Chapter 2 #2
“You were so calm and composed. Even tonight, you’ve been so kind and welcoming.
You really listen, and all your answers are genuine and helpful.
You don’t make me feel stupid or treat me with kid gloves.
It’s like you have it all figured out, and it just makes me feel even more useless.
” I couldn’t help myself and burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. I just honestly have absolutely nothing figured out.
I live a very small life. It’s small because I don’t like the unknown, I don’t like change, and I don’t like insecurity.
I’ve crafted my entire world to accommodate my neurosis.
I work, I pay my bills, and every once in a while, I get wild and order pizza with extra toppings.
My life is boring, mundane. I’m not changing the world or saving lives.
I’m just controlling mine,” I blurted out, surprised at how much I revealed with that statement.
I knew I was damaged, psychologically and emotionally, but that was even more motivation to keep to myself. I looked up, embarrassed, unsure what to expect from Charlie, but was surprised when she started laughing.
“Oh! That makes me feel so much better. Please, can we be friends? I have no fucking clue what I’m doing. Two idiots have to be better than one, right?” At that, I laughed too. I liked Charlie. I liked her honesty and openness. I liked that she wasn’t as jaded as I was.
“Yes, I think we can be friends. Just don’t go thinking I have any answers on how to be an adult. Well, I can balance your checkbook and help with math homework.”
“Promise. Here’s to two friends figuring it out. Cheers?” she said, holding out a garlic knot. I picked one up and tapped it against hers in a mock toast before eating the whole thing in one bite.
Bash
Once home, my sister safe in the guest room, sleep eluded me. I was completely at odds with what to do about Charlie. I had the prospect drop her at my house on the MC compound. She hated staying at the clubhouse and spent more nights at my place than in her own room in the house we grew up in.
My parents, Dalton and Cecilia Williams, were forces to be reckoned with. I knew Charlie had been itching to get out of the house, but none of us were comfortable with her getting an apartment on her own.
Dad—known as Guard to everyone but my mother—was one of the founders of the club. He met my mom, Cece, when she was working as a nurse at the local hospital. She stitched him up after a fight one night, and he swore it was love at first sight. For him, at least.
Mom wasn’t so easily swayed. My dad would purposely get injured for a chance to see her. Then, when she caught on, he asked her out every week until she finally agreed. They hadn’t left each other’s side since.
My dad never looked at another woman once he met my mom.
They had the type of love that wars were fought over.
If anything happened to my mom, there was no doubt in my mind that Dad would burn the world to the ground to find her.
It made the recent decline in his health that much more heartbreaking.
Growing up, my dad was an avid smoker. Mom tried to make him quit, banning it in the house and around us kids.
Once Charlie was born, he pretty much stopped completely, wanting to set a good example for his baby girl.
The clubhouse was always filled with smoke, though, and the years of damage were already done.
Dad was diagnosed with emphysema a few years earlier.
Ma begged him to take it seriously, to slow down and create a non-smoking area in the clubhouse, but it took his lung collapsing for him to finally listen.
After a tenuous few days in the hospital, where he was bed-bound and forced to listen to Mom read him the riot act, he officially retired. Once he was strong enough, Reaper—my dad’s best friend and the club president—called all of the Brothers in for an emergency Church meeting.
Dad officially stepped down as VP of the club.
We all assumed Crow, Reaper’s son, would take over.
I was totally blindsided when Prez put me forward, and the Brothers unanimously voted me in as the new VP.
I was honored. The club was my family in every way.
As soon as I was old enough to understand the importance of what my dad did for the club, I had made sure to listen and learn as much as I could from him.
He worked hard to make sure I understood all of the club dynamics, and now that I was thrust into the new role, I was eternally grateful for the knowledge he passed down.
My first few months as VP felt like a crash course in running the club.
It felt like everything was coming at me at once between Charlie, my dad, and my club responsibilities.
Suddenly, on top of that, I was distracted with thoughts of Fiona at the most inopportune times.
