by A. A. Dark
Olivia’s reverie was disrupted by the sound of the Honda, and then its lights flashed through the panes in the garage door. She sighed, her life could never live up to her imagination. Hell, she couldn’t even continue with her daydream because she didn’t know what it felt like to make love.
She folded up the lawn chair, ejected the cassette from the tape deck, and ran to the driveway to talk to Maddie.
‘How was your shift?’
“My shift was great, but the drive home was shit,’ Maddie said, leaning against the car. The night was warm and Olivia stood on the driveway in her bare feet, enjoying the warmth of the pavement.
“Really? There shouldn’t be any traffic at this time of night.”
Maddie turned and appeared to be surveying the night sky. “There – see that glow over there, toward the industrial area?”
“Wow, what is that?”
“Apparently a factory exploded. There are fire trucks everywhere.”
“It’s a good thing it’s out in the middle of nowhere,” Maddie said, leaning against the car. She picked at her short fingernails.
“Yeah, there’s rumors that it was a drug lab.”
“Really, a drug lab – in Torver?”
“Seriously, kid?”
“What?!”
“You’re just so naïve. Don’t ever change.” Maddie smiled and kicked at the edge of the lawn with her flip flops, her perfectly manicured toenails glinting in the light of the garage.
“I’m not that naïve,” Olivia said, unconvincingly.
“Oh yes, you are. Hey, can I ask you something?”
“You’re going to anyway, so shoot.”
Maddie fidgeted with the sleeve on her sweater and bit her lip like she was searching for words. Olivia looked at her questioningly. Maddie never held back with her, and it was clear that she was about to broach an uncomfortable subject.
“Has Mr. Tunbridge ever been inappropriate with you?” Maddie asked quietly.
“Well, he cancelled a lesson last week because I was one minute late,” she said angrily.
“That’s not what I mean Liv. I mean, has he ever touched you in a way that’s not appropriate for a teacher/student relationship?”
“What? No. Not at all. He’s a jerk, but all he’s ever done is be a super tough teacher.”
Maddie exhaled in relief. She turned and hugged Olivia. “Just keep an eye on him. Something isn’t right with that man, I can tell.”
“I can take care of myself.”
Maddie smiled and pulled Olivia in even closer. “I know you can. But if that man lays a hand on you, you tell me.”
“I will.”
Maddie smiled and squeezed her sister’s shoulder and started to walk into the house.
“Hey Maddie?” she called after her sister.
Maddie turned and looked at her sister questioningly. She could see the tears welling up in her eyes. She rushed back to her sister and grabbed her by the arms.
“What is it? He did touch you, I knew it!”
Olivia shook her head. “Mads, I wish I wasn’t so naïve. I really do. I’ve heard that Mr. Tunbridge does trade favors for auditions, but I always figured I was too plain to be harassed by him. A blessing in disguise.”
“Liv. You are beautiful. I wish that you could see that. Hell, you even caught the eye of that hot biker, Blaine, when he had that tramp with him. Not everyone wants a woman to look like sex on a stick.”
“Sex on a stick?”
“Never mind,” Maddie said laughing.
“How do you think I would find him again?”
“Woah, woah, woah,” Maddie said, pulling Olivia up by the hand to have a seat on the chaise lounge on the covered front porch. “Sit. I’m going to need a drink for this conversation.” Maddie dropped her huge handbag and ran into the house.
“Grab me a beer too?” Olivia yelled through the open kitchen window.
“Seriously?” Maddie was surprised, but returned to the chaise with two bottles expertly tucked between her fingers. “But we are going to drink out of glasses, like ladies.”
Maddie flopped onto the chaise and rolled her blonde hair up into a loose floppy bun on the top of her head.
“I can’t stop thinking about him,” Olivia said nervously.
“Who?”
“Blaine, the biker,” she said incredulously.
“Wow. Ok. That guy is seriously hot, and seriously the exact opposite of what you need right now.”
