Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
NOVA
I sniff, trying my best to wipe my tears away. “There are some tissues in the glove compartment,” Star says, pointing.
I nod and take one out. “Sorry.” I sniff.
Star frowns at me. “What in the hell have you got to be sorry for?” she snaps. “You can’t help who you fall for. All of them know this. Hell, look at Cash and Maggie. Them two getting together could have caused an all out war,” she sighs. “Then there was Hawk and Josie. Ghost told him not to mess around with the nanny, and what did he do?” she asks. “He fucked her senseless.” She tuts, answering her own question. “And Beast and Belle, well that’s another example. She was a crime boss’s daughter. He was an alliance to the club and a friend of Ghost’s, but Beast was adamant from day one that she was going to be his,” she adds. “Maybe if Spider had declared it openly from the first day, been honest rather than fuck you in secret, things may have been different,” she suggests.
“It was hardly a secret. Hawk found my underwear within 20 minutes of us screwing,” I point out.
Star laughs. “Oh, yeah.” She sighs. “We will find a way. I always find a way around their stupid rules, and this one ain’t no different,” she promises.
I turn my head and look out the window at the dark night sky. I wish I had as much optimism as she did. It runs deeper than just rules. It was the way Acid would have continued to beat him if he wasn’t stopped, and that Spider would have allowed him to do that. It shows how deeply they believe this so called rule.
Star pulls the truck over right next to a house. “Here we are,” she sighs as she looks out the window. “You don’t have to stay here, you know. You were perfectly fine at the club. You wouldn’t have any more issues,” she adds.
I nod. “I know, but with me there, it’s just a constant reminder. Maybe if I’m not there, Acid will bury the hatchet quicker and him and Spider will be okay,” I state.
Star sighs. “If it’s what you want, but you know you can’t leave this place without one of us being with you. Ghost is going to lose his shit at me for this anyway, but I don’t want anything happening to you either,” she asserts.
“I promise, I won’t go anywhere. And thanks for paying for it. I will pay you back as soon as I can get baking again,” I promise, feeling awful that I have had to ask this of her.
She waves it off like it’s nothing. “Don’t worry, it’s fine. Who knows? It could teach them a lesson to not act like neanderthals all the time,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “Come on, I will help you in with the bags,” she offers as she gets out of the truck.
Stopping at the front door, Star unlocks the door and walks in, switching on a light as she goes. I follow closely behind her. “Oh, this is cute,” she beams, looking around the small living space. We dump the bags and continue to look around. It has a nice kitchen and the upstairs has one bedroom and one bathroom. “I might permanently hire this place just so I have somewhere to escape to when Ghost is being a pain in my ass,” she sighs.
I laugh. “You mean Enzo, right?” I ask.
Star shakes her head no. “I get breaks from mom duties enough, and my little man couldn’t do anything to piss me off. His father on the other hand knows exactly how to piss me off, but then he also knows how to give a good apology fuck.” She smirks. “Anyhoo! I better get back before Ghost has an almighty shit fit.” As soon as those words have left her mouth, her cell starts ringing. “Oh, speak of the devil,” she says, looking down at the screen. “Hello?” she answers, placing him on speakerphone and speaking like she doesn’t know who is on the phone.
“Where the fuck are you?” Ghost growls down the phone. Star holds her phone out in front of her and lifts her index finger to her lips, signalling me to keep quiet. I nod.
“I was just helping Nova settle into her new place,” Star answers.
“What the fuck do you mean, ‘settle in’? She’s staying at the club,” he snaps back.
“She doesn’t want to stay there because of the situation. So, I helped her find somewhere she can stay for a while. It’s safe, there is an alarm, and she isn’t going to leave without a member of the club with her,” Star explains.
Ghost sighs loudly. “Woman, why have you always got to get involved in this shit?” he asks.
“Because I do. Now, will you be awake when I get home?” Star asks.
“You know I won’t sleep until I know you’re safe beside me in our bed,” he states.
My heart melts a little at Ghost’s overprotectiveness. Star smiles. “Good, because I want to alleviate some of that stress I’ve caused you.”
“I’ll be awake. Then maybe if you’re choking on my dick, it will stop you from interfering for five minutes,” Ghost growls.
Star’s smile widens. “Five minutes? Is that all you’ve got?” she goads.
Ghost groans. “Darlin’, with your mouth I don’t stand a fucking chance.”
“Okay Casper, I’ve got to go. Nova is stood here getting embarrassed,” Star says, snorting back her laughter.
