by Naomi West
As soon as I stepped in the shop I knew he couldn’t recognize me. He was wearing a cocky smirk that seemed so out of place on the face that I use to know. I remembered how he used to give out smiles freely, crack jokes to make me happy and laugh spontaneously and generously. But now, he was very reserved. He seemed older than his twenty-two years, weathered. But there was something else. He seemed distant. Darker. Like he’d suffered as I had in the time we’d been apart. I knew it didn’t make sense for me to assume his life was all smooth sailing, but I truly wanted to know what had hardened him up like that.
I was absently stirring a pot of soup on the stove, my mind completely occupied by thoughts of Rocky when the sudden slamming of a door broke me out of my reverie.
So surprised at my mother’s sudden arrival, I dropped the wooden spoon into the pot, shrieking when it splashed and droplets of hot soup landed all over me.
“Daria!” Mom called, rushing over.
“Hi Mom,” I laughed. “Dinner’s ready.”
There was no other place to eat except at the kitchen counter, and no stools so we had to stand. Still, the fact that we even had a kitchen was a blessing.
“How was work?” I asked Mom.
“It was fine. I ran into Cameron Weston. You remember him, don’t you?”
I frowned, searching my memories. “Rocky’s uncle?” I asked and she nodded. “That’s funny, I saw Rocky Weston today. He offered me a job at his shop.”
Mom’s spoon clattered loudly in her bowl and I looked up from my own in shock, wondering what the problem was.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Daria,” she said slowly and I raised my eyebrows in response.
“What do you mean? This is Rocky we’re talking about. We grew up together.”
“I know, but Daria… When I was talking to Cameron, he mentioned something about Rocky’s Dad. He was murdered a few months ago by the Nightmare MC.”
“The what?” I asked, thoroughly confused.
My mother sighed and gave me a sad smile. “I forgot you were so young when we were here. Do you remember Rocky’s father?”
I nodded. “Vaguely, why?”
“He was the president of Satan’s Wings, the motorcycle club. Back in the day, I was part of the club too.”
“No way!” I gasped.
“I was quite wild in my youth, you know. Anyway, Rocky’s dad was the president until he was murdered by a rival club. Now Cameron’s running things, and from what I gather, Rocky’s gotten involved too.”
“Mom, you can’t expect me to judge them right after you told me you were also in their gang!” I was shouting now, angrier than I could rationally explain.
“Sweetheart. Did you ever wonder why we moved from here?”
I looked away at that. My whole life I’d assumed that she’d met my stepfather and decided to move away to live with him, taking me with her. I’d harbored a lot of hatred for my mother over the years, assuming that she was the reason we were stuck in a life that took us years to get out of. Even with all the abuse she’d received and all the times that she’d protected me, there was still a part of me that resented her.
“We moved away because I wanted a better life for you. I life away from the violence and drama of the club.”
Something about that struck me the wrong way. Away from the ‘violence and drama’? My entire life had been filled with that. One wrong look and my stepfather would inflict pain beyond compare, worse because of the fact that we used to trust him. Once upon a time he truly was my father, and my hero. But not long after, he became my worst nightmare. ‘Away from the violence’ was the most ironic thing I’d ever heard coming out of my mother’s mouth.
“Didn’t work out for the best though, did it?” I muttered, no longer able to hold back my bitterness.
Her sharp intake of breath told me that she’d heard and I forced myself to ignore the slight pang of guilt I felt. It was harsh but it was the truth. I wished that I could go back and live someone else’s life, rid myself of the invisible scars that marred every inch of my body. Most of all, I wanted to go back to my childhood, back when I really didn’t know anything of violence and cruelty.
“I did my best, sweetheart. I know I made a lot of bad decisions but when we moved back here, I still didn’t want you to get involved. He’s hurting, Daria. He wants revenge for his father’s murder and won’t stop until he gets it. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
My mother took a few steps closer to me, hesitant like she was afraid I would lash out. It killed a part of me knowing that in some way I reminded her of my stepdad.
“Please listen to me.” She took both my hands in her own and looked me dead in the eye, scaring me a lot more than I would let on. “Please don’t take the job. I don’t want you having anything to do with the Walkers, or the club. Trust me, you're better off without all of that in your life.”
Perhaps it was the sincerity in which she spoke or the newfound knowledge that she’d left Springville to keep me safe, however futile that turned out, but I found myself nodding firmly.
“Okay, Mom. I promise.”
She lifted a hand to cup my face before turning away. I stood silent by the counter a few moments longer, the mental images of both a younger Rocky and the older one burned in my mind.
It was strange, I had gone months, maybe years without thinking of him. And now, after a brief encounter, he was all I could think about. Was it just residual affection for the little boy that saved me when I was a kid, or was it something more?
