Club Thrive: Predator

by Alison Mello

  “Mikey, I’m home,” Shelly shouts as she comes rushing in the door. Monday nights are always a little rushed for us because we have Monday night dinner. Lucky for us everyone is coming here tonight. Well, everyone except Shane and Katie. I heard from Logan earlier that Katie went into labor.

  “I’m in the bedroom, baby,” I call out.

  She comes rushing in with her son in her arms. He must have greeted her when she opened the door. “What are you doing?”

  “I just finished changing.” He holds his hands out to Ryker. “Come on, little man. Let’s let Mommy get changed and then we can fill her in on all the good news we got today.” Ryker and I walk out of the room so Shelly can change into the clothes I laid out for her. That’s become our routine. I lay out a pair of comfy clothes for her so she can be quick about changing before we have to leave.

  “Now, fill me in. What’s all this good news?” Shelly takes a seat at the snack bar while I move around the kitchen making dinner.

  I hand her a glass of white wine. “Well, for starters, Katie went into labor today, so when you get out of classes tomorrow, we can swing by the hospital to visit them.”

  “That’s awesome. I can’t wait to meet the baby.” She sips her wine.

  “Now, I have some other good news for you. The lawyer called today and informed me that since you’re in class on Friday when you’re scheduled to be in court, he’s going to represent you so that you don’t have to miss school. He says it may happen that you need to appear in the future, but for this time he’s going to go for you and see what he can accomplish. If your ex shows up and the judge insists on giving him visitation, he’s going to insist it be supervised, but he doesn’t think the judge is going to go for it because he still has to go to court for another charge against him.”

  She sighs. “I really hope they don’t allow this to go through.”

  “Jerry didn’t tell me the charges against him, but it didn’t sound too good. I’m really hoping it’s enough, and that’s why he said you didn’t need to be there.” She nods. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

  There’s a knock at the door. Shelly runs over to get it with Ryker, who’s already waiting for her to open it. When she does, Sky, Logan, Jonah, and Sadie come in with their kids. “Ryker, your haircut looks so cute,” Sky says to him, but he’s so excited that Stephan is here that he’s hardly paying attention.

  “Ryker, manners,” I remind him. “Sky said your hair looks cute.”

  “Thank you,” he says with his raspy voice. “Can we go play now?”

  “Yes, you may.” The boys start to run off until Shelly tells him he has to include Laney too. The boys whine for a moment but then allow her into the room where they all start to play nicely.

  The six of us gather around the kitchen to catch up. The kids are all doing well and getting big. I update everyone on our situation with Eli, and Sky informs us that Katie has had the baby and that both Katie and Taylor are doing well. We’re sharing our excitement when the remainder of the crew finally arrives.

  Logan says, “How’s it going being home with a kid?”

  “Dude, seriously, I don’t mind it at all. He’s a great kid, he’ll play in his room, watch a movie, and when I need a break, the two of us sit down with his preschool workbooks and do a few page together. He’s so bright.”

  “That’s awesome. You got lucky, man. You didn’t have to go through the whole potty training thing. It’s a freaking nightmare.” Logan shakes his head.

  “I’m not looking forward to that at all,” Stone says, watching Miranda bounce Charlotte in her arms.

  “Listen to us. What happened to talk of clubs and sports?” Jonah jokes.

  “We became parents, man. When is the last time you watched a game?” Logan smacks him on the chest with the back of his hand.

  He shrugs. “I have no idea.” We all burst into laughter.

  “What’s funnier is that you freaking love it.” I give him crap.

  “No, what’s really funny is you said freaking,” Stone jokes.

  The timer on the oven beeps, breaking up our banter. “Hey, I’m not letting Stephan yell at me anymore,” I joke before I go to the oven. I made calzones for dinner to keep things simple. I pull them from the oven while Shelly hands out drinks. I line them up on the snack bar and cut them into slices. “Okay, everyone, the calzones are done. There’s three cheese, Italian, ham and cheese, Philly cheese steak, and buffalo chicken. Please help yourselves.” I actually made two cheese and two ham and cheese, but I couldn’t fit them in the oven so I stick those two in to cook while everyone starts picking at what’s out.

  “We can move to the living room if you guys want.” I grab a plate and take a slice. Everyone says we’re fine where we are, so we sat the bigger kids at the snack bar and got them each a slice. Ryker’s having fun bragging to them how he helped make dinner. Laney says she’s not allowed to cook yet. “Well, you’re not as big as me yet. I’m going to be six this year.” He points to himself with his thumb, smearing sauce on him. I shake my head and chuckle.

  It’s awesome to sit back and hear everyone talking about normal everyday life; kids, work, and preschool are tops on the topic list. Shelly is so excited for Ryker to start school in September, she’s beaming, telling everyone how hard she’s worked to make sure he’s ready.

  “How is he holding up?” Sky asks. She’s such a sweet woman, always worried about others.

  I put my arm around Shelly and give her a gentle squeeze. This is not an easy topic for her and I want her to know I’m here for her. “He’s doing well. Wouldn’t you say, baby?”

