Broken & Burned (4 page)

Dray…

I lay flat on my back on my dad’s bed with my hands behind my head staring at the ceiling. She’d tried to cry quietly but the problem with old houses was the walls were paper thin. I didn’t know how to comfort her. I couldn’t fix it, so I’d finished the dishes and had come in here and listened to her cry. Which bothered me.

Trouble was I didn’t know what bothered me more, the fact I didn’t know what to do to help her feel better or the fact that I didn’t know what to do about
wanting
to. These thoughts and ruminations kept me awake, staring at the ceiling for a long damned time. Now it was only a couple of hours until she’d be up and I hadn’t slept at all. The door swung open and the light flared on and I threw up my hand to shield my eyes.

“The fuck you doin’ in here Boy?” my dad asked, annoyed. I sighed. Water dripped from his riding leathers and I sat up abruptly.

“Shhhh!” I hissed and his eyes, a mirror of my own, burned a hole right through me. If I were a lesser man, I’d be shitting myself, but I wasn’t a lesser man. I was my father’s son so I gave him his own look right back. I got up and motioned for him to follow. I eased open my bedroom door and he looked over my shoulder.

Everett was on her side, facing the door, a slight wrinkle between her brows but at least she slept. I didn’t think she was getting much rest out of it though. I eased the door back shut and scowled at my father and MC President and he scowled right back, but he wasn’t pissed at me.

“What happened? Where’d you get her?” he asked.

I motioned for him to meet me in the kitchen.

“She came rolling into the shop today, her car dyin’ half way into the drive.” I murmured when he joined me. I set the coffee to brewing.

“So why is she in your room and what’re you doin’ in mine?” he asked.

“She kept trying to call her ass clown boyfriend and he wasn’t picking up. She went out talkin’ on her phone, shit all spilling out of her ripped bag and I thought she was on the line with him. I closed up shop and didn’t think anything of it, but here it is like a half hour later and it’s pouring down rain and she’s standing out at the street by our sign looking like a drowned rat. He never showed up, turned out she’d been talking at his voice mail.” I poured us each a cup of coffee.

“Still doesn’t explain what she’s doing in your bed and why you ain’t in there with her.” He grunted and I smiled thinly.

“So I take her home.” I shrugged, took a drink of my coffee and keep going, “Thing is this calculator dropped out of her bag onto Sadie’s floor so I go to give it to her and walk right into the middle of this domestic dispute.” My father’s eyebrows went up.

“He hit her?” he asked.

“Naw, didn’t get the chance,” I thought about how he’d grabbed her arm, “But it was headed that way.” My dad raised his eyebrows at me and I went on, “He never answered his phone, because he was banging some other chick on their couch. She caught ‘em at it when she walked through the door.” I hung my head and scratched an itch behind my ear.

“She pays the majority of the rent and bills, he sits on his ass and then has the balls to tell her that him banging this broad is
her
fault for her bein’ too tired to put out on the regular.” I crossed my arms. My dad leaned back in his chair and let out an explosive breath.

“Ass clown.” He said.

“Yeah. So
she
reminds
him
that she pays the rent and bills and he turns around and says to her that his name is the only one on the lease… It wasn’t going anywhere, so I tell her to pack her shit and I’ll take her anywhere she wants.” He looked me over.

“And she wanted to come here?” he asked.

“Mom died giving birth to her, her dad died of a heart attack last year. She says take her to a hotel, that she doesn’t have anybody, but she says it as she’s moving what little cash she has out of her checking into her savings where he can’t get to it.” I said.

“You saw how much she’s got?” I gave him a flat look and he waved me off. He knew damn well about my memory for things I’d seen.

“Hundred and twenty bucks.” I affirmed and his eyes widened.

“She tells me she got up late for work, got an ass chewing from her boss, burned herself at work, is in danger of failing one of her math classes, her car takes a shit, her boyfriend takes and even bigger one on her… all in the same day. I felt sorry for her. All her shit fits in one trash bag, one suitcase and a ripped backpack. It was fucking ridiculous.” I uncrossed my arms and raked a hand through my hair.

“Doesn’t hurt that she’s easy on the eyes.” He gave me a sly grin. Teeth white in his black beard.

