by A J Love
I take her hand. “People are assholes, Mellie. You can’t let them get to you. And this guy is probably only saying stuff because he wants to seem like he’s important. You just need to turn it around.”
“So, what? Say he’s got a small dick or something?”
I sigh. Oh, to be sixteen again. “Sure, why not?”
She pulls her cell out and begins to tap out messages. I nod my head a little, pleased that she seems to be happy with that, and then press dial on my own cell to call my mom.
Mom answers on the first ring, quite obviously waiting for me to call. Why didn’t she just call me first? “Layton? Is she there? Is Melody okay?”
I take a sip of my soda. “Yeah, Mom. She’s here. I just got home from work and she was outside the door.”
“Why would you tell her to do this? We’ve been worried sick all day. Why would you make her come all that way to you?”
I squash my frustration at her misplaced blame and train my voice to stay calm. “Do you really think I would do that? Do you really think I would put my baby sister in that position? I didn’t know she was coming here, okay? And I’m calling you straightaway to tell you that she’s here, and she’s safe.”
I can hear a rustling and then my dad’s voice comes through. “Hi, Layton.”
I almost sigh. Once upon a time, I was daddy’s little girl. We had a good relationship growing up, but he took Mom’s side when I left. “Hey, Dad.”
“Is she okay to stay with you tonight? We can’t get a flight until tomorrow.”
I raise my gaze to the ceiling in an attempt to stop the tears that are threatening to come. He sounds so distant, like he’s talking to a stranger. I hate this, fucking hate it.
“Yeah, of course she can. She’s my little sister. I’m not going to see her on the street,” I answer as Kane rejoins us and sits in the chair. He looks over to me, his eyes piercing me with his own strength. Kane knows how difficult my folks are, knows how I feel about them. He knows how much it hurts me to be so far removed from them. “What time is your flight?”
“We’ll land at two and come straight for her,” my dad says.
I mentally check through my day. I’m due in the store in the morning and then to Kane’s at twelve. “Okay. She can come to work with me.”
“At that place?” My mom’s outrage causes me to roll my eyes. Apparently, I’m on speakerphone and she can hear me. “You expect us to be okay with you taking our daughter there and then expecting us to come and pick her up from there? You need to stay home with her, Layton.”
“I don’t work at where you’re thinking anymore.” But I definitely don’t want them seeing my apartment and the crappy area it’s in. “And I have to go to work. You can get her from me at work. I’ll send you the address.”
“Fine,” my dad says before Mom can interrupt. “Thank you, Layton. We will see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, fine.”
I click off and toss the cell on the table, feeling frustrated. I shake my head and look up to meet Kane’s eyes. “You don’t mind them coming by the shop tomorrow, do you?”
“No, that’s fine. Aren’t you at the grocery store in the morning?”
I nod my head. “Yeah, I’ll have to ask Jackson if he can swap shifts with me and I’ll do the late instead.”
“I’m so sorry, Layton,” Mellie says from beside me. “I’m causing you so many problems.”
I turn to face her. “Don’t you dare. You don’t need to be sorry. I’m glad you came to me instead of struggling alone. And I don’t care what they say, you can always come here if you need me.”
“I really wish you were still home,” she mumbles against me as she curls into me again. “I miss you so much.”
“I miss you, too.”
Gently, I move her off me. “Why don’t you go get a shower while I organize us some dinner, huh? There are some clothes in my closet you can put on.”
She nods her head and I point her in the direction of the bedroom and bathroom. When she’s clicked the lock on the bathroom door, I lean forward on the sofa and put my head in my hands. It's over a year since I last saw my folks and now they’re going to be showing up at my new business which isn’t even off the ground yet. And what do I do if Jackson won’t take my early shift? Where will she go then? I can’t leave her here all by herself.
I feel Kane move in front of me and look up to shake my head at him. “I really don’t want to see them tomorrow.”
