Broken & Burned

by A. J. Downey

  “Ass clown.” He said.

  “Yeah. So she reminds him that she pays the rent and bills and he turns around and says to her that his name is the only one on the lease… It wasn’t going anywhere, so I tell her to pack her shit and I’ll take her anywhere she wants.” He looked me over.

  “And she wanted to come here?” he asked.

  “Mom died giving birth to her, her dad died of a heart attack last year. She says take her to a hotel, that she doesn’t have anybody, but she says it as she’s moving what little cash she has out of her checking into her savings where he can’t get to it.” I said.

  “You saw how much she’s got?” I gave him a flat look and he waved me off. He knew damn well about my memory for things I’d seen.

  “Hundred and twenty bucks.” I affirmed and his eyes widened.

  “She tells me she got up late for work, got an ass chewing from her boss, burned herself at work, is in danger of failing one of her math classes, her car takes a shit, her boyfriend takes and even bigger one on her… all in the same day. I felt sorry for her. All her shit fits in one trash bag, one suitcase and a ripped backpack. It was fucking ridiculous.” I uncrossed my arms and raked a hand through my hair.

  “Doesn’t hurt that she’s easy on the eyes.” He gave me a sly grin. Teeth white in his black beard.

  “Naw.” I said in agreement.

  “So what time is she getting up?” I grimaced and checked the clock.

  “Forty-five minutes or so. She works four in the morning to twelve thirty at that coffee place on Allen.” I grimaced.

  “Well sorry to piss on your parade.” He said getting up, “I’m home early and I’m going to bed. Have fun on the couch.” He trudged into his room and I gave him a sour look. He shut the door behind him with a chuckle.

  Ten minutes later Everett peeked around the corner rubbing her eyes.

  “Guest room huh?” she asked softly.

  “Figured it out then?” I asked her.

  “Didn’t take much.” She slid into the seat my dad vacated. “Was that your dad?”

  “Yeah.” I wondered how much she’d heard.

  “Tell him what a pathetic charity case I am?” she asked and I shook my head.

  “No.” I said and she smiled and it did something to her face, she went from sweet and pretty to fucking beautiful.

  “Liar.” She said and I scowled, the smile disappeared and fear slid behind those steely baby blues of hers.

  “I told him what happened. You had a shit day. I am a liar, at least about my room, so I’ll let that slide.” I gave her. “But know this, I don’t lie about the important things.” I leaned back in my seat and contemplated her.

  “Why did you lie about it being your room?” she asked thoughtfully.

  “Wanted you to be comfortable. Didn’t think you would be if you knew you were sleeping in my room. He wasn’t supposed to be back until tomorrow night.” I shrugged.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Why’d he come home early? Fucked if I know.”

  “No, why are you being so nice to me?” she asked softly. I looked her over.

  “Couldn’t tell you.” I said and I was being honest. Maybe in some small way it was my atonement for being a dick to Ashton Granger when Trig had brought her in off the road last spring beat to fuck and bloodied by her now dead husband.

  Though I suppose helping Reaver kill that twisted fuck had been atonement enough for that particular sin, even if it meant putting a blacker one on my busted ass soul. I searched Everett’s face while she searched mine. I liked that this chick was cool with silence.

  She stood up abruptly and padded back into my room. A moment later the bathroom door shut. I sighed, got up and went into my room and pulled on some clothes. When the bathroom door opened again I was sitting on the edge of my neatly made bed lacing up my boots. She padded in in her sock covered feet and sat on the floor, pulling on her knee high black riding boots and zipping them up on the inside of her leg.

  She wore form fitting dark jeans that kissed her legs like a second skin. Over them she wore a black long sleeved shirt that hugged her curves, the neckline low, a simple silver necklace chain with that Irish tri-knot thing hanging from it graced her long throat. Her hair had been reworked into a fresh braid and she wore subtle, tastefully done makeup that made her eyes stand out larger than life from her face. She was feminine without being small and she carried herself well. I realized I liked what I saw the more I looked at her but still, she’d been through hell in a hand basket yesterday and I was nobody’s rebound.

