Spider: A tattoo romance (Rough Ink Book 2)

by MV Ellis

  A few of my classmates have even told me that their moms thought he was hot, which was both funny and gross. More gross than anything, but I still liked to make jokes about it to him, because I knew it creeped him out.

  I tried not to do it when my mom was around though, as it seemed to maybe piss her off. I guessed it would be a little weird for her to hear that other moms had said that, but then I also got the idea that she maybe secretly liked it a little. She’d get this look in her eyes, even while she was pissed off about it, and he would get the same look in his.

  I always knew when they got that look that they were going to make an excuse to disappear into the bedroom and it would be best if I stayed in the living room and listened to music or played a game real loud on my headphones. I didn’t mind having to wear my headphones these days, though. Not like in the bad old days.

  As I sat in the back of Dad’s car on the way to the bookstore, nerves started to hit me. Not for Mom’s book launch. This was her second book, and her first, Monsters in My Closet, had been an international best seller, so Mom was hot right now. The critics who’d read Slaying Dragons before its release had said it was better than the first book. Still, Mom seemed nervous anyway. Actually, now she seemed kind of terrified. It was a big deal, I guessed.

  I was also a little nervous about it, but for totally different reasons. After the release of Mom’s first book, she’d done a lot of interviews and written articles that made it clear that although it was fiction, the book was about her and all the bad stuff that happened to her when she was growing up. Phoebe, the little girl in the story, was obviously her.

  Mom had created the magical powers Phoebe had to fight monsters, wrestle bears, and overpower ferocious beasts in the journals that she used to always write in. They were skills she wished she’d had as a kid to take out her dad, my grandfather, whom I’d never met.

  It was kind of obvious that the next book was also about her and her life, only this time the evil force that needed to be slain was my sperm donor instead of hers. It was pretty embarrassing for the world to know that my biological father was evil.

  I should know, since I’d been through it once already when I was eight and he went to jail for holding my Mom hostage and threatening to kill her. One of the school moms recognized my mom from the news footage, then told her kid and a whole bunch of the other moms.

  Before I knew it, rumors were flying around the school playground, and so was the teasing about my dad being a psycho. People started calling me Son of Sam. The nickname followed me to junior high, and with the book coming out, there was a chance that all of that shit could start again and even follow me to high school.

  I’d never told Mom the extent of the bullying, even before all the stuff about my dad got out. I guessed I’d been a pretty easy target. I was small for my age and kind of dorky. I liked science—marine life in particular. There was nothing cool about that. And I never fought back. Ever. I definitely hadn’t inherited Tommy’s angry genes. Actually, I might not have inherited my mom’s genes, either. She was tough. She put up with so much from my dad and her dad. I couldn’t have done that, but I couldn’t fight either, so if I ever ended up in a situation like that, I don’t know what would happen to me.

  Now that I was older, it wasn’t like I was big or anything, but I wasn’t scrawny anymore, and kids seemed to think twice about picking on me these days. Maybe it had something to do with everyone knowing that Spider was my new dad—Tommy was just a guy who got my mum pregnant. I definitely think it helped that Spider was really big and looked kind of mean, even though in real life he totally wasn’t at all. Not even a little. Nobody ever had a bad word to say about Spider—he was the nicest, kindest guy ever.

  That didn’t stop the names, although mostly people just called me SoS for short. I didn’t even really mind it anymore. Not only was I just used to it, but it was also true. My biological father was an animal. My grandfather was an animal. No point in pretending. Actually, if anyone wanted to say bad stuff about Tommy, I’d probably join in too.

  When my dad went to jail, my mom told me that he’d done something very bad and would probably be in a prison for a very long time. Like until I was a grown-up. She didn’t tell me what he’d done, and I didn’t ask—because I already knew from the kids in the playground. I did ask if I could visit him, though. Mom had been good about saying no. She’d said that prisons weren’t good places for little kids like me, but when I was older, if I still wanted to go, she’d maybe take me.

