“They aren’t serial killers, Charlee girl.”
“Then who are they?” she screams out at me.
“Don’t know for sure, but they aren’t no damn killers. Don’t you think with them being noticed sitting there all the time they would’ve moved or hidden better if they were killers?”
“Bundy didn’t hide from his victims,” Cam points out, making me want to pull my hair out of my head. Where do these girls come up with this shit?
“Bundy also approached his victims with a rouse Cameron, has anyone approached either of you?” I ask, genuinely wanting to know the answer to that question.
“Well, no…but don’t you find it odd that all they do is sit there and watch us?” Charlee asks me and I can see the concern written all over her face, she really thinks she’s being stalked so some asshole can murder her.
“Gunner’s checking into it,” I inform them, “do you really think that I, or anyone else in the club, would let anything happen to you? To either of you?”
“Not really….”
“Uh-uh,” Charlee says, “but you can’t be here all the time Country, like just now we were here, and you were at the club, they had the perfect opportunity to get us.”
“And yet they didn’t, doesn’t that tell you anything?”
“Yeah, that they didn’t know how long you’d be gone for.” Fuck me and my life.
That’s it, my girl is certifiably insane, I calmed them down and left to take a shower, I come out to the living room and catch her sneaking out the front door with a butcher knife hidden behind her back.
“What the fuck are you doin’ Charlee girl?” I scream out at her trying to grab her without getting myself nicked in the process.
“What? You think I’m going to let them get me first? Have you lost your mind Country?”
“Fuck me Charlee girl, they’re not serial killers! I told you to let it go and let Gunner handle it.” I can’t leave her for any amount of time without her doing something completely crazy.
“I am not going to sit around and become the nightly news story Country! This is ridiculous, let me go! I need to show them I’m not some stupid girl they can mess with!” She starts struggling and fighting with me and nearly gets loose, I can’t let her do something that will get her locked away for life.
“Let me call Gunner and get him over here, let’s find out what he knows first, okay?”
“Fine, whatever,” she says as she rolls her damn eyes at me again.
“That’s one, roll your eyes again and the count will keep going up.”
“One what?” she asks as if she really doesn’t know.
“Oh, you know what…don’t test me woman.”
“Just go call Gunner…please Country.” I do as asked, when I tell Gunner what his sister is up to he laughs at me. “Be there in ten,” is all he says before he disconnects the call. I swear he knew what he was doing when he put me with his sister, I think this is some kind of joke to him.
“He’s on his way Charlee girl, just be patient and for the love of everyone’s safety, put the damn knife away before someone gets hurt.”
“I wouldn’t hurt one of you!”
“I know you wouldn’t intentionally, but you nearly nicked me.”
“Then I guess you shouldn’t sneak up behind me!”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t be going around with knives and threatening people!”
“I didn’t threaten anyone!”
“Then what was your plan?” I seriously would like to know, if she had no intent on hurting anyone, what was it she was going to do?
“I was just going to scare them so that they didn’t think I was some young dumb chick they could fuck with and I wouldn’t take anything lying down.” Is this what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life?”
I must’ve muttered my thoughts out loud because she responds with, “Oh honey, I can do worse, just keep your mouth going and see what’s to come.” I don’t even want to know what that means. I can see now that my hand is going to get plenty of action where her ass is concerned with her and her sassy mouth. Just as I’m about to reply to her last statement I hear Gunner roll up in the driveway. I go to open the door, but notice she still hasn’t moved to put the knife away, this time it’s me rolling my eyes. Will she ever do as she’s told?
“Nope,” she says popping the p. “I’m my own person and no one tells me what to do,” she says as she heads towards the kitchen, her weapon of choice in tow. Realizing that I once again must’ve spoken out loud I cuss at myself for not being able to control my thoughts making their way out and being spoken for her to hear. It’s like she’s a witch who’s possessed me and I can’t seem to control myself.
She stunned my movement enough that I missed opening the door up for Gunner, I thought I locked that door when I came through earlier, then it dawns on me, she was a lot closer heading out of the house than I realized. Guess she’s accompanying me from this point on since she can’t be trusted to her own devices.
“Does Twerp still think there are killers after her?”
“Let’s not even go there, Gun, I swear you think she’s some kind of cosmic joke you sicced on me. Shame on you by the way, why would you do that to a future brother?” He throws his head back and howls out his laughter, so not funny.
“Oh, come on Probee, you love my baby sister and you know it, life would be dull without her around.”
“Isn’t that the truth.”
“What part, the part where you love me, or the part where life would be boring without me,” Charlee says as she enters the room. “And why would you say my brother sicced me on you? I’m not some damn dog that goes after its owner, but of course, if that’s what you want I can arrange that. That’s a load of bullshit and you know it! You pursued me just as much as I did with you.”
