by Fox, Nicole
“The rumor was that you had been kidnapped,” Clarissa said, bringing me back into the moment. “Is any of that true?”
Mother was standing next to the cameraman and just over the reporter’s shoulder. She clamped her lips together, and he eyes shot daggers at me. We had known this question would probably come up, and we hadn’t quite agreed on how to handle it. Mother, of course, had given me her final comments on it after we had finished cleaning the house. “Trust me, Bambi. I know how these things work,” she had said as she once again straightened her photo on the mantel. “Go with what we talked about.”
Her idea, of course, hadn’t been accurate. She had told me to claim that while I had gone with Snake willingly, I hadn’t realized the extent of his control over me. As time passed, I began to understand that he had used my naivete against me and basically gotten me to kidnap myself. If the question of charges was brought up, I would simply state that I had decided to take it as a lesson learned and move on with my life. Of course, I would be sure to use my position as Peach Festival Queen to educate other young woman against such dangers.
“Now, don’t get me wrong,” Mother had stated. “There’s nothing that would please me more than to have that scumbag dragged down by the police, thrown in prison, and forgotten about. But my attorney told me the trial would never work unless you agreed to cooperate. As much as I’d like to think you would do your duty as my daughter and testify against him, I have a feeling you would flake out and it would just cost me a lot of money. I think going this route will be a better tactic for us.”
Clarissa was waiting expectantly for my reply, and so was the rest of the county.
I smiled again. “I made the mistake of not making my intentions clear. It was a spur-of-the-moment trip, and I didn’t give proper notification to those closest to me. It was a silly oversight, and it’s one that I will be sure never to make again.”
Mother threw her hands in the air and turned toward the window. She clutched her hands to the side of her head, ruining her hairdo. When she finally turned back to me, her eyes were blazing. I would have my hands full once the interview was over. I doubted she would ever let me hear the end of it, since I had let Snake off the hook.
“So the rest of us can sleep soundly at night knowing that we’re safe from this man you were with? Rumor has it he’s a biker, part of a gang called the Warriors. I think most of us remember that they were in town for a little while during the Festival. A mass of bikers sounds pretty scary to me.”
“They’re nothing like you imagine.” I kept my focus on her instead of Mother’s antics behind her. I shook my head to negate the idea that the Warriors were bad guys. “There are a lot of them, and they certainly look intimidating. But I spent a decent amount of time with them, and I think we all have a lot to learn from the Warriors.”
Clarissa raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“Well, for one thing, they always have each other’s backs. They kid around like any other guys do, but they’re truly good friends. Everyone is always taken care of. The Warriors are like a giant family, except that they travel around instead of living in a big house. It was also a wonderful opportunity to see that no matter how we look or dress, we’re all still people inside. It was an eye-opening experience for me, and I’m glad that I did it.” Secretly, I wondered if there was a chance Snake was watching the interview. What would he have thought if he heard me talking about him and his men like that? Would he be flattered? Insulted? It didn’t really matter, since I knew I would never see him again, but I amused myself with the fantasy.
“How has it been for you now that you’re back home? The police brought you back to your mother’s side, so I know there must have been some hardship for you.” Clarissa sounded so sympathetic, but I knew she didn’t really give two shits about me and my hardships.
Mother was pacing now, and I couldn’t help but see it. The light was coming brightly in the front window, and her constantly moving form cast repeated shadows across myself and the reporter. I had pissed her off beyond all measure. It was the kind of thing I had always avoided, but I now understood something I never had before: Mother’s urge to control me gave me power over her. I wished I had understood it a long time ago.
“What you have to understand,” I replied, “is that these days everyone is interested in the drama. Everyone wants the wild, crazy part of the story, even if there really isn’t one. There were some misunderstandings, but everything is fine. I’m happy to be back in Myrtle Creek, and I have plans to continue my work as the Peach Festival Queen. I’ve neglected the citizens of this town for too long.”
“Tell us about some of the events you have coming up.”
“Well, I understand there are several ribbon cuttings within the next few months, so of course I’ll be attending those. Also, I plan to make a few appearances in the local elementary schools. In between my appearances, I’ll be taking some college courses. I’m still exploring all my options, but I’d like to major in English and creative writing.”
Clarissa’s eyes widened with glee. “Fascinating! I don’t think any of us knew you were a writer.”
Now Mother leaned against the windowsill and pressed her hand to her heart. She gave me a desperate look. This was killing her, but I knew she would get over it eventually.
“I just dabble a little bit here and there right now, but I’m very interested in pursuing it as a career. It would afford a great opportunity for me to reach out and communicate with not just the people of our town or our county, but the world. I feel like I have a lot to say, and becoming a writer would be a great way to say it.” It was a dazzling answer, the kind a Miss America contestant would give. It was also the kind that was going to send my mother through the roof. She would have to let me go to college now that I had said on live television that I wanted to.
