Chapter Two #2
“Unca Caleb, why does Daddy drink that yucky stuff all day long?” Bryce asks me, his little face full of hurt and innocence when I look at him in the rearview mirror.
For several minutes, I’m stunned into silence because I truly have no clue how to answer this question.
Bryce is so innocent so for him to notice his dad drinking in excess is something I wasn’t expecting.
Kreed and I have been trying to keep an eye on the situation to make sure he doesn’t turn into his or Cali’s dads, but apparently we’ve been slacking and I need to figure out the proper way to handle this.
We won’t do anything to get Cali or Bryce hurt because Darren’s being a giant twatwaffle.
“How are things goin’ with your daddy home?” I ask Bryce after I recover from the shock of his question. “Has he played with you this time?”
“No. All he does is sit on the couch and drink that yucky stuff. I don’t know what I did so wrong, Unca. Why doesn’t Daddy want to play with me?” Bryce returns, his little voice filled with pain that breaks my heart and makes me want to beat the shit out of Darren.
“You didn’t do anythin’ wrong, Little Man.
You’re the best boy a dad could ever dream of havin’.
Daddy is just lost in his head right now.
He can’t get past the things we’ve had to do when we’re gone.
Does he drink a lot when he’s home?” I ask, needing to know how bad things have gotten with one of my best friends.
“Yeah. He doesn’t go outside unless you and Unca Kreed are over. Is that beer he’s drinking? He makes me get them for him sometimes,” Bryce informs me and I see red. Darren having his son grab him beer is going way past a line he should never fucking cross.
“I’m sorry, Bryce. I’ll make sure to talk to him about it soon. He won’t make you get them anymore. I promise you that,” I say, meaning every word to him when I look at him through the rearview mirror.
Bryce’s little face is scrunched up and I know he’s trying his hardest not to cry right now.
The thought of Darren making his own son feel this way breaks my heart because he was so damn excited when Cali was pregnant.
Becoming a dad was all he could talk about.
When Bryce was first born, Darren was right there with her for every part of parenthood.
He changed diapers, fed him so Cali wasn’t nursing constantly, and doing everything he could with his son.
He'd walk around the house for hours with Bryce cradled against his chest when none of us could comfort him. He even sang to Bryce and Darren doesn’t have a good voice at all.
He’s the worst singer I’ve ever heard in my life.
That’s how he was when we were actually home on leave.
“Reckless! Where the fuck are you?” Kreed questions me, pulling me out of my thoughts as I turn to look at my best friend.
Kreed is staring at me with worry filling his eyes and I know he called me more than once during the middle of our meeting.
Everyone is looking at me the same way as I glance around the table.
Everything is getting worse and this moment makes me realize how much I’ve checked out lately.
I’m supposed to be the main one paying attention during these meetings and instead I’ve been thinking of the things I couldn’t control and had no business inserting myself in between Cali and Darren.
Though, I will always do everything to protect her.
Even if it was from him when he was alive.
“I’m sorry. I’m here. Got kind of lost for a minute. Repeat what was just said please,” I say, sitting up straighter in my chair and forcing myself to focus on the conversation around me.
Count once again goes over the numbers from each business and lets us know which ones need any kind of improvement.
M.B. informs us each of our businesses are doing excellent and really picking up since we started showing ourselves in town a lot more.
Every time there’s a town meeting, a handful of us attend.
Manic, our Enforcer, tends to go more than the rest of us for some reason.
None of us have figured out why yet. We don’t really know that much about Manic.
He didn’t serve in the military with us.
Yes, he did serve, but he wasn’t on our team.
We’re still getting to know him, but it’s hard when we’re all so guarded and don’t let others in easily.
“Reckless, what do you wanna do about the drug situation? From what I’ve learned, it’s becomin’ a real problem at the warehouses.
The workers are gettin’ so high they’re causin’ huge mistakes in orders and there have been more injuries in the last month than ever before.
These warehouses have been around as long as Glendale has been established and things are quickly goin’ downhill with the introduction of this new drug,” Manic asks me as he leans back in his chair and looks around the table.
“Where the fuck are you hearin’ this information?” I question my Enforcer because every bit of information he always brings to the club is spot on and none of us know his informant.
“I’ve heard about it when I’ve been out around town.
Everyone’s talkin’ about it. It’s affectin’ so many families and no one can seem to figure out who the hell is behind this shit.
All they know is people come in throughout the night and make their sales.
They’re on the bottom of the totem pole so to speak and don’t know much information from what I can gather.
I have yet to find one of the dealers and talk to them.
That’s my goal for this week. I’ll be hittin’ the streets every night until we have all the relevant information,” Manic tells me as he looks around the table at everyone because we’re all pissed about this developing situation.
“Keep me updated on everythin’ you learn.
I don’t want to be kept in the dark since this concerns the entire town.
We’ll have to talk to our contact at the police station to find out what they know and what’s bein’ done about the situation.
Link, you take care of that since you have a better relationship with him than the rest of us.
If you need me to go with you, let me know and I’ll be there.
What else is goin’ on we need to be aware of?
