Chaos Chapter 9
It had been hard to leave Bianca last night, but I did. But not before we had an extended making-out session. Getting to first base had never felt this good with anyone else. In between, we talked about ourselves and got to know each other. And I did one other thing: I sent off a message to Wrath.
Me: Hey, Pres, I need to ask if we can have church sooner than Wednesday? I have something important to discuss with the club.
His answer came back in less than a minute.
Wrath: What about?
Me: Bianca and me. It can’t wait until Wed.
Wrath: Have you talked to Mishap?
Me: Yes, but he hasn’t taken it well despite honorable intentions.
Wrath: Give me a bit. Watch for a text.
Me: TY.
An hour later, I received the group text from Wrath.
Wrath: Mandatory church tomorrow morning at 11. Don’t be late.
I hadn’t bothered to read all the responses as they began to roll in. I showed Bianca the text stream. By the time it was time to go, she had grown quiet since the confirmation of church. I hugged her and kissed her lips. When we parted, I reassured her.
“Don’t worry yourself. I’ll talk to the brothers, and then in the afternoon, we’ll go on the ride we set up.”
“Cash, I want to be confident like you are, but what if…”
“No negative thoughts. Now, get inside. It’s cold out here. Lock the door.”
“Okay, text me so I know you made it back,” she said. I promised, then began the half-hour ride to the compound.
Well, eleven o’clock came. I was up at seven this morning, unable to sleep in—time dragged by. I’d sent off a good morning message to Bianca and got one back. I told her to expect me by two o’clock. If I were going to be sooner or later, I’d let her know.
Church buzzed with excitement. When I entered the room, no one acted strange. I was greeted like always. Relief hit me. I’d been worried that Mishap would come back last night and start telling everyone about what happened. If he had, no one acted like it.
Wrath, accompanied by Storm, were the last to enter, closing and locking the door.
Everyone checked that their phones were on silent.
It used to be that none were allowed in church, but that changed once Wrath claimed Jalisa.
While she could more than take care of herself, he always wanted to be reachable.
“Quiet down. The sooner we get started, the sooner you can enjoy your weekend. I called church because a brother had a request. It’s regarding a personal matter.
Chaos, you have the floor. The rest of you, listen up,” Wrath ordered.
I liked how straight to the point he was.
He was like his dad, the previous club president.
“Thanks, Wrath. And thank you, guys. I know this cuts into relaxation time, but I felt it couldn’t wait until Wednesday. It’s personal and pertains to Bianca and me.” I paused to let that sink in. Murmurs broke out, and I saw surprised faces.
“Wait, Bianca, as in Bianca Harris, Mishap’s cousin?” Chains asked.
“Yes, that Bianca,” I confirmed.
“What about you and her?” Nomad asked.
“Bianca and I—”
Mishap cut me off.
“I want to start this meeting by saying that I strenuously object to what he’s about to tell you. I don’t believe it’s in my cousin’s best interest. And—”
Wrath cut him off with a hand in the air.
“You’ll get your turn, unless Chaos wants to let you go first. We’ll have order and no fighting,” Pres warned.
Everyone glanced from Mishap to me. Maybe it would go better if I let him speak first. I shrugged. “I’m fine if he wants to say his piece before me.”
Mishap seemed surprised, but he jumped straight into his argument.
“Chaos approached my cousin, telling her that he wants to get involved with her. He claims that it’s for more than a booty call.
He claims he’s looking for an old lady, and he thinks my cousin might be suitable.
However, he hasn’t said a word to any of us about wanting to settle down until this happened.
I think he told her that, knowing she’s not the kind of woman who’s into casual sex.
“And don’t forget, we all saw him go off with AnnMarie last week.
He claimed he didn’t do anything with her.
He even told Fury, when he returned to the common room, that nothing had happened.
Fury, I know you repeated to Bianca what you were told.
I don’t hold that against you. But I think Chaos made that story up.
I don’t know what game he’s playing, but my cousin is less than a year out of a messy divorce.
She’s not over her ex-husband. And getting involved with anyone right now isn’t the best thing for her.
She needs space. And I’ve got to admit, I never thought one of my brothers would play games with her.
I want the club to rule that Chaos has to stay away from Bianca. ”
The most I had to say for him was that he kept it short. I scanned the faces around the table. They were puzzled, surprised, or expressionless. Rage and Wrath were two of those wearing bland expressions.
“Is that all you have to say?” Wrath asked Mishap.
“Yeah, I could go on and on, but the facts are that family members are supposed to be off-limits. Using one shows utter disrespect to the brother impacted. I only want the club’s rules to be adhered to.”
It was a good thing he sat on the opposite side of the table and at the far end. Otherwise, I might’ve broken and punched Mishap. I kept telling myself that it would upset Bianca.
“Okay, it’s your turn, Chaos,” Pres said.
“Mishap is correct. I asked you here because I want the club’s blessing to pursue a relationship with Bianca.
And it’s also true that I hadn’t said anything to any of you about wanting to have an old lady or being ready to settle down.
But that’s all he said that’s true. I’m not looking to have Bianca as a booty call, as he calls it.
If that was what I wanted, there are plenty of women here for that.
“Bianca has made me think of little else since I met her but her. And while she is sexy and gorgeous, those aren’t the only things that attract me to her. I’m drawn to her strength, protectiveness, kindness, and mind. I want to spend time with her for a bunch of reasons not tied to sex.
“I’ve never been opposed to having an old lady.
What held me back was not meeting anyone who made me want to be with them that way until her.
I explained everything to Bianca, and she admits she has feelings for me.
We agreed to see each other to see where it goes.
