Tempted: The Numb MC

by Olivia Stephens

  “That was fast,” Marie observed.

  “The sooner I leave, the sooner I can make the next train,” Kristina said. “I think it leaves at eight forty-five.”

  “I think it’s nine-thirty actually,” Marie said. “You have time.”

  “I’m pretty sure it’s eight forty-five,” Kristina insisted. “I’ll just leave a little early just in case.”

  “You know you can just check online,” Marie pointed out.

  “The internet was down last I checked,” Kristina said the lie coming easily to her.

  “Was it?”

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “I’ve got a book with me, so it doesn’t matter if I’m a little early.”

  Marie looked a little confused, but she nodded along. “Alright then, I guess I’ll see you on Tuesday?”

  “Yup,” Kristina said, leaning in and giving Marie a quick hug. “I’ll see you then. Have fun at your brother’s. Give your nephew a hug from me.”

  “Will do,” Marie said and nodded, as she waved Kristina off.

  Kristina waited till the door was shut on her, and then she rushed down the stairs and outside. Keith was already there, parked in a shadowy corner, almost completely hidden from view. Kristina knew that Marie would not be able to spot him if she were to glance out the window. Kristina walked up to him and got onto the bike behind him. They didn’t say a word to one another. Keith waited until her hands were locked around him, and then he took off into the night, leaving the campus behind them.

  They rode for maybe fifteen minutes before Keith finally started slowing down. Kristina started to pay attention to her surroundings, and she realized that they were in a somewhat residential area. There were houses lining the pavements and trees that shaded the houses. It didn’t look like a very highbrow neighborhood, but there was a quaint and homey charm about it.

  Keith came to a stop in front of one of the smaller houses. It had an arched roof and a fence that looked as though it had seen better days. The house itself looked well taken care of and the front door had been painted a bright red. Keith got off and helped Kristina down, then he grabbed her duffel bag and turned to face her.

  “Do you have the note?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Kristina said, as she reached for it and handed it to him.

  Keith seemed to read it a couple of times before he folded it in half and slipped it into his pocket. His face was hard as stone and the look in his eyes terrified her.

  “Keith…” Kristina started to say, but he turned from her and started walking towards the red door. Kristina reached out and grabbed Keith’s hand before he could make it to the door. “Where have you brought me?” Kristina asked.

  “This is where I grew up,” Keith replied in a hard voice.

  Kristina looked back at the house. For some reason, she couldn’t imagine Keith living there. “You live here?” she asked.

  “Not anymore,” Keith replied. “But my mother still does.”

  He had brought her to his childhood home. When he turned and walked towards the door, Kristina didn’t stop him. She stood there for a moment taking it in, and then she followed him. He knocked on the door and almost immediately it opened to reveal a petite woman with dark hair tinged with gray and blue eyes that were just like Keith’s.

  “Hello dear,” she said warmly. “Come in.”

  Kristina hesitated at the threshold until Keith put his hand on the small of her back and pushed her through. The house’s interior was traditional. It looked similar to the house she had grown up in, and that was deeply comforting to Kristina. Somehow she felt as though this linked them in some way. It made her feel as though she and Keith weren’t as different from each other as she had first assumed.

  “Why don’t you take a seat, Kristina,” Keith’s mother said, making Kristina turn at the sound of her voice. She spoke as though they were old friends. Her eyes were filled with warmth and comfort. She smiled at Kristina and gestured for her to sit down.

  “This is my mother,” Keith said as an introduction, “Emma.”

  “I… it’s nice to meet you… Emma,” Kristina said shyly, as she took a seat and glanced about the room. It looked like any other normal home. There were pictures that lined the table that lay beside the sofa. Kristina caught sight of a picture of Keith as a young boy. He looked so different that Kristina questioned for a moment whether it was actually Keith she was looking at. His face was youthful and open, his smile shone through his eyes, and he looked as though he believed in fairytales. It made Kristina sadder than she could imagine.

  “The pleasure’s mine,” Emma replied conventionally, as she took a seat opposite her. Keith stood on the periphery, as though he felt completely out of place with both women in the room. Kristina could sense his discomfort, and she wondered whether it stemmed from her presence or his own doubts and insecurities.

  “Has… Keith told you what happened?” Kristina asked tentatively, unsure how much Keith had made his mother aware of.

  “He has,” Emma nodded, her tone changing slightly. “I… am sorry for what you have been through.”

  Kristina shook her head quickly, worried that Emma might think she was blaming Keith in some way. “No… don’t be sorry. This is no one’s fault.”

  Kristina didn’t know how she knew it, but she swore she could feel the emotions wafting off Keith, and she could sense his jaw clench at her words. She wanted to look at him, reassure him in some way, but she resisted the urge, knowing he would turn from anything she said or did at this point.

