Without Exception (The Without Series Book 1)

by K E Osborn

  “You guys have so much fun here, it’s no wonder you have so many repeat customers, and it’s hard to get a booking,” Jane, Hogtie’s customer who came from New Zealand just to see him, calls out.

  Sinking in on myself, I exhale, knowing that because of Alex Scott, I’m not only letting my team down but also my customers, the repeat clientele, and even the valued ones like Jane who travel from overseas just to come and see one of us. This whole thing is shit. It eats me up inside.

  Taking another sip of my coffee as Jana finishes up her client by wrapping the tattoo, I stand by the cashier desk to take the money. Jana then tidies up her station.

  I go through the motions, walking her customer through his aftercare, processing the payment, and then telling him the shitty news about us closing on the nineteenth.

  It’s a process we have to go through with every customer now. One that’s going to take a little piece of me with it each time I have to explain the news. The customer leaves, and Jana walks over and rubs my back. “You’re doing a great job today. It can’t be easy telling everyone we’re closing.”

  I groan. “I don’t wanna do it anymore.” I blink back the tears. “Can I take it all back?”

  Jana leans in hugging me. “Stop being a whiny bitch and own this shit.”

  I snort out a laugh pulling back from her. “I can always count on you to bring me back to reality.”

  The shop bell above the door jingles, and Levi comes rushing in with Greta a few paces behind him. He has the biggest smile on his face as he rushes up to me, his backpack half hanging off his shoulders in his excitement. “Tomi! Blake said that I was cool today because my sister is a tattoo artist and her boyfriend drives a Chevy...” He beams with pride. “I’m cool, Tomi! I’m cool.”

  My stomach falls through the floor. I’m so happy that the kids at school are cutting him some slack, but I’m gutted to know it’s because of my job. Now, that’s not going to be the case anymore, I’m worried the kids might turn things around on him, and it will be all my fault again.

  I glance at Greta, and she seems to sense something’s up. She steps closer as I reach for Levi’s hands, taking them in mine. “Levi, that’s such good news, and I’m unbelievably happy for you—”

  “But?”

  See, he’s smart.

  I glance at Greta.

  She knows to be ready.

  Taking a breath, I prepare to tell him.

  He’s going to find out sooner or later, and if he’s coming in here, he’s going to hear one of us telling a client.

  He’s better off hearing it from me.

  Now.

  “Levi, you know how Jacob owns this place, and we just rent it from him?” He nods, his nostrils flaring. “Well, there’s a developer coming in who’s bought the rights to the land. Jacob has sold the land, and so we have to vacate the shop.” He’s quiet. A little too quiet. He’s processing. “Do you understand what that means?”

  He looks around the shop taking in the pictures of Mom and Dad and looking at all the little hidden design features they put in place just for us. This place was as much theirs as it was mine.

  He gets it.

  I know he does.

  He looks at me, and I see his eyes starting to water. The sight instantly breaking my heart.

  “Where will I go after school?”

  Taking a deep breath, I straighten my shoulders. “Greta will take you straight home.”

  He stiffens, his muscles going ridged like I’ve shot an iceberg right through him. He shakes his head in disagreement. “No. I have to come here.”

  I tighten my grip on his hands. “I know, buddy, but you won’t be able to. The shop won’t be here.”

  He rips his hands from mine. “No, no, no. This is not how it works. I go to school, I come to the shop, then we go home. This is how it works.” He starts pacing the shop frantically gripping at his hair, the sight making my heart hammer in my chest. I knew this was the exact reaction I was going to get.

  I grab his arm to pull him around, but he smacks my hands away, yelling in my face, shocking me. I stumble back as he takes off toward the back room. I go to chase after him, but Greta grabs my arm and stops me. “I’ll go, you stay here. He’s upset with you right now. Let me calm him and remind him you’re not the bad guy,” she states as I hear something being thrown in the back room making me jump while Greta takes off.

  My entire body shakes, trembling as I notice a couple of customers watching me, but the expressions on their faces aren’t anything but sympathy. I take a deep breath as Hogtie looks at me as if to ask if I’m okay, and I nod.

