Chapter 15
Her phone seemed to tease her as Glimmer sat on the bed. She glared at it as her mind went rampant.
It had been a week since her father called and told her that her mother had been asking to speak with her. As each day went on, the tug of war inside her only got stronger, especially during the moments when Gideon wasn’t there.
He and Haze hadn’t eased up on trying to find Trick. From the small gossip Kyomi and Deja gave her, there was a bloodbath happening in her beloved hometown of Desmore Bay. Glimmer hated every part of it. She hated that she was in the middle of it.
That morning, Gideon had gotten up early and left.
He never left the compound without telling her.
It didn’t matter how late or early. He always woke her with kisses and loved on her before she was left without his presence.
That always warmed her heart, but she felt a sick sense of dread whenever he left because she knew he was in the streets wreaking havoc, and all she could do was pray that he came back to her in one piece.
With a long sigh, Glimmer climbed off the gigantic bed and grabbed her phone.
She gripped it in her hand tightly as she walked over to the large window and stared out of it.
She smirked when she saw the pink and white glittered motorcycle sitting on the lawn.
Gideon had won all night long on casino night, and Rome had delivered on Glimmer’s custom bike.
She doubted she would ever learn to ride it.
She much preferred to ride on the back of Gideon’s bike, but she appreciated the sentiment.
That motorcycle was another symbol that she belonged.
Glimmer’s eyes trailed down to her ring finger.
She twisted her wedding ring nervously as she thought about what she was about to do.
She hadn’t even discussed this with anyone, but she felt like calling her mom was the right move.
While it was true that her mother had never been there for her before, Glimmer always held out hope that she would one day get her shit together and realize she was a mom to a girl who, deep down, wanted her love.
After inhaling another deep breath, Glimmer dialed her mother’s number. It only rang once before Camille’s breathy voice filled the line. “Hello?”
Glimmer stayed silent for a beat before she whispered, “Mama.”
“Glimmer? Girl, where the hell you been?” Camille asked as her breathy voice took on a tone of excitement that made Glimmer’s heart do a funny little jump. She’s excited to hear from me? “I been tryin’ to get ahold of you for forever.”
“I know. I just needed some time,” Glimmer admitted as she continued to look out the window. The sight of all the bikes grounded her. I belong.
“From me? I ain’t ever been away from you for this long in ya life, Glimmer. This shit is crazy. I need to see you.”
That was true. As shitty of a mom as she was, Camille was always around. She may not have paid much attention to Glimmer, but they hadn’t spent much time apart in their lives. Glimmer had to give her that, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to see her again.
A flash of Glimmer crying in her wedding dress on the day she was supposed to marry Trick flickered through her mind. The lack of empathy her mother had for her caused her chest to ache just from the memory. Her emotions were conflicted as she said, “I don’t know, Mama . . .”
“What don’t you know, Glimmer? I’m your mother. I need to see you. I’m hearing that you done went off and married that young Gideon boy that used to hang around the Laurent family. Chile, you done made a mess. I need to lay eyes on you.”
Glimmer heard the stress in her mother’s voice as her grip tightened around her phone. The sight of the front lawn no longer comforted her as her mother brought her past to her present. She felt like a little girl as she spoke.
“I guess I can see . . .”
“I’ll send you my new address. Come in an hour.”
Glimmer frowned. “Where do you live now? You got a new place?”
She didn’t want to mention the elephant in the room, but she felt really close to doing so.
The last she knew, her mom lived with Trick, who refused to let either of them leave.
It felt good to hear her mom’s voice and know she was okay.
A huge part of her felt like Trick would take her running off and marrying Gideon out on her mom.
She was thankful that wasn’t the case, but her mom living somewhere new confused her and raised a red flag.
“Of course I do. What the fuck do Trick need with me since you done run off? I’ve had to get a damn job, Glimmer. Got me livin’ in this little ass apartment. There was a rat the other day. A damn rat.”
Glimmer’s heart sank. Even when they were in hiding with her father, they never lived in a place that had rats. The Delacroix women were not cut out for living in rundown places.
