by C. R. Marcum
The voice from behind Ray was deep and demanding. It belonged to Drake.
“Get her outta here now Syn.” He said, closing the gap between himself and the girls.
“I plan on it.” Syn said, reaching down, grabbing her by the arm, and pulling her up in one motion.
“You Bitch! You broke my fuckin nose!” Ashlee yelled as Syn pulled her to stand.
“Shut the fuck up before I break more than your face!” Aspen spat trying to step closer and failing. The heavy hand of Drake effectively stopping her.
“You weren’t nothin but a warm hole to stick it in Bitch!” Ray yelled, Jax holding her back.
“Me? You aint no better bitch, you’ll be outta here before the sun comes up!” Ashlee yelled back, struggling against Syn’s arm.
“Naw Bitch, I fuckin live here, you were just the flavor of the week!” Ray yelled, again trying, and failing to break free of Jax’s hold.
“SYN! NOW!” Drake yelled, the sound stopping everything else around him.
Syn never stopped moving, he opened the front door, and with one quick movement pushed her outside on her ass.
“You’ll be callin me later when that bitch in there won’t fuck you! Unless you can’t figure out how to get it up anymore! Ya sure had a fuckin problem with that tonight limp dick!” Ashlee screamed, before spitting on the door. Her blood effectively sticking to the screen.
Syn opened the door and stepped outside, kneeling down so that she could hear every word of what he was going to say.
“Get the fuck off my porch and don’t come back. I’m sure my dick knew that it’d have taken a bucket of fuckin bleach to get the smell of your pussy off it, even if I wore two fuckin rubbers. Get the fuck outta here with that shit.” Syn said so calmly it sounded like a threat, before spitting right next to her head. “Now.” He added “before I let those girls in there come out here and beat the shit outta you, and you really don’t want that to happen, trust me on that, cause you were only used for a fuck on a bad night, they belong. Your best fuckin bet is to stay away from all of us from now on, because those two, they won’t stop until we pull them off you, and I for one wouldn’t.” he said before standing and opening the door.
He had just gotten the door open when two half naked girls ran out, never even stopping to see what had happened to Ashlee. Syn shook his head and walked in.
Everyone was watching him intently.
“What the fuck ya’ll starin at? My dick hangin out or something?” he asked.
“I guess bitches really be getting mad when you don’t break ‘em off some bro.” Jax said with a laugh.
“I fuckin guess. Who were those other two chicks that ran out?” Syn asked.
“They were mine, until they heard Drake yell, then they just got scared. I was done with ‘em anyway. Until next time that is.” Lucas said with a laugh and an eyebrow wiggle.
“Won’t be a next time.” Drake said sternly, stepping into the living room to address them all.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Lucas asked, pulling his shirt over his head.
“From now on, if you wanna fuck some flavor of the week, take ‘em somewhere else. No chicks that don’t live here are allowed past that front door. No fuckin exceptions, am I clear?” He said, sounding like the father of the house.
“I’m good with that, just making sure I understood what you was talkin about that’s all.” Lucas said, his smile a bit forced.
“So I punch some chick for bragging about sleeping with the entire house and now I can’t come back. That really fuckin sucks Drake.” Aspen said, looking at her obviously swollen knuckles.
“What?” Drake said, grabbing her an Ice pack.
“You said, no chick that doesn’t live here, and I don’t live here, so yeah.” She said, more attitude than she intended.
“I don’t think he was talking about you.” Ty added, coming closer and examining her hand.
“No, I didn’t mean you Aspen. You are more than welcome in our house, anytime.” Drake replied.
“See, I told you.” Ty said before Aspen’s head whipped around and locked eyes with him.
“You are getting Tested TOMORROW, got it?” She said with more aggression than Ty thought possible.
“Shit, yeah I got it. Tested, tomorrow, check.” He replied.
“Good, and really Ty? Her? You really had sex with her?” she asked shaking her head.
Raylynn stopped paying attention to anyone. She wondered if she had heard Ashlee right. Had Syn wanted to sleep with her? She had to have misheard her. Syn didn’t even want to dance with her until Jax made him…
“…right? Ray? Hello?” Aspen said, pulling her back to the now.
“Huh?” she asked.
“Uggh, I said, that even if she were the hottest girl on the planet, Ty should have known better than to sleep with a girl that every guy in the house has slept with. It’s just gross, right?” Aspen repeted.
“Yeah, it is.” She answered before turning her attention to Jax. “And its knowing that you been with bitches like her that keeps you wearing a condom. Actually ya know what, you can get tested with Ty tomorrow.” She said, pushing him in the chest. “Now come on, I wanna go to bed.” She said, pulling him back by his shirt.
“Yes, ma’am.” Jax said, letting her pull him to her, before reaching down and grabbing her thighs, picking her up with ease. “We still have a few of those condoms left though, so I doubt you’ll be sleepin tonight.” He finished as he started carrying her through the living room.
She giggled, letting him carry her out of the room. The last person she saw before turning the corner was Syn, and she could have sworn she saw jealousy in his eyes.
17.
