The ride back had taken forever. And once back she’d thought she’d help with anyone who was still injured, but Red had cut that thought short before she’d even gotten a chance to get off the bike.
“You best just take her on home,” he’d said to Demon, refusing to look at Sidney.
“I thought I’d see if anyone needed me to..” she began
“We’re fine,” he cut her off.
“But I can –,” she started to argue, but he cut her off.
“This isn’t your place, we don’t need you here,” he finally looked her in the eyes, the coldness in them startling, “I don’t want you here.”
Sidney looked around, anywhere but at that hard face that was saying things she didn’t want to hear, and she saw that everyone around had heard. They’d all stopped to watch her disgrace, the fact that their eyes were soft and compassionate only seemed to make it worse.
“Fuck you Red, you’re such an asshole,” Demon said, his words low and dangerous.
“Take her home Demon,” Red turned and walked away, taking with him the last hope Sidney held of them ever going back to the way things were.
The drive back to her house had been numb, she’d cut herself off from feeling anything, even the constant strum between her and Demon was just a distant buzzing. They pulled down her street and all she wanted from life was a dark room and her bed to curl into. But she wasn’t going to get her wish.
As soon as they rounded the corner Sidney saw someone sitting on the front steps of her house. She had no idea who could be waiting for her, maybe it was a wrong address, and she could send them on their way so she could be left alone. But as they got closer she was able to make out the soft feminine features.
It was Jessica, her sister, and she had her suitcase beside her. Perfect.
“Sidney!” Jessica said with false cheer as she ran up to Sidney, not even giving her time to swing her leg off the bike, “I’ve missed you so much!” Jessica wrapped her arms around Sidney and mechanically, Sidney returned the hug.
“Jessica, what are you doing here?” Sidney knew the words sounded callous as soon as they were out of her mouth, her voice sounded dead even to her own ears. But she didn’t have the energy to worry about niceties, not when her heart felt like it had been torn through her chest.
“I’m just here to visit,” Jessica eyed Demon, that old glint in her eye that said she saw something that she wanted, “I thought you’d be happy to see me?”
Sidney was anything but happy to see her. She got off the bike without a word and headed towards the door, she assumed Jessica would follow and she was correct, but she stopped short, turning back to Demon. He was watching her with those emerald green eyes, his face masking whatever thoughts he had about her. “Thank you Demon… for everything.”
“You going to be ok?” he asked.
She shrugged her shoulders, “I’ll manage. I’ll call you in a couple of days about…” she looked at Jessica who was listening to their conversation intently, “about getting rid of that friend of yours. Maybe we can do something.”
He nodded and backed out of her driveway.
“My God Sidney, I was wondering where you were but Jesus. If you were with him I can understand not wanting to come home.”
Sidney opened her door, ignoring the remarks about Demon, “Have you been waiting long.”
“Oh no not really. Only all day yesterday and today,” she giggled, her false brightness grating on Sidney’s nerves. “I got a cab into town and grabbed a motel room for the night, and man. What. A. Dump. Have you seen it? Full Moon Motel or something like that, looks like it came straight out of a 1950s horror movie. They didn’t even have a complimentary breakfast bar. Or shampoo! But it was the only place in town, or so the cab guy said. Unless he was just playing a horrible joke on me. Then I came back here this morning hoping you’d be back. But nope, still no Sidney. So I just waited on the steps for you. It wasn’t so bad. I kept trying to call you but the reception is shit out here but there were some raccoons playing in the neighbor’s trash can and they were so cute. I noticed that you have a loose board on your steps, you should probably get that looked at before someone trips over it. Oh and I got an email from Mom saying that she was giving some kind of Fall Festival Gala for the Autism Society and asking me if I’d go. Are you going? Because I’m not sure I feel like driving all the way up there just to hear her bitch at me about how I’m doing everything in my life wrong.”
Jessica hadn’t changed much. Her mouth still went a mile a minute, when she deigned to speak to Sidney at all. “I haven’t heard anything about it.” She doubted her mother had sent her the same email, her socially awkward daughter who always wore the wrong dress was more of an embarrassment than her wild and willful daughter. It didn’t matter, she would have hated every second of it anyway. And she didn’t have the energy left to think about it anyway. “The guest room is in there, and there’s food in the fridge, make yourself at home. I’m going to go take a bath and get in bed, I’m exhausted.”
“I hear you girl. If I had a man like that I’d stay exhausted to. Where did you even meet someone like him? All dark and dangerous? And those eyes, Jesus.”
Sidney just shook her head and headed toward the bathroom, she wasn’t in the mood for girl talk.
***
A long soak in the tub made her body feel better but her mood was as dark as ever when she emerged from the bathroom, towel wrapped around her and hair dripping down her back, to see Jessica curled up on her couch watching television and holding a big bowl of cereal.
“I think your milk is off,” she said around a mouthful of cereal, “And who over the age of 20 still eats Count’n Crunch? Jesus it’s like pouring pure sugar down your throat. And there’s this,” she gave a few experimental smacks,” waxy aftertaste. Gah, sugary plastic, that’s what it is. You should seriously try something with a whole grain or two in it.”
“So eat something else.”
“Uh uh, I’m too hungry, I haven’t eaten today and I didn’t eat much yesterday.”
The vision she’d had of Jessica during her Dedication Ritual came back to her. She remembered how worried she’d been about money and some other troubles Sidney couldn’t quite recall.