“Now, Bambi, for the question everyone has been waiting for. As we’ve touched on, there are a lot of rumors surrounding you and what you’ve been doing over the last few months. One of the biggest is that you’re pregnant. Would you care to enlighten us on the subject?”
I touched my stomach softly, and the strangest sensation washed over me. I felt powerful and happy, like I was a completely different person than I had been before I ever met Snake. “I am, indeed, pregnant.”
Mother watched me expectantly, but I said no more. I wasn’t going to claim that he raped me. It was flat wrong, and it would give everyone the wrong impression. Furthermore, it would refute everything I had claimed about the Warriors.
“Yes, and there’s something else she would like to add about that,” Mother said, speaking loudly enough I was sure the camera picked her voice up without a mic. “Go on, Bambi. Tell them.”
The reporter looked slightly irritated at the interruption, but she watched me with a fervent hunger in her eyes.
Suddenly, that odd sense of power I had felt only a moment ago drained away. I had let myself imagine that I could do what I wanted in this interview, and that since it was on live TV there wasn’t anything Mother could do about it. What I had stopped thinking about, though, was how miserable she would be to live with afterwards. We wouldn’t just argue about it and then let it go. As soon as the news crew was gone, her hold on me would descend once again.
“It’s okay,” Clarissa said gently. “You can tell us.”
But I couldn’t. I couldn’t tell them what Mother wanted me to. I couldn’t lie to them, and not just because of any moral impulse. I couldn’t let the world think Snake had done such a terrible thing to me. My eyes wandered up toward the ceiling, studying one tiny little cobweb that Mother had missed, and I just couldn’t stand it anymore. Any of it. I didn’t want to think about being forced to lose my baby or the fact that Mother would find a way to make it happen. I didn’t want to think about the fact that I had no idea where Snake was or what his true intentions had been. I didn’t want to imagine what my life would be like when this interview was all over with.
I stood up and ripped off the mic, dropping it in the chair. “Excuse me. I need to get some air.” I went toward the front door.
“Bambi!” Mother hissed as she ran forward to intercept me. “Sit down and finish the interview! You’re embarrassing me!”
“I can’t do this right now,” I choked out. I flung open the door and stepped outside. The day was bright and sunny. The man down the street had done a wonderful job on the front yard, making it look amazing, as though a happy little family lived here. The front door, painted a brilliant red, matched the roses that bloomed on either side of it. Mother had gone to great lengths to put up a façade for us, a show that would trick everyone into thinking we lived a completely different way than we did. She had worked so hard, but in the end she had nothing, and neither did I. A tear slid down my cheek and plopped onto the concrete patio, making a dark splash.
A rumbling in the distance pulled my head up. I knew I couldn’t really be hearing it. It was only part of my dreams, a fantasy that had come to tease me. My days with Snake were over, and I wouldn’t be a free woman until Mother died. As mean as she was, she would live forever. The sound I heard was just the highway in the distance.
But something shiny came around the corner and down our street. I watched with shock, still convinced I was hallucinating. I recognized the set of the handlebars and the angle of the front forks. I knew the sound of the engine like the beating of my own heart. Most of all I knew the man who sat on that motorcycle. His dark hair, the green bandana that barely held it back, the twisting tattoos on his arms, and the small quirk of his mouth as he pulled to a stop in front of my house. There was no question anymore. Snake was here.
I was only vaguely aware of the front door slamming open as Mother came outside, followed immediately by Marty and Clarissa. The cameraman was catching the whole thing.
“Bambi! You get in the house right now, young lady! You’ve been very rude to these nice people, and I won’t tolerate it any longer!” Mother pressed her lips together so hard they turned white, and her fists were curled at her sides.
I ignored her, stepping slowly down the stairs and out toward the curb. Snake lifted his sunglasses and set them on his head. His eyes said everything, and I took another step.
“Bambi! Get away from him! He’s dangerous! Do I have to remind you that we’re on live TV? Come back here and finish your interview!”
The world was watching, and I didn’t care. In fact, I was glad they could see this. I was about to change my life once again, morphing it back into the one that I wanted. They would understand beyond a shadow of a doubt that I hadn’t been kidnapped this time.
Snake held his hand out to me. I went to him, reaching my fingers out. My heart leapt through my arm, and sparks danced against the tips of my fingers. Snake took my hand in his, and his warmth melted the cold wall of ice that I’d worked so hard to build around myself ever since I came home.
“I missed you,” he said, just loudly enough that I could hear him over the throbbing sound of his engine.
“I missed you, too.”
“Let’s go.”