In truth, I felt ashamed. I felt like I’d abandoned a close friend in his time of need. Sure, we hadn’t seen each other in years, and I didn’t know that faintest thing about him anymore, but I still felt the guilt rising up and threatening to choke me.
Breathing deeply, I pushed all thoughts of him from my mind. My mother didn’t ask for much and she’d spent her life trying to protect me. Rationally, I knew she had tried her best and I could never fault her for that. If she didn’t want me to associate with Rocky then I wouldn’t. For her.
Another job would come along eventually, I was sure of it.
Chapter Four
Rocky
“Rocky!” A voice called out.
I put down my wrench and stepped away from my bike, turning to see my uncle walking into my workshop. My uncle Cameron was many things, strong, fierce, dedicated, and a pain in my ass.
“Hey Cameron,” I greeted stiffly. “What’s going on?”
“I was in the neighborhood. And I haven’t seen you at the clubhouse in a few days.”
“Haven’t felt like going,” I grunted then turned back to my bike, picking up my wrench once more. It wasn’t that I had anything against Cameron but sometimes I looked at him a certain way, or he formed a certain expression on his face and bam! It was like I was looking directly at my father. Cameron was the younger brother, though only by a few years.
Him and my dad had an ongoing rivalry throughout their life, so much so that sometimes I wondered if they even got along. But after his death, Cameron became a really solid part of my life. He took over the club, gave me a chance to prove myself and promised he’d help with my plans of vengeance. Despite all this, I couldn’t quite resist looking away whenever he smiled, just so I could avoid the flood of memories and grief.
“Rocky… “
“There haven’t been any meetings, anything urgent. I skipped one club party, I hardly think that’s a crime.”
“I thought you were aiming for VP.”
I shut my eyes hard for a moment before replying. “I am. But Mack is doing a fine job as Vice. I’m committed to the club, you know that. I just want...” I cut my words short, not wanting to continue.
“Son,” Cameron said, placing a hand on my shoulder.
Suppressing the urge to flinch, I turned away from my bike once more and met his steady gaze.
“He was my brother. We’ll get revenge when the time is right.”
I broke eye co
ntact and nodded. He was speaking as my uncle now, a welcome change from how he’d been for the past few months. In my weaker moments, I would think that the power of club President was getting to his head, but I knew I was just bitter.
“Guess who I saw the other day?” he said, changing the subject.
“Who?”
“Daria Barrett.”
“No shit?” I said, feigning surprise. There was no way I wanted my uncle to know that I’d already seen her. He’d get crazy ideas in his head that I didn’t need.
Of course, nothing got past my uncle and he called me out on it immediately. “You knew? How? You haven’t left the shop in days.”
For a moment, it bothered me that he seemed to know my whereabouts at all times, but I supposed he was just trying to care, in his own way. Forcing those thoughts away, I smirked at him, glad to be able to one-up my uncle, even if it was just this once.
“She came to me, actually. Last week. Didn’t even recognize her at first, Christ.”
“Christ is right. She’s all grown up now, Rocky. And looking fine too.”
Scowling, I threw a discarded rag at his head. He tipped his head back and laughed a mighty laugh, one that reminded me of better times.
“I offered her the job here, she hasn’t gotten back to me yet though.”
“You just offered her the job, did you?” He smirked.
I looked around for another dirty towel to throw at him but, coming up empty, I decided to glare instead. “She was qualified.” Actually, I had no idea if she was or not. I suppose I was a bit too taken with her to go through with the formalities.
“I'm sure she was.”
Sick of his questions, I turned my back on him once more and headed to the mini fridge in the corner of the room. I lobbed a beer at his head before I spoke again.
“She hasn’t given me an answer and it’s been a week. I doubt it’ll work out.”
“Rocky, Rocky, Rocky. A girl like that? Go after her.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” I ground out. Sure, I wanted her to work here. But I wasn’t going to beg for it. Besides, I had a sneaking suspicion that she’d heard rumors about me around town, and I knew there were plenty to listen to.
I wasn’t stupid. I knew how people talked. And in a town like Springville, people talked a lot. When you were part of Satan’s Wings, you had the entire club at your back, as well as the majority of the town that didn’t care either way. But that also meant that a lot of people assumed you were a nuisance and a troublemaker. It didn’t matter that the club worked hard to make sure that none of our business spilled out into the town and the people. It didn’t matter that we went out of our way to keep the town safe from our rival clubs. I knew that rumors circulated anyway, most of them not coming even close to the truth, though I could admit that a small minority came very close. I also knew that if she was going to listen to those rumors then I didn’t need her around.
