by Bella Drake
“Oh, you know Matt, they wear leather and they had on vests like the one you wear. They don’t look like nice boys, but I know you’re a nice boy. I told them you were gone but a couple of them sat out front waiting for you all day.”
“Well Mrs. Kay, I think I'll take a rain check on the coffee but thank you.”
“Oh, are you sure you can't stay?”
“No, we need to get going.”
“Okay dear. It was so nice meeting, you Becky. What should I say if your friend comes back?”
“Uh, just tell him you haven’t seen me.”
“You got it, Matt. It just drove me batty every time my Harold came by asking for money.”
Matt cracked the door and peeked out, making sure the coast was clear. Matt turned and gave Mrs. Kay a bear hug, knowing it would be the last time he ever saw her. I hugged her too. Matt grabbed my hand and we hurried down the stairs into a hallway that led to the back of the building. He squeezed my hand so hard, I had to pry it away from his clenched hand. I followed him into the trees that led to the trail behind the neighborhood. We hurried along the path, past the stone wall and tract homes until we finally made it to the field. Matt turned to face me.
“What the fuck was that? Becky?! Do you realize you almost got us killed? Are you stupid?! I told you to wait! What the fuck, Lucy!”
I started crying and fell to my knees. Matt was red in the face and breathing hard. He was pissed. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to help,” I said, sobbing. “I couldn’t wait, I couldn’t. I love you and I couldn’t wait.”
Matt's rage softened. He put his arms in the air and then on his head before walking in circles, as if it would help him think. He walked over to me and held out his hand. I took it and he snatched me up and held me.
“C’mon stop it, stop crying. We need to get out of here.” I did my best to stop my tears like he asked and I wiped them from my face. I followed Matt up the trail to the top of the steep hill. Matt sat down on a rock to catch his breath. I followed and soon after sat next to him. “That was close,” he said.
“Yeah, that guy looked scary.”
“That guy was nothing, I know him. He is a prospect and a total tweaker. I’m sure Razor makes him stop by every morning, just like Mrs. Kay said.”
“I’m sorry, I had no idea.”
“It's fine. I should never have brought you here.”
“Well, it's obvious I would have followed you down the highway anyway. So, in a way, you had no choice,” I shrugged.
“Yeah, I am noticing a trend of never getting rid of you.”
“Oh! You want to get rid of me, do you?” I asked playfully, punching Matt in the arm.
“Never,” Matt said. Matt put his arm around me and kissed me.
“I’m so sorry I almost messed everything up.”
“Shhhh... Let's go home.”
Matt pulled me up and we headed down the back of the hill to my Rover that was waiting for us.
We drove back into town and Matt turned into a little neighborhood to stop at a house. He watched for a moment, then reached behind the seat and grabbed something in a plastic bag. “Okay wait here, and I mean it,” he said, looking over at me. I nodded my head, quickly assuring him I would. He looked around one last time and quickly walked over to the house and then opened the mailbox and put the bag inside before running back to the car. He put it in gear and hurried off. Back through town, and after a short while, we were on the highway heading north. Matt looked over at me and smiled.
“What was that in the bag?” I asked.
Matt paused for a moment to think and just said: “My past.”
“What’s in the future then?”
“Good things Lucy, good things.”
Chapter 21
Matt
I don’t think I stopped looking in the rear-view mirror until we were at least a hundred miles away from Jacksonville. I could finally breathe and the adrenaline from the close call filled me. I looked over at Lucy. She was dancing to the song Born to be Wild and singing at the top of her lungs. I laughed, watching her be carefree like a kid. She looked at me and smiled big. She then leaned over and kissed me before going back to her dance party. We were getting close to Portland when Lucy needed a pee break again. I stopped at a gas station and she got out. I felt my phone buzz in my pocket and I picked it up. I rarely texted and the only people who had this number were Jay and my sis. There was a text. I pressed the read button.
“From Jay: Dude you're fucking crazy.”
I started laughing when I read it. I had dropped my club jacket in his mailbox and he must have just got it. I knew they were after me because of Razor, but I also knew that a club jacket was the private property of the club. If you get kicked out or for some reason are no longer with the club, then you need to return anything in your possession that a club member owns. That means T-shirts, stickers, hell... anything. If I hung on to the jacket or threw it away, they would always assume I had it and would always be looking for me. This way, at least, they no longer needed to wonder. They can have their fucking colors back. I was happy to be rid of them.
Lucy got back in and we continued driving. She reached over and held my hand. I looked at her and was grateful that she was in my life. I dug into the pocket of my jeans and pulled out the wristband – Cassie’s wristband. I reached over and handed it to Lucy. She immediately teared up as she read Cassie’s name on the hospital plastic coating. She looked at me smiling, with tears streaming down her face. She pulled the ribbon from her ponytail and looped it through the bracelet clasp. She leaned forward and carefully hung it around the rearview mirror, letting it dangle. I looked at it and then at her. I reached over, caressed her head and smiled. I looked back to the road and wondered what would happen to us, the club, Razor. I wondered if the poor guy in the hills would ever be found. There were so many things I wasn’t sure of but there were two things I knew without a shadow of a doubt, I loved Lucy and Cassie was with the both of us.
To be Continued…