“Seriously,” Olivia mocked her sister, but it went over her head. “How do you know what I need?”
“I don’t. But you don’t need that. Where do I even start? The fact that he’s a criminal? How about that?”
Olivia didn’t want to continue the conversation. She knew that everything Maddie said was true. But, she found herself less concerned with Blaine’s illegal activities, and more concerned about attracting him. She sighed, even if Blaine did find her attractive, once he discovered how inexperienced she was, he would run for the hills.
The two girls sat in the hot early summer night sipping on their beer and listening to the sirens that wailed in the distance.
CHAPTER TWELVE – BLAINE
Blaine watched as Skinny dug his knee deep into Ed’s sternum. Ed’s face had turned a bright shade of crimson and he flailed his legs in an attempt to get Crater off of him. When he stopped struggling, Skinny picked him up by the collar of his fancy shirt and set him on his feet. Ed’s back was covered with dust from the factory floor.
The three of them had followed Ed’s Mercedes through the gates, in the shadows of the night, and once inside, it hadn’t taken much to overpower the slimy businessman.
They all stood in front of him, sweating in the sweltering heat of the loading bay. One guy was sweating more than the others though, and that was their manufacturer, Ed.
“What the fuck, guys?!” Ed shouted.
Blaine smirked. He couldn’t believe that Ed was going to play dumb. He stepped forward and punched him straight in the gut. Ed doubled over in pain, wheezing on his knees.
“Are you really going to play this game?” Blaine asked.
“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. We both got fucked out there.”
“Is that so?” Blaine queried, his voice dripped with condescension.
“You rookies fucked the drop and now I’m out all the money it took to make that ice. I should be the one sending thugs after you.”
“Is that so?” Blaine repeated. “Why don’t you tell me how the Scorps knew exactly where the buy was taking place?”
“I don’t know!” Ed screamed. Blaine nodded his head and Crater kicked him in the ribs, dropping him flat to the ground.
“Why would I fuck you guys? I’m out of money and drugs now too.”
“It seems awfully convenient that our rivals were there, ready and waiting for us.”
“How do you know it wasn’t the buyers?”
“They had no idea, they got robbed too. It seems that the only people who benefitted from this little transaction are the Scorpions and whoever tipped them off. I’m guessing they got a cut, didn’t they?”
“Blaine. I swear to god I had nothing to do with it.” Ed spat blood onto the floor and tried to stand up.
Skinny reached out and pushed on Ed’s ribs. He screamed and started to sob. Not just cry, flat out sob – big fat tears rolled down his face and mixed in with the snot from his nose.
He sniveled, “I don’t know what to tell you to make you believe me.”
Blaine stood and watched the pathetic man on the floor. He could feel it in his bones that something was wrong, something wasn’t adding up.
Blaine opened his mouth to speak but was quieted when he heard the faint sound of motorcycles nearing the building. His heart started to race. He knew that the rest of the Bonds weren’t planning to visit the lab tonight.
“Crater, Skinny. There!” He shouted and pointed to a stack of pallets in the corner. There was
no way they’d be able to get out of the building without being seen.
Blaine leaned down and seethed into Ed’s ear, “Stand up you pussy. We were never here. If you breathe a word of this to whoever the fuck is out there, I’ve got a bullet with your name on it.”
Blaine pulled out his pistol, his boots echoed on the concrete as he ran for cover. He squeezed in beside his brothers behind the pallets. Both had their assault rifles trained through the pallets at Ed. They were alert and tensed up like tigers, ready to pounce.
Ed managed to get himself to his feet and shuffled over to collapse into a rolling office chair. He wiped at the blood on his face, but only managed to smear it all over himself. Blaine still had the same sinking feeling in his gut, and now the hair on the back of his neck was standing up. Something bad was going to happen. As they waited for the mystery bikers to bust through the steel doors his mind raced. They had offered Ed a more than fair price for the ice. Would a rival have topped that just to get their hands on a delivery? Why would Ed ruin his relationship with the local gang, just to tip off their neighboring rivals? He was a pussy businessman, and they had kicked the shit out of him, yet he stayed true to his story.
