Chapter 20
Dixie
“What is going on with you lately, Rox?” Oakley asks softly.
“Nothing! Why do you two always act like there’s something wrong with me?” Roxy runs her fingers through her long hair. It’s something she’s always done when she’s stressed out.
“Because you’ve been snapping our heads off at every turn lately! What are we supposed to think!” Gone is the soft and caring version of Oakley. Now, she’s riled up and ready for a fight.
“Let’s all just calm down,” I try, anything to keep them from going at each other.
We’ve had more than one emotional day end in a physical fight in our family.
When you grow up around a bunch of tough guys, you don’t shy away from it as much as most girls would.
There wasn’t a whole lot of crying in the Reeves household.
We’d punch or kick when we got angry. Oakley and I learned to control ourselves for the most part, but Roxy never seemed to learn that talent.
“I am calm,” they both growl at the same time.
I hold up my hands and take a step back. I don’t want to get involved, especially when this has nothing to do with me. They can fight it out all by themselves.
I head back to my room and ignore the yelling. It’s not going to stop any time soon. I don’t know how Storm tolerates living next door to us. I'm sure he can hear all of this.
Seconds after I collapse on my bed, a head peeks out from my closet, making me scream and fly up into a sitting position.
“Shh, it’s just me, Little Fox.” Storm chuckles as he emerges from my closet. He reaches for me, but right before he makes contact, I hear feet racing towards my door.
“Hide! They’re coming in here!” I shove him towards the closet, hoping he’s hidden before the girls see him.
He stumbles, hitting his elbow on the door frame and slips behind one of my long dresses right as the door flies open and Roxy storms in with Oakley on her heels.
“What happened?” Roxy asks. Gone is her anger and in its place is worry for her sister.
“I, uh… I saw a mouse.” I point under the bed and shuffle closer to the closet, wanting to make sure I cover Storm as much as possible.
I'm not sure if he snuck back into his apartment yet, but I don’t want the girls to notice the door he put up yesterday either.
“Are you seriously shrieking like that over a mouse?” Oakley plants her hands on her hips and pins me with her best disappointed glare.
“Oh my gosh!” Roxy shrieks and leaps into my arms. I'm barely able to catch her and I stumble when she slams into my body.
I start to fall backwards, but strong hands keep me from losing my balance. Thankfully Storm stayed, because if we had tumbled to the ground, I have no doubt Roxy would’ve seen the door.
“Are you seriously scared of mice too?” Oakley rolls her eyes.
“That wasn’t a mouse! It was a skunk! I don’t want to get sprayed!”
“Nope! I'm not dealing with that! I’m getting Storm!” Oakley races out of my room.
Storm pats my lower back before his hand disappears. A few seconds later, I hear Oakley pounding on his door and screaming for him to answer.
“Get us out of here, Dixie! Why are you just standing there?” Roxy clings to me even harder.
“You know for looking like a biker princess, you’re not very tough,” I grumble as I try to make my way towards the door.
I'm only a few steps away when Roxy lets out a blood curdling scream. I jump in response and we both tumble to the ground. I land flat on my back and am staring up at the ceiling when an awful scent fills the room.
“Are you kidding me!” Roxy starts coughing and waving her hand in her face.
“Are you- oh, man!” Chopper’s standing in my doorway and tugs his shirt over his nose.
“Did you get sprayed?” Storm peeks over his shoulder at me.
“I don’t think so, but I don’t know,” I groan as I try to get to my feet.
“C’mon, Little Fox. Let’s get you outside so we can see.” Storm pushes Chopper out of the way and takes my hand in his. He leads me outside of my apartment and sniffs me. “I don’t think you got sprayed, but your room smells awful.”
“I guess I’ll have to sleep in yours.” I grin.
“That sounds like the best option.” He grins right back.
“C’mon, babe. You have to strip and go to my place to shower.” Chopper leads Roxy out of the apartment with a hand on her lower back.
“Why can't I shower here? The skunk is in Dixie’s room.”
“You’re not sleeping here tonight. It’s going to smell awful. We can work on getting the skunk out tomorrow and getting the apartment cleaned up.”
“Yeah, no one’s sleeping here, Rox.” Oakley shakes her head. “I call going to Dad’s!”
She rushes out to claim her place at Dad’s, knowing there’s only one spare bed there. After we moved out, he turned our room into an office, but left space for a twin bed off to the side.
“Awesome. Where are Dixie and I supposed to stay?” Roxy folds her arms over her chest and glares at our sister.
“I'm sure Chopper wouldn’t mind taking you to his bed.” Oakley wiggles her brows. “And I'm sure Storm will let Dixie crash on his couch.”
She pins me with a look, letting me know she’s being nice and not letting Roxy realize what’s going on.
‘Thank you!’ I mouth the words to her and she nods her head discreetly.
“I'm still confused about how Dixie thought that was a mouse. Have you ever seen a mouse?” Oakley laughs, making all of us grin… except Roxy. She’s madder than a honey badger. That’s definitely her spirit animal.
“I don’t know! I just saw something move. I didn’t think a skunk would be in my bedroom so I assumed it was a mouse.”
“I want to know why you dropped me right in front of the skunk’s butt?” Roxy growls.
“In my defense, I didn’t try to drop you. You flipped out and shrieked in my ear. You scared the crap out of me and I jumped, which knocked me off balance.”
“So, it’s my fault I got sprayed?” She arches a brow at me as she folds her arms over her chest.
“Babe, it’s one hundred percent your fault. I walked in right before she fell.” Chopper snakes an arm around her waist and tugs her towards his place. “C’mon, I think I have some tomato soup. I think you’re going to need to bathe in it. Otherwise, you’re going to smell like this for days.”
“I freaking hate tomato soup,” she whimpers as she stomps her foot. She’s so frustrated. She looks like she’s seconds away from crying.
“It’ll be ok. I’ll take care of you.” Chopper notices the tears forming in her eyes and doesn’t hesitate to take off his cut and hand it to Storm.
Storm stares in confusion, but when Chopper lifts Roxy into his arms and carries her away, understanding washes over him. Chopper doesn’t want his cut to smell like a skunk.
“Alright, I'm headed to Dad’s. Storm, don’t get my sister pregnant. I'm not ready to be an aunt yet.” Oakley points a finger in his face.
“Jeez, Oakley! Keep your voice down,” Storm hisses.
“Hey, I'm not the one hiding behind Papa Porter’s back. I don’t know what you’re so afraid of.
The man loves you like a son. He’s not going to care.
” She spins on her heels and starts walking away, but she turns to look at us over her shoulder.
“Stop being a baby, Storm. You’re supposed to be this big, tough, vice president of a motorcycle club. You should start acting like it.”
She blows him a kiss and shakes her hips just a little bit more as she goes. I stifle a laugh, knowing Storm won't be happy about being called a baby.
“Sometimes I wonder why I stay here. The men fear me and the women aren’t scared of me in the least.” He shakes his head.
“Oh, yeah? Are you going to leave the Savage Wolves? Are you going to leave me?”
“Never. I'm here for the long haul, Little Fox.”