  “Yeah, considering the situation. He gets a little nervous when we go out, and if he sees him, he absolutely freezes up, but when we’re here he does great. He had a few nightmares but I’m proud to say he got past them quickly.”

  “Poor thing. He’s so little to be going through stuff like this,” Miranda says to Shelly as she bounces a cranky Charlotte.

  There’s a knock at the door. “I got it, Mikey.” I follow her just to be safe. She opens it to find the doorman standing there with a box in his hand.

  “I have a package for Ryker.” He sounds skeptical, but hands me the package.

  “Thank you.” She takes it and closes the door.

  She brings the box to the kitchen and opens it. There’s a brand new version of the bear he has in his room. “He knows where we are,” she says, her voice barely a whisper.

  “He probably got the address from the court papers, baby. Jerry has to list the address, I’m sure.” I rub her back, trying to comfort her.

  She lets out a deep, slow breath. “I never thought of that. I liked thinking he didn’t know where we were. That’s how I’ve lived for the last three years.”

  “What are you going to do?” Sky asks, concern etched on her face.

  She grabs the box with the bear and tosses it in the trash so Ryker doesn’t see it. “That’s what I’m going to do.” She takes her seat again. “I’ve spent far too much time telling myself that what he did to my son was inexcusable. To hurt a child in the manner he did and to that extent.” She shakes her head. “There’s no coming back from that. I won’t allow him to try and buy his way into my son’s life. He can say he’s sorry all day long, tell me he’s changed, and that he won’t do it again, but it doesn’t matter. He’ll never convince me.” She’s full of anger as she stares off at nothing. I can see how hard this is for her.

  “You guys should have seen him when he showed up at the diner. He tried to play it cool, but his body language gives off nothing but anger with everything he says and does. Poor Ryker was holding on to Shelly for dear life. He was visibly trembling.” I shake my head. “That poor kid remembers everything about that day. I have no doubt in my mind,” I explain.

  “Poor thing.” Sky rubs Shelly’s arm, trying to comfort her.

  I think everyone here honestly feels for her because they all have a child they love, whether it be a niece, ne
phew, or their own. This family has so much love there’s no way any of us could ever fathom doing what Eli did to his child.

  “What’s wrong, Mommy?” Ryker tugs on his mom’s shirt.

  “Nothing, buddy. Do you need something?” she asks, plastering a fake smile on her face.

  “Mikey bought us cookies. Can we have some?” She looks to Sky and Sadie, who both give her the slightest of nods, mom code is awesome like that.

  “Sure, honey. Why don’t you three have a seat and I’ll get you some milk and cookies.” The three kids cheer and climb up on the stool for their snack. Their mood is infectious. We all start to smile at how happy they are over cookies.

  “Hey, on a positive note, look—I just got a picture of Katie and the baby,” Miranda announces, and then passes the phone around for everyone to see.

  “I can’t wait to see them tomorrow,” Miranda says. “I’m going there straight from work.”

  Once the kids have finished their chocolate cookies, Sky, Sadie, and Shelly all take them into the bathroom to wash their hands and faces, and on the way back, Sky announces it’s time for them to get going so she can get the kids to bed. As with most dinner nights, the rest of the crew agrees and calls it a night as well.

  Chapter 19

  Shelly

  “Hey Doc, I’m heading out for lunch with my sister. I’ll see you in a little bit.” I peek my head into Dr. Collins’s office. She has been really great to work with. She is really sweet and very understanding of my situation. Actually, most of them have been. Hopefully this situation will change soon and our lives can go back to normal.

  “No problem, Shelly. Enjoy lunch and take your time. We don’t have another patient until one-thirty.” She gives me a warm smile.

  “Thanks, see you soon.” I’m working with a family medicine doctor for the next couple of weeks, and I have to say this would be my next choice in practice. I would like to focus on kids, but if I get into a family practice, I would be happy to work here too. The people are incredibly nice and they treat everyone like family here. Before I step outside, I send a text to Slade. I want to be sure he remembered that I was leaving for lunch today. He instantly responds that he’s in the lot waiting for me. Knowing he has my back makes me feel so much better. I see his SUV pull up in front of mine as I climb in. I pull out and he follows me to the burger shop up the street.

  When I pull up to LA Craft Burgers and Fries, I see my sister’s car is already here. She climbs out and greets me with a huge hug. “I’m so excited that we finally get to try this place. The burger joint has only been open for a short time, but it’s the talk of the town.

  “Me too, but I’m telling you, I don’t think this will beat Mac’s burgers. Mikey and I will have to meet you and Eric there for dinner one night. I’m telling you the man can cook.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Let’s just check it out before you dismiss it.”

  I laugh. “Not dismissing it, I’m just letting you know that Mac’s burgers are pretty epic.”

  The hostess at the door greets us. “Good afternoon. Three?” she asks, seeing Slade behind me.

  “Two,” Slade announces. “And I’ll need a table close by.”

