Chapter 4
Chyanne
My feet hurt. My legs hurt. Everything hurts after my shift at work. I’ve been getting killer cramps in my legs, and I don’t know what to do about them.
I walk into the clubhouse, and it’s pretty silent. Not many people are roaming around at this time of night, which kind of shocks me since every other night, it’s been busy as hell here.
“You’re back,” I hear Van say as he strolls into the room.
“Why’s it so quiet?”
“The guys are out on a little recon mission. They’ll be back.” I nod my head and walk past him toward the kitchen to grab something to drink. Grabbing a bottle of water, I head back into the main room and drop onto the couch.
“Long day?”
“Yeah. I keep getting cramps in my legs so bad. I’ve never felt pain like that before,” I tell him.
“You talked to the doctor about it? You know we have one that can come in and check things out if you need him to.”
“I’ve talked to my doctor. A lot of pregnant women get them,” I tell him as he drops onto the couch next to me. He reaches for me, grabs my legs, and pulls them onto his lap. I try to pull away, but he doesn’t let me.
“I remember my sisters gettin’ them. One got them really badly. She sat and cried all night,” he says, ignoring me and massaging my legs. I’m not going to lie and say I don’t like it because I do. It’s really soothing to the point I nearly moan out loud. I bite my lip to keep that from happening.
“I’m sure they appreciated whatever you did for them,” I tell him.
“I know they did. They told me a million times,” he chuckles while he keeps massaging.
“You’re really good at this.”
“I try,” he winks. He continues kneading my flesh until I relax. When the door opens and guys start filtering in, I figure he’s going to stop, but he doesn’t. He keeps going even as he gets strange looks from the others.
“What the hell, Van?”
“She has leg cramps. You remember when Ellie used to get them bad?” he asks, talking to Mask.
“Yeah. She would cry for hours,” Mask says.
“Yeah. They get to that point sometimes,” I tell him. He nods his head but still strangely looks at Van. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but if it’s something other than helpful, he’s wrong.
Van’s hands never stop massaging, and I relax a little more until my eyes flutter closed. That’s when I hear him chuckle. My eyes snap open when he stops his movements.
“I’ve never knocked a girl out before,” he says, causing me to smile.
“I’m sorry. I got too relaxed,” I apologize, pulling my legs from his lap and placing my feet back on the floor.
“Don’t apologize. I’m sure it’s a lot to work and be pregnant.”
“Did your sisters work?” he shakes his head.
“No. They got lucky with the pricks they married. They didn’t make them work,” he says.
“That would be nice,” I tell him. It would be great, but Derrick was never that guy. He wanted the money coming in. He wasn’t about to find a second job just to allow me to be at home.
“You know you don’t have to pay shit while you’re here,” he tells me.
“Yeah, I do.”
“No. Mask isn’t gonna take your money, and neither am I. If you need time off, take it.”
“I need to pay rent, buy groceries, and get baby stuff,” I remind him as he shakes his head.
“I’m not takin’ your money for that shit, Chy. Rent is on us, and so is the food.”
“That’s nice of you, but I won’t take no for an answer,” I argue. I won’t live off them for free.
“You don’t have a choice, darlin’. We’re not takin’ it,” he tells me before motioning for Mask to come over. I watch him stroll over and sit in a chair across from us.
“What’s up?”
“She thinks she’s payin’ rent and groceries while she’s here,” Van tells him. Mask just smirks.
“No, you’re not. I don’t charge for that shit. You needed a place to stay and we offered. I didn’t offer it to take your money,” Mask tells me.
“I feel like I need to pay something.”
“Just worry about savin’ it. Wasn’t that the point to begin with?” he asks. I nod my head.
“Yeah, but I still don’t feel right not paying something.”
“You worry about you and that little one. The rest is on us, sweetheart. You have nothin’ else to worry about here.” I nod my head, grateful for what they’re doing for me.
“I don’t know how to thank you guys,” I tell them both.
“No need to. You needed a place, and we had one,” Van tells me. I smile my thanks as Mask stands and pats my arm. Van doesn’t move, though. He stays right where he was.
“Can I ask you somethin’?”
“Sure.”
“What was your man like?”
“At first, he was great. He was a good guy who did what he could for me, but after I found out I was pregnant, things changed. He didn’t want kids, and I kind of ruined that for him.”
“He could have used protection,” he tells me.
“You’re right. But he didn’t want to, and this is the result.”
“So he was pissed,” Van says, making the obvious statement.
“Yeah, he was. He ignored me for the most part and went on with his day until the other day. I told him I needed to go to my appointment and he lost it. My car wouldn’t start, and I needed a ride. He wanted nothing to do with it,” I tell him.
“That sounds like a real piece of shit. I’m glad you’re here and not there anymore. You ever need anything, includin’ a ride to the doctor you tell us.”
“I really appreciate all that you’re doing for me. You have no idea how much.” He smiles and pats my arm before standing.
“I got an idea. Don’t worry about anything,” he says before walking away. I watch him walk across the room and stand at the bar, one of the girls hanging off his side. He wraps his arm around her and pulls her in close. I miss that. I miss having that with someone. I don’t miss Derrick, though, not after what he did.
“You okay?” Nicole asks as she walks over and sits next to me.
“He was just telling me not to worry about anything,” I tell her.
“He’s right. They have you covered. I talked to Mask.”
“They can’t be taking care of me, Nic. I have to do something.” She shrugs her shoulders.
“Work the bar then. They won’t care.”
“You think so? I can make drinks.”
“It’s mostly grabbing them a beer anyway. It’s not that hard,” she assures me. I nod my head and shove to my feet before grabbing her hand and pulling her along with me.
“You can show me around,” I tell her. She nods and agrees as we walk to the bar. Nic shows me everything I need to know as Van looks at me strangely. When a few of the other guys come up to the bar, I’m the one sliding them a beer.
“No. No fuckin’ way. You were just hurtin’, and you just got off work. Get the fuck out from behind that bar,” he demands as he looks at me. Everyone is looking at me now, too.
“What?”
“You aren’t workin’ the bar. Get the fuck out of there!” He says louder this time.
“What’s the problem?” Mask asks.
“I was just trying to be helpful,” I tell him.
“We offered, darlin’. You don’t need to do anything but relax and take care of yourself. I thought we made that clear,” Mask states. I lower my head and look at my feet before I feel hands on my face. Van lifts my face, so I’m looking at him.
“We’re not that kind of people. We don’t want anything in return, Chyanne.”
“Oh Christ,” Mask mutters over his shoulder. I don’t know what he’s talking about, but I ignore his words and focus on Van.
“I need to do something.”
“You just got off work, darlin’. Go rest your legs.” Without arguing with him, I put the bottle on the counter and blow out a breath before walking away.
“What the fuck, Van? I told you she’s off limits,” I hear Mask say as I walk toward my room.
“I didn’t do shit!”
“Yeah, okay. I’m warnin’ you.” And that’s the last I hear of their conversation before I walk into my room, close the door, and drop onto the bed. I don’t know what to do with myself, and I don’t know how to take their charity. It’s nice they want to help me out, but I can’t sit around here and pay them nothing. I have to find something I can do, even if I have to be sneaky about it.