  I went to the closet and dug into the bottom of it. I pulled out an old army back pack and handed it to her.

  “It’s not pretty but it’ll work.” I told her. She looked at it and stood up.

  “Are you sure?” she asked.

  “I don’t use it anymore.” I shrugged. It had some old Sacred Heart MC patches on it but I didn’t think it would matter much.

  “Thanks.” She murmured, taking it from me. Her blue eyes met mine and were still full of pain. I sighed.

  “It’ll get better.” I grunted and brushed past her and out into the living room, I almost missed it when she said,

  “I know, it already is...” She spent several minutes transferring things from her torn pack to my old one and came out with it slung over her shoulder.

  “Ready?” I asked her.

  “I’m not sure what to do with my stuff.” She said shifting from foot to foot.

  “Leave it. We’ll talk after you get off work.” I said and she nodded.

  I shrugged into my jacket and cut and followed her out of the house. I didn’t bother locking up. Whoever wanted to break in with my pops home would have a real bad time. I opened her car door for her and then wondered what the hell I was doing. She slid into the seat and tucked the bag between her knees and I closed it shaking my head. It was still dark out and I was tired by now, but there was nothing to be done about it. I backed out of the driveway and hit my lights.

  “Twelve to one is when I take my lunch, I’ll come by and get you.” I said.

  “Actually can I just meet you at your shop?” she asked softly.

  “Why?” I asked frowning. I wanted to make sure she wasn’t going back to ass clown’s place by herself. She was quiet too long and I turned to look at her, her head was bowed, just when I thought I was going to have to repeat myself she took a breath to speak.

  “I need to go to the clinic.” She said flatly, her voice filled with tension.

  “Let me see.” I said, assuming she was talking about her burn. She turned wide blue eyes, the color wrung out of them in the dark, on me.

  “I’m sorry?” she said.

  “Your hand. Let me see it.” I said. She held out her left hand as we rolled up to a stoplight and I flipped on the dome light. I resisted the urge to touch her. I could have taken advantage of the situation, taken her hand in mine to find out if her skin was as soft as it looked, but I didn’t. Instead, I looked over the red mark on her skin. It didn’t look bad.

  “Doesn’t look bad.” I said and she laughed a little nervously.

  “Jerry wasn’t wearing a condom yesterday.” She swallowed hard and rushed out, “I need to get tested…” her voice fell off at the end and she wouldn’t look in my direction, fixing her gaze out the tinted glass. I felt like a grade ‘A’ fucking idiot. Duh. Of course she would want to get tested.

  “Shit. Sorry.” I said and flipped out the overhead. I pulled smoothly through the intersection when the light allowed for it.

  A long silence fell between us. Just as I caught sight of the neon sign for her coffee shack I came to both a realization and a decision. I was crap at this. Being a supportive type person had never really been my thing, especially for a chick, but something about Everett Moran made me want to try. So I decided then and there that I would do my best.

  I turned to look at her, following the long graceful curve of her throat, her pale skin glimmering in th
at flat expanse of skin left bare by the plunging neckline of her top before the lovely curve of her breasts took over. The trinity knot necklace set at the center with what I guessed to be an emerald winked in the watery street light as she shifted to drag the pack I’d given her into her lap.

  I know she’d been through a shit storm because of her ass clown ex, but I couldn’t help my gaze slipping lower over the generous swell of her breasts. I liked what I saw. What red blooded male wouldn’t? She had a nice rack, the seam of her cleavage flawless. She didn’t catch me looking, so what was the harm?

  “I’ll pick you up at twelve-thirty,” I said as she opened her car door, “Drive you to the nearest clinic unless you had one in mind.” She looked me over, searching my face from hairline to chin.

  “There’s a Planned Parenthood over on Twentieth Avenue West. I went there last year.” She said softly.

  “Fine, make an appointment if you can. If you can’t we’ll wait.” I said. She nodded thoughtfully.

  “How do you take your coffee?” she asked.

