by Bijou Hunter
“I need to see you tomorrow,” I said, accepting how I would have to take her home.
“I work in the morning and have school in the afternoon.”
“Hell,” I said, rubbing my head and feeling the rough hairs needing to be shaved. “I have a client in the morning or I’d visit you at Denny’s.”
“It’s okay. I can’t really talk that much at work and I would probably get fired from sitting on your lap and making out.”
Grinning, I kissed her and we didn’t stop until a few motorcycles raced by startling Lark. She glanced at them then back at me.
“Can I pick you up after school?” I asked, caressing her delicate face.
“Yes,” she said, her smile warming and those eyes lighting up. “I could meet you on the quad by the senior hall. It’s close to my second class. Would that be okay?”
Leaning into her hair, I inhaled her vanilla scent. “I don’t care where I meet you. I just need to know I won’t go a day without you in my arms.”
Lark shivered at my words and again when my teeth tugged at her earlobe. Her arms tightened around me and the dreamer in me said taking her home to that shit family wasn’t happening. I should bring her to my place. With me, she would smile because she was happy, not because she always smiled.
Instead of giving us what we wanted, I forced myself to drive her to the big ranch house on the outskirts of Ellsberg. The lights were on and Lark frowned at a Harley parked in the long driveway.
“Will you be okay?” I asked, helping her off the bike.
“They’ll be mad, but it should be fine.”
“Mad how?”
Lark smiled up at me and caressed the face of my cobra. “I’ll get a lecture about keeping promises. Larry is very into personal contracts of conduct and not breaking them. He’ll remind me how I come from a long line of loser women and I am making bad decisions. I’ll nod and apologize. It’ll be fine.”
I glared at the house. “You shouldn’t have to apologize for shit. You’re nearly twenty. Going on a date shouldn’t be a criminal offense in your fucking house.”
Lark reacted to my anger by shrinking a little. Even looking younger now, she smiled. It was a fake grin frozen on her face as she waited for me to hurt her.
Cupping her face, I kissed her tenderly and hoped her fear faded. “You never have to be afraid of me,” I whispered.
“I’m not.”
Calling her out on the lie was pointless. I’d freaked her out and now she had to walk into a house full of stupid men. As much as I wanted to battle Larry and Dylan for her, I sensed Lark would be upset if I tried.
“I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon,” I said, kissing her again. “We’ll go out and talk more. You can tell me about school. Tell me about anything. I just want to hear your voice.”
Lark’s real smile returned with gusto. “I’m going to miss you too.”
For a moment, I knew it was a mistake to let her walk away from me. This knowledge wasn’t my dreamer talking either. This came from the male predator in me. It wanted my woman safe and I knew she belonged with me. Despite just meeting, my heart had claimed Lark. Apparently, my male ego had too.
Yet, I let her leave me and return to the house with her crap family. I told myself this life of hers was temporary and soon she would be where she belonged. With me.
Chapter Eleven - Lark
Tasting Aaron on my lips, I entered the house and my smile wasn’t fake for once. I had never been happier in my life. Nothing before had felt as right as it felt when I was wrapped in Aaron’s arms. I had been sleepwalking through life until the moment his lips touched mine. Now, I was awake and everything was never more beautiful.
So happy at my evening, I didn’t worry over Larry’s anger. I figured he’d call me a loser or have my mom tell me I was a loser. Words wouldn’t bring me down. Not after spending a few hours with Aaron.
My joy faltered a bit when I noticed a box filled with my stuff at the front door.
“We’ll buy more boxes in the morning,” Mom said as Larry stood next to her. “A dozen should fit all of your things.”
“What?” was all I could think to say.
Dylan standing in the living room with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. He was glaring at me like he used to glare at Raven before they got into their big brawl.
“If you want to live like a whore,” Larry said in the calmest voice, “you’ll need to live elsewhere.”
“I just went to dinner.”
“With a thug,” Mom said. “Larry is an important man in Ellsberg. He can’t have his stepdaughter acting like a loser.”