“Jesus Christ, I am spanking that ass of yours so fucking hard when you get home,” Ghost threatens.
“I look forward to it,” Star says before disconnecting the call. She puts her cell in her back jean pocket, smirking. “Man, he will be really pissed I just cut him off like that without saying love you.” She laughs.
“I’m just going to hazard a guess here, but I get the feeling you like to piss him off,” I say, trying to hold back my laughter.
“I live for it.” She grins as she opens the front door. “Put the alarm on. There should be food in the kitchen. I paid extra for them to fill it up ready for you. You have my number on that burner I gave you, so ring me if you need anything,” Star says as she pulls me into a tight hug.
She steps back and starts walking back to the truck. “I will, and thanks again,” I say before closing the door behind her. I look on the wall and follow the instructions to set the alarm. Glancing at the clock, I see that it’s too late to eat or unpack, so I take myself up to bed and decide to leave it all till the morning.
Waking up the next morning felt weird. It was quiet. I was used to all the noise from the club. I went downstairs and put fresh coffee on, and as I looked through the fridge trying to decide what to have for breakfast, nothing seemed to take my attention. In the end, I just had a yogurt while standing in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, waiting for coffee to brew.
Once coffee is ready, I sit down on the couch and flick on the TV, browsing through every channel. This is the first day of me being alone here by myself, as I’m not allowed to go out on my own. Dare I say it, but I miss the loudness of the club. I miss cooking them all breakfast.
I sigh and decide to lay down and just watch some cheesy daytime film. I stay this way past lunch, all the way through until there is a knock at the door around 4pm. I get up and go to the front door, and as I look through the peephole, I see Nash stood on the other side. I sigh and unlock the door, letting him in.
He looks me up and down. “Jesus, you look like shit,” he states as he enters.
“Thanks for that. Why are you here?” I ask.
“I’m here because my little sister has fucked off and moved away from me because I fucked up,” he answers honestly.
“I haven’t moved away. I’m a 3 minute ride away, but yes, you fucked up,” I state, crossing my arms.
Nash walks to the couch, scoops up the empty candy wrappers, and places them on the coffee table. He raises his brow in question, but I don’t say anything. “Look, I know you think I shouldn’t have done what I did to Spider, but in my defence, until the other day, I thought you were dead. I had barely dealt with the shock, the happy shock that you are here, that you are alive. Only to then find out that my best friend, my brother, was fucking you. While I was out there not knowing you were alive,” he points out.
I sit down next to him. “You are allowed to be annoyed, and you are allowed to be pissed off. I’m sorry that what happened happened, but it was just the once. We haven’t been having a secret affair or anything. You scared me.” I pause, watching as Nash’s eyes sadden. “I didn’t think you were going to stop. I thought you were going to kill him,” I tell him.
He looks down and shakes his head. “My brothers would never let me do that,” he states.
“But what if they weren’t there? Would you have stopped in time?” I press.
His jaw tenses. “Honestly, I don’t know. I was so angry, I still fucking am. He is the one person I should be able to trust over everyone else,” he admits.
“You know that he saved me, right? We went out one night. The girls wanted to set me up on a date. Anyway, I got chatting to the nice guy. He was a bit nerdy looking, and we had a drink. All seemed okay, until I felt funny. He walked me outside for some air, and then he tried to rape me. He had drugged me,” I tell him.
Nash’s eyes darken, and I notice his fists clenching tight. “Where is he? I will fucking kill him,” he seethes.
“Dead,” I answer. “Spider kicked the shit out of him, followed by Star offloading a million rounds into him,” I add. He doesn’t speak. “Look, Spider is your best friend, and I will never come between you. You can be mad at him, but then you should be mad at me, too. I wanted it just as much as he did. We have an attraction, and it was just the one time we stopped fighting it,” I tell him honestly.
“Come back to the club,” Nash demands.
I shake my head no. “Not until you’ve resolved this shit with Spider.”
He smiles. “I don’t think I remember you being this demanding when you were little.”
I smile. “I was. You just used to give me whatever I wanted.”
He laughs before reaching over and pulling me into his arms, holding me tight. He kisses the top of my head before speaking. “I just wish I could have protected you. Saved you before everything happened,” he confesses, his voice rough with emotion.
Sitting back, I wipe the tears that have fallen and smile. “You forget that you were just a kid, too. It’s all very well you saying that, but who protected you?” I sniff, knowing that from the day they met, Spider has looked out for him, taken care of him, fought anyone that tried to hurt Acid.
Nash gives me a small smile and nods. “Point well made, little sis.”