by Jenny Wood
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, products, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This story is also set in a southern state (Georgia); please keep in mind that accents are different all over the world and I like to use them. It isn’t a typo or a lazy way of typing. It’s how it’s spoken. (Or at least the way I speak it, Y'all.) Although I do try to eliminate typo’s and misspellings, they do still happen. Nastiness and negativity do not affect them nor does it affect my love for writing. To everyone who chooses to comment or review, I appreciate you, more than you know!
Enjoy : )
Table of Contents
Jase
Joker
Jase
Joker
Jase
Joker
Jase
Joker
Jase
Joker
Jase
Joker
Jase
Joker
Jase
Jase
This stretch of highway is the longest, most boring ride of my life. It feels like I’ve been driving for days and I’m still not any closer to my hometown than I was when I started. That’s the way it feels anyway. I’m heading back to Georgia for the summer, with everything I own packed into the back seats of my Jeep. As it turns out, college is a hard!
This last year has been a real eye-opener for me. I’d set out just a few months after my 18th birthday with the help of my new family, and gave this ol’ college thing a try. Don’t get me wrong; I loved it. I loved the freedom I had, meeting new people and making new friends. It was a great experience. However, I missed home. I missed Ms. Jay and all the kids from the center. I missed Kayson and Kingsley and their endless harassment because I was their new little brother and they take that shit seriously.
I missed Jody and Cameron because they were like my honorary parents and they too, take that shit seriously. I’d proven to myself that I could do shit on my own and survive because I did it. I was proud of myself, but it was time to come home.
“Hello?” I answered my phone on the second ring without taking my eyes off the road to see who it was.
“Hey, kid. Where you at?” Kingsley asked in greeting. Kingsley was my big brother; he looked like he should be scary with his bulk of muscles and his freakishly tall body; he wasn’t. He laughs a lot, teases and jokes. He’s happy and loud and fun to be around; and before me, he was the baby. I guess now; he’s paying it forward.
“Still about an hour and a half away,” I tell him, smiling into the phone. I couldn’t help it; I missed the shit out of him.
“Well, I’ll be at work, so stop by here first.” He says. I’d been on the road for almost 17 hours, and I wanted to get home, shower and sleep; still, I’d stop by the shop and see him.
“Is Kayson there?” I asked, knowing that Jody was at home waiting for me, but I figured Kayson was working with King today. Kayson is my other big brother; almost as tall as Kingsley but nowhere near as massive. He’s intimidating in his own way, though once you get to know him, you can’t help but love him. I was excited to see him, too. All the guys, them and their partners had opened their homes and their hearts to me, and it was like I’d always been a part of them. I appreciated them for that, more than they could know.
“Yeah, he’s here and the new guy, too.” He says. I’ve heard about the new guy, Jacob “Joker” Riggs; but I hadn’t met him yet. I hadn’t been back home since spring break a few months ago and that had only been for two days.
“Alright, I’ll stop by,” I tell him. “I need you to check out the space on my back; I don’t know if there’s room for the old ship I wanted back there,” I tell him.
“Which one?” He asks.
“The third one you sent, with the big sails and choppy water,” I say, hoping he remembers the text that had that one on it. I’d been wanting it for months.
After the first tattoo that I got on my ribcage: “I was born to walk this world alone”; I was hooked. The second one I got, was a pink daisy that Kady had drawn. Kayson, Kingsley, and Jody all had matching ones, and when they’d asked me to get the same one, I’d finally dropped my guard and accepted that these big assholes were my forever family. They were the kind of people that kids like me used to pray to have. I was incredibly lucky to have them and even luckier that they chose me. I’d thought at one point in my life, having gone my whole life through foster care and children’s homes, that I was just meant to stay alone. Everyone knows that the older you get, the less likely it is that you’ll be adopted. I had long since given up.
Little did I know, it was just after being signed out of the system; branded as an adult by the good ole’ state of Georgia, that I’d finally found my forever family.
