Chapter Twenty-Eight – Christopher #2
“You don’t give a fuck that Gypsy was almost fifty-five and your son is fifteen?” CJ asked incredulously. “Your issue is how she looks?”
“Would you want your fucking son to fuck a wrinkled old bitch?” Johnnie yelled.
“Her own fucking husband didn’t want her, CJ.
Your own father fucked older women when he was fifteen, so stop passing judgment on my son.
” He thought for a moment, then smiled. “You’re jealous, aren’t you?
Gypsy was no longer a looker, but she wanted Rory and not you. You can’t stand that.”
Folding his arms, CJ smiled viciously. “Whatever brings you the most comfort, uncle. By all means, think it.”
“You can’t compete with my son!”
“And you can’t compete with my dad, but that doesn’t stop you from trying, so fuck you.”
“Rory, open your fucking mouth and set your cousin straight.”
“Jesus Christ, you’re a fuckhead,” CJ complained.
“CJ’s right, Dad,” Rory said, hanging his head. “But she also propositioned CJ. I don’t know if she was trying to make me, Derby, or both of us jealous. I never expected her to get killed, though. I wouldn’t have ghosted her.”
Christopher looked at CJ. “Is that true, CJ? That bitch tried to fuck you?”
“Yeah, Dad. When Mom and Rebel were in the hospital. Derby offered to sell her to me.”
“Motherfucker always was a piece of shit to her,” Mortician said in disgust.
“Meggie would dig that bitch up and fuck her up again,” Val said.
“That bitch not even buried yet, Val,” Digger said, eliciting laughter.
“It isn’t funny,” Rory blared, pounding the table and silencing everyone.
Anything Christopher said would come across as judgmental or condescending, even though he understood Rory’s pain.
As Johnnie said, he’d fucked much older women too when he’d been a teenager, girls connected to the Dwellers or other clubs and who’d left in one way or another.
Either through death, by walking away, or being claimed as an old lady.
Death was always the hardest because there was never a chance of seeing that girl again. He’d missed those women, but never truly mourned them until he lost Kiera. Megan allowed him to mourn. She’d helped him process what he was feeling.
Rory’s situation was completely different. Kendall would go fucking insane and Johnnie had no goddamn heart.
“May I talk to Rory, Uncle Christopher?” Diesel whispered, the silence broken only by Rory’s sobs.
CJ and Ryan were talking to him, but that kind of devastation wasn’t easy to overcome.
“Yeah, boy,” Christopher said to Diesel and banged the gavel. “Five-minute break. Rory, come here. Diesel wanna talk to you.”
“What?” Johnnie shook his head. “No! Rory’s my son.”
Ignoring the motherfucker, Rory made his way over to where Diesel and Christopher stood. It didn’t surprise Christopher that Johnnie followed the kid. He was just a fuckhead like that.
“Go to my office, Diesel,” Christopher started.
“So he can fill my son’s head with bullshit?” Johnnie asked. “No, what has to be said can be done here.”
“Johnnie, give your kid a fucking break,” Mortician snapped.
“You think you have all the fucking answers, don’t you, Mortician?” Johnnie spat.
“The motherfuckin’ break five fuckin’ minutes,” Christopher inserted before Mortician responded. “Two of those motherfuckers already fuckin’ gone.” He looked at Diesel. “Say what the fuck you got to say, boy.”
Diesel nodded and leaned against the podium. “Losing someone you care about is so hard, Rory. You’ve known Gypsy all your life and I met her not long after I arrived. It’ll be strange knowing she isn’t in the world any longer.”
“It will be,” Rory whispered.
Digging in his cut, Diesel pulled out his pack of cigarettes and offered one to Rory before taking his own. After handing the pack to CJ, he lit his and Rory’s.
“I liked Gypsy a lot,” he said quietly. “She made me laugh. I thought she was really pretty.”
“She was,” Diesel told him.
“No one else saw it.” Rory hung his head. “Not Derby and not Dad.”
Johnnie closed his eyes, a temporarily self-aware fuckhead.
“Derby is a fuckhead, Ro,” Diesel said. “But she chose to stay with him. She could drink with the best of us. And she was pretty. Even now when Derby and your dad didn’t see it. Mainly because she didn’t.”
Rory’s shoulders slumped. “I asked her to stop sleeping around. I didn’t think she needed to do that. Mom and Aunt Meggie wouldn’t just to get Dad and Uncle Christopher’s attention. They would’ve left. She wanted Derby and he didn’t consider me a threat. I guess she slept with you again?”
“Not in years. I realized her game and I thought she was out of her fucking mind to use me. I was the last motherfucker who’d put up with her bullshit. Besides, I didn’t want to garrote Derby for fucking with me because he neglected her.”
“You wanted to avenge her honor too?”
Diesel gave him a half smile. “She was a damsel in distress for just a moment to me.”
