Chapter 4 #2
The ride to her house is pretty uneventful until a pickup truck in oncoming traffic drives into my lane and almost takes me out. I shout in surprise and swerve to avoid him. Luckily, I’m able to dodge the head-on collision, and the truck driver quickly goes back to his lane.
“What a fucking cupcake!” Charlie yells. She’s called anyone she doesn’t like a cupcake since before we were allowed to swear, and it stuck. I even use it now, too. “That motherfucker better watch out because I saw his plate. There’s no way that wasn’t intentional.”
Once I catch my breath from seeing my life flash before my eyes, I try to calm her down. “Charlie, I’m fine. Please don’t murder some rando who was probably on his phone, not intentionally trying to run me over.”
“If you say so. I’m still dying to try out a new way I figured out to dissolve a body. He seems like a perfect candidate.” Charlie isn’t a psychopath, or at least not because of her knowledge of getting rid of corpses. She just loves forensic science.
Her parents bought her an entire lab, complete with staff, for her to tinker in. She treats it like a day job, but she’s way too rich to have a true nine-to-five.
“You can’t kill someone just because they’re a bad driver,” I protest.
“Oh, but I disagree. I definitely can. Is it even a crime if I’m not caught?” she asks as we pull up to the house she shares with her brother.
It’s a two-story brick structure with black shutters and a bright red front door. It’s in the heart of Willow Bend’s downtown and only about ten minutes from my apartment.
The two of them moved down here with me six months ago. I needed to get out of Oakridge Park and wasn’t in any shape to choose somewhere to move. Charlie and Coop took care of picking the place, finding us a house, and uprooting their entire lives, no questions asked.
I don’t know what I did to deserve such an awesome best friend, but I am endlessly grateful to have her and her whole family in my life.
Carson and Clara Finch, Charlie and Coop’s parents, wanted to move down here with us, too, but they’re needed to govern the streak. They still visit almost every weekend, making sure all three of us have everything we need.
“It’s definitely still a crime.” I park my bike and pull off my helmet as she gets out of the car.
“Agree to disagree.” Charlie stomps up the cobblestone walkway to her front door, clearly still pissed at the guy in the truck.
Luckily for that dude, she forgets about it as soon as she sees her brother. Coop has the same blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin dusted with freckles as Charlie, but he’s over half a foot taller and much more muscular.
“Baby S!” Coop cheers when he sees me, completely ignoring his sister. She rolls her eyes at him but doesn’t say anything as he pulls me into a warm hug.
I huff at the nickname he’s called me since I was little. “I’m not the baby of the family, Coop.”
“Jay’s a prick, so he doesn’t count. You were born after Wren, so you’re baby S. Duh.” Coop ruffles my long wavy hair affectionately after he releases me from the hug.
I choke on my laugh at Coop’s apt description of my younger brother. He apparently got all of the dickhead personality traits from my parents, which made him the favorite child. We never got along, and I haven’t missed him a moment in the six months I haven’t talked to him.
Wren, my older sister, however, I’ve missed every single day.
Once Coop lets go of me, I glance around the fairly understated entryway.
Dark woodwork, pale blue walls, and whitewashed furniture make the space inviting.
Even though Charlie and Coop have a full-time maid, shoes, coats, and bags are scattered around the foyer haphazardly, giving their home a lived-in feel.
“Guess who got a new bike?” Charlie looks like she drank a six-pack of energy drinks with how she’s practically bouncing off the walls in excitement.
Coop just rolls his eyes at his sister, who admittedly has a bit of a shopping problem. Although he’s not really one to judge when he has at least seven different Kawasaki bikes in their garage. “What’d you buy this time?”
Charlie huffs and glares at her brother as though he’s being purposely dense. “Not me, you dumdum. Jojo did!”
She’s called me Jo or Jojo, from my middle name, since we were kids. She wanted me to have a cool boy name like her, and it stuck.
He spins around to face me, blue eyes wide. “What? No way! What did you get?”
My lips kick up slightly at how excited he is. “A ZX-6R.”
Coop holds his hand up for a high five. He raises his hand a little too high, so I have to jump to reach it, much to his amusement. “Hell fucking yeah! Welcome to the Kawasaki club! Did you guys just get it today?”
“Nope. I went to the dealership by myself last night.” I shrug as I try to keep the pride out of my voice. I know it’s not a big deal, and lots of people do stuff like that on their own, but it feels like an accomplishment. Especially when I’ve never really been able to buy anything myself.
“That’s really great, Lark. Wren would be so proud of you,” he murmurs as he pulls me into a hug, his voice a little choked up.
If there’s anyone who understands the hole left in my heart by Wren’s absence, it’s Coop.
Wren and Coop were high school sweethearts.
They were the type of couple that were so genuinely and wildly in love with each other that everyone could see it.