“You should have plenty of room on that back shoulder. It ain't that big.” Kingsley’s voice pulls me back from musings.
“Draw it up for me then, Big Man.” I quip. He laughs but agrees. I love all the guys’ work, but nobody, in my opinion, can draw like Kingsley. He’s my “go-to.” I tell him I’ll see him in a bit and we say our goodbye’s. I can’t wait to get home.
My hour and a half took nearly two hours, but the second I walked into the shop that my brothers all owned together, I was bombarded with man-hugs and shoved around. It was the best homecoming I’d ever gotten.
“Look at you!” Kayson yelled, wrapping me up in his big, beefy arms. “Since when can you grow whiskers?” He leaned me back to pinch at my cheeks and my barely-there beard scruff. I slapped his hands away, but he kept them coming.
“Not only whiskers but somebody got a big boy haircut,” Kingsley commented, ripping my hat off and running his hand, roughly over my short cropped hair.
“It’s about time, Biebs.” Kayson taunted, making me roll my eyes in jest.
“Whatever,” I mumbled, secretly pleased.
“How was your drive?” Conner asked from behind the front counter. He owned the bookstore across the street and since Layla was home with Jinx and her baby girl, Nova, he’d been hanging out over here, doing her job. A fact that I know made Kayson beyond happy.
“Long, my legs are stiff,” I say, putting my fists behind my lower back and bending back slightly to give it a pop. I bent my legs one at a time and tried to stretch out my sore-from-sitting muscles.
“Did you text Daddy and tell him that his baby bear was home?” Kingsley asked as he wrapped his meaty, solid arm around the back of my neck and put my hat back on.
“Not yet.” I rolled my eyes and tried to shove him off me. He didn’t budge.
“I did!” Kayson said, taking his place back at his tattoo chair, where he was putting his gloves back on to continue the young woman he was inking when I’d came in.
“Oh shit, come here kid. You haven’t met Joke.” Kingsley says to me. I hadn’t even noticed him sitting in the back chair that I assume was now his workstation. How I hadn’t noticed him the second I walked in was beyond me; his presence was bigger than anyone in the room. He was big, like Jody; tall and intimidating. If I had to guess, I’d say he was in his mid to late 20’s, a perfect face with dark, mysterious, eyes, dark hair and dark, caramel skin. He was tatted from the neck down in intricate, tribal looking patterns. He had a small gage in each ear but otherwise, no other visible piercings; and when his dark eyes hit mine, it was like all the air sucked from the room. I could only stare.
I’m not sure how long I stood unmovingly but gauging by the tone of Kingsley’s voice when he elbowed me to get my attention, it had been at least a minute too long.
“Damn, kid, you asleep on your feet?�
�� Kingsley teased. I didn’t take my eyes off Joker.
“Sorry, no. I’m Jase.” I shook myself out of the daze and offered him my hand. His veiny arm stretched out, and he clasped my hand with his much bigger one. It was warm and calloused; dry from being inside the black rubber gloves required while inking.
“Good to meet you.” He says to me in a voice that I was not expecting. It was harsh and short like it was the opposite of good to meet me. No sooner than he grabbed my hand and gave it one good shake, he dropped it and took a step back. He nodded once to Kingsley and then turned to grab another set of gloves and got back to his client. I hadn’t meant to make him uncomfortable, but I couldn’t deny that I’d been frozen to the spot when I’d first laid eyes on him. He was something else.
“You wanna look at a couple of these stencils, see which one you like? I got time tonight if you’re not too tired.” King suggested.
“Lemme’ call Jody, tell him I won’t be home for a couple of hours,” I tell him. He agrees and tells me to hurry up. I step outside the shop doors and dial Jody. Jody was my saving grace. I loved all the guys; Kayson, Conner, Kingsley and Morgan; they’d all been the brothers I’d always wanted. Jody and Cameron? They were something else. I owed them both so much, everything really. I owed them everything.
