you. What a fucking skankarilla! I’m about to pack and head there to take care of business,” Oaklynn states, promising me with her words about what she’ll do to protect my kids and me.
“There’s more going on with this situation. I’m not sure what it is yet, but I don’t feel this is just about Homicide. She’s pushing too hard about this. And I don’t know what her end game is. I haven’t talked to Jace or Zeke about my feeling on this matter, but that’s where I’m at,” I tell her, knowing in my gut I’m right.
Oaklynn and I talk for a while longer. She makes me laugh and feel better about everything by the time we end the call. After putting my ice cream away and cleaning up a little bit, I start dinner for the kids and I. We eat and spend some time playing before I get them ready for bed. The rest of the night, I spend working. While I might not have any projects left to work on, I look for new ones and let the authors I’ve worked with in the past know I’m available if they have any jobs ready for me to do.
Overall, today was one of the better days I’ve had in a long time. Minus the run-in with the bitch. The kids and I had fun, my house is clean, we’ve got a ton of groceries, and time was spent outside. I’ve got bids in on multiple projects and have been in contact with other authors. Now, I’m ready to crash for the night so I can get up and do everything all over again tomorrow.