“So now I'm paranoid and shut the door behind me, I have no idea what is up with Ma and Pops and my imagination starts working overtime. I imagine being robbed and killed and thrown in this room no one knows about. Then I see that there are two thick envelopes inside, one addressed to me and one addressed to you. So, I didn't wanna open yours cause I didn't wanna get my head knocked for opening your shit. I know how you don't like that. I grabbed my envelope and opened it and had a panic attack. Only because I know with what I read inside that Ma and Pops don't plan on ever coming back."
"Alright Twerp! Enough with the cryptic bullshit, I get Ma and Pops are gone. I'm gonna find out why, and then I'm gonna find them. Something ain't right ‘cause they wouldn't leave you. Now, tell me what's inside the envelope."
"Well, they left each one of us a note and some money, a lot of fucking money. I mean enough money where I probably will never have to work in my lifetime if I don't wanna. That's how much money, Gunner."
"Fuck! Charlee that means something bad has gone down. You need to show me this envelope with the note, surely they’ll give me some type of clue or hint as to what's gone down."
"Not in mine Gunner, all they said is how much they love us, and that if we try and get involved it could lead to their death, and ours."
"Fuck! Envelope, now Charlee!"
So, I take my brother to Pops’ secret safe and let him get his note and money. Mine, I leave there. It scares me to think what this money could mean for my future. I don’t want it if it means I never see Ma and Pops again.
I decided to give my brother some space to sort out his head and emotions. I know if I leave our property I'll be hunted down and embarrassed beyond belief, so instead I walk around our backyard. I always enjoy the big willow trees and all the beautiful wildflowers that grow in our backyard. Such a beautiful day for a stroll in the back field. Nature is at its best, it's beautiful and the sun is beating on my face giving me the feeling of warmth that spreads through my body. I close my eyes and spin with my arms out just like I used to do when I was little. Ma used to laugh at me and then join me, and we'd spin around until we were so dizzy we couldn't stand. My ma always made sure my life was full, and I never felt neglected, or left out because they were older parents and my brother was long gone.
Once I get myself good and dizzy, I fall into a large gathering of wildflowers. Sometimes it’s good to let the stress go and enjoy what Mother Nature has gifted us with. As I’m lost in my thoughts and staring up into the sky, I feel a presence standing near me. I look over and it’s Country, the club’s new Probee. He’s watching me as if I’m something foreign and he’s trying to figure me out. Being the smart aleck that I am I tell him, “Take a picture, it lasts longer.” Smooth, real smooth Charlee, that’s the best line you could come up with? But what he says next makes me speechless.
“Trust me babe, if I had a camera, I’d definitely be taking a picture of your fine ass.” I can’t believe he just said that to me. He doesn’t even know me and he’s talking about my ass already. Wait a minute, how exactly is it he knows my ass is fine? We’ve only been face to face since meeting.
“And how is it exactly that you know my ass is fine?”
“Babe, I had a great view as you walked away with your brother.” I can feel the blush crawl up my neck. Who is this guy? No one’s ever made me blush before.
“Keep watching, because my backside is all you’ll be seeing if my brother catches you.”
“Keep telling yourself that babe, I’m your newly appointed babysitter and house guest while Gunner figures out what’s goin’ on with your folks.”
“What! I don’t need a babysitter. I’ve been taking care of myself for the last two weeks.”
“Take it up with him babe.”
“Stop calling me babe, I’m not your fucking babe.” Gah!
“Mouth.”
“Excuse me?”
“Watch. Your. Mouth. You’re a lady, ladies don’t speak that way.”
“Says you?”
“Ya, says me.”
“Go fuck yourself.”
“Nah, I’d rather have someone else involved. It’s harder than you’d think to fuck yourself.”
“Oh my God, would you stop speaking to me now?”
“Sure, we’ll just sit here and enjoy the weather.”
“Twerp!” I hear my brother call for me from the house. “Come talk with me before I head out.” Doing as I’m told so I can get away from this annoying person, I get up and head toward the house and then I hear him speak again.
“I’m right behind you, Twerp,” he says with laughter in his voice. No one calls me Twerp except for Gunner.
“Don’t call me that, my brother is the only one who gets to. It’s a family thing,” I tell him over my shoulder as I make my way inside. I can hear him laughing and it pisses me off. I mean who the hell does he really think he is? I’ve known him all of a minute and I already want to scratch his damn eyes out. When I make it into the living room I spot my brother on the couch. I go over to sit with him and see his brothers head out the front door.
“Twerp, I have to go try and figure out what kind of trouble Ma and Pops are in. I don’t want to leave you alone not knowing what exactly that threat is. I’ll be in and out of touch checking in on you. I’m gonna leave Country here with you for protection and to also be here in case you need something you can’t get for yourself. I believe you’re safe, otherwise Ma and Pops wouldn’t have left you to fend for yourself. I’ll have a phone accessible at all times, but you know how it is. I may not be able to answer your call right away, but I will always call you back.”