What got me the most was how real she seemed. Nonjudgmental, kind, and insightful. At that point, I had built her up in my mind as some sort of mystical being, Charlie’s savior and soothsayer.
Instead of spending the rest of the night working up a good rage to confront my sister with, I couldn’t help but remember Fiona’s words. I didn’t want Charlie to be scared of me, but even more, I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t proud of her or didn’t believe in her.
When she finally stumbled downstairs on Saturday morning, I had coffee made and some toast set out for her at the kitchen table.
Her expression was wary, and I couldn’t blame her.
In the past, I would have already been going off on her, lecturing her and trying to ban her from leaving MC property.
She opened her mouth, and I stopped her.
I passed her a glass of water and some aspirin.
She took it with a dubious expression but remained silent. I sat down across from her with my coffee and then pushed the toast in her direction before clearing my throat.
“I think we need to change some things around here.” She looked up, her eyes becoming round with fear.
“Charlie, you’re my baby sister. I love you.
You’re a pain in my ass, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you.
I also want you to know I’m proud of you.
I don’t think I’ve said it enough, or if at all.
I can’t imagine what it’s been like to grow up as a girl in the club.
You’re the club princess. All we’ve ever wanted to do is spoil and protect you, but that doesn’t mean that was how you experienced it.
I know I’ve gotten out of hand, that I’ve been too hard on you.
I just… I can’t imagine anything ever happening to you. ”
I looked up to see tears in Charlie’s eyes, her expression filled with surprise. It gave me the motivation to continue, to discuss the elephant in the room.
“With everything going on with Dad, I may have gone overboard when it comes to you. He told me to watch over you, not smother you. I want you to feel comfortable coming to me, talking to me about stuff. So that’s on me.
I need to focus on being your brother, not your warden.
That being said, you were very lucky Fiona found you last night.
I don’t know many people who would stick their neck out like that for a stranger.
I get that you’re going through stuff, but you cannot put yourself at risk like that.
Please, promise me you won’t pull a stunt like that again.
I’ll talk to the prospects, have them take cages and hang back when you wanna go out, but you cannot just go AWOL like that.
We would fall apart without you—all of us.
” My heart was racing, and I felt both embarrassed and impressed with how much I had just said.
I guessed I had more to get off my chest than I realized.
Before I had too much time to analyze that, Charlie was hopping out of her chair and running around the table.
I stood up just in time to catch her as she face-planted into my chest like she used to as a kid and burst into tears.
It broke my heart. I hated it when she cried.
I wrapped my arms around her as I tried to comfort her.
“We’re all good, Little Bit, just try to keep yourself out of trouble. Can you do that?” She nodded against my chest, no doubt wiping snot all over my shirt.
Once she finally calmed down, we had breakfast together, and it was a subdued affair. She asked me about Fiona, and I filled her in on the woman's version of that night's events.
“Did you get her number?” she asked me. I shook my head, unwilling to admit the regret I felt at not doing that.
“How am I supposed to thank her? I need to call her or something. Can you get Keys to run her info? You must have her address from picking me up!”
“It was the middle of the night, and I was a bit preoccupied with you. Getting her number wasn’t exactly my main focus. I made sure to thank her. Do you really want the club to know what happened?” The implication hung in the air.
If it became club business and the Brothers got involved, Dad would find out. She frowned in frustration before giving me an odd look. Tired and irritated, I ended the conversation, and we entered into a tenuous truce.
A week later, and I still couldn’t get Fiona off my mind.
Flashes of her creamy skin and guileless eyes would hit me at odd moments.
Her apartment had smelled like a mix of vanilla and honey, and I could have sworn I got wafts of it every now and then.
Charlie had begged me to get her information all week, and it took everything in me to shut my sister down.
I knew it was because I didn’t trust myself not to reach out, rather than any concern about what Charlie would do with the information.
Meanwhile, I was trying to track down the douchebag who left my sister blacked out in a bar. The weekend had finally arrived, and I was about ready to give in and have Keys run a full check on Fiona in exchange for the name and number of the guy Charlie went out with.