“If I move out, I won’t be able to go to college. Won’t that make me look like a loser?”
“It’s your decision,” Larry said, wrapping an arm around my mom. “You can slut around town or you can go to college. I believe in personal choice and I’m allowing you to decide what path you want to follow.”
“Aaron owns a business. His parents are members of the country club.”
“Choose,” Mom said when Larry squeezed her shoulders. “Larry could have just thrown you out, but he’s too generous for such a thing.”
Staring at the ground, I thought about how perfect Aaron was and how much I wanted him. Yet, college was my way out of a generation of poverty and dependence on men. If I gave up school, I was agreeing to give up my dreams for a man. Like so many women before me, I would give up the future for the short term chance at romantic happiness.
“I’ll stop seeing him,” I said, hating the words.
“Just in case, we’ll get those boxes for you. Dylan can pick up apartment listings tomorrow. Can’t you, son?”
“Sure,” Dylan nearly hissed.
“What do you say?” Mom asked.
“Thank you, Larry,” I mumbled, walking to my room.
The room was small, barely fitting a twin bed and dresser. It seemed smaller than usual when I arrived and shut the door. Kicking off my shoes, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. That stupid smile on my face mocked me and the tears broke free.
Raven said crying was the reason women didn’t run the world. If we could just control our tears, we’d beat men into submission. I didn’t think this was true, but I didn’t like crying.
Like we did as children, I climbed into my closet and sat in the corner. Wrapping my arms around my body, I pretended I was safe and happy. Holding the picture of me with Raven and Phoenix, I pretended I was already free of Larry, Dylan, and Mom. Most of all, I pretended I hadn’t just given up Aaron.
Crying into my knees, I remembered hiding in the closet with Raven and Phoenix back when our then stepfather would rage. I would hold my brother against me as Raven told us stories. They were all fairytales done Raven-style. Cinderella beat the crap out of her stepmom and sisters. Snow White led the dwarfs and animals into a war where she killed the evil queen. Phoenix didn’t realize the stories were different, but I loved Raven’s bloodier versions. Mostly because the nasty stepparents were always killed and I never had a stepfather I didn’t hate.
Dozing off in the closet, I imagined one day finding my way back to Aaron and telling him those stories. Maybe he could paint the stories and I could show them to Raven. In my fantasy, Aaron loved me, Raven returned to town, and I was free of Mom and her men forever.
Chapter Twelve - Aaron
Over the years, I’d tattooed plenty of quirky characters. Yet, Nick was an odd guy mainly because on the surface he seemed so normal. Most of my customers wanted cover ups for tattoos they chose while drunk. Over half came to me to put their lovers’ names on them then returned to have those names turned into something else. I just smiled at their crazy and gave them what they wanted. After all, I was an artist who actually made money off my craft. As my mom often pointed out, most artists couldn’t make that claim.
Nick was different in that he was quiet like a bookworm and scary like a thug at the same time. He came in wanting a dragon tattoo across his back. The thing was h
uge and pricey, but he wanted it. I told him how much it would cost and he returned a few months later with the money. Where he found the money I didn’t know or ask.
After getting a look at Nick’s back, I wasn’t surprised he took a solid beating from Cooper without falling apart. Most guys would be gun-shy after such an ass whipping. Based on his scarred back, Nick was accustomed to beatings. I also noticed he often came in bruised especially his knuckles. Again I was curious, but didn’t ask any questions.
“Lark is sweet, but you better watch out for her family,” Nick said, startling me while I worked.
Normally, the guy leaned forward against the chair, leaving his back open for me, while he read schoolwork off a laptop. He didn’t talk to me besides hello and goodbye. He was all about getting his assignments done. This was the bookworm Nick I knew. Suddenly, he was chatty about my girl.
“How do you mean?” I asked, still working.
“Her stepbrother has the hots for her. You know that, right?”
“I do now. What the fuck?” I asked, wiping the excess ink from his back. “How do you know any of this?”
“We have a class together and study occasionally. Last night she ran off to see you and I had to play distraction for her brother. The guy is unhinged. You should have seen when he realized she gave him the slip. It was like a possessive boyfriend flipping out.”