“You’re home!” Cameron almost squealed into the phone in greeting.
“I am. I’m at the shop. Are you guys waiting on me? I was going to have Kingsley ink that old timey ship on my back since he has time, I can do it another time though if you guys are waiting for me to get there?” I ask.
“No, it’s alright. I just got called into work, so Jody’s in the shower and I think he’s coming to hang out with you guys at the shop.” He tells me. “I’m so bummed I won’t get to see you until tomorrow.” He grumbled.
“I planned to go to Ms. Jay’s tomorrow; you want to go with me? We’ll make a day of it, hang out?” I asked. I met Cameron from Ms. Jay’s youth home. She was the mother to the motherless, and she was my place to call home for much of my life. I owed her a lot too.
“I’d love to.” He says. “I’ve got to head out now though. I’ll be home bright and early.” He lets me know, and I tell him I’ll see him in the morning.
“Glad your home, kid.” He tells me just before ending the call. I hope he still feels that way when I tell him that I’m home for good.
Lying on my stomach with my balled-up shirt as a makeshift pillow, it’s impossible not to be lulled into sleep by the soft buzzing of Kingsley’s tattoo gun. I’m not going to be one of those tough guys that say getting a tattoo doesn’t hurt; it does. But after the initial few minutes of annoyance, your body just kind of files it away. It’s easy for me to ignore because I’ve spent a lot of time in these chairs over the last year and some change. The day I turned eighteen, I got my first one, and I haven’t stopped since. Every school break I came home, I was adding to my growing collection. Every single image or quote that I put on my body means something to me. This ship was how I felt for far too many years; a ship lost at sea, daring unpredictable waters to get me where I longed to be. I was still on that journey, but I wasn’t lost anymore.
“Still with me, kid?” Kingsley asks as he wipes me down again. “Need a break?” He asks.
“I’m good,” I say, hearing my slurred words. “You’re putting me to sleep.” I joked so he’d know that I was okay. I’d seen people pass out while getting inked or pierced but I’d done this enough times, I was fine, just tired. I heard him chuckle as he started up again; shading now, it was more unpleasant than the outline, but it still wasn’t so bad.
It felt like only minutes that Kingsley was wiping me down for the final time. The alcohol that they use to clean it before wrapping it is the worst part. Kingsley laughs when I flinch, and my eyes fly open.
“There he is.” He taunts. “Papa bear has been waiting for you to wake up so he can make sure his cub is okay.” He points to Jody who is standing by Joker and talking across the room. He smiles and lifts his chin in hello before holding his finger up to tell me he’ll be over in just a second. I take the second to try not to keep checking out Joker, and I grab the handheld mirror and check out my new artwork.
“Damn, Kingsley, this looks amazing,” I say in awe. It looks like at any second, that water will start moving and the picture will come to life. “I love it,” I tell him sincerely.
“It’s beautiful, King,” Jody says, joining us at the mirror.
“I’m taking a picture and adding it to my shit, then.” He smirks. I can only nod as I continue to look it over. It deserves to go into his portfolio; it’s that good.
When Jody and I finish looking it over and pointing out all the ways that Kingsley is a badass, he follows me back to Kingsley’s chair so he can tape it up. I’ve got to keep it dry and lubed up while it heals. I feel eyes on me as I carefully pull my shirt over my head but by the time I have it pulled over my body and look towards where I hope those looks are coming from, Joker is no longer at his station.
“You coming home tonight or you wanna hang out with these dicks some more?” Jody asks, smiling, tilting his head to point at Kayson, Conner, and Kingsley who are standing two seats down at Kayson’s chair.
“I’d love to hang out with y’all, but I’m beat. I need food in my belly and a good night’s sleep.” I tell them. I also needed to work out a good way to tell them that I wanted to come back home and go to school. I hardly had any money in my savings, and I’d need to get a job here for the summer. I was hoping that they’d let me stay in the room they’d given me when I’d moved in last year until I could find a place of my own. I know they said it was mine when I needed it, but there’s a big difference between coming home a few weeks a year and living somewhere full time. I’d needed sleep before I brought it up though. I needed a plan, some goals. I’d work on it.