  Now that I was older, I never wanted to see him again. Ever. He could rot in there and be eaten alive by rats for all I cared. He was dead to me, and I hated him. Mom said hate was a strong emotion that should be reserved for the worst things and people in our society. I think that sounded exactly like Tommy. I was getting angry just thinking about him, so I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths to help me calm down.

  After a while, I felt eyes on me, so I opened mine to find Spider looking at me in the rearview mirror.

  “You okay, Bob?”

  Bob was his nickname for me, after SpongeBob SquarePants. When he’d first started dating my mom, I’d been obsessed with SpongeBob, partly because it was the best cartoon ever made, and partly because the guy who’d come up with the idea was a marine biologist. I still loved SBSP, but I wasn’t obsessed with it the way I used to be.

  The nickname stuck anyway, and it was kind of our own private thing. I didn’t even think about it anymore, it was so normal between us. I kind of forgot that maybe it was a little weird until someone heard us speaking and would ask me why the hell Mom’s boyfriend would call me Bob when it wasn’t even close to being my name.

  “Yeah. Just thinking, that’s all.”

  “Looked like you were wrestling with some heavy thoughts there, bud. Anything I can help with? You know you can tell me anything, right?”

  I did know. Spider was one of the best things in my life apart from Mom. A kid couldn’t ask for a better unofficial stepdad.

  “Yeah, I know. S’all good. Thanks. I’m cool.”

  “Sure?”

  “Yep.” I popped the P for even more emphasis.

  I knew he worried about me, which I hated. I wasn’t even his kid. Not officially, anyway, but the way he acted was way more of a father to me than my “real” dad had ever been.

  I’d never felt love from Tommy. It was like I was always an inconvenience or irritation to him. I seemed to be in the way all the time. And I think he thought I was weird. I mean, that part was fair. I was weird, but still. I was his kid. He should have loved me anyway, despite my weirdness. Or because of my weirdness, just like Mom and Spider did.

  But he just couldn’t relate to my obsession with what went on in the sea. Didn’t even try. Deep down I always knew that my mom hated all that stuff too, but she’d encouraged me anyway. Like when I wanted to go to the aquarium for the thousandth time, she never complained, even though it was probably really boring for her.

  Then when Spider came on the scene, he took over for her, and going there would be our thing that we did together. Probably just to give Mom a break, but I guessed it was also so we could have some guy time alone. We would never just go to the aquarium, either. We’d also go to the arcade, or grab a burger, or go buy new Legos. Something that was cool and special just between the two of us. My sperm donor never even once took me to the neighborhood park or corner store my whole life.

  Spider’s voice made me jump. “Okay, dude. I’ll take your word for it.” My mind had drifted again, and I’d almost forgotten where I was, where I was going, and what I was about to do.

  Later that night, we were at Mr. Big celebrating Mom’s launch with the best burgers on the planet. It wasn’t the fanciest place, but it was kind of a family tradition, and we all loved it. It was the three of us, plus some of Mom’s book people—her agent, her publicist, and a couple of other people from her publisher—as well as mom’s friend Stacey, and Kota, and Zed from the tattoo store, plu
s Zed’s wife, Vivi.

  I was so nervous I thought I might vomit, but I went ahead and cleared my throat anyway, knocking on the table with my knuckles to get everyone’s attention and stop them from talking. All of a sudden, ten pairs of eyes were focused on me.

  “Um, I’m sorry to interrupt everyone, but I kind of wanted to say something.” I was so nervous now my hands were shaking, and my mouth was dry, so everyone else would know how nervous I was too. I took a big gulp of my soda, then jammed my hands between my legs to keep them still.

  “Ah… so, I wanted to speak to Spider, actually.”

  He raised an eyebrow at me like a question mark.

  “First, I’d like to say thank you for being in our lives. I mean mine and Mom’s. Thanks for always being there for us, and for loving us, and saving us.”