“Lark didn’t say much about her family. I know now why. Her stepdad is that loud fuck on the city council.”
“I don’t know about him. I’ve only seen the asshole brother. Just thought I would warn you that she’s not safe in that house.”
Having missed Nick’s point until he spelled it out, I inhaled harshly. “Not safe?”
“The way she is around Dylan is like she’s scared. She’s not that way around other guys. When I reach for something near her, she doesn’t flinch. With him, she does.”
“Fuck,” I said under my breath. “I’ll talk to her about moving out.”
“Money’s tight. I know that much. We talked once about it when I had breakfast at Denny’s. She said she couldn’t afford to take more than two classes. The rich asshole stepdad isn’t helping.”
Leaning back on my stool, I thought about my muse stuck in that house with men who made her flinch. She hid her ugly life and smiled easily, but too much of it was a lie.
“Thanks for telling me,” I said, returning to work.
Nick never winced at the pain. He was cold as a fucker and I suspected if he were bigger that he might have taken down Cooper. My friend was hard, but he cared about his safety. I suspected Nick didn’t.
“I know what it feels like to want a girl and have her out of reach,” Nick said, reading again. “Lark deserves to be happy. She’s on her own too much and she’s not a person who does well alone.”
“What girl?” I asked, letting my curiosity out.
“Not worth mentioning. It’ll never happen, but you and Lark make sense.”
“Is it Farah?” I pushed. “The girl you can’t have.”
Nick laughed. “No. Farah’s great, but she’s like Lark,” he said, glancing back. “Delicate. Your girl is like a flower and flowers get bruised too easily.”
With that comment, Nick fell silent. I left him to his quiet and worked on completing another part of his tattoo. I didn’t allow myself to get distracted with worrying over Lark.
Yet, in the back of my head, I was already thinking how her family’s bullshit needed to be aired. No more protecting fuckers who caused her fear. Something needed to change.
Chapter Thirteen - Lark
When depressed, I clean obsessively. My manager called me the hummingbird housekeeper because I was a flurry of activity. I cleaned my tables, other servers’ tables, swept the floor, cleaned in the kitchen then started again. I wanted everything scrubbed down as if hoping to wipe away my unhappiness. It never worked, but I couldn’t stop myself.
Waking up and knowing I would tell Aaron goodbye, I was a frenzy of cleaning. Even focused on wiping tables, my mind saw Aaron everywhere. The green in the ugly carpet reminded me of the scales on his cobra. The blue on the tiles in the restrooms made me think of Aaron’s eyes. Every man I saw was compared unfavorably to the one I wanted. This included Dylan who picked me up for school.
That morning when he drove me to work, we were both silently angry. As he dropped me off at school, Dylan decided silence wasn’t working for him. He grabbed my wrist and stared down at me.
“If you sneak off again, I’ll know it.”
“Let go of me,” I whispered, afraid to lose my temper and cause him to lose his. I’d seen him truly enraged before and I knew he had no problems hitting a woman. “I need to get to class.”
“That guy will use you and toss you aside. You want to be his former slut?”
“I want to go to class.”
“I’ll be here when classes end and your loser boyfriend shows up. If you try to weasel out of telling him to fuck off, I’ll tell Larry and you can move the fuck out. Do you understand?”
Staring in Dylan’s eyes, I realized he was jealous. He would never really view me as a sister. This was as much of a certainty as how I would never view him as anything more than my asshole stepbrother.
Classes were boring and I nearly fell asleep a few times. The night before in the closet hadn’t been restful. Plus, I had nothing to clean and my depression lingered in my thoughts. While I dreaded telling Aaron goodbye, I wanted to get it over with too. I guess deep inside, I just wanted to see him. Everything was better when I imagined his gaze on me.
When my second class ended, I walked to the quad next to the senior hall. Both Dylan and Aaron were waiting. My stepbrother was glaring at Aaron who didn’t seem to notice he was there. Dylan remained on his Harley in the parking lot while Aaron walked towards me.