  Jana walks over and wraps her arm around me and ushers me to the waiting area. “C’mon, he’ll be okay. It’ll take some getting used to, but babe, if he got through the rest of your family passing and you being the one to take over everything, then he will make it through this tiny change in comparison, yeah?”

  Sniffling, I nod. That helped. When they died, Levi was an off-the-charts wreck. It’s taken a long time to get him to where he is now.

  In comparison, this is just a speck of dust.

  We’ll get through this, together.

  We have to.

  I hear another scream and something else being hurtled to the ground. I grimace in response as I turn on my feet and start to make my way to the staff room at the rear of the studio. I know Greta can calm Levi, but she shouldn’t have to do this alone. I made this mess, I should help her clean it up.

  I hear him groaning and grumbling as I walk toward the room with Greta telling him it’s going to be all right. The only thing going through my mind is the fact that this won’t be all right, but I can’t let Levi see me falter right now.

  I have to be strong—for him.

  Striding through the opening, I see Levi picking up another metal tray ready to slam it down, and I glare at him. “Don’t you dare slam that on the floor, young man.” He hesitates, tears in his eyes as he hovers it, his chest panting while he stares at me. “I know you’re hurting, I am too...” I step closer to him as he raises it higher as if he’s going to either hit me or slam it to the ground, but I don’t waver and continue my stance as I step closer. “This will be a big change for all of us, Levi. And I know it sucks, man, I know it does but, little bro, but we have to stick together in this. We’re a team… the three of us, right?”

  His breathing comes in short and sharp as Greta moves forward slowly the same time I do, and we both reach out. Greta takes the metal tray as I grab Levi in my arms and he collapses into them limply. He’s so heavy that we both fall to the floor in a heap. But I keep a hold on him, he needs me right now, and to be honest, I need him just as much.

  Greta sits on the floor next to us as I rock with Levi in my arms stroking his hair to relax him as his breathing eases.

  “I love you, Levi, and I will do everything in my power to make you happy. You have to know that.”

  He exhales, his body limp as he finally looks up at me through his tired eyes. “I love it here, Tomi. I go to school. I come here. I don’t want it to change.”

  My stomach flips. He’s still not getting it, or maybe he gets it all too well, and therein lies the problem. I bite down on my bottom lip as Greta reaches out grabbing Levi’s hand and tightens her grip on him. “Levi, I know you want to keep coming here, but you simply can’t. We will have to make our own fun at home. What do you say?” Greta tries to change tactics.

  He shifts in my lap, seeming to take notice of her words. “Can we do whatever we want at home after school?”

  Greta glances at me and I nod at her. “Yes, Levi. We can think of all kinds of fun things to do. Art, cooking, video games… we can do something different every day if you like,” Greta suggests, gaining his attention.

  He sits taller–BINGO, we’ve got him.

  “Okay,” his voice raises a little higher, relieving me instantly.

  I know this isn’t an easy fix. It’s not like we can settle him with a promise of fun ac
tivities, and he’ll be fine forever. Once the routine kicks in, and he’s not coming here anymore, there will be more upsets, more outbursts, more destructive behavior. But for now, at least, Levi’s okay, and he’s under control.

  I’m not looking forward to how badly he’ll fall apart when this really starts to sink in. I have no idea if he’ll go off the rails completely or if he’ll be fine. All I know is, I need to be prepared because I’m all my brother has, and if I can’t be strong for him, he has no chance of being strong for himself.

  ALEX

  A Week Later

  As I glance over the new design for the mega-complex, I notice Dave, the design engineer, has positioned the new tattoo studio almost exactly where Hope & Faith Ink is right now. I couldn’t be more pleased with his work. The size of the store is almost double that of Tomi’s studio right now, and I’m thrilled that the approval has gone through, so I can get the designers working on the layout for the internal design.