He nods. “I wouldn’t either. Don’t let them get to you.”
Snorting, I reply, “You don’t know my mother.”
Kane shrugs. “I don’t need to. She sounds like an asshole.”
“She is.”
Kane scratches the back of his neck. “Look, don’t change your shift. I can keep an eye on your sister at the shop until you finish.”
Is he trying to do something sweet for me? “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s okay. I’m sure there’s something she can do in your store until you get there.”
I put my hand on his shoulder and reach over to kiss him. “Thank you.”
He smiles a little when I pull back. “So, what’s for dinner?”
I laugh a little. Kane has gotten a little too used to me arranging dinner for him every night. And honestly, the man can eat. Like a truck load. “I have no idea. I don’t even know where I’m gonna get her to sleep tonight. This sofa is definitely not big enough for her.”
“That’s easy,” he shrugs. “I’ll stay at my place and she can get in with you.”
I’m a little disappointed at the idea, despite knowing it really is the best option. I like sleeping next to him. “Yeah, okay,” I reply.
“So, what’s the deal? Why is she here?”
I glance up at the hallway to check she’s still in the bathroom. “She had sex for the first time with her boyfriend and it looks like he told all his asshole friends.”
Kane curses. “Little bastards.”
“I know.”
“How’s she holding up?” He asks.
“Okay, I think. She’ll get through it.”
As if sensing she was being talked about, Mellie comes barreling down the hallway thrusting her cell phone at me. Someone called Tyler is video calling her. “It’s him,” she screeches. “I don’t want to talk to him, you answer it!”
“Me? What the hell am I supposed to say?”
Kane takes the cell. “You don’t like this guy, right?”
Mellie shakes her head. “No. He’s the worst, and he’s with all his friends at a party.”
Kane nods and answers the call, holding the cell in front of him so he can be seen on the video and no one else. He doesn’t say a word, just stares into the phone. I can hear the remnants of a high school party in the background.
“Where’s Mel?” a young voice says.
“Busy,” Kane replies.
“Put her on, man. We wanna talk to her.”
“Yeah,” a new voice shouts. “We want to know if she’ll do us next.”
I fight back a laugh as Kane’s mean face appears, staring holes through whoever is on the video on the other end. Knowing him for as long as I have, I’ve gotten used to all the faces of Kane. Luckily, I don’t get the mean face anymore. It’s terrifying.
“Y’all are gonna leave her alone,” he says, his voice deathly calm. “Or I’m gonna come and teach you some manners.”
“Look, man. We’re just fucking with her,” someone says.
“From now on, you don’t do anything with her. Leave her alone, asshole, or I’ll see you soon.” He ends the call and passes Mellie her cell back. “I’ll go get us some pizzas for dinner.”
He leaves the apartment and all Mellie and I can do is stare in his wake. Kane has that effect. I shift my position on the sofa, so my back is against the arm rest and I’m facing Mellie. She copies, but the other way. “Okay,” I nod. “Tell me everything.”
The end of my shift can’t come quick eno
ugh.
I dropped Mellie off at the shop with Kane earlier and have been a nervous wreck ever since. What was I thinking? Kane isn’t the babysitting type, and Mellie isn’t the type to just leave him to his work. What if she is bothering him, and she accidently gets hurt because he’s too pissed to stop her from killing herself? Oh Jesus. I glance again at the clock on the wall, praying that the last ten minutes of my shift hurry the fuck up. It’s dragged for the rest of it. Saturdays are always quiet in here.
I busy myself with tidying up the counter and then practically burst from the place when it’s time to leave. The walk to the shop isn’t a long one, and so I force myself to slow my pace and stop at the deli to grab some sandwiches for us for lunch. I don’t want to offend Kane by busting in there like my ass is on fire as he may think I don’t trust him, when in reality, he’s probably the only person in the world I would trust with my sister. Plus, after he got back last night with dinner, they got on like a house on fire. I could tell that he was really trying with her. Hopefully, that carried on through to today.
