Defy Me

by Gracelyn LeGrand

  “Oh, shoot,” Gina said as she slapped her knee. “I didn’t grab you anything to drink.”

  “I got it,” Candy said as she stood up, he knees cracking in the process. She was an old mare but she could hold her own.

  She returned with a can of grape soda.

  “Sorry,” she said. “It was either this or expired milk.”

  She glanced over at Gina.

  “Put milk on your list for the store, please?” Candy instructed. She shook her head in frustration, but she didn’t seem that upset.

  “Thank you,” I said with a smile as I took the cool, wet can from her hands.

  I cracked the top and took a big swig, the sugary, purple liquid almost burning the back of my throat as it went down. It felt good in my belly though, and only helped make me feel fuller.

  Before I knew it, my sandwich was completely gone. I worked on the chips, trying to chew and crunch as quietly as possible. Before long, those were gone too. I swigged down the last of my grape soda and stood up to take everything to the kitchen.

  “Wow, the girl’s got manners!” Gina said as I came back. “I like that. Too bad you’re not sticking around. We need more women like you in the club.”

  “Oh,” I said. I didn’t know what to say. How do you tell a group of women who are being entirely too hospitable to you that you’re not like them at all and could never make it in their world? I didn’t want to offend them.

  “What do you do for a living?” Tiffany asked. It was the first thing she’d said all night.

  “I do hair,” I said with a sheepish grin.

  “Can you do anything to this hot mess?” Gina asked as she pulled tendrils of her frizzy red hair.

  “If I had my tools, I could,” I replied. “I need the right tools and the right products.”

  “Pfft,” Gina laughed. “Good luck with that.”

  “If you’re ever in St. Louis, please, come to my shop,” I said. “I’ll do your hair for free. It’s the least I can do for you guys.”

  “Aw, well isn’t that sweet?” Candy said. She was beaming from ear to ear, and I loved that about her. She was so genuine. She reminded me of someone’s mom, and I couldn’t help but wonder if she had any kids.

  I let out a yawn. It was getting late, but I knew to them it wasn’t late at all. Ten or eleven on a Saturday night was nothing to those party animals.

  “Are you tired, sweetie?” Candy asked.

  “I’m getting there,” I said, trying to be polite.

  “Do you have any clothes or anything?” she asked.

  “Nope,” I said. “Just what’s on my back. I couldn’t bring anything or Blaze was going to get suspicious.”

  “Of course,” she said as she rolled her eyes at Blaze. “Let me see if I can find you something.”

  She got up and crept up the squeaky wooden stairs, returning a few minutes later with an armful of clothes.

  “A t-shirt and pajama bottoms,” she said as she gave them to me. “They’re clean. I promise. Might be a bit big on you.”

  “Thank you, Candy,” I said. I wanted to hug her, but it didn’t seem appropriate given the fact that we really were still strangers.

  “You’re going to sleep in one of the extra bedrooms up there,” she said. “Bed’s all made up for you.”

  “Oh, okay,” I said. “Where is it?”

  “Go all the way up the stairs,” she said. “Turn right and it’s the very last door on the left.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  I turned towards the other ladies in the room.

  “It was nice meeting you all,” I said. “Thank you so much for your help.”

  They all nodded and smiled and went back to their laughter and drinking, like it was nothing. I knew some motorcycle clubs did bad, bad things. Very bad things. They had bad people. They were not open to the public. This club was not like those clubs. This club had heart.

  I climbed the wooden staircase and found my room. It was a plain room with plaster walls that had been painted yellow. There was an old oak dresser against one wall and a queen bed with a matching headboard against the other. The comforter was a little tattered and looked like something you’d find at a garage sale, but it was a billion times better than being tied up in some motel bed with Blaze.

  I made sure the curtains were drawn, and I changed into my pajamas. They hung off me, and admittedly Gina was a couple sizes larger than me, but I was grateful not to have to sleep in genes that night.

  I crawled under the covers and quickly realized I’d forgotten to turn the lights out. I debated sleeping with them on all night, but I knew I wouldn’t get any shut eye that way. I sighed, annoyed at myself, and stepped back out of the bed.

  I padded across the cool, wood floors and went over to the doorway. As I reached for the light switch, there was a knock on the door. It was probably Gina or Candy, wanting to tell me something.

  I opened the door within seconds, only to be greeted with R.J.’s tall, dark, and handsome figure in the doorway.

  “Oh,” I said, taken off guard. “Hello.”

  “I hope I didn’t wake you or anything,” he said. He stood with his hips square and his shoulders pulled back. That man oozed confidence, power, and sex appeal. He was the total package. If only he wasn’t in a motorcycle gang.