  “Surprise me.” I said and she got out. I waited and she came back a minute later and handed me a can of energy drink. I grinned.

  “Good guess.” I said and got her to smile.

  “Um, I forgot a bag of stuff in the trunk of my car.” She said, and it was like she was afraid to ask… I nodded.

  “It’ll be in the back when I come to pick you up.” I said. She nodded carefully.

  “Thank you.” She said and I watched her walk across the dark parking lot.

  I didn’t leave until she was safely inside the little shack, couldn’t bring myself to do it. This wasn’t the most upstanding neighborhood during the day let alone in the dark of night. Once she was inside I put Sadie in gear and pulled out of the lot. I went to the garage. I was tired, sure, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t make my own hours. My dad and me, we owned the place and he’d either be in to put in some work or he wouldn’t. Gypsy, an older, near toothless club member and one of our other mechanics would be in by eight and could close the place if need be.

  As long as I put in eight hours, five days a week, nobody really cared when I was in and when I wasn’t. We usually had Darlene in the office to deal with people, her kid had gotten sick and she’d had to bounce early yesterday which was why I’d been on my own when Everett had rolled in.

  I let myself into the shop and looked down the row of lifts to figure out what I wanted to do first. I punched my timecard on the old as hell time clock and stepped into my coveralls after hanging my jacket and cut on their usual peg. I punched a button on front of the old shop stereo and plugged my phone into it, cranking up the Alice in Chains.

  I thought about Everett while I got to work finishing up installing the rebuilt carburetor on the old ’63 Ford I’d left off doing the night before. The girl was in a hell of a mess. No family, jack ass boyfriend she’d probably been stayin’ with on account of the familiarity. Only way to dig out of the wreckage she was sitting in was to give her time… Time to save money for first last and deposit at the very least.

  I cracked the monster can of energy drink she’d given me and downed half of it in three swallows. It was going to be a long day and I’d better do what I’d said I would before I forgot to. I went out to the sorry old Toyota and I moved the bulky midnight blue gym bag from Everett’s trunk to Sadie’s back seat. I wanted to look in it but resisted the urge, still, I could tell just by handling it that there was at least one pair of shoes in it, maybe two.

  I set back to work still feeling like a jack ass for not putting two and two together when it came to her wanting to go to a clinic. Suddenly her heaving her guts up on the side of the road made a whole lot more sense. I felt a little ill myself thinking that his ass hatter-y may have far reaching consequences. She seemed like a genuine and hard working person, for all I knew absolute dick about her. I guess that would change in time. I wasn’t exactly sure when my mind had made itself up that she was sticking around but it had and now I just needed to figure out the logistics of it. That would require an in-depth conversation with my pops, in both his incarnations as my dad and my Pres.

  I worked until nine when the man himself strolled into the shop. By now Gypsy and Darlene had shown up and the bay doors were open and the sounds of a garage in full swing were clashing with the music coming from the speakers. He leaned across from me inside the open hood of Everett’s tired ass mid-nineties Toyota which I had finally gotten around to trying to diagnose.

  “Hey.” I grunted.

  “Hey,” he grunted back. I continued doing what I was doing and he didn’t say anything for long minutes, just watching me. It was the way we were. Eventually he would be critical of something I was doing and I’d make some smart ass comment and he’d make one back and then we’d start talking about what he really wanted to know.

  “Should use the extension on that, you’re going to bust a knuckle.” He said. I made a derisive snort.

  “Doin’ just fine old man… Owe!” I cracked a knuckle on an exposed piece of casting and jerked my hand back shaking the smarting finger. He laughed, a distant roll of thunder in his hacking smoker’s way.

  “Shut it.” I muttered.

  “That’s what you get for callin’ me old.” He said. I scowled at him.

  “So.” He said after a long silence.

  “Yeah?” I looked at him and he looked back.

  “What’re you going to do with her?” he asked. I sighed.

  “I have no fucking idea man.” I said. He raised an eyebrow. I shrugged and got back under the hood.