“She’d be good for you, I’d say. A distraction. If anyone needs to relax a little it’d be you.”
I pushed away my anger over that comment and instead took a heavy pull from my beer. A part of me was completely prepared to throttle him for bringing Daria up when all I wanted to do was forget. I wasn’t sure why I felt so cut up about her loss. I hadn’t seen her in years and after one quick encounter, I was already too invested in her. But I didn’t think I needed to relax more. I’d been doing far too much of nothing in the past few months. If anything, I wanted to act. I wanted to be doing something, anything, instead of sitting around and waiting for Cameron to decide the next move.
“So? Will you?” Cameron persisted.
“I’ll think about it,” I reluctantly agreed.
The truth was, I knew that a girl like Daria had no business associating with a guy like me. Even when we were younger, her mother had told me to make sure she knew nothing of the club, and I’d kept my promise. Even though we were both older and I’d gone down the path I’d spent most of my life resenting or trying to avoid, a part of me still wanted to protect her. Save her from the kind of life I was now fully immersed in.
Still, Cameron could be right. Maybe I should go talk things over with her, see where her head was at. Maybe she had another reason for never getting back to me. Maybe this entire time I had completely overreacted and she was sitting at home, sick out of her brain and drinking chicken soup. The thought seemed entirely unlikely, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.
With that in mind, I decided to pay her a visit to see what was going on. Worst-case scenario, she’d say no, but I’d get to look at her gorgeous face for a little while. To me, that wasn’t a bad trade off at all.
Chapter Five
Daria
I was getting desperate. It had been an entire week since I’d seen Rocky and ignored his job offer and I was really beginning to regret taking my mother’s advice. How hard was it to find a job? I’d applied to everything I could get my hands on and nothing. Not a single call back.
When I’d agreed to stay away from Rocky I was upset at first about leaving an old friend, but I didn’t even consider that I wouldn’t be able to get another job offer. Three weeks we had been in Springville and I knew we couldn’t live on Mom’s tips forever. Especially since I wanted to leave the hotel as soon as possible.
Springville was a small town, and not many people were hiring. Most folk already had their hands full, or business wasn’t good enough that they could afford to take on anyone else. I understood that, I really did. But that didn’t mean that I didn’t spend every day perusing the ads and praying that by some miracle there would be another job opening.
I should’ve called Rocky last week and at least told him that I couldn’t take the job. But I knew, as soon as I started speaking to him my ‘no’ would turn into a ‘yes of course I’ll take the job.’ How could I resist a face like his? How could anyone? The fact that I didn’t call left me feeling guiltier that I thought it would, especially since I hadn’t found a job yet. If I had, at least I could have used that excuse. As it was, I’d been holed up in the hotel for days, praying I wouldn’t run into him. Springville was small enough that I knew, especially with my bad luck, I would meet him the second I set foot out the door.
Just as the thought crossed my mind, a firm knock sounded throughout the room, slightly worrying me as I walked hesitantly over to the peephole.
Could my luck really be that bad?
I swung the door open to reveal Rocky and I knew in that moment that my luck was apparently worse than I’d ever imagined. Somehow, he was looking more rugged and handsome than I remembered, and I’d been thinking about him a lot. He was in loose jeans and a fitted white V-neck, leaning against the doorframe like he had all the time in the world.
“Rocky,” I breathed out and then winced. Clearing my throat, I asked, “What are you doing here?”
He stepped around me and invited himself inside, taking a few steps and surveying the room as if he had a right to do so. I was immediately ashamed and slightly angry at his audacity. This place was all we could afford and I didn’t need someone like him judging us for it.
“Rocky?” I demanded, a little harder this time. “Why are you here?”
Turning to me, he said, “You told me you were staying here. Last week, remember?”
“I remember,” I confirmed, slightly uncomfortable that he’d come all the way down here.
“I thought I’d check anyway, in case you were lying about this too.” He sounded casual enough but I was instantly on guard.
“Excuse me?”
“If you didn’t want the job, a simple phone call would’ve been enough. Just so I could start looking for someone else.”
“Rocky, I’m sorry, I really am. And I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted the job, I just … some things happened that were a little unexpected. I should’ve called.”
“Yeah, you should’ve. So, what happened?”
I shifted uncomfortably on the spot, wishing there was some furnit
ure in the room so that we could at least be seated for this conversation.
“Nothing, really,” I hedged. There was no way I could tell him that my mother had told me to stay away from him.
“You’ve been listening to town talk, haven’t you? Is that why you didn’t call me?” When I refused to meet his eyes, he continued. “I should’ve known. Daria, you should’ve come to me and we could’ve talked about it.”