I expected them to get married, have a ton of babies, and live the happily ever after I always hoped I would get one day.
They were on their way to that fairy tale I dreamed up for them when Coop proposed on a sweltering summer day when they were both twenty-six. Charlie and I helped him set it up in their favorite park, and I had never seen my sister look so happy as when she said yes.
Wedding planning was all she could talk about, and we both had looked forward to it so much.
But Wren abruptly broke it off a year later, shocking everyone other than our parents. She immediately started dating her future husband, Marcus, got engaged, and was married less than a year later.
There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t hate myself for not realizing just how wrong things were when Wren did a complete one-eighty.
I’m sure Coop feels the same way, but there’s nothing either of us can do about it now.
All we can do is put one foot in front of the other as we figure out how to exist in our new reality.
“I hope so,” I whisper.
He clears his throat before changing subject. “So, uh, what’d you name her?”
I’m thankful for him steering us back to lighter topics. “Kiwi. The bike’s green like a kiwi, and a kiwi is a goofy-ass bird, like me.”
Charlie and Coop laugh at my description of myself, although the mirth doesn’t quite reach Coop’s eyes. Neither of them tries to disagree with me because we all know it’s true.
Once Charlie stops giggling at my bike name, she asks, “Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“Nope.” I’m not exactly the best at remembering to eat, at least not these past few months.
My appetite has been shit since everything happened, and it’s starting to show in collarbones and ribs jutting out more than usual.
Working so much hasn’t helped anything because I usually work straight through lunch and dinner, only grabbing a quick snack before I pass out for the night.
Charlie’s doing her best to take care of me, even when I feel like I don’t deserve it. I love her for it, and I hope that girl knows I’d do anything for her.
“We have a plate for you in the warming drawer. Coop can keep you company while I change. I’ll probably be ready to go by the time you finish.” She flashes me a grin before running up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
With how long it takes Charlie to get ready, we’ll be lucky to make it out of the house by golden hour.
Shaking my head at her, I follow Coop to their kitchen. I sit at the marble island that could seat an entire football team while Coop grabs the plate from one of their multiple warming drawers. I put my helmet on the empty green suede barstool next to me.
Like everything else in the gigantic house, their kitchen is colossal.
White cabinets seem to never end, dotted with gold hardware that matches the faucet and light fixtures.
They have just about every built-in appliance anyone could need, like double ovens, an espresso maker, and a cabinet-covered, gigantic fridge and freezer.
Their kitchen and the entire house pale in comparison to what we had back home, but it’s still pretty excessive for just two people. I’m not going to complain about it, though, especially when Coop sets fettuccine Alfredo, grilled chicken, breadsticks, and a salad their chef made in front of me.
We talk as I inhale the food, my appetite perking up for one of my favorite dishes. I’m sure that’s why Charlie had her chef make it, but I’m not going to ask her. We have an unspoken agreement that she tries to keep me healthy and alive, and I let her without pointing it out.
I’m just dipping the last breadstick in the creamy white sauce when Charlie strides into the room. She changed into a black jacket, dark Kevlar jeans, chunky motorcycle boots, and her camera backpack.
I groan internally when I realize why she wants to be out by the river by golden hour. Charlie wants to do a photoshoot with me and my new bike. I hate having pictures taken of me, but Charlie loves photography. The least I can do for my best friend is pose for a couple of pictures.
“You ready to go?” Charlie walks past the white marble island to the garage door and snags her bike keys.
“Yep. Do you wanna come with us, Coop?” I could use someone else as a buffer. Charlie can spend hours and hours taking pictures. Coop will help keep her in check so we’re home before three in the morning.
While Coop and I were friendly before, we’ve gotten close in the last six months.
I’ve started to see who Coop is, instead of him just being Charlie’s big brother or Wren’s boyfriend.
He’s become one of my best friends, and I enjoy just hanging out, watching him work on the bikes and chatting, or exploring the city together.
He gives me an apologetic shake of his head. “I would, but I’ve gotta get to the garage. You two have fun, and we’ll have to do a group ride this weekend.”
Coop works at a repair shop in town, specializing as a motorcycle mechanic. Like Charlie, he doesn’t have to work, but he does to keep himself busy.
I understand the feeling. The busier I am, the less time I have to think.
“I’ll hold you to that.” I hop up and go to take my plate to the sink to rinse it off. Coop grabs it from my hands with a smile. I prefer to clean up after myself, but I know he won’t let me. Instead of arguing, I just give him a quick hug. “Thanks. See ya later, Coop.”
I jog out of the kitchen to catch up with Charlie, who’s already getting on her blacked-out R1.
After quickly putting on my helmet and gloves, I turn on “Animal,” needing something to hype me up for the photoshoot that’s probably going to last all night.
My bike rumbles to life underneath me as I pull out of their driveway and follow Charlie to the river.