We all stood around for several more minutes, shootin’ the shit and catching up on the last few months I’d been away. I’d discreetly roam the room with my eyes, looking for Joker every few minutes but he never came back in, and nobody seemed to mention it, so I didn’t want to either. His station was still a mess since his last appointment left so surely he didn’t leave. It made me feel like he was staying away because I was here and I didn’t understand why. A walk-in came in and snagged Kayson’s attention, and my stomach’s loud protest had Jody pulling me out the door. I said goodbye to the guys and followed Jody home. Pulling up to the house felt exactly what it was like… Like being away for far too long and finally coming home. I left all but one bag in my jeep for now. All I needed was my sleep clothes and toiletries; I’d worry about the rest tomorrow. Eating a few pieces of cold pizza around the kitchen island while telling Jody about finals; it was all I could do to fall face first into my big fluffy pillows and crash, only ten minutes later. Tomorrow… I’d worry about the rest, tomorrow.
Joker
“That was Jase; he’s only a couple hours away,” Kingsley yelled to the shop. Kayson was only a station away from him, so I’m assuming he yelled it so Conner could hear from the reception desk by the front door. The music wasn’t that loud, but the chatter of the shop could get pretty loud. I didn’t know the kid, but I’d been hearing about him all week, knowing he was coming home from college.
I’d only been working here for a couple of months. I hadn’t worked legit, in a parlor for well over six years because I’d been in prison; still, I was licensed and OSHA certified in Georgia.
“Is he coming here or going home first?” Kayson asked, looking like an excited kid at Christmas at the mention of their little brother. If one thing I learned about these guys that I worked with, it’s how much they value their family. I was the same way growing up, although it was just me and my sister Jaylee. She was only two years younger than me, and we had to stick together. We didn’t have a bad life, don’t get me wrong; we were poor, with a single mother trying to take care of both of us on a part-time truck stop waitress salary in a smal
l town. It wasn’t ideal, but it definitely could’ve been worse.
I’d tried to get myself out of that shit hole, junkie-infested trailer park, the minute I turned 16 and could legally get a job. Because the truck stop off the highway was the only place open after hours to get something to eat, my sister and I met a lot of interesting people while we’d share a plate of french fries and do our homework, waiting for mom to get off work and take us home. I met a man by the name of Rooster who owned his own tattoo shop, and for some reason, he took a liking to my mom, my sister and me. He stuck around a lot longer than any of the rest of them did but still… nobody wants to be saddled down to a shitty old trailer in the bad part of town with a waitress barely making ends meet and two kids. Still, we kept in touch; I truly believe that he cared about my sister and me; my mom too, in his own way. He was good to her when he was around; didn’t beat on her or call her names, like so many did. It’s just the way of the world, I think. Sounds cliché, but, we were used to it. All of us were.
When I turned 16, Rooster let me intern and then let me be an apprentice at his shop. I made little-to-no money, but I often got tips from the guys for cleaning up, and they all showed me everything there was to know about tattooing. I got and gave my first one of both the same night I turned 18. I got certified, and Rooster paid for my state license, and I was the shit chair for months at his shop before I gained a decent reputation. Things were looking good; I was helping out more at the shop, given more responsibility and I was helping mom at the trailer; I started putting a little away for myself, and I was determined to get the fuck out of Hope Springs, Colorado. Then, Rooster got lung cancer, and things started going to shit. My sister met a man at a truck stop who had a wife and family when he wasn’t on the road but came to her when he needed a little freedom. The problem was, Clarke liked to drink tequila and snort cocaine, making him a not-so-fun person to be around, when he wanted a little fun and freedom. Because she said she loved him, we all just overlooked the bruises around her eyes and the fat, busted lips she’s tried to hide every time he’d come back from a “long trip.”