As I turn the corner to the shop, I can hear her laughing. It calms me instantly.
She’s okay.
I find her in the waiting area of the shop, laughing with Trev and Declan. I can see the stars in her eyes and almost groan. I definitely cannot have her falling in teen-love with member of the Black Rippers MC. Just no.
I walk over to them and smile when she jumps up and runs over to me, talking animatedly about what she’s been doing all morning. I half listen as I look for Kane, dropping the bag of sandwiches onto the small table. When I spot Kane on the other side of the lift, I take one of the sandwiches out and walk over to him.
“Are you hiding over here?” I say, quirking my eyebrow at him.
He takes the sandwich I pass him. “Thanks, and she’s a talker, huh?”
Snorting, I shake my head. “You have no idea. I’ll take her next door with me now. My folks will be here in a couple of hours, so I want to make sure it's straightened up and I need to change my shirt.”
“Yeah, about that,” he rubs his hands on his jeans. “I got you something.”
“You what?”
He takes my hand and leads me toward the side door to the store. He pushes the door open and gestures for me to walk into the room. I do, as he flicks the lights on, and almost cry at the sight. The room that was almost bare last night, except for the shelving I bought, now has a white glossy counter at the back and a pale pink leather sofa with a long glass table in front. On it, are a bunch of white roses in a glass vase. On the other side of the table are two chairs, one with pale green fabric and another with pale blue. It looks beautiful, like a real boutique, and for the first time since we started this I actually feel like I can do it.
“You did this?” I ask, turning to Kane as I fight back my emotions.
“Yeah, well. I brought your sister here to see it and then we went shopping for all the shit. She picked everything, I just built it up and put it where she told me to put it.”
I walk further into the room. “It’s amazing, Kane. I don’t know how to thank you.”
Kane comes to stand behind me, wrapping his arms around my stomach. “Just promise me you’ll give this a go.”
“I promise.”
Mellie breaks up our quiet moment by squealing as she comes rushing through the door. “Isn’t it the most amazing thing ever?”
I laugh a little, turning to face Kane. “Yeah, Mel. It sure is.”
Kane leaves us then to go eat his lunch. Mellie and I eat ours in the store, sitting on the new sofa. After eating, I change into the shirt that Kane got me with Thatcher’s on the back and my name on the front. I leave Mellie to wipe down the new counter and set it up with the phone and stationery she bought with Kane while I go into the shop to get my jobs done for there.
As it gets closer to the time that my folks are due, we both grow quieter and busy ourselves with arranging more of my stock on the shelves and the rails. When Kane pops his head through the door to say they’ve pulled up, I unlock the front door of the store, so they can come in this way. I pull Mellie into a quick side hug.
“You’ll be okay,” I say in support.
She nods, defiant. “I know. So will you.”
I don’t know about that, but I force a smile anyway. At least the place looks amazing now, and not like an empty shell. When the door pushes open, I let Mellie walk to greet them and instead choose to stand behind the counter, so I can pretend I’m busy. I flip open the appointment book on there to Tuesday’s date and jot in Karie’s information for our date to discuss her wedding dress. When I look up, my folks are there and looking around the place and Mellie is on the sofa sulking. I take a deep breath and walk around from the counter.
“Can I get any of you a coffee?” I ask.
My dad turns to face me first, offering a tight smile. “Please, thank you.”
Mom looks at me, or through me. “I’m fine.”
I nod, and rush to the sanctuary of the kitchen where I find Kane making his own drink. Without thinking, I walk to him and let him hold me.
“That bad?”
I snort. “I feel like I’m ten years old again with the way they look at me.”
Kane pushes me back and shakes his head. “But you’re not ten years old anymore. You’re grown, you’re starting your own business and you don’t owe them anything.”