To my dismay, work seemed to be one clusterfuck after another. I ran a garage with some of the Brothers. We did a mix of standard repairs, with a special department for custom jobs. By the time I closed up for the day, it was almost 8 p.m., and I wasn’t sure where to find Charlie.
I tried giving her a call, but it went to voicemail. Hesitating for a moment, I cursed as I pulled up the tracking app Keys put on my phone so I didn’t have to bug him every time my sister went off the radar.
My stomach jumped in my throat as the dot loaded. She was at Fiona’s apartment. How did she find her? What are they doing? How does Fiona seem? That last thought had me shaking my head at my own idiocy. I went back to my house, waiting for Charlie to come home.
Typically, she spent the weekends there since we’d been making her stay close to the club grounds. The dot marking her location finally started moving around ten, and I was relieved to see her heading my way rather than our parents’ house.
My instinct was to snap at her, ask why she deliberately went against what I asked, but I knew how determined Charlie could be. I also understood why she would want to see Fiona again.
Lord knew I was dying to. And wasn’t that the biggest bitch of it all? There I was on a Friday night, home alone, trying to figure out if I was mad at or jealous of my sister, all because of a woman I had spoken with for less than an hour.
When Charlie finally got home, she looked happier than I had seen since we got the news about Dad’s condition. My sister seemed startled to see me. Then a look of determination came over her.
“I tracked Fiona down. I know you told me not to, but I had to talk to her, and I’m so glad I did.
We’ve decided to be friends. I didn’t tell her anything about the club.
You can tell me what I’m allowed and not allowed to say, but I really like her, and I think I need someone like her in my life.
” It was the most enthusiastic I had seen my sister in a while, and I obviously wanted her to have friends.
There was no reason to say no or have an issue with it. Part of me felt guilty for keeping the information from her, seeing how much lighter she seemed after talking to Fiona. I realized I hadn’t spoken, so I forced myself to nod.
“That’s fine. Keep her on a need-to-know basis for now. Anything you’re unsure of, just run by me first. We’ll keep a prospect outside her building when you’re there.” She looked surprised, her posture visibly relaxing at my response.
“Fiona seems like good people. I’m happy you guys hit it off. I do have something I want to ask you, though.” Her brow creased as she frowned, suspicion radiating in her gaze.
“I need the name, number, and whatever other info you have on the guy who left you at the bar. And before you try to blow me off, consider the fact that he could do this to another girl who doesn’t have someone like Fiona around to save the day.
He needs to be taught a lesson on how to treat a lady.
” Charlie stared at me for a moment, trying to read something in my expression.
“You’re right. He was a mistake, and I have to learn from it. If I can stop other girls from having to endure the same experience, I should.” She grabbed a pen and paper and quickly jotted down some notes.
“This is the name and number he gave me, as well as where he said he worked. I don’t know how much is true, but it’s all I have. I’ll forward you a picture I took of him from earlier in the night.”
“Thank you,” I said as she passed me the paper. She stood up and gave me a side hug.
“Thank you, Bash. I’m going to bed now. Love you.”
“Love you too. Sleep tight, Little Bit.” She smiled at the old nickname before heading for the stairs. I forwarded all the information she gave me about that prick to Keys, then headed to my room.
Alone in my bed, I let myself think about Fiona, about the possibilities of seeing her again now that she was friends with Charlie.
She had fully consumed my thoughts. Unknowingly, Fiona was pulling at a long-forgotten wish, a buried dream of an all-consuming love similar to what I had only seen between my parents.
Right on its heels was the growing feeling of hope; she was getting closer to my world, getting pulled into my orbit. I was desperate for another glimpse of her, for a chance to talk with her. To top it all off, I was finding it increasingly less difficult to feel bad about what that all meant.
All I cared about was when I’d get to see her next. By the sounds of things, it would be sooner than I had originally expected. With that final thought and the comfort of knowing I would get to see Fiona again, I fell asleep to visions of her.