  “No, it’s fine,” I said. “I was just about to turn out the lights.”

  “I just wanted to make sure you were nice and settled,” he said as he glanced behind me and into the empty-ish room.

  “Yeah,” I said. “The women set me up with pajamas and a room. I think I’m all good.”

  “I’ll wake you up about five,” he said. “We need to leave here by six to make it to the bus station. I want you out of town before Blaze realizes what hit him.”

  “Sounds good,” I said. Our eyes were locked, and it seemed to happen every single time I was in his presence.

  He lingered for a bit before muttering “goodnight” and walking back down the hall.

  I shut the door, flipped off the lights, and headed back to the bed. I climbed under the tattered comforter and rested easy knowing that of R.J. was really a bad person and really wanted to pimp me out or do something horrific to me, he had his chance.

  I shut my eyes and within seconds, fell into the best sleep I’d had all week.

  CHAPTER 21

  Five in the morning came much too quickly, but then it also couldn’t have come soon enough. I felt like I had blinked and woken up, but yet I was dying to get the hell out of Tulsa. I refused to ever set foot in that city ever again.

  I heard a light rapping on the door and then it opened slowly.

  “Molly?” I heard R.J. whisper. “Time to get up. Bathroom’s right next door.”

  “Thanks,” I whispered back.

  He shut the door just as quietly as he’d opened it, and he was gone.

  I padded softly to the bathroom with yesterday’s clothes under my arms and jumped in the shower. I helped myself to the large array of shampoos, conditioners, and body washes. The bathroom was definitely something you’d see in a sorority house as it must have been the one the women all shared.

  Butterflies rippled through my stomach, and I could hardly keep myself from smiling. To say I was giddy was nothing short of the truth. I knew in a matter of hours, I’d be sitting on a bus heading back home to St. Louis.

  I thought about how angry Blaze would be when he woke up that morning and realized I wasn’t coming back. I thought about how he might try to find me again and follow through with one of his many, awful threats.

  That day was a good day though, and I wasn’t going to let crazy Blaze take that away from me.

  I stepped out of the shower, fresh as a daisy, hair dripping wet, and changed into my clothes. I debated blow drying my hair, but I didn’t want to wake anyone. I found a cabinet full of drugstore hair products and scrunched a bit of mousse into my hair. I had a bit of natural wave, so I decided letting it air dry was going to be
my best bet that day.

  Why do I even care how I look? I asked myself. Who am I trying to impress anyway?

  I realized how ridiculous I was being. My looks should’ve been the last thing I was worrying about.

  I stepped out of the bathroom in my dirty clothes, wet hair, and makeup free face, and was met with R.J. who was walking downstairs.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  I nodded as I followed him.

  We crept out the back door quietly and climbed on his bike. He pushed it with his feet down to the bottom of the driveway before starting it up and gently gliding us down the street. There was no denying his bike was loud, but I could tell he was easy on the throttle. I’m sure the neighbors appreciated not being woken up by a loud Harley at six in the morning.

  I clung onto him like my life depended on it because it did. I buried my face against his cool, smooth leather jacket and breathed in his musky scent. The morning air was a bit humid and sticky, but it felt nice and soft against my face.

  About twenty minutes later, we pulled into the Greyhound Bus station. They had just opened and there was already a line forming at the ticket window.

  I followed him to the line where we waited patiently, each of our eyes constantly scanning the room as if Blaze were going to show up at any minute.

  “So what are we going to do about Blaze?” I asked, breaking the silence.

  “Oh, don’t worry about him,” R.J. said with a menacing smile. “My men are going to make sure he never bothers you again.”

  “Are you going to turn him into the authorities?” I asked. I wanted him to rot in jail. Kidnapping was a felony, and I’d be damned if he got away with it.

  “That’s the problem,” R.J. said with a wince. “As much as he deserves to go to prison for what he did, he’s got too much dirt on the club. He could sing like a canary and we’d all go down and he’d walk away with a slap on the wrist for being an informant.”

  I realized R.J. had a point. It would only spell disaster for both of us in the long run. The last thing I wanted was for R.J. to go down for helping me and for Blaze to be able to track me down again.

  “My men are going to scare the fucking shit out of him,” he said. “We’re going to make it very clear that he is to never see you or contact you again.”

  “Thank you,” I said, looking up at him like he was some kind of superhero. He was definitely a hero to me.

  “Here,” he said. He walked over and grabbed a map route and a pen and scribbled his number on it. “Don’t lose this. Call me if he ever so much as tries to call you or harass you or anything.”

  “Oh,” I said, surprised. Having R.J. at my service was going to be better than having the police on speed dial, especially when it came to Blaze. “Wow. Thank you.”