“I don’t know what to say.”
Camille sighed loudly, which tugged on Glimmer’s heart.
“Just come see me, Glimmer. That would make everything better. I just want to talk and figure out what the hell has been going on with you.”
Glimmer chewed on her bottom lip. “I guess . . . I just have to talk to Gideon—”
“What? You can’t do anything without that nigga or something?”
“It’s not that, Mama,” she said defensively.
“Then come see me. Alone, Glimmer. I don’t want that nigga all in our business. I need some one-on-one time with my daughter so we can figure all this shit out.”
Glimmer thought about it. What her mom asked wasn’t too much.
It was Glimmer’s fault she currently lived with rats.
Her mother deserved a moment alone with her, at the very least. Maybe they could finally have a heart-to-heart and get their relationship on track.
She could maybe convince Gideon to help her mom out so she could live more comfortably.
Then her mind wandered to Gideon. She knew he didn’t want her to leave the compound without someone going with her, but she wondered if he might make an exception . . .
“Glimmer?”
“Huh?”
“Are you going to come so we can talk or what?” Camille asked.
Glimmer closed her eyes, effectively cutting off her view of the motorcycles. “Yes, Ma. Send me the address.”
Glimmer’s phone dinged before she could even finish her sentence. When she pulled it away from her ear, she saw a text from her mother’s number with an address.
“I’ll see you soon.”
The call disconnected, clouding Glimmer with a sudden loneliness.
Without allowing her thoughts to overtake her, she tapped on Gideon’s contact and put the phone on speaker.
She just wanted to hear his voice and let him know what was going on, but the longer the phone rang, the more she realized that wouldn’t happen.
After hanging up, she sent Gideon a quick text and shoved her phone into her pocket.
She knew her mother said one hour, but there was no way Glimmer could sit with her nerves for even one second.
She grabbed the keys to one of Gideon’s cars.
He always told her she had free access to his vehicles.
All she had to do was make sure she had one of the Vicious Kings with her if she wanted to go somewhere.
She hadn’t taken him up on that offer because of her fear of Trick.
For some reason, the thought of making amends with her mom pushed thoughts of him to the side.
The compound was pretty quiet for a change. Kyomi and Deja were getting their hair done; otherwise, they would be there, and Glimmer wouldn’t be sneaking out to go see her estranged mother.
Once she was downstairs, she easily walked out the door.
The car she wanted to take was perfectly positioned to pull out of the large driveway and be on her way.
As soon as she pulled out of the driveway, her nerves skyrocketed for some reason.
Glimmer tried to connect her phone to the car so she could listen to some music to calm her nerves.
“Shit.” She cursed as she fumbled with her phone, but the music suddenly became the least of her worries.
The roar of motorcycle engines filled her ears, and she noticed several bikes heading in her direction from the other side of the road.
Her eyes met Haze’s, who was in the front and had a clear visor on his helmet.
She felt chills cover her entire body as he did a sudden U-turn behind her.
Everyone behind him followed his move, and she suddenly felt like she had been caught red-handed doing something she wasn’t supposed to.
Glimmer knew well enough to pull over. It didn’t take long for Haze to knock on her window after trying to pull her locked door open. She rolled the window down with a nervous expression.
“Whatchu doin’, sis?” Haze asked as he peered down at her with his visor flipped up.
The tattoos on his face scrunched with the frown that appeared. Her eyes avoided his and landed on his VK black leathers.
“Just goin’ for a drive,” she mumbled. Stupid. Why didn’t she just wait for Gideon to get home?
“Yeah?” Haze asked, still staring her down. “Yo’ husband know about this lil drive?”
She shook her head and mumbled a soft, “No.”
“I ain’t think so. Why don’t you come on back to the compound?” Haze asked, and before she could respond, he walked back over to his bike.
Like a scolded puppy, Glimmer turned the car around and passed the Vicious Kings back toward her home. Gideon wasn’t with them, but something in her gut told her that when he found out about her little stunt, he wouldn’t be happy.