They listened for any sound of the bikers, but all Blaine could hear was his brother’s breathing, and eerie silence.
“Maybe they didn’t come in the gate?” Skinny whispered to Blaine.
Blaine shrugged and kept his gun on Ed.
They all smelled it at the same time.
“Smoke – Crater whispered.”
“I smell it too,” Blaine said. “We’ve got to get out of here. NOW!”
They scrambled to their feet and ran along the wall to the deck of the loading dock. The only way out was through one of the big rolling doors.
“Blaine. We could be heading straight into an ambush,” Skinny said, and grabbed a hold of Blaine’s hand before he could push the door opener.
“Skin. This is a fuckin’ meth lab. If we don’t get out of here they’re going to be sending all the little bits of you to your old lady in a paper bag.
Skinny nodded and Blaine punched the green button. They all pressed their bodies to the side of the building and peered out into the night as the door rumbled up. Nothing.
Crater jumped down from the loading dock first, followed by Skinny, who was a little less graceful - he had to roll onto his gut and slide down to the ground. They both huddled waiting for Blaine. When he didn’t follow right behind them, Crater peered up over the edge of the loading dock and saw Blaine running for the door, pushing Ed on the rolling chair. He launched Ed out on the pavement – he landed in a heap on the ground.
Skinny looked at Blaine and raised his eyebrows, but knew better than to question him. They grabbed Ed by the arms and dragged him to the ditch where they had hidden their bikes.
“Can you hold on?” Blaine asked Ed. Ed shook his head yes, and winced as he threw his leg over the bike. It killed Blaine to have a dude riding bitch, but he needed some answers.
As they rode off into the night, they felt a strange sensation, like the air had been sucked away from them in a vacuum, and then the night sky lit up in a green flash. Blaine thought it looked like ten thousand floodlights had just shorted out. They were close enough that they could hear the glass shattering and the car alarms going off. The dogs in the neighborhood were losing their minds and it wasn’t long until they heard sirens.
Blaine loved riding his bike because it gave him time to think and clear his head. Nobody knew that they were at the factory tonight, so the fire had to have been either a target on Ed or Ed’s facility. Ed was certainly looking less and less culpable as the night unfolded. Blaine felt a pang of guilt over the rough-up they gave him, but that was part of the business. He certainly was glad that he wasn’t going to have Ed’s death on his conscience, even though he was a total scumbag.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN – OLIVIA
Olivia was thankful that she didn’t have to get a summer job. Her dad knew how important it was for her to practice her cello, and she treated it like a job. Focus had never been a problem for her, and long practice sessions always allowed her a little escape from the world.
Now, she sat lost in thought. Maybe if she had a job waiting tables like Maddie, she’d actually meet people. Maddie was scheduled to go away on a rafting trip next week with some of her new friends from work. The concept of a trip with strangers that you’ve only just met was unfathomable to Olivia. The only friends that she had were Maddie and her dad’s buddies. She smiled to herself. The old guys were kind of fun. Maybe that’s what she needed to bring her focus back – a jam session. She set down the bow that had sat unused in her hand for the last hour and headed out to the barn.
Darn it! she thought as she looked out the front door and saw the empty driveway. She hated sharing a car with Maddie. It was supposed to be shared 50/50, but it was definitely trending towards 90/10 between her and her sister. Luckily the sun hadn’t risen too high, but it was promising to be a scorcher. She grabbed her battered up ten-speed bicycle out of the garage, tucked her floral sundress between her legs and set off for Steve’s place.
“Well, Hello Jimi!” Steve smiled as Olivia pedaled into the barn. He had taken to calling her Jimi after the iconic guitarist Jimi Hendrix.
