by Sam Crescent
Her hands shook as she followed Lily into the main house. The scent of smoke and alcohol was heavy in the air.
People turned and watched Lily though.
Chloe noticed her mother was a beauty with her blonde hair. Most of the time she wasn’t on a mission, and out of all of the club whores and wives, Lily got the most respect from the members.
Even Eagle respected Lily.
She had no idea why, but it was always there, especially as they walked up to his booth. Kurt was there, and there was a brunette straddling Eagle’s lap, who he quickly pushed away when he saw Lily.
Did Eagle have a thing for her mother? She doubted it.
“Lily, baby, you made it,” Kurt said, getting to his feet.
“I made it. Think really hard right now, Kurt. Where were you supposed to be?” Lily asked.
Silence fell in the club as they all took in the scene.
As far as Chloe was concerned, Lily had never caused a scene. She’d never overreacted to anyone. Again, her mother was known as a sweetheart.
“Baby? Why are you so angry?” Kurt tried to stroke Lily’s arms, but she wasn’t having any of it. She shoved him hard, much in the same way Chloe had Ian and Riley.
“You don’t even remember?” Lily stepped to the side, grabbing Chloe’s hand.
Her cheeks were on fire as people took them in. This wasn’t what she wanted. This was bad news.
She hated it when people looked at her, and now, she wished she’d stayed in the car far, far away from this mess.
“Does our daughter ring any bells? You promised me you’d pick her up. That you’d take her for some new boots, and instead I got a call telling me that your son and his little boyfriends were bullying her, again!” Lily pointed at Eagle before returning her hands to her hips. “And yet, you’re here. Again. Why am I not surprised? When are you going to realize they don’t want you here, Kurt? They see you as nothing more than a coward, and you’re still hanging around. Still hoping to be a patched in member. Instead of spending time with your family. With us, who love you no matter what, but you’re here again, and not helping me.” Her mother’s voice croaked, and Chloe squeezed her hand, offering her some comfort. She adored her mother more than anything.
“Lily, I apologize on behalf of my son,” Eagle said.
“No, I don’t want to hear you apologize. I want you to keep that boy and his friends away from my daughter.” She turned to Kurt. “We’re done.”
Chloe’s mouth opened in shock.
They were done. Her parents were done.
Lily took the wedding band off. “I’m going to call my lawyer.”
“Lil, babe, come on, you’re overreacting.”
“No, I’m not. I’ve been waiting for you to see your senses for the last eighteen years, and I’m tired of being second best. I deserve more. I deserve better, and it’s not you. Don’t come home. It’s in my name anyway.”
She handed the ring back, and taking Chloe with her, walked right out of the silent club.
Chloe couldn’t believe what had just happened. Her mother had ended things very publicly with her father.
Climbing into the car, Lily pulled out of the clubhouse. Chloe glanced behind her to see Kurt running out, trying to chase them.
“Don’t look back, honey.”
“Mom, you don’t have to do this.”
“I do. I’m tired of being lied to. I’m tired of relying on a man who can never love me back as much as I love him. Sometimes in life, you’ve got to learn to just walk away. I’m walking away. The best thing Kurt gave me was you. I’ll always treasure you, my darling daughter.” Lily grabbed her hand, locking their fingers together. “We can always count on each other. Now, let’s go and get you some boots.”
She knew her mother was upset, and breaking apart inside.
Her parents had been sweethearts, and had gotten married at a young age, even before she got pregnant.
Resting her head on her mother’s shoulder, she knew Lily would be crying tonight, alone.
She should have just walked home.
****
Arriving at the clubhouse, Alfie knew shit had hit the fan. There was a tension that he’d not seen for a long time. The Satan’s Crew MC wasn’t a well-liked club and they had a lot of enemies, but none of them had ever defeated the club.
His father, Eagle, was a force to be reckoned with.
“What’s going on?” he asked, Betty, one of the club whores, or at least he thought that was her name.
“Kurt’s wife just divorced his ass. She came in calling him on his shit. Putting the club first and well, you better get out of the way, Alfie. She told him about your bullying of her little girl. Eagle’s not happy.”
“Alfie, get in here,” Eagle said.
Shit!
He’d been warned by his father several times not to touch Lily’s daughter. It wasn’t like he went out of his way to hurt Chloe, but she was always fucking there, and he was tired of it. Also, she wasn’t even a club girl, or any relation to the club. Her father was a fucking loser, so why did he have to treat Chloe any better? The only reason Eagle and the club brothers put up with Kurt was because he’d become an easy target for all of them. No one liked him, but they liked to humiliate him. There was nothing Kurt wouldn’t do. Be it clean the floors, or even lick a brother’s boot.
Alfie had seen him in several compromising positions, all in the name of trying to earn back his reputation within the club.
Personally, he thought the guy should have given up, and he’d asked Eagle about it some time ago.
“Son, when it matters most, he’ll run. Sure, he’s good to lick shit off your boot and entertain you, but I don’t need a man who can make me laugh. I need a man who’ll take a bullet for me without batting an eye.”
Since then, he’d never had respect for Kurt. By extension, he’d never liked Chloe either.