I had no choice but to obey him. I could have turned and run back into the house, but I would never have been happy. I needed Snake, and I knew now that he needed me. I swung my leg over the back of the bike and wrapped my arms around him, leaning happily into his back. Snake revved the engine, sending a rattling vibration up through my knees. I turned to the small gathering on the porch, giving them a beauty queen wave and a dazzling smile.
Mother’s face was red as she stood on the edge of the porch, yelling and raging. I could no longer understand what she was saying, but it didn’t matter. She couldn’t ever say anything that would bring me back. Marty was still filming, following us with his camera as Snake moved off down the road. Clarissa stood just behind Mother and Marty, jumping up and down and waving, her white teeth flashing in the sunlight. At least one person was happy for me, even if that was mostly for her own sake. I waved back, continuing to do so until we were out of sight of the house.
I studied my hometown carefully as we headed toward the city limits. It was possible I would never see it again, and I had to be okay with that. There would be some things I would miss, like having everyone know my name when I walked in a store or the way the town suddenly came to life when it was time for the Peach Festival. There were good things about Myrtle Creek, but I was leaving one very bad thing behind. I held Snake a little tighter. He reached down to where my hand rested on his abdomen and rubbed the back of it reassuringly as we went past the last gas station on the edge of town and headed east.
Chapter 15 Snake
I wanted to throw back my head and laugh. It had been so much easier than I had imagined it would be, and now I finally had Bambi where she belonged. Though it had really only been a few weeks since she had gotten into the back of that squad car, it felt like forever since she’d been with me. We had been happy up until that moment, and then everything had changed. That seemed to be the theme that revolved around us, but I knew even that itself was going to change.
The little town went by in a blur, and I relished the sign that indicated we were leaving the city limits. I was going to get her as far away from this place as I could. She deserved something new, something different, something better. Maybe we both did. I kept on driving, unwilling to stop. As long as we rode, my fantasy could continue.
Bambi seemed content to let the illusion stay intact, as well. She didn’t ask me where I’d been or why I had come for her. She didn’t wonder how I had found out where she lived (although that was an easy thing to do in a place like Myrtle Creek, where everybody knew everyone else). Even when we stopped for gas, we only spoke enough to get the job done and then we hit the road again. We were back together, and that was all we needed for the moment.
It was dark when we crossed the state line into Alabama, and I couldn’t remember the last time I had ridden so long. Bruiser had often been content to go only a few hours at a time, with only a longer stretch here or there when one of the guys had gotten in trouble and we needed to cross a state border. I was getting tired, and I had been watching the signs on the side of the road for a while. This wasn’t an occasion for just any old motel with a tired check-in clerk and mashed shag carpeting. Bambi deserved more than just a sleazy room with a bed that no longer vibrated and years of dust clinging to the sagging ceiling fan. I swung into the nicest place I saw and stopped.
She blinked in the bright light of the sign. “What are we doing here?”
I grinned. “Starting our new life together.”
We checked in, and for the first time went up an elevator and down a long carpeted hallway to our room. We made an odd couple, with me in my leathers and her in that sexy pantsuit, but I didn’t care what anybody might think of us. I slid the key card in the lock and opened the door for her.
The room was probably the nicest one I’d been in during the last five years. I couldn’t say it was a luxury hotel, but it was a far cry from the dumps we had made love in before. The carpet was deep and fluffy, and it matched the long curtains that draped down on either side of the window. A flat-screen television hung on the wall over a massive wardrobe. To the right was the door to the bathroom, which I noticed contained a jacuzzi tub. Next to that was the kitchenette, complete with a coffee pot and a mini fridge. Most importantly, a king-sized bed presided over the room. The pillows were fluffy and white against the turned-down comforter.
But as much as I wanted to, I didn’t scoop her up and set her on it. Instead, I guided her to the sofa that faced the couch. “I think we ought to talk.”
For the first time since our reunion, I saw uncertainty flash through her eyes. But she sat down and nodded, eager to hear what I had to say.
“I’m sure you already know this, but I’ve been nothing but a complete idiot.”
“Don’t say that …”
“No, Bambi. I have. And you’ve got to let me just get all this out, because I don’
t want to wait any longer. I don’t want there to be any secrets between us. Even if something is hard or uncomfortable, I want us to be able to deal with it together. I’ve spent most of my life thinking about just myself because nobody else was going to do it for me, but I know now that isn’t true.”
I paced back and forth in front of the couch. I should have been tired and sore from so much riding, but there was too much going on in my brain, and it took precedence over my body. Even while moving, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She had the flush of new life under her skin, and it suited her well.
“Here’s what really happened: The Warriors and I rode into Myrtle Creek, and I didn’t think it was going to be any different than any other place we landed in. We went to the bar, we got drunk, and we weren’t thinking about the future. Life in a motorcycle club isn’t a sure one, where you know where you’re going or what you’re doing. It’s all spur of the moment.