  She looks at me, concerned. I give her a smile, letting her know that it’s okay. “Right this way.” When we get there she looks at me and whispers, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  I chuckle. “Yeah, he’s my security guard.”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.” The poor girl turns fifty shades of red.

  “It’s fine. I understand and I appreciate your concern. Can you please put his meal on my tab?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll let your waitress know and she’ll be right over.”

  She shows Slade to his table a short distance from us. I hear her asking him if the table she’s seating him at works. He tells her it’s fine and she walks off to do as I ask.

  Brea chuckles. “I don’t blame her. He’s a big dude.”

  “He is. To be honest, I was hoping to focus on something other than the predator I have lurking in the shadows.”

  She nods. “Fair enough. How’s my nephew? I miss him.”

  “He’s doing okay. Some days are better than others.” I shake my head. “I’m so lucky to have Mikey. He’s great with him. He’s been having him watch a movie in the morning so he can get some work done and then after lunch he does his Pre-K books with him for a little while. Then he sends him to his room to play while he finishes working.”

  “It’s great he can work from home. That’s one of the things that’s nice about Eric’s job. He can bring his laptop home and work from there. It will come in handy if and when the time comes that we decide to have a baby.”

  My brows shoot up. “Are you trying to tell me something?”

  “No.” She rolls her eyes again. “I’m just saying. I mean, don’t get me wrong, we’ve talked about the next step in our relationship and such, but we’re in no rush.”

  The waitress finally comes over and we place our food and beverage order. I again make sure she knows that I want to pay for Slade’s lunch. She tells me she’s been made aware and she will put our orders in together under my tab.

  I turn back to my sister. “I’m glad. Eric is a great guy, and he’s been extremely supportive, but you guys are still young. You need to relax and enjoy living together alone for a while.”

  She shrugs. “I guess. It’s different for us though. We miss Ryker, he’s been such a big part of my life it’s almost weird to not have him around.”

  “You guys do what you want, but I think that’s all the more reason to relax a bit and enjoy. I appreciate all you did for me and I will always support your decisions and be there to help you but…” my words trail off. “I missed out on a lot and I would never change one minute of my past, Ryker is my life, but I want you to enjoy being a couple first.”

  The waitress comes back with our food. “Bacon cheeseburger with caramelized onions?”

  “Right here please,” I tell the waitress, who give me my plate and then places down some weird burger my sister ordered. This place is pretty cool. They have a ton of specialty burgers that they came up with or you can build your own burger. My sister cuts her burger in half and then takes a bite. She closes her eyes and moans like she’s in heaven. I shake my head and take the first bite of my burger. It’s good. I give them that, but it’s still not Mac’s. This burger is a little greasy and that’s one thing I love about Mac’s burgers. They are juicy without making a drippy mess.

  “Come on. That’s a good burger.”

  I shrug. “You can’t dismiss Mac until you taste his, then you can decide.”

  “Okay fine. Sunday night, the five of us. I’ll take Ryker Saturday night, and we’ll meet you there on Sunday for dinner.”

  I laugh. “Fine with me.” I know when she gets to Mac’s she’s going to say it’s better. We are two peas in a pod and always agree when it comes to food. Not to mention the fries here aren’t very good, and there’s no place around that will make a milkshake like Mac. I’ve only had a few sips of Ryker’s, but they are delicious.

  The waitress comes over and asks if we’re all set. I tell her we are and that we’ll take the bill when she’s ready. She pulls one of those black folders from her pouch and places it down on the table. I scoop it up and slip my credit card into the appropriate holder handing it back to her. “I’ll be right back with your slip.” I thank her and she walks off with our plates.

  A few minutes later she delivers my slip and then walks over to Slade’s table to take his plate. I can hear her telling him that I took care of his bill. He glances in my direction with a look that screams really. I try to fight the smile playing at my lips but fail. “Ready, sis? I have to get back to the office.”

  “Sure am. I have to get going too.” We both get up from our table and Slade follows behind us. We walk my sister to her car and then Slade walks me to mine.

  “Why did you do that?”

  “Because I w
anted to. You’re taking time out of your day to follow me around and keep me safe, it’s the least I can do. Besides, Mikey told me to.” I giggle.

  “Thank you, but that wasn’t necessary.”

  “Oh, but it was.” I climb into my car and when I turn back, he’s shaking his head with an amused look on his face. He shuts the door for me and jumps into his black SUV to follow me back to the office.

  ***

  I’m pulling up to the house after a busy afternoon. We were supposed to be slow, but apparently there’s a bug going around and we ended up treating three sick kids on top of the scheduled patients we were supposed to see. When I get to our apartment, Slade tells me he’ll see me at the hospital. He and Miranda are headed there tonight as well. They haven’t had the chance to visit with Katie since they let her sister and parents visit yesterday.

  I walk through the door and shout, “Mikey, Ryker, I’m home.” Ryker comes running into the living room.

  “Mommy!” He wraps me in the biggest hug. I swear this is the best part of my day. My son has always been a bit of a mamma’s boy, and I pray to God every day that doesn’t change.