  “She’s broke, got nowhere to go... Looks like she blew a cylinder, it’s gonna need a new engine. She needs time and a place to regroup, save money for first last and deposit or her car, though I don’t much like the thought of her living out of her fucking car.” I straightened and scowled. My dad was watching me, amusement sparkling in his eyes.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Nothin’ just proud of my boy. Your mamma would be too if she could see you now.” He said and the edge of my annoyance softened. He hadn’t said that since the lake. Since the spring, and the bit about my mom… he didn’t talk about her period, at least not with me… Ashton had changed a lot of things, for a lot of us. Not just Trig. I swallowed hard.

  “Yeah?” I asked carefully, on guard. I suddenly felt cracked wide open. All it took was my pops making one mention of my mom and suddenly I felt sixteen, lost and alone all over again. I looked at my dad cautious, hoping for a bit more.

  “A year ago you wouldn’t have given her situation a second thought.” He shrugged.

  “Yeah, I’m not sure I want to be that guy anymore.” I said honestly. He eyed me critically and nodded slowly.

  “I’ll pull some of my shit together and stay out at the club house for the time being.” He said judiciously, sucking his teeth. I blinked, taken aback.

  “Really?” I asked.

  “Hell I hardly stay at the house as it is.” He said voice gruff with emotion. It was true. He spent more time at the MC than he did in the house my mother had so loved. “Ain’t no thing,” he went on, shrugging, “Who knows, you might get an Old Lady of your own out of the deal you play your cards right.” I snorted and he gave me a cutting look.

  “Not sure I’m ready for nothin’ like that pops.” I said and he raised his eyebrows. I frowned at him and went back to my special brand of dry sarcastic humor. “Yeah because she’s totally going to want to hook up with the guy taking her to the STD clinic the day after finding her boyfriend bare backing some skeez on her living room couch.” I said.

  His expression went dark and stormy, likely a mirror of my own. Not over my hardcore denial about life and love and all that happy horse shit, but over what’d happened to Everett. We traded looks and I nodded, we were on the same page again. I mean really, it wasn’t a matter of if I were ready or not for anything, granted it’d been more than a minute since my last relationship, but the particular girl i
n question, that girl being Everett… Well she was part of the equation too and she may be pretty as all get out but she’d been burned but good.

  “Exactly.” I said when my dad’s expression relented. “She’s a hot piece but no way am I going there.” At least not with the way things were, not that quick. I’d never say never… I frowned. Why was I even thinking about this!? I’d just met her yesterday for Christ’s sakes!

  “Who is this guy again?” my dad asked and I stopped chasing the white rabbit of my thought pattern for a second to come back to the conversation.

  “Don’t know his last name, first is Jerry. Why?” I asked.

  “I want the club girls to steer clear of a guy like that. I’ll put out the word.” He straightened.

  “Probably a good idea. Might want to put it out at Sugar’s too. Pretty sure the broad he was bangin’ was a stripper.” I shrugged.

  “Shoes?” he asked grinning, turning to walk away.

  “You know it!” I called to his retreating back. His booming laughter filtered back to me. My dad had taught me a long time ago you could tell a lot by a man by the shoes he wore. You could tell much the same about a woman. The more shoes the more high maintenance for instance. As far as I could tell, Everett didn’t have a lot of shoes but then I thought about the gym bag... I thought about looking for half a second but decided she didn’t need me being nosey and invading her privacy. Not a good way to get her to trust me.

  My thoughts drifted back to the day before, of her standing in that living room, looking all destroyed, throwing her few belongings into what the two of us could carry out. I didn’t need to violate her privacy or trust she’d been violated enough. What did I need to do? Well I needed to ask her if she’d gotten everything she wanted or needed out of that place. That was as good a place to start as any. I didn’t want to believe that what she took was all she had. One suitcase, all though it was a good sized one, one kitchen trash bag and one backpack did not a life make.

  I was losing steam. The next time I looked at the clock it was twelve. I punched out. I needed to pick up Everett and I didn’t want to be late. She knew where the shop was, but after being left on the curb like so much trash in the pouring rain yesterday, I didn’t want her to even think I would be late.