“Well talk about this later,” I roar out at her in frustration. If she thinks I’m talking about any of that in front of her brother she’s lost her damn mind. Not only is he kin to her, he’s also my acting President, for now anyways until we figure out what’s going on with Ma and Pops.
“Why can’t we talk about it now?” she asks me.
“Because this is a discussion that needs some privacy,” I tell her hoping she’ll get the hint.
“I just don’t see why you can’t tell me now if you love me or not.”
“Later,” I say as I turn my back on her. This is fuckin’ ridiculous, I’m not telling her I love her for the first time with an audience.
“Fine!” she growls at me.
“Fine!” I growl right back. “Ugh,” I snarl out in frustration as I throw my hands up in the air. I feel like I’m losing a war that I didn’t even know I was fighting.
“Alright, let’s drop this conversation, you two can have it later when I’m gone preferably,” Gunner tells us, and by the look he’s shooting his sister we know he means business. “Now, let’s talk about the car sitting across the street. They ain’t no killers Twerp, they’re the FB fuckin’ I and from what we’ve been able to gather, they’re watching us to see if we’ll lead them to Ma and Pops.”
“Why would the FBI be trying to find them? What’s going on Gunner,” she asks him but looks at me, her look tells me that if he lies to her, I’ll be in the dog house right along with him.
He sighs in frustration, I know he doesn’t want to be the bearer of this bad news, but it will be better coming from him than any of the rest of us. “Twerp, are you sure you really would like to know what I found out? I don’t like this, not one bit.”
“Is it club business only, or does it affect me as well?” She raises her eyebrows at him when she asks the question—this is a sensitive situation, she deserves to know because it does have to do with her family, but the thin line is that it is club business as of now.
“Both,” Gunner tells her, “but a lot of it could blow back on the club, so I need you to keep this to yourself. I’m sorry Cameron, but I’m gonna have to ask you t
o give us a few minutes alone…please.” I had completely forgotten Cam was even in the room, she’s been quietly sitting in the corner of the room listening, but not jumping into the conversation.
“I understand,” she says as she gets up and goes to walk out of the room.
Gunner grabs her wrist as she goes to pass him. “This isn’t personal Cameron, but it’s very sensitive, I know you’re like family and all, but for now, this needs to be kept minimal with the amount of people who know,” he says as he looks into her eyes, making me wonder if his feelings have changed where it concerns her.
“Seriously Gunner, I get it, if there’s anything I can do, please let me know,” she tells him as she pulls her wrist free and walks out of the room. I can see the disappointment on her face, she doesn’t hide her feelings well. I can’t help but feel sorry for her, because even if Gunner’s feelings have changed he’d never act on it.
I hate watching her walk out of the room with a dejected look on her face. It makes me feel like a shitty human being the way I have to be with her. I know how she feels about me, but she’s way too young for an old man like me. I’m fifteen-years her senior, whereas that’s not considered a huge jump in numbers in my world, to me it means she still has time to explore and find out what and who she wants to be. It’s not in me to take that away from her, as she’s gotten older I’ve had some fucked-up fantasies of her in my bed, but like I said, neither of us are ready for that to happen.
I don’t care too much for the fucker she’s with now, but Twerp and Country seem to like him, so I stay out of it. Especially since I’m not wanting to give out the wrong impression to Cameron. I come out of my thoughts when Country clears his throat, guess it’s time to let my baby sister in on what our parents’ lives have been like, as far as I know. “This is all kinds of fucked-up Charlee, I don’t even have all the facts as of yet, but I’m gonna lay it all out for you.”
“When you say fucked-up, do you mean this is a conversation where I need to be sitting down because my legs might give out on me, you know—shock me in all the wrong ways?”
“Sure Twerp, let’s sit,” I tell her, I could use a brew right about now, so as she goes to sit I head to the kitchen to grab some beer. I grab one for Country too and get a soda for Twerp. I head back in the living room and am pleased to see Country boy sitting next to her holding her hand. Pops told me once that he was the guy he hoped to see his daughter with one day, so yeah, I set that shit up, and I’m glad I did, he was right—they are perfect for each other. I sit in the recliner opposite them and settle in for a long conversation, one I’m still not looking forward to as it seems from my hesitation. I hear my sister sigh waiting on me, so I begin with the facts.
“This is what we’ve found out thus far, it isn’t much but enough to tell us some shit happened before they began the club and before we—I was born. According to my inside source at the police department Ma and Pops didn’t exist until 1960.” She interrupts me there.
“What do you mean they didn’t exist?”
I mean what I said, they didn’t exist…there are no records of birth, where they lived, who they are, how they survived, there is nothing Twerp.”
“What he’s trying to tell you Charlee girl is, they changed their identities before moving here. We don’t know who they really are or what made them do that,” Country informs her and thank God, because I’ve never been good at expressing myself with words.