Standing in front of his father, he saw the anger simmering beneath the surface.
“Get in my office, now!”
Alfie walked past his father and stumbled as he was shoved hard. It wasn’t the first time that had happened, and it wouldn’t be the last.
Deep down, he knew his father loved him. One day he’d take over the Satan’s Crew Mc, and to do that, he couldn’t be soft.
Eagle had to show to the rest of the club he was a man. A man they could all trust, as otherwise, he’d be tossed out on his ass.
Ian and Riley didn’t follow. They weren’t allowed.
Alfie held himself perfectly still, arms by his sides, waiting for his father.
He’d not intended to hurt or bully Chloe tonight. He’d seen her on the school bench, bag to one side, book in hand, but it had been Ian who threw the banana and Riley who called her names. He never disobeyed his father, and when given the order to stop bullying her, he had. Sure, he couldn’t be held responsible for stopping his friends, or other guys. He watched them push her into doors, lockers, trip her up, throw stuff at her.
She was the school punching bag.
Seconds passed.
Then minutes.
He felt like he’d been waiting for hours before his father finally showed up.
“I can’t believe I’m having this fucking conversation with you again.” Eagle walked in and slapped him around the back of the head.
“Hey,” Alfie said. “I didn’t do nothing.”
“Then why did I have to listen to Lily here less than two hours ago? You hurting her girl. Do I need to remind you what it means to disobey me?” Eagle asked.
“Why does it matter to you?” Alfie asked. “Chloe’s a fat, fucking loser. No one likes her.”
“She’s a sweet girl. Regardless of her weight. I’m not asking you to fuck her. Am I?” Eagle glared at him.
“She’s just a girl. Why does it matter to you?” he asked.
“Are you questioning me?” Eagle stepped right up in front of him.
Alfie wasn’t afraid.
His f
ather wouldn’t kill him.
Sure, he’d have to take a beating, but it was being on the end of this man’s fist that had made him the man he was.
“No, sir,” he said.
“You stay away from Chloe Decker. I don’t want no trouble coming to Lily. You hear me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Now get out. Tell that to your two boyfriends as well. I don’t want to hear a single complaint from that girl.”
“Did Chloe tattle on us?” Alfie asked.
“No. Her mother caught you, and don’t even think of lying. Lily’s got no reason to lie.”
“Is she going to be your new club whore or something?”
He should have expected the slap across the face. It was hard, and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth.
“You’re going to learn to have some respect, boy. I taught you better than that. No disrespect. Get the fuck out before I take my belt to you.”
Leaving his father’s office, he didn’t even have to nod for Ian and Riley to follow.
They made their way out of the clubhouse, around the back, and down to the creek. There was a small lake about a mile off the clubhouse.
He opened the gate, closing it behind him.
One of the club brothers had ended up drowning in the lake, so his father had no choice but to put a metal fence around a couple of feet before the lake.
“You okay?” Ian asked.
“Peachy.”
“You don’t look it. Sorry, you don’t,” Riley said.
“You’ve got to stay away from Chloe. All of us do. It’s an order from Eagle.”
“Wow, is Lily already banging his ass?” Ian asked.
“I wouldn’t go around asking those kinds of questions. He’s likely to whoop your ass as well,” Alfie said.
“So, we just let her go? I figured being the daughter of a coward, and after tonight, I’m not letting her get away with her shit. She thinks she’s better than us, so I think it’s only fair we bring her down a peg or ten,” Ian said.
“Not going to happen.” Alfie wasn’t interested in getting a beat down from his dad in any way, shape, or form.
He was done with all the bullshit it entailed, and just wanted to get through the last year of high school so he could start prospecting for real, and earning his place within the club.
“You know, we don’t have to bully her,” Riley said.
“Can’t you guys just let it quit already? We’re not going to win this, and I don’t want to be on the wrong side of my dad, okay?” He looked at Ian and Riley.
They didn’t look convinced.
“You two fuckers are really not going to let this go, are you?” he asked.
“Why should we?” Ian asked. “I’ve got the perfect way to make that little slut pay, and believe me, you’re going to want in on the action.”
Chapter Two
Two days later Chloe woke up to drawers slamming closed. Climbing out of her bed, she walked across the small corridor to her parents’ room. The door was already wide open, and Lily stood, suitcase ready, as she threw in clothes.
All of them Kurt’s.
“Hey, Mom,” she said.
“Hey, sweetie. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m making such a racket.” Lily shook her head, tucking her long blonde hair behind her ears. She’d inherited her mother’s blonde hair, only hers didn’t have that sheen that her mother’s did.
“It’s okay. Do you want some help?”
Lily laughed. “Moving your father out of the house? No, this is something I need to do myself.” She stepped over the mess and pulled her into a hug. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Mom. Do you think you’re making the right decision?”
“I can’t help but think I’m screwing up something.” Lily sniffled. “I’ve been with him nearly twenty years. I’ve loved that man for what felt like a lifetime.”
“Then don’t kick him out.”
