Chapter 4
brOOKE
Yelling wakes me, and I slowly open my eyes, adjusting to the lights.
“Here she is! You can stop searching!” someone shouts.
I tilt my head to the side and open my eyes wider. Bear is next to me, staring. His eyes move to my neck and then to my hands. I wiggle my fingers and realize I don’t have my gloves or scarf on.
I scramble and turn my back to him, adjusting my scarf while searching for my gloves, but I can’t find them. Panic starts to settle in as I frantically search around me. From the corner of my eye, I see Bear bend down and pick up my gloves.
When he moves his hands toward me, I slightly flinch back. I quickly grab them from his outstretched hand and put them on. Bear takes a step back, and I see another pair of feet.
Gears is standing right behind Bear with his arms crossed. I watch them both stare at me, and I start to feel uncomfortable.
“You scared us for a second. We couldn’t find you,” Gears tells me sternly.
I hang my head, not knowing what to do. I just want to be left alone. Gears takes a step toward me. Without thinking, I take a step back.
“I-we’ll leave you alone right now,” Gears stammers out.
I don’t look up, but I hear their footsteps leave. When I’m met with silence, I look up and notice I am the only one in the garage. I relax a bit and make my way toward the car I am working on.
I just want to forget everything that has happened over the past couple of hours. Eventually, I will need to deal with it, but I don’t want to right now. Today already started off rough, and I had a feeling it would get worse.
I spend the rest of the day minding my own business, and the bikers don’t bother me either.
I think they got the message that I didn’t want to talk to them today.
It was nice to have a day with no one trying to speak to me.
The only people who really chat to me in the bar are Gears, President, Whiskey, Bear, and Ink.
I put away my tools and wash my hands. Looking around, I see Gears under a car. I quietly slip past him and toward the bar.
I make a detour to Pres’s office and knock on the door. I want to ask if I can leave earlier tonight to get some much-needed sleep. I am absolutely exhausted and don’t know if I can make it through the whole day.
“Come in,” Pres calls through the door.
I open the door and make eye contact with Pres. Something moves in the corner of my eye, and I snap my head over to my left. Bear is sitting in one of the seats, staring at me.
“What did you need?” Pres asks.
I signal for a piece of paper and a pen, and he gives it to me.
Can I leave an hour or two early tonight? I write and hand it back to him.
He looks down at the piece of paper. He jerks his head up to me and looks confused.
“You want to leave early? Are you okay?” he asks.
Bear sits straight, looking at me. I was hoping that he wouldn’t pay much attention to this, but of course, he would. It seems he won’t leave me alone.
I nod slowly and make a motion of sleep, hoping he would understand that I am tired. He glances at Bear, as if they’re having a silent conversation. Pres looks back at me and stares.
“You can take the rest of the night off. Go home and get some sleep,” he says.
I shake my head. I need the money and just want to go home at nine or ten. I don’t want to get the whole night off.
“No buts, you have been working long hours since you got here. It’s clear that you need more sleep. I’ll still pay you for a couple of hours since I am telling you to leave,” he offers. “You need to rest. I don’t want you to pass out on the job and get hurt.”
I give him a look, but he ignores it. Sighing, I turn around and head toward the door. I am so mad that he is making me leave early.
“Take Bear with you to make sure you get home safe,” Pres calls, stopping me in my tracks.
I walk toward his desk.
I don’t want Bear to take me back to the motel. It’s like I can never get away from him. He has already seen my scars, and I don’t like that. He doesn’t need to walk me home as well. I don’t need a babysitter.
No! If I am going home early, he isn’t walking with me, I write.
I slam the piece of paper on the desk, turn around, and leave the room. I hope he will listen to what I say and not argue with me. I know I shouldn’t have done that, since he is my employer and can fire me anytime, but I am tired and fed up with Bear following me everywhere.
I don’t make eye contact with anyone as I walk through the clubhouse. Whiskey, Ink, and Gears are all talking to each other and staring at me. I don’t glance at them and walk out of the front door, slamming the door.
I instantly regret my actions because all the bikers outside stare at me as I walk past them. I keep my head high, not letting their stares affect me at all.
Once I make it past all the bikers, I slow my pace. If he is sending me home early, then I might as well enjoy the outside before I make it back to the motel. I know once I get into my room that I won’t leave.
As I walk farther away from the garage, I start to admire the scenery, slowing to gaze at the trees.
I have always loved nature, and this town has a lot of fields and trees.
I looked a little this morning, but I missed this part.
I never took the time when I first arrived in this town to just look around.
My focus was on finding a job and working.
In the distance, I hear a bike and I look over my shoulder. He is too far away for me to see who it is. I speed up slightly, not caring about the scenery anymore. The bike gets closer, and I can finally make out who it is, and it doesn’t shock me at all.
Bear is the one on the bike.
It seems like since he came back, he can’t stay away, and it freaks me out.
It reminds me of Jared and how we first started.
Jared would not leave me alone until I finally gave in, and he turned out to be a monster.
We haven’t even had a conversation yet, not that I would let it happen.
Ever since Bear came into my life, he has been on my mind, having thoughts that I never normally have.
I step through the motel doors before Bear can park his bike and get off. I don’t want him anywhere near me. Running up the stairs, I pull out my key to the room. I put the key in and turn it, yanking the door open. After slamming it shut, I lean against it, trying to calm my breathing.
Why would he take an interest in me? Why is he everywhere I go?
My breathing starts to slow after ten minutes.
I heard Bear leave on his bike, but I’m still waiting for him to come back.
He was persistent before, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he did it again.
I rub my face with my hands and push myself off the door.
I look through the peephole before I make my way toward the bathroom and hop in the shower.
Once I am done with my shower, I dry my hair and make my way toward my bed.
I crawl under the covers and just relax, eventually falling asleep.