  Spider opened his mouth to speak, but I didn’t let him get the chance. I needed to get my words out say before I started crying and looked like a big wuss.

  “Thanks for being the best dad any kid could ask for. You saved my childhood.”

  I heard Mom sniff loudly, and I knew she was crying. I didn’t look at her though, as I knew that would make me start too, and I really didn’t want to cry in front of all those grown-ups.

  “I love you more than I ever loved my biological father. And I know you love Mom and me heaps too.”

  Spider nodded, but he had a weird look on his face.

  “So… I wanted to ask you if I could call you Dad, and if you would please adopt me?” I pulled an envelope out of my backpack and passed it to him. Mom had helped me complete all the paperwork already.

  I suddenly understood the look on Spider’s face. He wiped his cheek, rubbing a tear away. He was crying.

  “Jesus, Bob, you really know how to blindside a guy. This is a total shock, and before I answer, I’d just like to say a few words myself.”

  Oh no. Maybe he’s going to say no.

  “I wanted to thank you for being the best sort-of stepson a guy could ever hope for. Thanks for so graciously sharing your beautiful mom with me. That can’t have been easy, and I’m sure if I was in your position, I wouldn’t have been so nice about it. Thanks for being the smartest, funniest, kindest, kookiest kid I know.”

  But….

  “And it would be my absolute honor and privilege to make that official. You never had to ask to call me Dad, by the way. That was always yours for the taking, just as soon as you were ready.”

  Oh my God!

  Spider… Dad… got up and gave me a huge hug—though everything he did was huge since he was basically a giant. I heard Mom crying for real, and then I lost it too, as did some of the other people in our group.

  When the three of us had finished hugging and crying, Spider spoke again.

  “Well, while we’re on the subject of asking questions, I had a question I wanted to ask myself, of Emi.”

  There were a few gasps from around the room, especially from Mom, but I had no idea what was going on.

  While I tried to figure it out, Spider dug into his pocket and produced a small black velvet box before getting down on one knee on the floor.

  Oh my God!

  “Emi, I’ve been fortunate, blessed even, with an amazing and loving family. My mom, dad, and brother are so precious to me, and always will be. With them in my life, I assumed I knew what love was. I mean, I figured I couldn’t love anyone more. I thought I knew the pinnacle of what love was. Then I met you, and I realized that I was totally wrong. Like, I couldn’t have been more wrong about anything. Ever.”

  Mom had so many tears running down her cheeks, I was surprised she didn’t tell him to stop saying all that stuff.

  “You came crashing into my world so epically, so dramatically, and it was the same for the effect you had on my heart. You’ve owned the whole thing from day one—epically and dramatically. Moment one, in fact. Parts of my heart that I never knew existed came to life that day, and every day of knowing you since then has shown me just how big and beautiful love can be. It’s way beyond anything I could have imagined before I loved you.”

  Mom sniffed loudly.

  “You and Bob have also shown me a whole new level of what family truly means and how rewarding that can be.”

  More of our friends were sniffing and drying their eyes.

  “I love you more today than I did yesterday, and less than I will tomorrow, and I want to make what we have official for a lifetime. Emi, will you marry me?”

  Mom burst into full loud tears, but also somehow managed to nod, reaching for the ring that Dad was holding out to her. He stood up slowly, complaining about his “terrible knees,” and slipped the ring on her marriage finger. Mom gasped and gave him the biggest smile I’d ever seen on her face.

  I could tell she was going to cry again, but before she got the chance. Dad pulled her to his chest, lifting her up and spinning her around several times. Once he stopped spinning, Mom wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed. And kissed. And kissed. And kissed.

  It was as though they’d forgotten that the rest of us were there. They started rubbing against each other slowly while still kissing crazily. Dad had his hands in Mom’s hair, and she was pulling him to her by his waist. I wanted to die of embarrassment, and from being so grossed out. I wished we were at home so I could leave the room and put my headphones on.