We’ll date, but if it goes the way I hope, I’ll make her my old lady one day.
But unless we’re given time to explore, we won’t know.
As for me going off with AnnMarie, I did. And Fury encouraged it.”
I recounted to them my conversation with Fury, his suggestion that we experiment, and what I told him after I returned from the crash room. Fury nodded and murmured agreement. When I was done, the guys sat there staring at me in disbelief.
“You were in a room with a naked chick willing to let you fuck her, and you couldn’t get hard. And then to make sure no one thought either of you couldn’t perform, you watched TV and talked,” Crusher said, sounding astonished.
“That’s right.”
“Well, AnnMarie should be able to corroborate your story if there are doubts in Bianca or Mishap’s mind,” Stitch said.
“You heard what Mishap said to us about her. He told Bianca that they shouldn’t ask AnnMarie because she’ll lie for me,” I told them.
“Bullshit. Why would she do that? If we ask her to come in and tell us, she’ll be too afraid to lie. She’ll think we’ll kick her out if she does, no matter what one member may have told her to say,” Ryder stated.
My brothers muttered that they agreed. I saw Mishap’s expression.
He wasn’t happy they wanted to do it. But to my satisfaction, that was exactly what they did.
It wasn’t that they didn’t believe me. It was a way to bring another person into the picture who could verify it for anyone doubting me, like Mishap, although I doubted her word would be enough for him.
Our bunnies didn’t usually live on the compound. They’d provided lodging for AnnMarie that wasn’t far away. The club had felt for her and made that exception. So Wrath ordered Crusher to call her, and we’d put her on speaker. I waited impatiently for her to answer.
“Hi, AnnMarie, it’s Crusher. I’m here with the rest of the guys. We need to ask you something. And all you have to do is tell us the truth,” he told her.
Then there was a pause as he listened to her.
“No, you didn’t do anything wrong, honey. It’s to see if someone else is telling the full story. I’m gonna put you on speakerphone so everyone can hear you. Just listen carefully and answer truthfully.”
He was nice to her and spoke in a soothing voice. Finally, he switched her to speakerphone mode. Wrath took over.
“AnnMarie, it’s Wrath. I need to ask you about last Saturday night. Specifically, when you and Chaos went off to a crash room together. I need you to tell us what happened in that room. All we want is the truth.”
AnnMarie paused briefly before answering.
“O-okay, uhm, well, Chaos and I talked for a bit in the common room, and then he asked me to go to a crash room with him.” Her voice was weak and trembly, but it grew in volume as she continued.
She took them through the night, and her story matched what I told them and Fury.
When she was finished, Storm asked her a question.
“AnnMarie, you’re under the entire club’s protection. Remember that. Did Chaos threaten you or ask you to lie for him and to tell anyone who asks this story if you were asked about that night?”
I heard her gasp. “No! Oh God, no. He never asked me to lie. What I told you is the truth. I swear on my dad’s life.
Chaos and I did not have sex that night.
He told me about Bianca, the woman he likes, and what he hopes will come from them being together, which is that she’ll become his old lady. ” Her voice rang with truth.
“Honey, thank you. That’s all we wanted to know. You did good. We’ll see you here later tonight. Take care of yourself,” Wrath told her, then indicated for Crusher to hang up, which he did.
Murmuring came from all around the table. Mishap’s face wore a thunderous expression. He wasn’t happy with AnnMarie’s confession or how our brothers seemed to be responding to it.
“I still say he got her to back his story. I don’t know why or how, but it’s suspicious. Surely, you can see that we need more verification before permitting this. I’m protecting my cousin,” Mishap stated desperately.
“I understand wanting to protect her, but you’re acting rather disrespectfully toward your brother. Has Chaos done anything to you or others that was untrue or dishonest?” Rage asked.
Mishap hesitated as everyone grew quiet and stared at him. Finally, he shook his head. “No, he hasn’t, not that I know of.”
“Then why are you so adamant he’s lying and doesn’t want to make your cousin his old lady one day? There’s no guarantee that, when any of us start the journey with someone, it’ll work out. That’s part of the risk we all take,” Wrath added.
“And it sounds like he’s got the sort of feelings a man gets when he’s met the one he wants to keep. It sure sounds like me when I met Cambria,” Shadow said. Both Rage and Wrath murmured in agreement.
There was something that looked like panic on Mishap’s face. His eyes darted around the table and then landed back on Wrath’s.
“Come on, at least make him wait a couple of weeks, a month. Let’s see if he still wants her and hasn’t had sex with anyone else,” Mishap demanded, rather than asked.
I clenched my fists underneath the table. What the hell was up with him?
“We’re gonna put this to a vote. All those in favor of Chaos pursuing Bianca with the intention of her being his girlfriend and possibly his old lady, raise your hands,” Pres announced.
I watched as hand after hand rose around the table. No surprise that Mishap’s didn’t. My heart jumped when I noticed Wrath’s hadn’t risen. But then it did as he spoke.
“Mishap, I see no basis for your distrust of Chaos’s intentions toward Bianca.
I vote to allow the relationship. And I’ve got to warn you, since it’s fourteen to one, you are not to interfere in it.
If I find out you do, it won’t be good for you.
Everyone in this club deserves to be assumed trustworthy until proven otherwise.
If you were in Chaos’s boots, you’d want us to do the same for you. ”
And just like that, Mishap’s objections were ignored, and our club permitted me to be with Bianca.
Wrath didn’t hold us back after the declaration was made.
He dismissed us. Mishap tore out of the room in a huff.
My club brothers delayed me from calling Bianca, stopping me to offer their congratulations and well wishes.
I thanked them while I counted the seconds until I saw Bianca and told her the good news.