“Naw.” I said in agreement.

“So what time is she getting up?” I grimaced and checked the clock.

“Forty-five minutes or so. She works four in the morning to twelve thirty at that coffee place on Allen.” I grimaced.

“Well sorry to piss on your parade.” He said getting up, “I’m home early and I’m going to bed. Have fun on the couch.” He trudged into his room and I gave him a sour look. He shut the door behind him with a chuckle.

Ten minutes later Everett peeked around the corner rubbing her eyes.

“Guest room huh?” she asked softly.

“Figured it out then?” I asked her.

“Didn’t take much.” She slid into the seat my dad vacated. “Was that your dad?” 

“Yeah.” I wondered how much she’d heard.

“Tell him what a pathetic charity case I am?” she asked and I shook my head.

“No.” I said and she smiled and it did something to her face, she went from sweet and pretty to fucking beautiful.

“Liar.” She said and I scowled, the smile disappeared and fear slid behind those steely baby blues of hers.

“I told him what happened. You had a shit day. I am a liar, at least about my room, so I’ll let that slide.” I gave her. “But know this, I don’t lie about the important things.” I leaned back in my seat and contemplated her.

 “Why
did
you lie about it being your room?” she asked thoughtfully.

“Wanted you to be comfortable. Didn’t think you would be if you knew you were sleeping in my room. He wasn’t supposed to be back until tomorrow night.” I shrugged.

“Why?” she asked.

“Why’d he come home early? Fucked if I know.”

“No, why are you being so nice to me?” she asked softly. I looked her over.

“Couldn’t tell you.” I said and I was being honest. Maybe in some small way it was my atonement for being a dick to Ashton Granger when Trig had brought her in off the road last spring beat to fuck and bloodied by her now dead husband.

Though I suppose helping Reaver kill that twisted fuck had been atonement enough for that particular sin, even if it meant putting a blacker one on my busted ass soul. I searched Everett’s face while she searched mine. I liked that this chick was cool with silence.

She stood up abruptly and padded back into my room. A moment later the bathroom door shut. I sighed, got up and went into my room and pulled on some clothes. When the bathroom door opened again I was sitting on the edge of my neatly made bed lacing up my boots. She padded in in her sock covered feet and sat on the floor, pulling on her knee high black riding boots and zipping them up on the inside of her leg.

She wore form fitting dark jeans that kissed her legs like a second skin. Over them she wore a black long sleeved shirt that hugged her curves, the neckline low, a simple silver necklace chain with that Irish tri-knot thing hanging from it graced her long throat. Her hair had been reworked into a fresh braid and she wore subtle, tastefully done makeup that made her eyes stand out larger than life from her face. She was feminine without being small and she carried herself well. I realized I liked what I saw the more I looked at her but still, she’d been through hell in a hand basket yesterday and I was nobody’s rebound.

I went to the closet and dug into the bottom of it. I pulled out an old army back pack and handed it to her.

“It’s not pretty but it’ll work.” I told her. She looked at it and stood up.

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“I don’t use it anymore.” I shrugged. It had some old Sacred Heart MC patches on it but I didn’t think it would matter much.

“Thanks.” She murmured, taking it from me. Her blue eyes met mine and were still full of pain. I sighed.

“It’ll get better.” I grunted and brushed past her and out into the living room, I almost missed it when she said,

“I know, it already is...” She spent several minutes transferring things from her torn pack to my old one and came out with it slung over her shoulder.

“Ready?” I asked her.

“I’m not sure what to do with my stuff.” She said shifting from foot to foot.

“Leave it. We’ll talk after you get off work.” I said and she nodded.

I shrugged into my jacket and cut and followed her out of the house. I didn’t bother locking up. Whoever wanted to break in with my pops home would have a real bad time. I opened her car door for her and then wondered what the hell I was doing. She slid into the seat and tucked the bag between her knees and I closed it shaking my head. It was still dark out and I was tired by now, but there was nothing to be done about it. I backed out of the driveway and hit my lights.

“Twelve to one is when I take my lunch, I’ll come by and get you.” I said.

“Actually can I just meet you at your shop?” she asked softly.