  Just when I thought they were going to start taking their clothes off, Zed saved me, clearing his throat loudly and saying, “People, press Pause and pick this up later, for the love of God. Some of us are still eating over here!”

  Everybody laughed, and Mom and Dad let go of each other. Thank God.

  Dad tried to sit down again, but Mom held on to his arm so he couldn’t.

  “Um… well… this isn’t how I planned this, but the fact that the three of us are even together shows that life rarely goes to plan, which isn’t always a bad thing. So while we’re asking questions and making announcements….” She paused to look at Dad, who clearly had no idea what was going on again, which made two of us. “I need to make one of my own. I wanted to ask my boys”—she looked at Dad and me—“how they felt about sharing me with someone else.”

  Huh? Who else?

  Mom smiled. “Because it turns out that, in almost eight months’ time, you’re going to have to. Chris, you’ll be a dad again, and Noah, you’ll be a big brother.”

  “Motherfucker!” That was Dad, but I think he meant it in a good way. “You’re serious? We’re having a baby?” Mom nodded, more tears filling her eyes.

  “Holy. Fuck. Jesus Christ! Are you for real? I can’t even… I can’t believe this. Shit!” And now he was crying. Everyone else at our table was clapping and cheering, and some were crying too.

  Dad grabbed Mom again and gave her another huge hug before pulling away to hold her back a little, reaching down to stroke her belly. He was always a happy guy, but now he had the biggest smile I’d ever seen on anyone on the planet, even an axolotl.

  “Do you hear that, Bob? You’re gonna be a big brother, and I know you’ll be the best. Come here.” He pulled me out of my seat to join them both in the hug while still talking. “Holy shit! This is beyond amazing. I don’t even know what to say except thank you for choosing me. Both of you.”

  Thanks

  Thanks for reading Spider. I do hope you enjoyed seeing him chase his happy ever after, as much as I enjoyed writing it. I appreciate your help in spreading the word, including telling a friend. Before you go, it would mean so much to me if you would take a few minutes to write a review and share how you feel about my story so others may find my work. Reviews really do help readers find books. Please leave a review on your favorite book site.

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s.

  Spider Playlist

  Put It All on Me (feat. Ella Mai) - Ed Sheeran

  Real Thing -Ruel

  Lover - G Flip

  Don't Check On Me (feat. Justin Bieber & Ink) - Chris Brown

  Gone - Caiti Baker

  See You Soon - Kim Churchill

  Fall - Sasha Sloan

  X - Majik

  Angels - Khalid

  Goodbyes - Jorja Smith

  Good Years - ZAYN

  skeletons - keshi

  Slip - Tate McRae

  Easy - Ella Mai

  Get You The Moon (feat. Sn√∏w) - Kina

  In My Head - Peter Manos

  you were good to me - Jeremy Zucker

  Also by MV Ellis

  HEARTLESS FEW SERIES

  Catching London (#1)

  Cold, Hard, & Heartless (#2)

  Pushing Arlo (#3)

  Finding Marnie (#4)

  ROUGH INK SERIES

  Zed (#1)

  Spider (#2)

  BOYS OF TRINITY HALL

  Break You (#1)

  Acknowledgments

  Well, I’ve made it to the end of another book! Every time I achieve that, I’m almost surprised to have survived the process yet again. Each time is different, and each is not without its ups and down, but that variety is part of the beauty of bringing the ideas in my head to life. No two experiences are going to be the same.

  I really hope everyone enjoys Spider and Emi. Their trajectory wasn’t easy, but I believe they earned their happy ending more than most—especially gorgeous Emi. I’m so happy with the way that this book has turned out, and I hope that everyone reading feels that I did this very delicate and sensitive subject justice. **Crosses fingers. And toes.**

  All that remains is for me to again thank everyone without whom this book wouldn’t have been possible, and I’m so pleased to say that with every publication, that list is growing. I’m really finding my tribe!