  The problem—I feel like shit because I haven’t been able to talk to Tomi about all this, about the new shop, about me. I know that in a little over a week, Tomi is going to have to say goodbye to her current place. And then what? She’ll be out of a job with no income to keep her and Levi going. She’s already started talking to me about going to work as a checkout clerk. It will be a dramatic wage drop, and I have no idea how that will support them both.

  She’s so fucking stubborn.

  I’m caught in the dead zone. I want to reach out and tell her about this amazing place I’m going to build for her, but when I do, she’ll know who I am, and I’ll end up losing her anyway. I have to do it right or the entire thing could fail.

  The door to my office swings open with a harsh creak as my father storms inside in his usual manner. I casually glance up from my work as he slams a file down in front of me, making a gust of air woosh into my face. He stands back with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes narrowed, flames practically combusting out his ears.

  “What is it this time, Dad?” I figure it’s best just to get this over with.

  He scoffs out a laugh like he’s offended by my tone. I don’t particularly care.

  “You going to take that attitude with me, boy? When it’s you who’s being the damn fool?”

  I slump back in my chair, looking him dead in the eyes. “What are you talking about?”

  “You think I wouldn’t find out?”

  Raising my brow, I shrug. “Wanna expand a little more there, Dad?”

  He slams his fist on my desk, the vein in his neck throbbing so much I feel like it might burst at any second. “You and this tattoo studio. I did some digging… why the hell would my son care about a damn tattoo studio?”

  I sit taller, my muscles going rigid. “It’s a great shop, it brings in a good profit—”

  “Bullshit! You think I don’t know how this is all just some ploy for you to get your new piece of ass into my mega-complex?”

  Rage erupts inside of me as I stand so abruptly my chair rolls out from under me then falls back onto the floor. “You know nothing about Tomi and who she is—”

  “I. Don’t. Car—”

  “You should! Her parents and sister died leaving her alone to raise and support her younger autistic brother. She’s the only one who can provide for him, Dad...” I pause, inhaling a breath. “Taking this shop from her, taking the memories and the stability away from her, is uprooting their entire lives. You have to see how we’re affecting her, affecting them! It’s all about the bigger picture, Dad.”

  With his face scrunched, he crosses his arms over his chest again. “No. I won’t be a party to handouts. I only want retailers in the mega-complex who’ll better the street appeal, and if this woman won’t be able to make the rent and keep up her end of the bargain, then the studio goes.”

  Oh fuck! This was the ace up my sleeve, the only way I could see Tomi possibly forgiving me. If I had a shop for her waiting, maybe, just maybe, she could forgive me.

  I can’t let this go.

  I need to fight—for my future with Tomi and a future for Tomi.

  Because if this doesn’t happen, we’re both screwed.

  “Then I’ll do it,” I blurt out.

  Dad’s eyes narrow as his body slumps. His demeanor changing to intrigued. “You’ll do what?”

  “It doesn’t matter if she can’t pay the rent… I’ll pay it, in full, upfront, for a year, and then I’ll pay it each week from then on. She doesn’t even need to know about it.”

  Dad’s entire body jolts back, his body wracking with his booming laughter as it echoes off my walls. I grit my teeth as I watch him. “Jesus fucking Christ, son. You’re so whipped, you don’t even know you’re making a fool of yourself…” He exhales. “But sure, go ahead, pay the rent, design the studio, deck it out how she wants… then tell her who you are, Alex, because I know you haven’t.” His eyes narrow on me. “See how she takes the news.”

  His words take precision aim and hit right where they’re meant to. I slump as my father turns, storming out of the room. I spin, grabbing my chair and turning it upright, then slouch into it. Dad slams my door behind him, making my certificates on the walls rattle with the force. I groan as I glance back at my desk, sliding the file out of the way to see Tomi’s new outline of Hope & Faith Ink laying before me.

  I know I’m making all the wrong judgment calls, but I’m doing them for the right reasons.

  I just hope Tomi sees it that way.

  The Weekend

  After a hectic working week, Tomi invited me to go to the zoo with her and Levi. She said he hasn’t been since he was ten, but he’s doing a project at school on lions of all things, so she thought what better way to work on a project than seeing his favorite animal up close and personal.

