Chapter 5
Van
“I don’t really like people,” I tell Mask as I sit back with a cigarette between my lips.
“No shit. Neither do I.”
“Then why are we here?” I ask, looking around the dingy club. There are people everywhere, and I can’t say that I like it. I don’t. I don’t even want to be here right now.
“We needed to check it out,” he reminds me.
“Haven’t we checked it out enough?” I ask as I look at the drugged people who walk through here. Half of them don’t even know they’re alive and breathing from the looks of them.
“I need to see if he’s involved,” he tells me once more. I nod my head, knowing this already, but I don’t like being here. It’s cringy and not a place I’d typically be in. Nevertheless, I sit back in the chair and take in the scene. People are wandering around smoking and drinking and just having their kind of a good time when Mask slaps my arm. I follow his gaze and spot the asshole.
“He’s here,” I mumble under my breath.
“Yeah, he is. Do we fuckin’ confront him here?” I shake my head. He doesn’t notice us, and there’s no point in starting shit here.
“No. Wait till we get back to the clubhouse. We don’t want any of his friends to get involved.” Mask nods and motions for the others to stand and leave. We stalk out the door we entered and grab our helmets, ready to get back on our bikes.
“Can you believe this shit?” I ask Mask.
“No. I’m fuckin’ pissed, though. He shouldn’t be here,” he snarls as anger takes hold. I understand that feeling. We don’t deal in this part of town. We don’t mess with these people either, but there he was, one of our own, selling drugs on the wrong side of town. We don’t take that shit lightly because we know our boundaries, and we know our enemies. This could cause a war.
“It’s fucked up. What are we gonna do?”
“We’re gonna handle that motherfucker,” Mask answers as the others nod their heads.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” I tell them. They all climb on their bikes before we take off out of the parking lot. We take off down the street as I think about all this. How’s it going to end for Reggie? This isn’t going to be good for him. Mask is pissed, and rightfully so. Reggie has no business being at that club selling anything.
The ride to the clubhouse doesn’t take us long, and we pull into the parking lot, killing our engines. When we climb off the bikes, I look at Mask. I can see the anger in his eyes.
“What’s the fuckin’ point? We fuckin’ pay well here,” he snaps at no one.
“I don’t get it either, Prez. It makes no sense,” I tell him.
“It’s like we’re a fuckin’ joke, yeah? Fuckin’ goin’ behind our backs,” he roars. I know his anger is off the charts right now, and I can’t blame him. He’s right.
“Let’s just grab a beer and calm down,” Pike suggests.
“You’re right. There’s nothin’ we can do right now, but when he comes back, I’m on his ass,” Mask tells us all. We nod our agreement before heading inside. That’s when I see her and sigh. She’s behind the bar once again, shoving beers across the counter.
“Look at this shit,” I say, pointing in her direction. All the guys turn to look, but it’s Mask who snaps this time.
“Get your ass out from behind that goddamn bar!” He roars. Chyanne jolts as she looks over her shoulder to see us standing here. Defeated, she moves out from behind the bar and walks toward the rooms.
“She isn’t to work here. She’s here for other reasons,” Mask reminds the room. Mostly the girls. Nicole nods her head, but I’m sure she’s the one who okayed her working back there.
I walk past everyone and through the main room before knocking on her door.
“It’s open.” I shove the door open and find her sitting on the bed, looking defeated. “I was only trying to help.”
“Yeah. Mask is havin’ a bad day. He didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
“I get it,” she mumbles.
“He’s right, though. You shouldn’t be workin’ back there. We made that pretty clear.”
“I’m pregnant, not helpless.”
“Your blood pressure is also up, and you get leg cramps.”
“How do you know about my blood pressure?” she asks confused. Maybe I shouldn’t know, but Nicole told me she was worried about her, and I made her spit it out.
“Nic was worried about you,” I tell her as I walk around her room, taking it all in.
“She’s always worried about me. I don’t know how to make her stop.”
“Why would she need to stop? She’s your friend.”
“She worries too much. The doctor has me on medicine, and I’m fine now.”
“Regardless, you need to take it easy. We don’t need you havin’ that baby early.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry,” she says.
“Don’t be sorry. Be smart. Nothin’ here is that important.” She nods her head as I drop onto the bed next to her. She turns her head to look at me before she smiles.
“Comfortable?”
“Your bed feels softer than mine,” I tell her.
“You can switch them.”
“No. I’m good. Just sayin’.”
“Okay.” There’s an awkward silence between the two of us. I’m unsure what to say to her. I don’t know what I’m doing in here. I don’t know what the hell is keeping me in her room aside from the fact that I like talking to her.
“Where are you from?”
“Here. I’ve lived here all my life,” she replies.
“Parents?”
“They moved to California years ago. We don’t talk much since they moved.”
“That’s sad.”
“It is what it is. I get along just fine on my own,” she tells me. I nod my head, still not wanting to leave. I don’t know what’s keeping me here.
“What about friends?”
“Aside from Nicole? I don’t have many. I work and stay to myself,” she tells me. “What about you? You have family besides your sisters?”
“I do. I have my parents nearby. They’re great people. I see them almost every weekend. In fact, I’m headin’ there tomorrow if you wanna get out of here for a little while. Might be nice to get some air,” I tell her.
“I don’t think I should ride a bike like this,” she nods toward her stomach.