The days had quickly turned to weeks. Raylynn had continued to try to talk to Paisley at school, but to no avail. Ty nor Aspen had been able to get more than a word or two from her either. By the time Raylynn would get to breakfast every Sunday, Paisley would be gone. Uncle Richard was unaware of what had transpired in the weeks before, and she had no intention of telling him. She slowly pulled away herself. She stopped asking Paisley at every class if she would please talk, now she just said hi and left it at that. No longer did she try to get home earlier on Sunday, it never seemed to matter anyway. She still found herself texting her every night though. No matter how far apart they seemed, she still wanted Paisley to know that she could always talk to her. She never replied.
18.
“Babe, have you seen my Trig book? I need it.” Ray called from the bedroom.
No answer.
“BABE! Have you seen my book?” She called again, pulling her pants up and fastening the button.
“I’m not babe, but it’s on the kitchen table. Maybe try lookin for the shit before you start yellin at 6:30 in the morning, some of us have the day off.” Syn said, standing in the doorway.
“Thanks Syn. Sorry I woke you so early. I can bring you a cup of coffee to make it up to you if ya want.” She said, pulling her tank top down over her cami.
“Yeah, alright. Two s…” he said, yawning.
“Two sugars one cream. I know.” She said, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Go back to bed, I’ll bring it to ya.” She added, sliding past him into the hall.
“You aint gotta do all that…” he said, yawning once again.
“It’s fine, I’ll bring it to ya.” She called over her shoulder as she made her way to the living room.
Ray smiled when she stepped into the kitchen. Aspen and Ty were sitting at the table, holding hands, and talking. Drake was sitting across from them, coffee in hand. Lucas was still in his boxers leaning against the counter, eating a bowl of cereal. Jax was MIA.
“Hey, anybody seen Jax this morning?” she asked, pouring two cups of coffee.
“He went for a run, he should be back in a few.” Drake answered, never taking his eyes off his phone.
“Kay,” she replied reaching for and failing to get the sugar from behind Lucas. “Move your ass Lucas,
I need the sugar.” She said, using her hip to bump him over.
“Hey, watch it. I coulda dropped my cereal.”
“Well move and you won’t.” she said before bumping him again.
“No, you need to use your manners and ask nicely.” He said, mouth full of cereal.
“Take your own advice, talking with a mouthful is not using YOUR manners sir.” She replied, bumping him harder this time and causing his milk to slosh out of the bowl and onto the floor.
“Hey, why you gotta be so rude?” he asked, finally taking the one step she needed to be able to grab the sugar.
“I live with a house full of guys, it just kinda happens I guess.” She replied with a smirk.
It took her only a few minutes to get Syn’s and her own coffee made.
“We takin your car or mine today?” Aspen asked before Ray made it out of the kitchen.
“You drove yesterday. It’s my turn.” She replied.
“Kay, well we gotta get going in like five minutes if we wanna stop and grab breakfast.”
“I know, let me take this to Syn and I’m ready.” She said, holding up the steaming cup.
“Ok, but why are you taking it to him? He has legs, and he’s not your man. Make him get his own damn coffee if he wants it so bad.” Aspen said making a sour face.
“Calm down killer. I woke him up and told him I’d make him a cup of coffee. Not a big deal, I gotta grab something from my room anyway.”
“Fine, just gotta make sure the assholes of the house aren’t taking advantage of you.” She replied with a smile.
Raylynn could only roll her eyes as she exited the kitchen and headed towards Syn’s room.
She knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Slowly, she opened it and peaked inside. She found him standing at his dresser. His back towards her. She lost herself in the details of his tattoo. His brother, Drake’s best friend, and the reason that all the guys lost their fathers. She tried to imagine what things would be like if Josh had never been killed. Jax, Syn, and Josh would still have their mom and pop’s, Drake and Josh would probably still be doing dumb shit, and Lucas wouldn’t live here. Ty would probably be slingin too, so Ray and Pais wouldn’t have become friends with him, and she would have never met Jax.
She shook off that thought, as bad as it sounds, she was glad things had worked out the way that they did. She would have had nothing without that one act of violence happening. That wasn’t right. It had been two acts of violence that brought her to this moment. One that happened years ago, and one that happened only months ago. Had it only been four months? So much had happened in that time that it had seemed like much longer.
“You decent?” She asked.
“Nope, not since I was a kid and even then I was a fucker, but I’m not naked if that’s what you’re asking.” He replied, heading towards the door.
She opened it before he could get there.
“Two sugars one cream, just like you like it.” She said, handing him the cup.
He stood before her, his chest bare and his basketball shorts slung low. She could see the rim of his boxers peeking out from underneath, and she couldn’t help but look.
“See something you like Ray?” he asked, pulling her attention to his face.
“I was just thinkin and spaced out. Sorry.” She said, hiding the truth once again.
Things like this happened a lot now days. She had developed a different relationship with all of them. Jax was her center. The one that kept her sane and whole. Ty of course was her best friend and she didn’t see that ever changing. Lucas was like the big brother she never had or wanted most days. She loved to mess with him because he messed with her daily. It was a never ending game with Lucas. She and Drake had a very parental type of relationship. He treated everyone in the house the same, herself included. He was the man of the house and she had become the woman. It was nice. Then there was Syn. Their relationship was hot and cold. Some days, like today, he would say things to make her think he was flirting, and others he wanted nothing to do with her. On those days, he barely even looked at her.