  “Call me if you need anything,” he said. “Ever. Blaze related or not.”

  “Thank you,” I said again. “Will do.”

  We soon found ourselves next in line and as the patron in front of us stepped away the lady at the ticket booth motioned for us to come towards her.

  “Where do you live anyway?” he asked with a chuckled.

  “St. Louis,” I replied.

  “I need a one way ticket to St. Louis,” he said as he pulled out his wallet.

  The ticket lady stared at her schedule. “Next one leaves in an hour. You’re lucky.”

  “We’ll take it,” he said.

  “That’ll be sixty eight dollars and forty cents,” she said. “Cash or charge.”

  He slipped a credit card under the window and she swiped it, returning it to him immediately. He signed the receipt and she slipped my ticket to freedom to us.

  We stepped away and finally, I knew it was real. I knew I was really going home.

  “Thank you so much for doing this,” I said to him. “You don’t know me from Adam and you saved me from a maniac.”

  He smiled and flashed some amazing dimples that I didn’t even know he was sporting. They were the same dimples Blaze had, only they didn’t remind me of Blaze at all. They were all his own.

  “You remind me of a girl I once loved,” he said. I could see his face quickly blushing, and I knew he didn’t like to talk about feelings.

  “That’s sweet,” I said. I wasn’t going to ask him to elaborate. It was none of my business.

  “I’m just doing what she would’ve wanted me to do,” he said.

  I smiled and leaned towards him. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to do something more to show my gratitude, but it seemed like nothing was going to be enough to show him just how thankful I was.

  “Want me to wait with you until your bus comes?” he offered.

  “Sure, that would be nice,” I said.

  We walked side by side towards the waiting area.

  “Looks like it’s bus number 4,” I said as we took a seat on a hard backed bench.

  He stuck his hands in his pockets and stared ahead. I had so many questions for him, but I didn’t want to pry. I knew better than to get attached to a complete stranger again.

  We sat in silence for what seemed like forever until I heard the gush and whir of a bus pulling up.

  “There it is,” I said as I stood up slowly and stretched.

  He stood up and faced me, hands still in his pockets, and stared up at the bus.

  “I’d help you with your luggage, but seeing as how you have none,” he said with a smile.

  “R.J.,” I said as I stared into his eyes. “Thank you so much. I know I’ve thanked you already, but I feel like I can’t say it enough. You saved me. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be shackled up in Blaze’s motel room doing God knows what.”

  “It’s fine,” he said.

  I decided to throw my arms around him, giving him the biggest hug I could muster. I squeezed him tight and didn’t let go for at least a solid minute. To my surprise, he hugged me back, wrapping his arms around me.

  When we finally let go, I flashed him a sweet half-smile and turned towards the bus. I climbed on and took a seat towards the front. I wanted to be as close to the exit as possible. I looked out the window and saw him standing at the same bench, waiting to make sure I was good and settled.

  He lingered for a little while and then walked off, and with that, R.J. was gone.

  CHAPTER 22

  The trip home was slow but peaceful. On the bus, I felt safe. I felt like Blaze couldn’t get me. I was surrounded by hundreds of strangers, constantly moving forward, stopping in random little towns at random intervals. There was no way he’d be able to track me down, at least not on the way home.

  With all the stops, it ended up taking almost nine hours to get home, but that was okay. I arrived in St. Louis in the late afternoon, and it was the best homecoming ever. I filed off the bus with everyone else and headed off the platform and away from the loading dock.

  I didn’t take but ten steps before realizing I was empty handed. I had no purse. I had no keys. I had no phone.

  I walked up to one of the ticket booths and stared at an older, gray haired gentleman with kind eyes.

  “Yes?” he said as he looked up at me over the top of his glasses.

  “Excuse me, sir,” I said. I didn’t know why, but I was starting to tear up. I guess I had never felt so helpless before. “Do you have a phone I could borrow?”

  “Sure do,” he said as he pointed across the room. “Just past those doors and on the left. It’s on the wall. Says ‘public phone’ above it.”

  “Thank you,” I said as I smiled and got the hell out of there before I broke down crying.

  It had been so long since I’d had to memorize a phone number. I racked my brain over and over, trying to remember someone I could call. The first number that came to mind was the salon. I’d given that number out to clients hundreds of times, so it was only natural that it was at the forefront of my mind.

  I picked up the phone, shaking a bit, and dialed the salon.

  “Hey,” I said to the receptionist. “Are Tessa or
Raquel there? It’s Molly.”

  “Molly?!” she said. “We were wondering where you were. Oh, my God. We were worried.”

  “You were?” I asked. In my head and per my calculations, I’d only been gone two days. I was surprised they were worrying about me so soon.