Chapter 13
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Lily
Tonight’s dinner wasn’t what I expected. After five days of fast food restaurants and gas stations, I’m not complaining about heating up a frozen pizza. Nanny just has me spoiled already with her home-cooked meals.
“Sorry. That’s it on my culinary skills tonight.” Harley gets up to put her plate into the dishwasher.
I do the same. “It’s okay. I’m not a great cook, either.”
Maci laughs. “Oh, she can cook. She’s just lazy and in a hurry tonight.”
“Shut up.” Harley wads up the paper towel she used as a napkin and throws it at Maci.
“I don’t know why you’re in such a hurry to get to the clubhouse. You know the party won’t come alive until after nine.” Maci grabs another slice of pizza from the platter in the center of the table.
“The guys from Texas got here a couple of hours ago.” Harley shrugs. “I just wanna talk to them.”
“Sure you do,” Maci mumbles.
Harley ignores her sister. “If you need me, you know where to find me.”
She waves without looking back and walks out the front door. Harley doesn’t have a bubbly personality like I first thought. I’m not sure how to describe her yet. She’s a mix of emotions and personalities. What I mistook for serious is better described as cautious, reserved, and untrustworthy. I don’t think she likes me.
“Don’t mind her.” Maci finishes her slice of pizza and puts her plate in the dishwasher.
“Does she have a thing for one of the guys from Texas?” It’s not my business. I shouldn’t ask.
“Yeah, but I don’t think he notices her. So, she flirts with the others to try and make him jealous.” Maci sighs. Worry covers her face. “Her plan is stupid. She won’t admit what she’s doing, not even to herself.”
Maci’s concern for her sister changes the atmosphere in the house. I can feel her pain. It highlights my own. Harley’s playing a dangerous game. It could get her hurt. The men she’s flirting with may not physically hurt her, and that’s more than likely because they know her family. Still, in the end, they could break her heart and make her feel bad about herself. Mental and emotional trauma is just as painful as the physical part. In some cases, it could be worse. Mental and emotional abuse can take months or even years to heal. Neither form of abuse is better than the other.
“If you want to go to the party, I’m fine with staying by myself.” I feel bad she’s stuck here with me.
Maci looks at her phone. The screen’s black. She sighs and shakes her head.
“I don’t really want to go. I went last week. I’ll just text Jack and Jay. They’ll watch her.” She sends two quick texts before following me to the living room.
“Do you have parties every weekend?” I grab the remote and find one of the shows where they flip houses. For some reason, these things fascinate me.
Unlike the rest of her family, Maci joins me on the couch. After all the battered women they’ve helped, they know to be cautious around one. They’re just giving me space they feel I need. I appreciate it, but it makes me feel like something’s wrong with me. Well, something is wrong with me. I’m broken and battered. I feel so alone. What about me makes me unlovable?
Maci waves a bottle of water in front of my face, bringing me back to reality. She smiles sweetly. I have to look like an idiot to her.
She points to my sunglasses. “You don’t have to wear those around me. I won’t ask about it or make you feel bad.”
“Thank you.”
Her personality is more like her mom’s and Everly’s. She’s sweet, kind, and wants to genuinely help others. I’m comfortable around her. Slowly, I slide the sunglasses off and lay them on the end table. True to her word, Maci doesn’t say a word. Somehow, she doesn’t even react to seeing my bruise.
“To answer your question. People party and hang out every week. They go back and forth between the clubhouse and JB’s.” She pulls her feet up on the couch and crosses her legs. “But we only have parties at the clubhouse to celebrate something.”
“Who’s JB?” Me showing up threw a wrench in her family’s plans tonight.
She quickly glances at a text and lays her phone on the couch between us. From her tight smile, I’m guessing Jack or Jay confirmed they’re watching Harley.
“JB’s Roadhouse is Banks’ bar in town.” She tosses her hand out toward the TV. “You really like these shows?”
“It surprised me, too.” I laugh and lean against the arm of the couch. “Gwen and I watched them when we were stuck in Texas. She loved them.”
Maci and I spend the next couple of hours watching house shows and sitcoms. It feels good to laugh. Maci’s faking being happy. I’ve done it so often that it’s easy to spot. Her sister has her worried. No matter how many times she looks at her phone, the screen stays black. Hopefully, it’s a sign everything’s okay.
“How about some coffee?” Maci tosses the blanket over the back of the couch.
“Sounds good.” I follow her to the kitchen. “Would you like some ice cream?”
“Absolutely. The bowls are in there.” Maci points to the cabinet door next to the fridge.
“What’s your club celebrating tonight?” I set everything on the table and grab the ice cream scoop from the dish drainer.