  “You have a nice home,” Kristina said to cover up the awkwardness that filled the room.

  “Thank you, dear,” Emma replied. “I’ve lived my whole adult life in this house. Although Keith has tried to move me out more times than I can count.”

  Grateful for the excuse to look at Keith, Kristina turned her head in his direction. “You have?” she asked with interest. “Why?”

  Keith’s face was cold and distant, and Kristina didn’t miss the glare that he shot at his mother. “I just felt like… she needed a change,” Keith replied. “That’s all.”

  “Keith, why don’t you go out and get us all something to eat,” Emma said abruptly as she looked between Keith and Kristina. “I’m hungry and Kristina looks like she could do with some fattening up.”

  Keith wrinkled his eyebrows at his mother. “You always have food in the fridge.”

  “Today I don’t,” Emma said with finality. “In any case, I’m not about to serve up leftovers to a guest.”

  “You don’t have to worry about that Emma,” Kristina rushed to assure her. “I’ll eat anything, really.”

  “Be that as it may, I would still like to have something fresh and hot,” Emma insisted. “Chang’s is open. You know what I like.”

  Keith sent his mother another glare, but then he grabbed his keys and walked out of the house without any more argument. As soon as the door shut behind him, Emma turned back to Kristina. “Don’t mind him… he doesn’t like to talk about the past.”

  “I’ve noticed,” Kristina said with a small past.

  “He has sort of a love-hate relationship with this house,” Emma went on without reservation. “It was where he grew up; it was where he was raised. But it was also the scene of so many altercations with his father.”

  Kristina felt herself tense. “Keith’s father,” she said slowly. “Keith has never mentioned him before…”

  “I’m not surprised,” Emma replied. “Keith doesn’t like talking about him, even with me.”

  “He was abusive,” Kristina said, filling in the blanks.

  “Yes,” Emma nodded. “My husband was abusive with me…and with Keith. Keith bore the brunt of his anger when he got older. He was always trying to protect me.”

  “Oh,” Kristina said with awe. “That must have been a lot… for a young boy to handle.”

  “It was,” Emma said heavily. “More than he should have had to handle in the first place. But I was not as strong as
I should have been… and Keith suffered for it.”

  Kristina didn’t know what to say. She was touched to be taken into the confidence of this woman, whom she had just met, but it also made her uneasy, knowing that Emma was sharing so much of Keith’s life with her. She would have preferred hearing it all from Keith himself.

  “I think he wanted me to leave this house because it was tied to so many memories that he just wanted to forget,” Emma went on.

  “But you didn’t feel the same way?” Kristina asked with curiosity.

  “There are bad memories here,” Emma said with a nod. “But this is where I raised my only child… and I’ve always been a sentimental person. I don’t know how to explain it exactly, but I suppose you could say that the good memories have always outweighed the bad ones.”

  “That’s a healthy way to look at it,” Kristina smiled.

  “I’d like to think so,” Emma nodded. “But I find it’s hard to convince Keith when he’s made up his mind.”

  “I’ve noticed that, too.”

  Emma gave her a knowing smile. “Keith never mentioned you until a few hours ago when he told me that he was bringing you here to spend a few nights.”

  “I’m so sorry to put you out like this,” Kristina said quickly. “I can always make other arrangements…”

  “That is not why I bring it up,” Emma interrupted her. “I bring it up because I realize that you and my son have a relationship of sorts?”

  Kristina shook her head. “I wouldn’t call it a relationship… we’re friends…”

  “You don’t sound sure,” Emma said with raised eyebrows.

  “I… guess I’m not,” Kristina said with a sigh. “It’s complicated.”

  “Most things concerning Keith usually are,” Emma nodded. “But I do know this much… if he brought you here, it is because he cares for you.”

  “He feels guilty for bringing me into this,” Kristina said. “There’s a difference.”

  Emma seemed to consider that. “Yes, guilt is a part of it,” she conceded. “But there’s more there.”

  “If it’s all the same to you,” Kristina said slowly, “I’d rather not believe that.”

  Emma looked at her carefully, and then she gave her a small smile. “Will you help me set the table for dinner?”

  “Of course,” Kristina nodded as she rose and followed Emma into the kitchen.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Keith

  Keith stood on the corner of the street while his take out meal was being prepared. He felt himself bounce on the soles of his feet as his nerves increased. He wondered what his mother would tell Kristina; he wondered if they would have anything to talk about; he wondered if it had been a mistake bringing Kristina there.

