Chapter 3
Venom
My jaw ticks as Ivy’s phone continues to ring and ring with no answer, and I eye the clock for the fifth time while my hand fucking throbs, the cast already doing my head in.
She’s an hour late from the time she told Dad she’d be back, but of course, he isn’t worried. Meanwhile, Mama is busy pacing the common room with anger because she’s defying the rules that are set in place, and now blames her and Raya for my hand.
The doctor confirmed that I’ve broken it so now, I can’t even ride.
The automatic voicemail picks up, and I growl and hang up as Mama snaps, “Not answering again?!”
I ignore her and press on Ivy’s name again before putting my phone to my ear, and the ringing hits me again.
I swear to fuck, if she doesn’t answer this time, I’m logging onto the city’s cameras!
“Hey, Cale,” she finally answers, and I don’t even sigh with relief, my body too wound up.
“You’re an hour late, Ivy,” I snap as Mama demands, “Give me the phone right now!”
Again, I ignore her and turn away from her, causing her to growl, and I demand, “Where are you, Ivy?”
“Look, I know I’m late, I know mama’s probably pissed, but something came up.
I was actually about to call Dad,” she says, and I frown because I swear she sounds like she’s been crying.
“I uh,” she sniffles confirming my suspicions, “I forgot my phone was on silent, I was just waiting to see how Raya was before I called Dad.”
I frown at the pain in her voice and ask, “What’s happened to Raya, Ivy?”
I try to keep my voice calm despite the anger I’m feeling and the sudden concern that etches through me, concern I’m shocked I’m even feeling. Fuck, even my stomach has tightened with fear that I just don’t seem to understand.
It doesn’t make sense. Why would I be worried about a spoiled princess wanting to upset her daddy?
“It’s all a ploy, a lie, Cale, so she doesn’t get in trouble for following the little bitch again. Pass me the phone,” Mama snaps, getting me out of my head as she tries to take my phone, and I glare at her as I push her back.
What the fuck is her problem?
Mama glowers at me, a look I used to be scared of, but I turn around and say, “Talk to me, Ivy, what happened?”
She sniffles and says, “We were studying and-and Raya uh, was suddenly in a lot of pain… Her appendix burst. I’m at the hospital with her Mama.”
I frown. She’s lying, not about the hospital, I can hear the intercoms asking for certain doctors, but about the appendix, she’s lying, but why?
“Can you ask Daddy to come, please? She’s had to have surgery and everything, and I’m scared,” she says, and I tilt my head.
Now, why wouldn’t she ask me to pick her up?
Because you’re a dick to Raya…. A small voice says, but I push it away and open my mouth to question her, but the line goes dead, and I sigh, knowing her battery just died.
I swear, for a teenage girl, she doesn’t charge her phone up enough.
“That is the last time you try to keep me from talking to my daughter!” Mama growls as she gets in my face, and I raise a brow at her behavior, but she ignores my look and snaps, “She was lying to you. Knowing Raya, she’s probably talked your sister into fucking some guy for money!”
I narrow my eyes at Mama and her accusations, which even have the brothers looking at her strangely.
Ivy may do a lot of shit Raya asks her to, but somehow I doubt she’ll fuck someone for money, neither of them fucking need it, and Mama knows that, so what is her problem?
“How much have you had to drink, Mama?” I ask, and her face reddens, but I continue, “Because the shit you just spewed has put a red flag on your back.”
Her face quickly pales, and I shake my head and admit, “I heard the intercoms, she’s at the hospital with Raya, burst appendix apparently.”
Not that I believe it.
Shaking my head at the wince Mama gives, I round her and walk to the back door, needing to find my dad, especially when I know she’s specifically asked for him and now doesn’t have the battery to call him herself.
I walk out into the yard and notice Dad sitting on the bench smoking, and I walk over to him before taking a seat.
“Son, I swear if this is about your sister being late out with Raya again…” he starts, and I scoff and ask, “Why are you so okay with it?”
He raises a brow and asks, “Okay with what? Your sister has a friend who will always stand up for her?”
“Stand up for her?” I retort, “Dad, the girl disappeared for three months without a word, and now my little sister is out late with her.”
Dad sighs before he takes a puff of his cigarette, then blows it out as he mutters, “Some things you are just not privy to know information for son, and you need to respect your sister and see she knows who is fake with her and who isn’t.
Raya gave a boy a black eye at five years old because he pushed your sister off the swing.
Honestly, I’m beginning to believe this obsession you have with Raya isn’t because you think she’s a patch chaser, it’s because you have feelings for her and you're scared of them, especially with her only being fifteen.”