Gorgeous and powerful, Aaron looked irresistible. His tanned arms shined in the late afternoon sun and I wanted them wrapped around me. Instead, I had to tell him goodbye.
With Dylan glaring at Aaron, impending violence was thick in the air. However, I refused to have anyone hurt over me.
“What’s up?” Aaron asked.
“I can’t see you anymore.”
“Why the hell not?” he asked, frowning in the direction of Dylan before returning his gaze to me.
“I need to finish school. Once I do, I won’t have to live in that house and I can do what I want. Until then, I need to do what I’m told.”
“Fuck that,” Aaron whispered, reaching out to touch my face. “I can handle your idiot brother.”
“It’s not him. It’s Larry and I need to behave or I can’t go to school.”
“I can…”
“No,” I said, leaning into his warm palm. “Please, I need to be smart and finish school. I’m sorry.”
“Lark…”
“Maybe when I’m done with school in a few years, if you’re not with someone else, we could try again.”
“You’re fucking kidding, right?” he said and I flinched.
Backing away, I panicked a little at his anger. “I guess that would be stupid to think you’d wait so long. You deserve to find someone.”
Aaron rubbed at the back of his neck and sighed loudly. His blue eyes flickered to Dylan then back to me.
“I’ll wait.”
“What?”
“If this is the way you need it to be, I’ll wait. I want you and I’m not settling for anyone else. When you’re rid of those fucks, I’ll be waiting for you.”
Staring at his perfect face, I couldn’t believe he would wait. For me. No one had ever thought I was special. Even Raven ditched me.
As I smiled in awe at his gesture, he reached out to caress my cheek again. I wished to find the words to make him understand, but I wasn’t an articulate person and Dylan was moving towards us anyway.
“Hands off, fucker!” Dylan hollered.
Aaron’s expression changed and I thought they would fight.
“Please
, don’t,” I whispered.
Exhaling hard, Aaron stepped back. I could see how much it killed him to leave Dylan unbloodied. If I thought beating the crap out of Dylan would fix everything, I would step aside and watch Aaron flex his muscles.
Nothing would change with them bleeding though. Yet, something had changed inside me when Aaron said he would wait. For the first time since Raven ditched me, I felt like Thunder Kitten. I would pace myself and play nice, but I wasn’t making Aaron wait. I would find a way to be with him. Larry’s rules be damned.
Chapter Fourteen - Aaron
Restless in a way no amount of painting could fix, I called Cooper to get a few beers. I wanted him to make me believe Lark would return to me. I needed Cooper to tell me I wasn’t a fool to wait for her. Craving a voice of reason against the dreamer in my head, I knew my friend wouldn’t sugarcoat shit.
“What if I’m wrong?” I said, finishing my beer as we sat at the bar. “What if the things I see in Lark are lies like with Kristen?”
“Lark isn’t Kristen. She’s a sweet girl with a shitty family. Kristen was a shitty girl with a sweet family. It happens.”
“What if I wait and she never comes back? What if she just hooks up with another guy and I’m the dumb fuck waiting around for a lie?”
“Do you want to fuck someone else?”
“No.”
“Have you fucked anyone since you got hung up on Lark at the wedding?”
“No.”
“You haven’t fucked anyone in months?” Vaughn barked from farther down the bar. “No wonder you’re such a whiny bitch.”
Cooper glared at Vaughn who shook his head. “What’s the difference really? If I fuck that brunette over there or I go home and fuck that blonde over there, what difference does it make? They have the same damn parts and I get off either way. I think you two are over thinking this shit.”
“It’s different,” Cooper growled. “My girl isn’t like any other girl. Fucking her isn’t like fucking any other girl. If you ever had a woman claim your heart and make it her bitch, you’d fucking know that. Instead, you fuck random chicks and pretend you don’t need more. You’re full of shit though. Judd might not have needed more until he had more, but you’re a man looking to give his balls away. You’d give it to Bailey or Lark or anyone else if they were the right one. I know that and you know that, so shut the fuck up.”