“Jack and Rodeo came home last weekend.” Maci huffs. “The guys have celebrated every night this week.”
“Where were they?” Yeah, I’m being nosy. Hey. It helps keep my mind off my issues.
Her phone on the table rings before she can answer. Everly’s face lights up on the screen, making us both smile. I glance at the clock on the microwave. It’s almost nine.
“Hey, sweet girl,” Maci answers and puts the phone on speaker while she adds coffee grounds to the maker.
“Aunt Maci.” The fear in Everly’s voice slams into both of us.
Maci abandons the coffee and snatches up her phone, immediately taking it off speaker. “Everly, are you okay? What’s wrong?”
I forget the ice cream and move closer. Maci’s eyebrows draw together, and her face turns red. I can still hear the sounds from the party, but not what Everly’s saying.
“Where’s Nanny and Grandpa?” Maci closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. I admire her for holding back her anger to keep Everly calm. “Okay, sweetie. Meet us at the back gate.”
Oh my gosh. Everly is the sweetest. Why would anyone hurt her? Oh dear. What she said earlier now concerns me even more. Is one of these bikers about to die?
“Lily, I’m sorry, but we need to go to the gate behind the clubhouse. Everly needs to go home.” Maci shoves her phone into her back pocket as she heads toward the front door.
“I can wait here.” I have no desire to see someone die tonight. If some guy hurt Everly, he deserves what her family will do to him. But still, I don’t want to see it.
Maci pauses and takes another deep breath. “I don’t know how much Mom and Dad told you about the organization.” She shakes her head. “We don’t leave angels alone. It’s not that we don’t trust you. Sometimes, leaving the women we help alone does more harm than good to their mental state. And if your abuser found a way to track you, the last thing you need is to be alone and vulnerable.”
Everly’s more important than me. “Okay. Let’s go get her.”
Wow. I now understand why someone has been with me from the moment Nina took me to Andrew. I’d never ask Maci not to save her niece to stay with me. I can handle my situation. Well, not if I had to face Joel alone right now. Everly is young and doesn’t have experience. She needs us.
Maci hurries down the path Jack used to bring me to the guest house. The same path he stormed away on this morning. I assume the paths on each side of the house go to their family homes.
“We’re not going to the party. Just to the gate. It’s in the fence around the backyard of the clubhouse. We won’t even have to go inside.” Maci doesn’t slow down.
“What happened? Is she hurt? I’m a nurse if she needs medical attention.” I almost have to run to keep up with her.
“Thank you for that. But no. She’s not physically hurt.” Maci growls. She literally growls. “Apparently, my older sister decided to have a little too much to drink before the kids left. Everly’s tenderhearted. She can’t stand to see anyone drunk.” She glances over her shoulder but doesn’t stop. “She’s scared the same thing will happen to Harley like it did to her mom.”
Oh, that poor, sweet girl. My heart breaks for Everly. Yeah. We need to get to her fast. I know they’re all worried about Harley. I am, too, but her selfish actions tonight make me mad. If she was going to cut loose and get drunk, she could’ve waited another fifteen minutes.
Maci stops where the wooden privacy fence meets the backside of the clubhouse. The crowd and music are extremely loud. They must have a live band in there. Maci knocks loudly on the gate. She pulls a set of keys from her pocket and quickly unlocks the padlock. I can hear the same thing happening on the other side.
The gate opens with a forceful shove, almost knocking Maci down. I place my palms against her back to keep her from falling. Everly flies through the gate and throws her arms around Maci’s neck.
“I wanna go home,” she cries.
“Okay, sweetie. I got you.” Maci wraps her arms around Everly and rubs her back until she calms down. “Where’s Harley?”
Everly waves toward the far corner of the backyard. “On the other side of the Pit, but I wanna go home, Aunt Maci.”
“Okay, but I have to lock the gate back.”
It takes another few minutes before Everly releases her so she can lock the gate. I get a glimpse inside the backyard. People are gathered around in little groups. Most of them are drinking. A few are dancing and drinking. All of them are loud.
Maci leans her head inside the gate to look around for her sister. Her eyes widen, and she sucks in a breath.
“What?” I look over her shoulder.
Everly does, too. “Ugh. I hate her.”
Jack sits on the top of one of the picnic tables with his feet on the bench. A bunch of bikers are sitting with him or standing around the table. A woman with wavy blonde hair stands beside the table with her arms around Jack’s neck. He doesn’t even look at her.
“Oh, this isn’t happening.” Maci takes two steps inside.
“No, Aunt Maci. I wanna go home. Please,” Everly pleads.
Maci’s eyes meet mine. “She doesn’t mean anything to him.”
“Not my problem.” But I want to help Maci jerk this heifer off her brother.