"I know Gunner, just be careful with whatever it is you plan on doing. Remember what Pops said, if you dig, it could mean not just their deaths but ours as well.”
“I know Twerp, I’ll be careful. I wouldn’t ever willingly put you or our folks in harm’s way. I will make sure all of my tracks are covered and no blowback will come to any of us. Love you and don’t give Country a hard time. He may be just a damn Probee, but he’s a good man.”
“Kid, Gunner, he’s just a boy in a grownup’s body, he’s still a kid.”
“Whatever you say Twerp. I gotta go, give me a hug.” I stand up as he does and give him a hug. Gunner always gives out the best hugs.
I spend the rest of the day and night in my room trying to avoid him. I can’t believe my brother left a damn Prospect with me. I wonder if I’d get in trouble if I called him Probee instead of his road name Country. I know it’s considered disrespectful for someone who’s not a brother to call them that, but I really don’t like this guy’s attitude. Lost in my thoughts I hear a knock on my door and realize this guy must not be good at solitude or just can’t get a hint. I hop up off my bed and answer the door. Might as well see what it is that he wants.
“What’s up?”
“I was thinkin’ about ordering a pizza and wanted to see if you wanted some.”
“Sounds good to me,” I answer him, giving him nothing else to build a conversation on. Or so I thought.
“What do you like on yours?” Guess I wasn’t as lucky as I was hoping for and am going to have to talk with him.
“Like on my what?” I ask him, even though I know exactly what he’s asking.
“On your pizza? You know that round thing with cheese and toppings. I just asked you if you wanted some, you said sounds good, but you didn’t tell me what kind you like.”
“Oh sorry, must’ve had my mind occupied on other things. I like either just cheese, pepperoni and cheese or supreme pizza. Your choice.”
“You always have a choice Charlee, which do you prefer?”
“I feel like a supreme tonight.”
“Sounds good, I’ll get it ordered and let you know when it arrives,” he tells me as he walks away. It may not be as easy to avoid him as I originally thought.
Thinking, hoping–whatever.
“Oh, and Charlee,” he calls out, “You will be eating with me
and not in your bedroom.” I slam my door, the nerve of him telling me where I can and cannot eat! Why did Gunner have to leave him with me? Is this some sort of punishment? Did I do something to my brother I can’t remember?
An hour later there’s another knock on my door. I was watching television and wasn’t expecting it, which causes me to jump and fall off my bed. Damn Freddy and his metal claws, I really have to stop doing this to myself. I land with a thud causing my door to fly open. I’m sitting stunned on the floor and I can’t believe he’s caught one of my most embarrassing moments.
“Jesus, are you okay? I heard a thump and wanted to make sure nothing happened to you or no one was in the process of breaking into your room.”
“I’m alright,” I mumble. “I was watching a scary movie and your knock scared me and I fell off the bed is all.” I look down at my hands which are now in my lap in embarrassment.
“Oh,” I hear and look up to see the amusement that is dancing in his eyes. I can see the laughter he’s holding back. I can see his eyes have moisture in them from his attempt not to laugh at me. At least he’s trying, I guess.
“Thanks for not laughing,” I say as I stand up ready to follow him out the door.
“It’s not funny that you fell off your bed, well it is but it isn’t. I think it’s cute.”
“Cute,” I scoff out. I don’t see how me landing on my ass is cute. Whatever floats his boat. “Are we going to eat or what?”
“Yeah, let’s go eat, I set the pizza boxes on the kitchen table. I don’t know where your plates are so I figure you can show me.”
“Ya, ya, let’s go then.”
“After you,” he says stepping back from the doorway. We make our way to the kitchen where I pull out a beer for him and a can of coke for myself.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I tell him trying to be polite since he gave me an ‘out’ back in my room.
After we’ve eaten, I take our plates and head to the kitchen to put the leftover pizza away and clean up the dishes. Once I’m finished I decide to head back to my room.
“There’s still a couple of beers in the fridge,” I tell him as I head into my room. I’m not sure if he heard me or not. Guess if he gets thirsty he’ll go look for something and see them.
Gunner was right, that girl is made of steel. It’s going to be harder to penetrate her walls than what I originally thought. I don’t know what it is about her that intrigues me so much, but I want to get to know her. Gunner made it clear that she’s his baby sister, but he’s all about giving her what she wants. He’s protective to an extent, but doesn’t care what she does as long as she doesn’t end up hurt in the long run. I wonder if it was his way of giving me his go-ahead to pursue his sister. She’s hot even as young as she is. I’m only three years older than she is, but even I know she’s too young for what I want to do to her and her delicious body.
She has long strawberry blonde hair, more blonde than red, that reaches her ass. The brightest blue eyes I have ever seen and a body of a full-grown woman—not the teenager I was expecting when I was asked to come along to check on Gunner’s sister and folks. She’s only five feet four inches in height, and she’s fuckin’ gorgeous! Charlee is what men mean when they talk about walking, talking, wet dreams. I can’t wait to see what she looks like as she ages. If I have my way, I will be her man in the future. Waiting for her to get older is going to kill me.