  But it’s a risk.

  It could be a sensory overload for him, so she wanted someone to come with her.

  Just for support.

  I’m so damn honored she chose me.

  Walking hand in hand with Tomi as Levi walks ahead of us with his trusty backpack on, he’s in his element. He’s looking at all the animal enclosures in awe. I feel a bond with Levi like he’s my own little brother. I can’t explain it, I just want to look out for him. He’s a good kid.

  It’s a beautiful spring day, the sun shines brightly in the sky that’s lightly spattered with fluffy white clouds. A light breeze rustles the bright green leaves as they dance against each other.

  Today is fucking glorious.

  It’s not too crowded, but it’s good to spend some time together, the three of us. Levi’s excited as he bounces from enclosure to enclosure, perhaps a little more hyper than normal with everything making him happy today.

  I wish I felt as at ease after everything with my father, but I need to set it aside and simply enjoy my time and not worry about the secret haunting me right now.

  Tomi smiles up at me, seeming like not a care in the world could bother her. She’s here with me and her amazing brother who’s coping so well.

  Things are going great.

  “It’s up here, Tomi!” Levi yells, making a little girl near him jump and drop her ice cream. She pouts as her mother frowns and moves to comfort her daughter.

  “Levi, inside voice, please,” Tomi mumbles to him.

  Levi tilts his head, assessing her choice of words. “But we’re outside?”

  “It’s not a literal thing, Levi, just… don’t yell, okay? You’ll scare people and the animals.”

  He puts his finger up to his mouth. “Quiet like a mouse.”

  “Yes, gotta be quiet around the animals,” Tomi instructs.

  He nods as he turns and keeps walking. Then suddenly turns back to face us. “But the animals aren’t quiet, why don’t they follow the rules?”

  I chuckle. “Because this is their house, their rules, buddy.”

  His face takes on a stern look like he’s processing. “Animals’ house, their rules. We must be quiet.”

  “Exac
tly,” I reply, making Tomi smile up at me.

  Levi bounces on his toes, then takes off faster, his hand outstretched as he points toward an enclosure, and we follow him walking right up to the reason we came. The lion enclosure.

  Levi is pressed right up against the barrier, looking at the giant male lion who’s basking in the sun. Levi’s in the middle of two other children—of course—as we stand back letting him have his fill of his favorite animal. He’s bouncing up and down on the spot, but he remains quiet, which is a good thing.

  Tomi tightens her hand in mine as she glances up at me. “He’s so excited. I’m happy we were able to give him this.”

  I bring my hand up to her cheek and caress it tenderly looking into her eyes. “You’re a wonderful caregiver for him, Tomi, you give him everything he needs. Don’t ever doubt it.” She weakly smiles as I lean in pressing my lips to hers. She tastes like wild berries, the flavor’s intoxicating, sending a shiver right through me.

  Suddenly, the lion lets out an almighty roar. I tense breaking apart from Tomi looking straight at Levi, he’s hunched with his hands covering his ears from the loud noise.

  Then it all happens so damn fast.

  The little girl beside him screams so loudly it pierces my ears making me wince as she lets go of the balloon she’s holding. It flies straight up into the fence, bursting and sending a bang through the air as the little girl and the boy on the other side of Levi turn and start running, but as they do, they bump into Levi, almost knocking him to the ground.

  Levi lets out an almighty scream. The noise rattling through my very foundations.

  “Be quiet!” Levi yells at the top of his lungs, so loud his voice cracks under the strain as he continues to grip onto his ears, rocking back and forth.

  I don’t waste a second longer and take off to grab him, but he spots me coming, then bolts in the other direction, knocking little kids over on his way. They burst out crying as my feet pound hard on the concrete.

  Levi’s freaking out, and I need to stop him before he hurts himself or someone else. I’m quick, faster than I thought possible as Levi runs into a walkway with an overgrown arch. It’s secluded and not many people are in here, but they watch Levi as he groans running away from me.