  His mind raced with uncertainty as he retraced the moments that led to his decision. He had just calmed himself down when he had received the second call from Kristina. He had hoped that it would turn out to be nothing, even as he answered the phone, but her voice had betrayed that hope from the first. She sounded worse than she had that morning when she had called him the first time. Once Keith heard what the note that had been thrown through Kristina’s window had said, he had almost flown into a full-fledged rage. He had dashed his lampshade against the wall, obliterating it with one blow.

  Once his breathing had calmed down, he had picked up the phone without thinking and called his mother. “What is it, darling?” Emma has asked with concern. “You don’t sound good.”

  “I need a favor, Mom,” Keith had asked. “A big one.”

  “Of course,” Emma had replied readily. “You know you can ask me anything.”

  “I have this friend… she needs a place to stay for a few days,” Keith had gone on, stumbling over his own words. “Somewhere safe.”

  “What is she running from?” Emma had asked.

  “She’s not running,” Keith had replied. “I just need to make sure she’s safe.”

  There had been a moment of silence. “What are you keeping her safe from?” Emma had asked, cutting to the heart of the matter.

  “The Rusted Chains,” Keith had replied through gritted teeth. “They’re tailing her.”

  “Why?”

  Keith closed his eyes; they felt weighted down with regret. “Because of me,” was all he said.

  He had expected his mother to continue questioning him, but she seemed to cut their conversation short. “I’ll get the spare room ready,” she said.

  “I’ll have her there within the hour,” Keith said before he hung up.

  He had driven from his place to the campus and then to his mother's house, all the while trying to maintain some semblance of calm so that he wouldn’t overly agitate Kristina. He knew that she was already shaken up; he didn’t want to make that worse. Still, he had been unable to resist the urge to ask for the note that had been tied to the brick. He knew he had to see the words in order to truly believe them.

  He could still see the words, almost as though they were etched at the back of his eyelids. ‘Do you know what happens to little girls who fuck big bikers named Keith’, the note had read. ‘They die. So I’d be careful… there are monsters in the night and they’re watching you now.’

  His name had been written there clear as day, further proof that he was the one who was solely responsible for dragging Kristina into the middle of a growing gang battle. Keith couldn’t believe he had been so naïve as to believe that this wouldn’t happen again. He thought about all those times he had sworn off women just so that he could avoid this very situation. It was almost as though the moment had crept up on him while he wasn’t looking and made him do the very thing he had sworn he would never do again.

  “Hey man?” a voice yelled from the corner. “Your food’s ready.”

  Keith took the package that was held out to him and made his way back to the house. He didn’t want his mother telling Kristina more than she needed to know. He didn’t want her pity, and he didn’t want her to know more about him than she already did. It set a bad precedent, and he didn’t want her to feel as though their relationship was more than it was.

  When he walked through the door, he was greeted by the sound of chatter and mild laughter wafting through from the kitchen while the sitting room stood empty. Sighing, he moved into the kitchen to find Emma and Kristina sitting by the circular table with large glasses of lemonade in hand. The sight of them sent a wave of calm over him and Keith was able to push aside his worry and anger for a moment. He joined them at the table and set the takeout in its center.

  “You started without me,” he said.

  “Just the conversation,” Emma said. “It’s a good thing you got here when you did. I was starting to get hungry.”

  They tucked into the dinner in silence, and it gave Keith some time to reflect on the comfort that had crept in between his mother and Kristina. The awkwardness of the moments before he had left them had disappeared. Now there was the sense of ease that pervaded through the air. Even in silence he could find no tension or discomfort.

  “What did you’ll talk about while I was out?” Keith couldn’t help but ask. Simple curiosity forced the question from his lips, but he also wanted to make sure that his mother hadn’t divulged more than she should have.

  “Just this and that,” Emma replied with an evasive smile. “Do you know that Kristina is graduating with a degree in sociology?”

  “I didn’t know that,” Keith said, forking noodles into his mouth.

  “What do your parents do, Kristina?” Emma asked conversationally.

  “My mother is a doctor,” Kristina replied. “And my father is a lawyer.”

  Emma raised her eyebrows, and Keith wished that she didn’t look so impressed. “I never went to college myself… I only had the one brother, and he died in his twenties. I always nursed the hope that Keith would go on day…”

  “Maybe he still can,” Kristina suggested.

  “That life is not for me,” Keith said more harshly than he ha
d intended. “I knew it then and I know it now. More so than ever.”

  Kristina fell silent and looked down at her bowl of noodles, but Emma seemed unperturbed by Keith’s rough nature. “He always felt like the college route was too rigid…”

  “He’s not wrong,” Kristina said slowly. “Sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision in going at all.”

  Emma looked at her with curiosity and Keith had to admit that it surprised him, too. “Do you really?” Emma asked.

  “Yes,” Kristina nodded.

  “Why is that?”