“So, what you’re saying is, they changed their names—they moved here and started over and now they’re running, and we don’t know why or who from, and all we can do is sit here with unanswered questions and not be able to help them?”
“The club is looking into it Twerp, that’s all I can tell you for now, other than you don’t have serial killers after you.” Country and I both chuckle, but she doesn’t look impressed by my statement. “As far as we know you’re safe and no one is after you, me or the club.”
We sit for another hour and talk about the situation and how we move forward from here. Plain and simple, she finishes school and lets Country and me take care of her. She’s ours and we take care of what is ours, that’s all there is to it.
Being dismissed from a family meeting makes me feel less than as accepted as I thought I was. How am I supposed to help my best friend through one of the roughest times of her life if I have no clue what’s going on? I came out to the sun porch hoping it would put enough distance between us that I could wallow in my self-pity and no one would be the wiser. I don’t want them to know how much being pushed aside has truly hurt me. I’ve been a part of this family for most of my life in one way or another, I should be in there supporting everyone, instead I’m sent away like the red-headed stepchild. I should be used to this treatment, it’s the same way I was treated at home. Home, now there’s a place I don’t miss and hope with these new developments I don’t have to go back.
Damn it would help if I could know what was going on, so I could put my nerves at rest. Should I attempt to go out and overhear what they’re saying, or should I just wait for Charlee to tell me? Because believe me, I know how to get information from that girl. She’s been my best friend most of my life and I know all of her secrets, things she never wants anyone to find out. I’ve been the one who’s held her hand through her embarrassing moments, cried with her over her heartaches and been her confidante.
Gunner may think by telling her I can’t even know is a mistake on his part, because she will tell me everything the first time we’re alone. I have enough faith in our friendship to know that she will fight for me regardless of what is talked about today. So why is it I feel so discarded and scared? I have a feeling it’s because of my abandonment issues, no one has ever truly left me, but I’ve always felt deserted by my parents, even with us all living in the same house. And now those ugly feelings have reared their ugly head. Fuck you, Gunner, for making me feel like this in the only place I’ve ever felt secure and loved.
He’s been treating me differently lately, I just don’t understand why. He’s been distant and keeps a physical distance of at least ten feet. I haven’t done anything differently other than the fact that I don’t fall down at his feet like a lost little puppy any longer. Is that it? I changed the dynamics of our relationship and he doesn’t know how to react. Well, he made the choice a long time ago that I wasn’t good enough and too young for him, so he needs to get over himself and move on from here as far as I’m concerned. I took the hint, all be it took forever for that to click in my head and heart, but it did and I’m over it—him. I’ve got Jamie now, and I’ve never been happier in my life, sure he’s a little possessive and controlling behind closed doors, something I haven’t shared with my best friend, but that’s because he loves me. He wants what’s best for me—at least that’s what he tells me, and I believe him. Jamie doesn’t like Gunner and I’m starting to see why, he’s right, Gunner does treat me different and not like family—at least not anymore.
After Gunner left, Cameron was acting differently, it’s as if she came to some sort of decision—but wasn’t open with talking to me about whatever that was. I know her, and she had time to sit and contemplate her place in this family, I don’t want to keep her out of the loop, but I’m still trying to process this information for myself, so I’m not ready to share it with her—not yet anyways. This kind of information isn’t something that either of us would ever expect to have happen to them, I wish she’d understand that I need her to be patient with me on this one. Plus, the guys expressed to me how important this is to keep hushed and between us for now, anything that I could say that would hurt my folks, or the club is something I have to take into consideration before I tell her what’s going on.
Not being able to deal with the silent treatment, I go to Gunner’s old room to talk to Country, I’m feeling guilty about the way my friend is hurting. I knock on his door when I notice the light is still on. “Come in,” I hear him say so I turn the handle and push open the door and what
I see has me salivating. He’s doing pushups, and he’s shirtless, I have to wipe the sides of my mouth to make sure there’s no drool. Damn he’s got such a rocking body, I can’t wait until the day comes that I can touch and lick every single inch of him.
“What’s up Charlee girl?”
“Cam is upset with me, she’s barely talking to me.”
“Why? What happened?”
“Well, we tell each other everything…and I can’t tell her this.”
“She’s not takin’ bein’ out of the loop so well I take it.”
“Exactly, she’s feeling left out and not part of the family right now. I can’t say that I blame her either, I would feel excluded like she is if the roles were reversed.”
He stops what he’s doing, and it disappoints me, I was enjoying my show. He grabs the towel that was lying next to him and starts wiping the sweat off of his body. I get lost in the fantasy of using my tongue to remove it instead of that offending object in his hand. I shiver at the thought and he growls out at me, “Cut it out Charlee girl.”
Charlee's Choices: DreamCatchers MC Page 8