“Me, too,” Rory croaked.
“But I was twenty-five years old, Rory. She knew better than to push me.”
“I used to give her money.”
Johnnie choked. Christopher and Mortician exchanged glances. That fucking bitch had lost her motherfucking mind.
Rory sniffled again. “She told me Derby didn’t care about me and her. She thought he’d care if she slept with CJ.”
CJ’s eyes widened.
Diesel exhaled a plume of smoke. “Yeah, and Aunt Meggie would’ve had that bitch tortured before she was killed.”
“Derby wouldn’t have cared, Rory,” CJ said.
“I think you’re wrong, CJ,” Rory said. “A Caldwell boy is worth his weight in gold.”
“Wait a goddamn minute!” Johnnie said, always a predictable motherfucker. “We’re Caldwells.”
“Do we use that fucking name, Dad?” Rory snapped, throwing his cigarette on the floor and stomping it out. “We’re Donovans to the world. How many people know we’re actually Caldwells?”
Johnnie clenched his jaw.
“Rory, Uncle…Outlaw,” Diesel amended, discarding his cigarette too, “has to reconvene the meeting. No one is invalidating your feelings, but we, as club members, deal with grief in our own way. We’re going to toast Gypsy and honor her as one of our fallen.
I suggest, though, you keep this to yourself.
Kendall is already so fucking vulnerable because of your sister.
I hate to minimize your grief. However, she wouldn’t see what Gypsy did to you as anything but fucked up.
Gypsy’s no longer with us, which means your mom’s anger would be impotent. ”
Rory groaned.
“Exactly,” Diesel said with a smile. “And knowing about Derby’s involvement, she’d probably hit that motherfucker with her baseball bat.”
“I don’t want to put Mom through that,” Rory said.
“You have all of us.” Diesel swept his hand around to encompass the club, then he nodded to Johnnie. “You have your dad, too.”
Swallowing, Rory glanced over his shoulder. For once, Johnnie looked at his son with kindness and understanding.
“Rory?” Christopher scrubbed a hand over his face.
“Megan and Kendall would see what the fuck Gypsy did as…” He pursed his lips and glanced away.
“Predatory. Maybe it is. I ain’t too sure cuz I fucked a bunch of older bitches and it was just fuckin’ seen as me gettin’ experience.
It might be fuckin’ wrong of me, but I ain’t saw myself as a victim then and I fuckin’ don’t now. ”
“Fuck, don’t let Rebel hear that,” CJ complained.
“I can blare that from the fuckin’ rooftop,” Christopher snapped, “and it ain’t applyin’ to her. She a fuckin’ girl.”
“I’m not even about to get into that fucking double standard, Dad,” CJ growled. “You want to talk about someone losing their fucking mind? That would be your fucking daughter if you bragged about your older women while threatening this motherfucker because she’s spoiled.”
“He’s the grown motherfucker!” Christopher snarled, nodding to Diesel. “She ain’t. You implyin’ she targetin’ him is fucked up and if I ever fuckin’ hear that shit again I’m beatin’ the fuck outta you.”
“For telling you the goddamn truth?” CJ yelled.
“You’ve lost your fucking mind, too. We all fucking have.
Axel just bombed our motherfucking house so we won’t make Mom mad because Rebel and Diesel were screaming at each other like they were long lost lovers.
And I didn’t say that for you to hurt Diesel.
Out of you, Rebel, and him, he has the fucking sense.
He’s trying to get his fucking life together.
Rebel is a step away from following Axel’s lead and blowing Jana and Diesel up because she’s so fucking mad. All you can think about is—”
“Whatever the fuck I wanna. That’s my fuckin’ daughter. Not yours so back the fuck away.”
“That’s my fuckin’ sister, Dad. She’s been through a lot and if you don’t fuckin’ back off and hurt Diesel or run him away, we will lose her too.
Get that through your thick fucking head, dude.
Your fucking daughter is as stubborn as you.
You want to talk about fucking pretense?
Work with Diesel and pretend. Mom did her fucking part and made Rebel finally see Diesel as her fucking brother.
But how fucking long will that last? We know he’s a Caldwell.
Your son. Mom’s son. Our brother. All Rebel thinks is we don’t share fucking blood with him. ”
“What about that stupid motherfucker?” Christopher grouched, hating that CJ echoed what Megan said and she might be fucking right.
“Huahua?” CJ said with distaste.
Christopher narrowed his eyes. “I beg your fuckin’ pardon?”
“She’s the chi to his huahua,” CJ said, annoyed.
Christopher blinked. “They a fuckin’ dog?”
“And not any goddamn dog neither,” Digger said with distaste. “But a little yappy one that will latch onto your fucking ankle and not let the motherfucker go.”
The situation wasn’t fucking funny in the fucking least, but Christopher roared with laughter. When CJ joined in, it seemed to break the tension and everyone else guffawed.