Chapter Twenty-Four
Reckless
T ODAY’S AN IMPORTANT day. Bryce’s school is having their Halloween party.
He has a second costume for today my mom bought him.
It’s scarier and none of us wanted Cali to see it with the way things have been going for her lately.
The last thing I want to happen is for her to have another panic attack.
They always take so much out of her and the effects last the rest of the day.
Sometimes into the next day depending on when she had it.
So, I’m taking Bryce to my house to get ready for school and then I’ll take him to school.
When we pick him up, we’ll have different clothes for him to change into.
Cali won’t see her son looking gruesome while I know my mom will take a ton of pictures for Kreed and me.
We’ll keep them hidden from Cali so she won’t ever see them.
After picking Bryce up from Cali, we walk over to my house.
It’s right next door to Kreed’s. It’s something we decided on when we were young.
No matter where life took us, we would always live next door to one another.
If we had joined the Phantom Bastards instead of starting the Feral Dragons, we wouldn’t have had houses on the compound because they’re all occupied.
We found land just past the compound that’s large enough for us to build two houses on and still have plenty of room for anything we wanted to do.
Since we moved to Glendale, we chose the first two lots to build our homes on in the compound.
Everyone else surrounds us. There’s even a mini apartment building where our Prospects live.
The Feral girls don’t get housing of their own.
We have rooms for them in a separate hallway in the clubhouse.
“Unca Caleb, I’m so happy today. We’re watching movies all day in class,” Bryce informs me as we walk up my steps to find my dad and Tank waiting for us.
“That’s cool, Little Man. You’re having pizza for lunch, aren’t ya?” I ask him, knowing pizza is one of his favorite foods thanks to Kreed and me.
“Yeah. They’re ordering it in. I don’t like the school pizza,” he states, making my dad and Tank laugh. “Papa! Tank!”
Bryce loves all the guys in my family. He loves spending time with all of us and would spend hours in the garage working on bikes.
My nephew will ask a million and one questions about what’s being done, what the part of the bike is, and everything else he can think of.
By the time he’s a teenager, he’ll know as much about bikes as we do.
This kid is a sponge and soaks up information no matter where it comes from.
His grades in school are excellent and I have a feeling he’ll do whatever he wants when he gets older.
College will be his playground if that’s the route he chooses to go.
“Let’s get you ready for school,” I tell him as we make our way inside to find my mom and Maddie sitting on my couch. “Hi Mom and Aunt Maddie.”
Bryce rushes over to my mom and aunt. He gives them both a hug and talks excitedly about his costume and what they’ll be doing in school.
We all pay close attention to him because that’s what he deserves.
All of us give him what Darren never could after less than a year of being a dad.
I gather everything I’ll need to get him ready and sit down on the coffee table.
Bryce heads to the bathroom to change into his costume while I get the make-up we’ll need ready.
His entire face will be painted. I had to check with his teacher to make sure the costume would be school approved and it thankfully was.
Bryce had his heart set on this horror character but didn’t pick it when we went shopping because of his mom.
He’s learned over the years that Cali can’t stand anything scary.
So, he makes his costume choices now with that in mind.
This kid is definitely one of a kind and will always put others' thoughts and feelings first. He gets that from watching Kreed so closely over the years. I’m the same way, but I can be more selfish than them.
“How’s Cali doing today?” Maddie asks me, her voice low so Bryce doesn’t overhear her.
“She’s doin’ as good as she can. When the kids are awake, she puts on her fake smile and pretends as if everythin’ is okay.
Bryce can see through her facade but acts like he doesn’t.
Cali is stayin’ busy with the kids, cleanin’, and anythin’ else she can think of.
The one thing she isn’t able to do right now is read.
I watched her read the same page for an hour yesterday before puttin’ her book down.
Kreed, Luca, and I are all tryin’ to be there for her, but she hasn’t opened up to us yet.
This entire situation is really weighin’ on her and makin’ her go into her mind more than normal,” I answer her honestly because they’ll find out the truth sooner rather than later and there’s no point in downplaying the situation.
“And she still swears it’s Darren?” my mom questions me, knowing what threw her into a panic attack the other day when Tank found her.
“Yeah. She’d know him anywhere, Mom. If she says it’s Darren, then I believe her.
We all know he was an only child so there’s no way it’s some brother playin’ cruel mind games with Cali.
This is Darren fuckin’ with her, and us, for some reason.
I’ve been thinkin’ about everythin’ since that day and have no clue what his end game is.
Darren has the trainin’ he needs to remain hidden until he’s ready for us to see him.
He can go for long periods of isolation and has had a year to put together whatever he’s planned in motion.
Kreed and I have been tryin’ to get into his frame of mind and we keep comin’ up with nothin’.
“Master has been goin’ through everythin’ on his computer to figure out how Darren would have faked his death.
We’ve contacted the morgue he was taken to and talked to them.
They’ve sent over all of Darren’s records.
We spend all day goin’ through everythin’ and we’re still no closer to figurin’ this shit out.
It makes sense that Darren’s Cali’s stalker though.
He has access to the pictures that have been left for her.
And he knows what she loves. Yeah, a stalker could find out about her love of butterflies and all animals.
They would know about our relationship and how close we are.
This all seems a bit more personal though.
The rose petals remind us of Darren because the few times he got her flowers, they were roses.
Cali can’t stand them and he never remembered that.
Honestly, I just want this shit to be done so we can all move on one way or another,” I tell them just before Bryce rushes back into the living room with the largest smile on his face when Maddie screams the second she sees him.
Tank rushes in the room, ready to beat the fuck out of someone until he realizes his ol’ lady screamed because of Bryce. My uncle tries so hard to hold in his laughter, but fails miserably while getting glared at by my aunt. She’ll get her payback on him.
“I’m ready, Unca Caleb,” Bryce announces as I turn my attention back to him and try to forget about everything else.
I focus on doing Bryce’s make-up while everyone else watches me and talks about anything other than what’s going on.
We keep the mood light and allow Bryce to lead the conversation for the most part.
He goes from talking about school to taking his baby sister trick or treating for the first time.
Bryce doesn’t know Rory won’t have fun like him because she’s so little.
I’m looking forward to watching her notice everything around her on Halloween night.
If she’s awake. Rory has been staying up longer the last few days so it’s been good for Cali.
“Unca, thank you for doing this. Daddy never would have helped me with a costume. I’ve seen the pictures of all of you and heard you talk about this being his favorite holiday.
He never helped me or acted like it mattered,” Bryce says, breaking my heart with his crestfallen face as I look up at him.
“You don’t ever have to thank me for this, Bryce.
You’re my nephew and partner in crime. I’ll always be here for you and you can tell me anything you want.
I’ll help you when you need it and make sure you always know I’m here to love and support you,” I promise him as I pull my nephew into my arms and hug him tight.
Bryce wraps his arms around my neck and holds on tight. He keeps his face away from me so he doesn’t smear his make-up while soaking up the comfort I’m giving him.
“Daddy didn’t love Mommy and me. He always yelled at us when he was home.
Mommy tried to pretend she was okay, but I heard her crying at night if I woke up.
Daddy didn’t even sleep in the same room as her.
He fell asleep on the couch with that yucky drink in his hand.
Did I ever tell you about the time he threw his food at Mommy?
” Bryce asks me, pulling back from my hug as everything around us stops.
My dad and uncle step up closer to us while Maddie and my mom sit up straighter on the couch. It takes me a few minutes to swallow the lump in my throat with this bomb Bryce is dropping on us this morning.
“No, I didn’t know your Daddy threw food at your mom. What happened?” I ask him while pushing down everything I’m feeling so I don’t show him my anger.