I huff out a breath and pull another cup from the cupboard. I know he’s right, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Just looking at them has the memory of the last time I saw them coming crashing back. The fighting, the screaming, all of it. And yet, I still miss them, which only make their rejection of me that much harder to swallow. I’m still their daughter. Doesn’t that matter to them?
Kane pours the coffee into the cups and passes me one. “Come on, I’ll come with you.”
“I can’t let you do that. My mom will ask you a bunch of questions.”
Kane laughs. “Have you met my Ma? I can handle it.”
He doesn’t let me respond and walks through to the store. I release a long breath and follow him, laughing a little to myself when he drops himself onto the sofa beside Mellie and stares right at my dad. Both my folks are now sat on the chairs around the small table. I place my dad’s coffee cup in front of him and then lean on the arm of the sofa next to Kane.
“So, is this store yours, or do you just work here?” My dad asks.
“I work next door for Kane. The store isn’t open yet,” I answer.
“But it will be. Lay is opening her own place, Mom. She’s going to sell all the things she makes.”
I offer a grateful smile to my sister as she’s quite obviously trying to make me sound good to them.
My mom’s brows lift. “Really?”
“Uh, yeah. Hopefully.”
“Layton, you’ll be amazing,” Mellie insists, then turns back to our parents. “She’s already booked to make someone’s wedding dress.”
“That’s good, Layton,” Dad nods. “Your grandma used to make wedding dresses.”
“Yes,” Mom adds. “Grandma Lettie made some beautiful gowns.”
I drop my eyes a little. I know I’ll never be as good as her. “I know.”
Kane’s arm reaches around me, his hand resting on my hip. “Sorry,” I mutter, remembering I still haven’t introduced him. “This is Kane Thatcher. Kane, these are my parents.”
“Kane is Layton’s boyfriend,” Mellie offers, and I make a mental note to kick her ass.
“I see,” Mom narrows her eyes. “How did the two of you meet?”
Kane snorts. “Not at the strip joint, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
Christ.
“We’re neighbors,” I rush. “We live next door to each other. Kane needed a hand and offered me a job doing his paperwork.”
“Are you from Texas, Kane?” My mom asks him.
“Born and raised,” he answers.
“And you fix cars
for a living?”
“Yeah, why?” He asks, “you need a mechanic?”
I hide my laugh. He’s being an ass. I should probably stop him. Luckily, my dad does that. “Well, we should probably get going. We need to be at the airport in an hour. Can you call us a cab?”
“I’ll do it,” Kane says, standing and walking over to the store counter and picking up the phone.
I didn’t even know that phone worked.
Mellie rushes to me and wraps her arms around me. “I swear to God, Lay. As soon as I’m old enough, I’m coming right out here to live near you.”
I laugh a little, feeling my emotions build up. “You’re not welcome until you finish school, okay? Stay put. No more running off and scaring us all half to death.” I kiss the top of her head. “Don’t forget the bag of stuff I know you’ve put together.”
Her smile is quick and sheepish, and all I can do is shake my head at her as she rejoins our parents. They don’t offer me a goodbye, or any kind of acknowledgment. They just leave, get into their cab, and disappear from my life all over again. I swipe at the stray tear that’s fallen, annoyed at it. Kane appears behind me, wrapping an arm around my stomach.
“I know exactly what you need,” he says.
I snort a laugh. “I told you, I’m not sucking your dick at work.”
“That’s not what I meant, but we will definitely be having that conversation again,” he turns me to face him and nods. “Yeah, I know just what you need.”
“And what’s that?”
He smirks. “A mom.”
“Layton, honey. It’s so good to see you!”
Despite myself, and the way I feel like my emotions have been scraped raw, I can’t help but smile as Lori gathers me into her. She hugs me tight, and then pushes me away, keeping her hands on my shoulders as she looks me over.
“You’ve had a hard day, huh?” She asks, shaking her head. “You’re wearing it like an old sweater.”
I laugh a little. “Something like that.”