“Hi, Steve. You guys going to be playing any music today? I’ve been working on the riffs you sent me.” She brushed the straw from the ledge in the barn and jumped up to sit beside him.
“Do I have to talk to your dad to get you some sandals? Geez, kid, it’s going to be over one hundred degrees today.” Steve said, pointing to the combat boots on her feet.
“I wear these every day, Steve. Have you ever seen me with anything else on my feet?” She joked back, leaning into Steve and pushing on his arm.
“I guess they’re cool, man. Not literally, obviously, but I do suppose they give you a bit of an edgy look,” Steve said as he stared off into space. Olivia had gotten used to talking to lifelong stoners, and enjoyed how relaxed the conversations could be.
“And yes, I’ve been working on those riffs.”
“You still writing ‘em out?”
She was.
“No man. Playing from the heart, or soul, or guts, or wherever you told me to play from. So, are we jamming today or what?” Olivia got up and brushed off the back of her dress. She realized that she might have to look into some alternate footwear, her feet were kind of sweaty, now that she thought about it. She grabbed her favorite guitar of Steve’s, his Telecaster, and started tuning it. She didn’t need any gadgets to help her tune, she had perfect pitch.
“Yeah, man. We’re playing as soon as Laurie picks up Randy. You want to tune everything while you’re at it?” He joked.
“Sure!” Olivia responded. She knew he was being facetious, but chose to ignore it. She loved tuning. ‘God, I am a nerd’, she thought to herself.
Steve laughed. “Have at ‘er. I’m going to head out back and work on some soil remediation. Shout at me when the guys get here.”
“Will do,” Olivia said, distracted, in her own little world, totally preoccupied with tuning. She sat on an antique milking stool and tuned every instrument in the barn. She plucked out chords and notes and felt unadulterated joy at the fact she could pick up any instrument and produce such beautiful sounds.
The barn door creaked and a voice interrupted her focus. “Um. Hello?”
She was startled, and it took her a minute to register who she was looking at. He didn’t have his leather kutte on and was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, but his fiery beard and tatted arms gave him away. It was Blaine! ‘Holy Fuck. How long had he been standing there?’ She wondered to herself.
“Um. Hi,” Olivia stammered.
Blaine cleared his throat, “Is Steve here?”
“Yeah, he’s out back fixing up the dirt or something,” Olivia said. ‘Fixing up the dirt? Why couldn’t she just say something normal?’ “I mean, it’s some kind of remediation, or something like
that.”
“Well, fixing up the dirt makes more sense to me.” He smiled.
She smiled back and felt her face flush.
“It’s Olivia, right?” Blaine said.
Olivia felt her heart leap into her throat when he said her name. He remembered who she was!
“Yes, and it’s. Um.” She was so flustered that she couldn’t remember his name, even though it had been running through her mind ever since she learned it.
“Blaine,” he said.
“Right. Sorry about that,” she replied, unable to meet his gaze.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, walking towards her.
“I’m tuning this mandolin, and then I’m going to go and tune that upright bass over there,” she said, pointing to the huge instrument leaning against the makeshift stage.
“Upright bass, huh. Just looks like a giant guitar to me.”
Olivia laughed. “I can see how you could think that.” She set down the mandolin and crossed her legs, still seated on the tiny stool. She didn’t want to get too close to him, she had spent the entire morning hanging out in a stinky barn after riding her bike 15 miles in the morning heat. Not to mention, according to Steve, her boots were smelling a little ripe.
“Actually, I meant, what are you doing here? At Steve’s place,” Blaine clarified.
“Oh, Steve is friends with my dad. I’m sort of an honorary member of their band,” she said, smoothing her dress over her legs.
“Really, that’s an interesting rag-tag group of people.”
“Speak for yourself.” Olivia said and then clamped her hand over her mouth. ‘Why did I say that?’
“Touché.” Blaine chuckled and pulled up a seat beside her. “Can you play me something?”