” I ask, looking around the table at everyone to find out what else I’ve apparently missed out on lately as I lose myself on a daily basis.
This is why I need to stop drinking and pull myself together.
The club and these men need me to be the President they elected me as and not a worthless piece of shit who can’t get his head on straight.
“Talked to Caliana this afternoon. She’s finally gettin’ a security system installed.
I was supposed to do it yesterday but we’re out of the best one and I had to order one.
It will be here by tomorrow mornin’ at the latest. It might already be here.
I’ll check with the Prospects when we get out of church.
Some shit is goin’ down at her house and it’s spooked her enough to have us secure her house better than we already have,” Master tells us as I sit up straighter in my chair and pay rapt attention to what he’s saying since it involves Caliana and the home her children are in.
“What the fuck is goin’ on that she got scared?” I bark out, my words harsh and low as I slam my fist on the table in front of me because I have no clue what’s going on in her life. “Did you know about this shit, Link?”
“I have no clue what Master is talkin’ about. This is the first time I’m hearin’ anythin’ about it. What the hell is goin’ on with Cali?” Kreed responds, turning his full attention toward Master as we look at him for answers.
“She was left a ton of pictures on her porch. They were scattered all over the place and had drops of blood on them. There were also drops of blood on her porch and steps. She didn’t follow the trail to find out where it went.
I wouldn’t expect her to. The pictures had a giant X on Reckless’ face.
Every fuckin’ one of them accordin’ to her.
And they weren’t just recent pictures. They were from years ago.
I haven’t seen them personally yet, but from what Cali said, they’re from around the age of eight up to now.
This is not only a threat against her, but it’s against you too, Reckless.
We have to handle this shit tenderly and I will grab the pictures from her tomorrow when I go install the security system for her.
Anythin’ else you want me to do at the house?
” Master asks, looking between Kreed and myself.
Everyone at this table knows the friendship between Cali, Kreed, and myself.
They know we’re best friends and will always be there for Cali and the kids.
More than the rest of them who see it as a way to remain close to Darren.
Kreed and I truly care about those three and will jump in front of a bullet to ensure they’re safe from anyone trying to hurt them for any reason.
“I’m goin’ with you,” Kreed immediately speaks up without looking at me because he knows I’ve been avoiding going there. “I’ll take care of anythin’ else that needs to be done. You worry about the security system and makin’ sure it does everythin’ Cali wants it to.”
“I’ll stay here. Call me if you need anythin’. I’ll be there in a matter of seconds if you need me to show up. I’ve got a few things for Rory and Bryce if you’ll take them over with you,” I say, picking the gavel up in my hand as I look around the table. “Anythin’ else?”
“Nothin’,” the guys say, their voices merging together as one as I slam the gavel on the table and call our meeting to an end.
Everyone leaves the room and I slowly get out of my seat.
The need to go to Cali right now is overwhelming and I know tonight will be spent drinking myself into oblivion once again.
It’s the only way I’ll be able to stop myself from riding to Cali’s house and protecting her from the dangerous world around her.
Of making her mine and betraying the memory of Darren.
Slowly leaving our meeting room, I head for the bar and look at Rosa.
She’s more than a club girl. If I’m being honest, she doesn’t fuck with any of us.
She works the bar so the Prospects can handle other things.
We all respect her decision not to fuck with us while she lives her life the way she wants.
Though, I do know something is going on with her none of us know about.
We’ll figure out sooner or later, it’s just a matter of time before one of us steps up and claims her.
I have my suspicions on who it will be, but that’s just me.
“Drinkin’ again?” Kreed questions me as he takes the bar stool right next to me and waves off the beer for a bottle of water.
“What the fuck, Link? If I wanna drink, I can drink. You don’t like it, you don’t gotta watch,” I tell him, knowing I’m taking out my anger on him for no reason. I’m not angry at him, it’s at myself because I know I could end this all if I were just man enough to go to Cali.
“Gonna make the call, Caleb. One day soon, they’re gonna show up and you’ll have your ass handed to you.
I won’t even be sorry about it, either. Get your shit together or deal with everyone else.
I’m not gonna lie to Cali if she asks me about you either.
She’ll hand your ass to you if necessary and we all know she can be rough when she lets herself lose control,” Kreed promises me and I know he’s not bluffing.
This is him giving me my final warning to pull myself together and do the right thing.
Without looking at him, I grab the bottle of Jack and leave him alone at the bar.
I take my usual table at the back of the common room so I can see everyone around me.
No one else ever sits at the table and only joins me if I invite them.
Kreed is the only exception to the rule and that’s because he knows I won’t ever turn him away.
For the rest of the night, I watch the men and women around me while drinking one glass after another of Jack.
I know I can’t ride to Cali’s and that’s when I finally slow down and stop drinking one glass right after the other.
Kreed keeps a close eye on me, but doesn’t come over to talk or join me at my table.
I’m hurting him with my actions, but this is the only way I can think of to deal with everything.
Yes, I know it’s not really dealing with anything.
I’m simply burying my thoughts and feelings until I sober up again.