“Why?” I asked frowning. I wanted to make sure she wasn’t going back to ass clown’s place by herself. She was quiet too long and I turned to look at her, her head was bowed, just when I thought I was going to have to repeat myself she took a breath to speak.

“I need to go to the clinic.” She said flatly, her voice filled with tension.

“Let me see.” I said, assuming she was talking about her burn. She turned wide blue eyes, the color wrung out of them in the dark, on me.

“I’m sorry?” she said.

“Your hand. Let me see it.” I said. She held out her left hand as we rolled up to a stoplight and I flipped on the dome light. I resisted the urge to touch her. I could have taken advantage of the situation, taken her hand in mine to find out if her skin was as soft as it looked, but I didn’t. Instead, I looked over the red mark on her skin. It didn’t look bad.

“Doesn’t look bad.” I said and she laughed a little nervously.

“Jerry wasn’t wearing a condom yesterday.” She swallowed hard and rushed out, “I need to get tested…” her voice fell off at the end and she wouldn’t look in my direction, fixing her gaze out the tinted glass. I felt like a grade ‘A’ fucking idiot. Duh. Of course she would want to get tested.

“Shit. Sorry.” I said and flipped out the overhead. I pulled smoothly through the intersection when the light allowed for it.

A long silence fell between us. Just as I caught sight of the neon sign for her coffee shack I came to both a realization and a decision. I was crap at this. Being a supportive type person had never really been my thing, especially for a chick, but something about Everett Moran made me want to try. So I decided then and there that I would do my best.

I turned to look at her, following the long graceful curve of her throat, her pale skin glimmering in that flat expanse of skin left bare by the plunging neckline of her top before the lovely curve of her breasts took over. The trinity knot necklace set at the center with what I guessed to be an emerald winked in the watery street light as she shifted to drag the pack I’d given her into her lap.

I know she’d been through a shit storm because of her ass clown ex, but I couldn’t help my gaze slipping lower over the generous swell of her breasts. I liked what I saw. What red blooded male wouldn’t? She had a nice rack, the seam of her cleavage flawless. She didn’t catch me looking, so what was the harm?

“I’ll pick you up at twelve-thirty,” I said as she opened her car door, “Drive you to the nearest clinic unless you had one in mind.” She looked me over, searching my face from hairline to chin.

“There’s a Planned Parenthood over on Twentieth Avenue West. I went there last year.” She said softly.

“Fine, make an appointment if you can. If you can’t we’ll wait.” I said. She nodded thoughtfully.

“How do you take your coffee?” she asked.

“Surprise me.” I said and she got out. I waited and she came back a minute later and handed me a can of energy drink. I grinned.

“Good guess.” I said and got her to smile.

“Um, I forgot a bag of stuff in the trunk of my car.” She said, and it was like she was afraid to ask… I nodded.

“It’ll be in the back when I come to pick you up.” I said. She nodded carefully.

“Thank you.” She said and I watched her walk across the dark parking lot.

I didn’t leave until she was safely inside the little shack, couldn’t bring myself to do it. This wasn’t the most upstanding neighborhood during the day let alone in the dark of night. Once she was inside I put Sadie in gear and pulled out of the lot. I went to the garage. I was tired, sure, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t make my own hours. My dad and me, we owned the place and he’d either be in to put in some work or he wouldn’t. Gypsy, an older, near toothless club member and one of our other mechanics would be in by eight and could close the place if need be.

As long as I put in eight hours, five days a week, nobody really cared when I was in and when I wasn’t. We usually had Darlene in the office to deal with people, her kid had gotten sick and she’d had to bounce early yesterday which was why I’d been on my own when Everett had rolled in.

I let myself into the shop and looked down the row of lifts to figure out what I wanted to do first. I punched my timecard on the old as hell time clock and stepped into my coveralls after hanging my jacket and cut on their usual peg. I punched a button on front of the old shop stereo and plugged my phone into it, cranking up the Alice in Chains.

I thought about Everett while I got to work finishing up installing the rebuilt carburetor on the old ’63 Ford I’d left off doing the night before. The girl was in a hell of a mess. No family, jack ass boyfriend she’d probably been stayin’ with on account of the familiarity. Only way to dig out of the wreckage she was sitting in was to give her time… Time to save money for first last and deposit at the very least.