“We’ll take the truck. You can meet my sisters,” I tell her. Why am I telling her this? Why am I offering to take her along with me? Maybe she does need to get out for a while, though. Being stuck inside and only working can take a toll on someone.
“I’d like that. Thank you,” she says softly.
“No problem. I’ll see you in the mornin’.” I finally drag my ass back out of her room and down the hall to the main room when Mask finds me.
“You as pissed about this Reggie shit as me?”
“Oh, I’m pissed, brother. I can’t believe that he’d go behind our backs and do this,” I tell him.
“Me either. We pay his ass good money to work for the club. What’s the point?” he asks.
“I don’t get it either.” And I don’t. Why is he doing this? What’s the point?
“I’m gonna tear his ass up for this shit.”
“Don’t forget we have an outsider here, Mask. You don’t want her seein’ too much,” I remind him about Chyanne.
“Fuck, I know. We’ll take it outside,” he says as I nod my head and agree.
“I agree.”
“Good. Now we wait on his ass to come back,” Mask says. I nod my head and grab a beer from the bar before popping the top off and taking a long pull. I glance around the room when Nicole strolls over.
“Sorry about Chy. She’s been bored out of her mind and wanted something to do,” she explains. I lean against the bar and look at her.
“Doesn’t mean she needs to do it. You said it yourself: you’re worried about her health.”
“I am. Chy needs to relax, but I also don’t like telling her that she can’t do something,” she says.
“I get it. Maybe we can get her on some paperwork or somethin’ for the club and stores,” I tell her, watching her eyes light up. She smiles and nods her head, her long blonde hair tumbling over her shoulder. I reach up and brush it back, watching the way her lips part. Out of all the girls here, I’ve never fucked Nicole. I don’t know why; she’s beautiful and full of life.
“Why have we never hooked up?” she finally asks what I’ve been thinking.
“I don’t know. Timin’ was never right, was it?” I ask her. She was always with another guy, and I was with another girl.
“I guess not. We should make time,” she purrs as she presses herself against me. I let my eyes trail over her until something else catches my eye. Chyanne walks into the main room and everything just feels off. Having Nic on me like this feels wrong, and I don’t know why.
“Maybe sometime,” I tell her before shoving away from the bar and her. I stalk through the room and drop onto the couch at the back of the room, wondering why the hell that girl affects me the way she does.
“What’s wrong with you?” Pike asks before dropping down next to me.
“Nothin’. Just wonderin’ why I didn’t fuck Nicole yet,” I tell him as my eyes track Chy around the room.
“Is that why you’re watchin’ the new girl?”
“I’m not watchin’ her.”
“What the fuck, Van. I’m sittin’ here watchin’ you watch the girl,” he laughs. I turn my head to look at him before flipping him off. Fuck him. I can look at whoever I want.
“Since when is it a crime to look at hot ass female?”
“Hot? She’s pregnant, brother.”
“And what? She still has curves. Fuck, look at her,” I tell him, nodding in her direction. He turns his head and eyes her up and down before groaning next to me.
“Yeah, you’re right. Still fuckable,” he agrees.
“I didn’t say fuckable, asshole. I said hot.”
“She is pretty nice to look at. Never fucked a pregnant girl, though,” he adds.
“And you aren’t gonna start with her either,” I warn him. He chuckles and slaps a hand on my shoulder before I finish off my beer and stand. I head out the side door, pulling out a cigarette from the pack and lighting one up. I don’t want to smoke around her being pregnant and all.
I don’t know how long I’m out here when she comes out.
“You mind if I’m out here?” she asks.
“You can go wherever you want,” I tell her.
“I didn’t know if you’d rather be alone,” she remarks as I blow smoke into the night sky.
“I don’t mind.”
“It’s so nice out right now,” she says, making conversation.
“It is.” Then it gets weird. Awkward. It’s silent, and I have no idea what to say to her. So I just start talking about random shit like her job and all that. She tells me about her life a little more and more about her family which is what I wanted to know. I learn more about her and I find that I like listening to her talk. I like hearing about her life.
“So you like being here as opposed to California?” I ask.
“I only visited twice, and it was so hot. I found I missed the cold and the snow.”
“You missed the cold? Are you crazy?” I tease her.
“I know it sounds bad. Most hate the cold, but I love it. I think I’d miss it if I had to move out there,” she tells me.
“Why would you have to move out there?”
“They’ve asked me to when the baby is born.”
“And you thought about that?” she shakes her head.
“Not really. I like being here. I don’t want them breathing down my neck as I raise the baby. I know how my parents are,” she tells me. I nod my head as I listen to her talk.
“I get that. You wanna do things your way.”
“Yeah. I just want to raise the baby the way I want to. I know they mean well. They are my parents, after all, but still.”
“I get it. Makes sense to me.”
“Does it? Because Nicole thinks I should think about it. She’s worried that Derrick will come around after the baby is born and want to spend time with it. I’m not sure I’m okay with that.”
“You shouldn’t be okay with that, Chy. He hurt you. What’s to say he doesn’t do the same to the baby?” I feel aggravated for her. I don’t want the motherfucker around her or the baby if he has the balls to put his hands on her while she’s pregnant.
“I’m not okay with it. I don’t want him anywhere near the baby,” she tells me.
“Good. He wouldn’t dare come around here,” I assure her.
“Why is that?”
“One of us would gut his ass for starters,” I admit to her.
“Good to know.”