I choke on my own spit out of shock and look at Dad as I cough, who smirks like he hit the nail on the head.
Fucking hell, are both my parents drunk?
A picture of Raya in the diner, sitting next to Ivy with her head thrown back, her white-blonde hair dangling as she laughs, hits my vision, and I tense because what the fuck, and I quickly blink it away and instantly deny, “Not a fucking chance, Dad.”
Dad laughs and replies, “That face, son, is the look of a man who's just realized he’s fallen for his little sister's best friend.”
“Fuck no,” I instantly snap because, seriously, what is with my parents right now?
Dad chuckles before taking another puff of his cig and I look forward shaking my head at his stupid grin and admit, “Ivy finally answered her phone, it’s why I came out to find you, she wants you to pick her up but couldn’t call you because her phone was going dead while Mama tried her fucking hardest to take my phone from me to have a go at Ivy. ”
Dad sighs, “I swear that woman… She’s been acting weird since I lowered her allowance, which wasn’t by the way because she was pissing me off with how much shit she kept spending it on,” I look at dad and frown before he admits, “Your mother wants liposuction, lip filler, and a boob job.”
I scrunch my nose in distaste and comment, “Mama looks perfectly fine.”
Dad nods and agrees, “I know,” before he takes a last hit of his cig, then pushes it into the ash tray, and he states, “I told her this and also mentioned it’s weird that she wants all this shit done to her body that costs fucking thousands when she should be happily married.
She tried saying it was for her, but I call bullshit, so I stopped transferring the amount she was getting and also emptied the thirty grand she had in her account. ”
“Fuck me, she was saving up?” I choke in shock, and he nods.
“I don’t recognize your mama, son, haven’t for the past year and the more she pushes back, the more the clubwhores look more appealing to me.
While wrong, I know, I can’t help it. It’s like your Mama is trying to push me towards them to give her a reason to leave and get more money from me, but that could be my mind making shit up. ”
I wince as I look forward, not knowing what to say because I’ve also seen the changes in her.
Dad sighs as he stands, then asks, “Where does your sister want me to pick her up from? The library?”
I blink, then mumble, “Nah, the hospital.”
“What?!” he snaps, and I put my hand up and reassure him, “She’s fine.
Apparently, Raya needed surgery, something about her appendix, but something doesn’t quite fit.
I mean, I know she’s at the hospital. I heard the intercoms in the background.
I don’t believe it’s Raya’s appendix, but I can’t put my finger on it. ”
“Shit,” Dad mutters before he runs over to the back gate and I frown.
What the fuck?
“Stay out of her medical records, son, I mean it,” I hear him threaten before a car door slams, and I narrow my eyes, the need to hack into the hospital now suddenly itching at the tip of my fingertips.
I didn’t even think about it…
“Doesn’t Dad know not to order something like that to me?” I mutter as I stand and make my way back to the clubhouse, my only thought – my office.
I ignore everyone talking and drinking and make my way left down a hallway to a large black door between the officers' bedrooms and church, a room I will be sitting in soon before I enter my office and walk over to my large oak desk.
Taking a seat, I boot up my computer while bouncing my leg.
I’ve never thought of looking into Raya before. Everyone in town already knows her family's history regarding her wealth, the family not exactly quiet about it, but Dad has put it in my head.
As soon as my computer powers up, I click on my private server that I use to access certain databases anonymously, changing my code every time, learning my lesson from when I was a kid, before I quickly and swiftly access the hospital database and put Raya’s name in the search engine, but then I pause.
Fuck, if I do this, then there’s no going back.
My finger hovers over it, and honestly, I don’t even know why I’m hesitating because normally, I don’t give a fuck.
Fuck, why can’t I press the fucking enter key?
Because you have feelings for her… The voice whispers, and I shake my head before running my fingers through my hair while hovering my finger over the key.
I don’t fucking like her, I don’t have feelings for her, she’s fucking fifteen and is using my sister!
My hand shakes as I eye the enter key, keeping my finger just above it before I growl.
I can’t fucking do it.
I quickly log off the server before dropping my head to the wood, frustration building.
Maybe I need a fuck. Yeah, yeah, a fuck.
With that thought in my mind, I decide fuck it and stand knowing if I go to Dark Angel’s Nights, our nightclub, I’ll find someone to fuck easily.
I still won’t touch Angel and the more I refuse her, the more she pushes for another fuck and I know deep down she’ll try and trap me.
I refuse and keep finding one-night stands instead and honestly, right now, I’m too much in my head about Raya.
Dad putting shit in there that doesn’t need to be there meaning I’ll mess up if I even touch her.
“Yeah, a good fuck will help my head.” I mutter as I grab my keys and head out.