Looking at the time and it being only eleven thirty, I realize I’m suddenly exhausted. It’s earlier than when I usually hit the bed, but it’s been a long day. Gunner said I could use his old room while I’m staying here. Before heading to bed though, I check the house and make sure everything is locked up tight. I want to check on Charlee before I head to bed, but I’m unsure if she’s already asleep or not, and if she isn’t and I just open her door I run the risk of pissing her off or catching her in a compromising position. As in naked, and changing clothes. Deciding not to chance it I knock lightly on her door, and I get a groggy response.
“Come in.”
“Hey, I was fixin’ to call it a night and wanted to check in with you first. Need anything or are you all set for the night?”
“I’m good.”
“I just locked up the house, did you remember to lock your window?”
“It’s locked. Night Country.”
“Night Charlee,” I call out as I shut her bedroom door and head off for Gunner’s childhood bedroom. I do my nightly routine then get in the bed. It’s going to be a long couple of weeks. Might as well get as much rest as I can. I’m out as soon as my head hits the pillow.
I wake up the next morning…sniffing the air, I smell bacon! Holy shit, it’s been ages since I’ve woken to the smell of someone cooking breakfast. My stomach rumbles at the thought, so I get up out of bed and hop in the shower that is across the hall from Gunner’s bedroom. Once I’m showered, and have taken care of my bodily functions, I walk out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist. Not thinking anything of it, I nearly run right into Charlee. She’s standing there, mouth wide open and eyes wider than I thought could be humanly possible.
“See something you like babe?” I say, needing to break this trance she’s in.
“Ummm…” she stammers out, “I was just coming to get you and tell you breakfast is ready,” she says as she hurries and runs out the hallway heading back toward the kitchen. Good to know I affect her as much as she affects me. I go in the bedroom and pull on my clothes. As I walk out the room and head toward the kitchen I grab my Prospect cut from the top of the dresser where I folded it and put it before bed last night.
With the DreamCatchers, our cut is of upmost importance with our daily clothing attire. It’s become a thing of pride and honor for me to wear. I never thought I’d amount to much in life, I never had much of a family. Now, I feel accomplished in some ways and the feeling of family, of brotherhood is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime. I was born to a stripper who has no idea who my birth father is. I took care of myself as early as seven years old, that’s as far back as my memories go.
My very first memory isn’t a pleasant one, I remember being hungry and decided since my mom was at work I would cook dinner for myself. We didn’t have much in the pantry, but I found a box of macaroni and cheese. I knew I had to boil water so that’s what I did. I didn’t account for the fact that I was short and couldn’t reach everything I needed to. As I was straining the noodles, the water splashed all over my chest. I had no one to call or depend on, there were no beepers at that time, and we didn’t have a house phone.
I couldn’t go to a neighbor, for one I didn’t know any of them, and I’d learned at school not to go up to strangers—stranger danger and all of that. Also, we didn’t live in the best of neighborhoods. There were shootings and corner drug dealings on a nightly basis. I knew that it burned, so I hopped into a cold shower to help take the sting away. I know that I’d seen mom put ice on burns she had on her hands and such from cooking, but this was too big for ice to take care of. I happened to remember my Nana had brought over a first aid kit in case I had scraped knees and such. When I finally found the first aid kit under the kitchen sink, I was lucky to find some burn cream.
Don’t ask me how I knew at that age to apply the cream, but I did. I applied that cream for weeks and my mom never noticed anything amiss. Making it into the kitchen I come out of my daydream and walk right over to the coffee pot, which has fresh coffee brewed. Glad to know I’m not the only one who needs this substance to start the day off on the right foot. Coffee to me is like that black substance of the Gods, it’s a must for my body to function for the day. I look over and see that Charlee is watching me as I drink from my cup.
“What?” I ask her.
“Just wondering if I need to let you finish with your cup of coffee before I ask you any questions?” she asks me.
“I can manage a conversation. What’s up?”
“I need to
go to the store, I don’t have my driver’s license and was wondering if you could drive me in my Ma’s car? We need some supplies that I couldn’t carry home from the supermarket.”
“That’s not a problem. Let me know when you’re ready to head out.”
“I would really like to go soon, before the morning rush makes it there.”
“Let me finish this cup and I’ll be good to go.”
“I’ll go grab some money from the safe that Pops left for me. You should be done by the time I get back.” Before I have a chance to tell her Gunner left me a credit card for any household expenses she’s gone. I don’t yet have the energy to chase her down so I’ll tell her when she gets back.
I didn’t get a chance to tell her about the card before we left the house. She was like a mini tornado flying out the front door. Thank fuck I’d finished the cup of coffee I still had in my hand as she flew by. I was getting ready to rinse my cup out when I saw a shadow fly by telling me, “Ready, let’s go,” as she ran out the door. I swear all I saw was her hair flying behind her, she’s a fast little shit.
Charlee's Choices: DreamCatcher MC Page 2