“The thing is, baby girl, he loves that club more than he ever loved me. When they needed him, he ran away. He came home and curled up in my lap, telling me how sorry he was with how pathetic he was.” Her mother’s tears broke Chloe’s heart. “I never wanted to divorce him. I didn’t fall in love with him because of a leather cut. I loved him long before he thought he wanted to be a biker.”
“But you still love him.”
“And I’m tired of the love not being returned. There’s only so much empty I can take.” Her mother tucked Chloe’s hair behind her ear. “You’re so beautiful.”
“I’m not.”
Lily sighed. “I hate the way you feel about yourself.”
“I’m fat. You don’t have to pretend I’m not.”
“You’re a beautiful woman deep where it counts. So you have a few extra pounds, but that doesn’t make you who you are. Anyone who only sees the weight, they don’t know the real you.” Her mother held her close. “Don’t ever let a man think you’re any less than who you are. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
She held her mother a little tighter. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too.”
“I’ll go and make you a hot chocolate.”
“I’d love that.”
Chloe stepped out of the room and looked back to watch her mother sit on the edge of the bed, one of her wedding photos in her hand.
This wasn’t supposed to happen, but she knew things hadn’t been going well between her parents for a long time.
The club was always getting in the way.
Giving her mother some privacy, she took a few steps, hearing the painful cry as Lily released it. She stopped in her footsteps and turned to go back, but paused. If her mother wanted to have someone to hold her, she would have cried while she was still there.
Chloe hated walking downstairs, but she did it. Going to the stove, she grabbed the milk out of the fridge, pouring a mugful into the saucepan.
Putting it on the heat, she grabbed her mother’s favorite chocolate. She looked up and saw her reflection in the toaster.
Lifting her hair off her shoulders, she pouted her lips, turning left then right, before shaking her head.
When the water was hot, she added the chocolate, a splash of vanilla, and a spoonful of sugar. She stirred it all together, and the bruise on her wrist caught her eye. Putting the spoon down, she wrapped her fingers around the marks, covering them.
She hadn’t thought Alfie was that strong, and yet, he’d left his mark.
If her mother hadn’t turned up, what would he have done? She tried not to think of what ifs, but like now, she couldn’t help but wonder.
Would he have touched her?
Shaking her head, she pushed those thoughts out of her mind, and served up the hot chocolate.
To garnish, because her mother loved it, she placed a single cinnamon stick in the hot chocolate and carried it upstairs.
When she returned, the suitcase was packed, and in the trash bin she saw the shattered glass of the wedding photo.
She couldn’t help but think her mother was acting too hastily.
If she wasn’t careful, she could live to regret what she’d done.
“That looks lovely,” Lily said.
Handing the chocolate over, Chloe looked back at the trash bin. “Why did you throw your photo away?”
Lily loved to look at it, and had spent hours doing it in the past eighteen years.
“I don’t need a reminder of my failure.” Lily lowered herself down onto the edge of the bed, pushing some hair off her shoulder before cradling the cup. “I thought we were it, you know? He told me I was his life. Then you came into the world, and we were complete.” She sniffled. “They’re all lies.”
“I think Dad still loves you.”
“Oh, I have no doubt. Just not as much as he loves the club. I’m not going to do it anymore, sweetie. I’m not going to let him constantly let us down.”
The doorbell went, and her mother sighed.
“Who’s that?” Chloe asked.
“Your father, if he’s not too much of a coward to come and collect his stuff.” Lily handed her the hot chocolate.
Chloe followed behind, sitting on the edge of the stairs, seeing the doorway. Lily dragged the suitcase down the stairs.
Each slap as it landed on each stair, she knew this wasn’t going to change. Kurt Decker wasn’t coming back into their lives.
Her mother wouldn’t have him back.
The boots, it was the last straw for her mother.
Tears filled Chloe’s eyes as she watched Lily take a deep breath, gathering herself together, trying to look strong, before opening the door.
Kurt was on the doorstep, but Eagle stood beside her father as well.
“Eagle, what’s going on?” Lily asked.
“I came to make sure this guy didn’t give you any trouble. You want him out of your life, don’t you?”
“Yes, but I can handle him. He’s never going to hurt me or cause me any problems. Are you, Kurt?”
“I want us to give this another try, baby. Please, for you and for Chloe.”
Chloe held the cup a little tighter. She did love her father, but this was one step too far.
“It’s too late. How many times are we going to go through this before one of us realizes this relationship is way too toxic? I’ve got to set a good example to my daughter, and waiting at home for a man who doesn’t show up when he says he’s going to, and is always fighting for something else, I can’t go through with this, not anymore. It sucks. All of this sucks. You think I want this? You think I enjoy having you on my doorstep, your belongings packed, ready to send you away?”
“Then don’t. Let me prove to you I can do this. You know I love you more than anything. You and Chloe.”
“And what happens when you get a call from Eagle, or any other brother from the club? I’ve been through this so many times. I’ve believed you and you’ve gone running back to them. No more. I don’t want to do this with you anymore. I’ve already booked an appointment with a divorce lawyer. I’ve got to do this. For myself and for Chloe.” She pulled the suitcase across the threshold.