“About what?” he asked.
“The night I had to clean you up after your fight.” She replied, which was not a lie.
“Yeah, what about it?”
“I was just remembering how Pais acted when she seen your gun.”
“I remember that, she said only drug dealers and gang members had guns. She still has no fuckin clue what we do.” Syn said, leaning against the door frame.
“No, she doesn’t.” She said with a small grin.
“I also remember that Jax started to fall for you that night. He told me the next day, after ya’ll left that he could probably fall in love with you. I told him to shut the fuck up, that he would never settle for one chick, that he wasn’t built for it. He proved me wrong I guess.” Syn said before taking a drink of his coffee.
“Yeah, I remember him thinking that I was gonna sleep with you that night. He told me so when I came out of your room so quickly. He said that no girl has ever gone into that room and left it in ten minutes.” She said, thinking back to that conversation.
“He wasn’t wrong about that.” Syn said, locking eyes with her.
“About what?” she asked, her face feeling flush.
“No girl has ever left my room in under ten minutes, especially if I got her on my bed.” He replied still holding her gaze.
“I think our situation was a little different. You were bleeding if I can recall.” She said, breaking eye contact.
“What if I hadn’t been bleeding?” he asked, his expression serious.
“I…I…I don’t kn,”
“There you are, we gotta go.” Aspen called, stopping Raylynn mid sentence.
“Yeah Ray, you wouldn’t want to be late.” Syn said, flashing her the cockiest grin she had ever seen.
“Yeah, and I’m driving so if I’m late so are they.” She said as she turned and walked away. “Enjoy your coffee.” She called as she turned the corner and disappeared from his view.
“What was that all about?” Aspen asked as they pulled out of the driveway.
“What was what about?” Raylynn replied, never taking her eyes off the road.
“Don’t play dumb with me Ray. I know what I saw.” Aspen whispered so that only Ray could hear.
“I’ll tell you later okay, at lunch, before Ty gets there.” She whispered back.
“You better. I want details.”
“Fine, now drop it.”
“Ya know, I can see you two talking.” Ty said from the backseat. “If you two need some, I don’t know, girl time I guess, I can leave you alone at lunch or something, all you gotta do is tell me.” He said, leaning as far forward as the seatbelt would allow.
“Ty, we need some girl time, I need to talk to Ray about some very personal things and I don’t think you want to know about some of it. It involves so much about, ya know, that time of the month.” Aspen said, turning her head so that she could see him.
“Uggh, I really didn’t need to know what the conversation was about. Just needed to know if I should find somewhere else to sit.” He said, sitting back.
“Sorry, TMI I know.” She said looking to Raylynn and winking.
All she could do was smile.
“So…ya gonna tell me what this morning was all about?” Aspen asked as soon as she sat at the table.
“I don’t really know honestly. He’s hot and cold with me. Like the night before last, he jumped my shit because I came out to the kitchen to get a drink in my tank top and a pair of boy shorts. Then today, he was different.” Raylynn said, pushing her food around her tray.
“Ok, but like how was it different today? I told you I need details, cause I’ve noticed some stuff too. So spill it.”
“You know I love Jax right?” she asked pausing for an answer.
“Of course, sometimes you two make me sick, why?”
“Okay, so sometimes I think he’s flirting with me, and I kno
w that sounds crazy, but I swear. I mean, like ok this morning he came to his door without a shirt on and he’s built like a god, so I kinda stared for a second, and he caught me. So he’s all like ‘see something you like’ and I lied. I told him I was thinking about something and spaced out.”
“He is built like a god, I don’t blame you for looking, but continue.”
“So, he asked what I was thinking about. So, I told him that I was thinking about the night I had to clean them up after a fight, and he was like yeah I remember that night pretty well.” She said, trying to keep something’s from her.
“Ok, continue.”
“So anyway, then he told me that Jax had started to fall for me that night and that Jax had told him the next day that he could probably fall in love with me and that he told Jax that they weren’t built for that.”
“Asshole.” Aspen whispered, intently listening to the story.
“I told him that Jax had thought that I was gonna sleep with his brother that night because I had to go to his room to patch him up. And that he was surprised that I came out in under ten minutes.”
“Wait, huh. You had to go into Syn’s room, to patch him up?” Aspen asked, trying to understand the events of that night.
“Yeah, he was bleeding and the cut was deep so I had to have him lay down so that I could clean and patch it up, but anyway, he smiled and told me that Jax was right, that no girl had ever been in that room and out in ten minutes, especially if he had gotten them in his bed.”
“Oh shit, he said that?” Aspen said, her eyes widening.
“Yeah, I know, it threw me too. So I said that our situation was a little different because he had been bleeding. And then he said and I quote, ‘What if I hadn’t been bleeding?” but he was staring at me and he was serious. I didn’t know what to say to that, but I didn’t have to say anything because that’s when you showed up. So, that’s everything.” Raylynn finished, feeling exposed somehow.
“WOW, I…I don’t really know what to think about that.”