“So what’s the deal?” Sidney didn’t feel like having this conversation but it would be better to get it out of the way than to let Jessica skirt around the issue for weeks while trying to figure out the best way to take advantage of her.
“What do you mean?” Jessica looked insulted, that meant that whatever was about to come out of her mouth was a lie to cover up whatever mess she’d gotten into.
“Don’t give me any crap Jessica,” Sidney sighed, she wasn’t in the mood to play along, “You show up here without warning, without a car, with just one suitcase, and without enough money to buy something to eat. Something is up. If you need money you know all you have to do is call Mom or Dad.”
Jessica sat the bowl of cereal on the coffee table.
“You want the truth?”
Sidney rolled her eyes, “No, please lie to me.”
Jessica ignored the sarcasm. “I’m sick of it Sidney, sick to death. I don’t want to dance to Mom’s little tune and she told me she’d cut me off if I didn’t do exactly what she told me. Finally finish college, find a nice man and get married, produce little babies for her to shower gifts on and then ignore. Every since you broke it off with David she’s been down my throat to ‘make something of myself’. And Sidney, here’s the thing. I know I’ve been a fuck up, my whole life. But I’m trying to change, trying to do better, but I don’t know what I want to do, want to be. I know I hate school. I’m just not good at it like you were. I know I’m nowhere near ready to get married. I know I don’t want any part of her ‘little miss society’ game. So I told her to go fuck herself. And I moved out.”
Some part of Sidney was proud of Jessica for standing up for herself against their mother, another part of her felt like this was j
ust another excuse to avoid actually doing anything, but the biggest part just didn’t want to have to deal with the fallout. Which made her feel guilty because, Jessica was, after all, her only sister.
“I bet Mom loved that,” Sidney said.
Jessica giggled, “She flipped shit.”
“So where did you go?”
“I packed up everything I wanted and I drove until I didn’t feel like driving anymore. I had around $500 on me and I didn’t even take any of my credit cards because I knew Mom would cancel them anyway. I found this little town outside of Chattanooga, Hixon, and I found a cheap motel that let you pay by the week, and it was shitty, but not as shitty as the one here. At least that one did serve a free continental breakfast, even if it was only muffins, donuts, and cereal. Anyway, I got a job as a waitress. I saved my tips, and got a little apartment.”
“Sounds like you were doing pretty well,” Sidney was actually impressed. It was more motivation than she’d ever seen Jessica put into anything. “So what happened?”
“One damn thing after another. First I had to get two new tires for my car, then I got sick and had to miss work and pay for a doctor’s visit and medicine. And I checked, Mom did take me off the insurance right after I left. Then the hot water heater in my apartment started leaking and my asshole of a landlord told me I was responsible for fixing it and if I didn’t it’d rot the floor and I’d have to replace that due to neglect.” Jessica looked down at her hands, “I just couldn’t make it on my own.”
“You didn’t have a guy who was helping at all?” Jessica always had some guy wrapped around her finger, so it wasn’t a question meant to insult, it was just a surprise that the first thing she’d done when she’d gotten into town was find a job and not a boyfriend.
“No, Sidney, I’m so tired of men wanting me for who my parents are. For what I represent in dollar signs and reputation. I wanted to get settled first and then when I could say I’d done it on my own find a guy who didn’t know me from a hole in the wall who would want me for me and not for anything else.”
Sidney sat back in her chair, damp hair and lack of clothes forgotten. She still talked a lot but it was obvious, if Jessica was telling the truth, that she’d changed a lot from the girl who had tormented her when they’d been teens.
“So where’s your car and all your stuff?”
“I sold everything I could. I paid off everything I owed in Hixon, fixed the water heater and used the rest to buy a bus ticket here. To you.”
A tightness filled Sidney’s chest. She’d never been the big sister, she’d never been allowed to be. Jessica hadn’t seemed to want anything to do with her, much less life advice and friendship from Sidney. Maybe they could start fresh, maybe they could have a relationship that meant something now and forget everything that had happened in the past. Sidney would start by offering what any big sister would when her little sister needed help.
“You can stay here as long as you need to Jessica. I’m proud that you tried, even if it didn’t work out the way you’d hoped.”
Jessica’s eyes seemed to fill with tears and she cleared her throat, “Thank you Sidney. I wasn’t sure you’d feel that way, but you’re all I have left.”
Sidney nodded, “Well don’t worry, we’ll work it out. But not tonight, I’ve got to go get in bed before I fall into a coma on the floor.”
The steady cold drizzle didn’t seem to bother any of the Dogs, they were used to being out in all kinds of weather, and it was lent a fitting mood for the day. They’d gotten all the bodies of their fallen members from the abandoned facility and returned them to their families. The Club decided to have one large ceremony for all fourteen of them instead of dragging the grief out for days and days doing each one individually. Once they could get past this they could take care of the business at hand. Big Dog.
Red watched as all of the family and friends filed into the cemetery, some wore black suits or dresses, some came in their jeans and cuts, but all of them wore the same expression. Loss and anger; a dangerous combination. It was in times like these that people stopped caring about what was right and started doing what felt right. And killing Big Dog was going to feel so right. He wished Demon hadn’t stopped him from doing it right after he’d been healed. Healed with magic, the thought of it disgusted Red. He would have almost have rather died than have been tainted even further with such unnatural foulness. He’d seen what that magic could do to a man. His father was living proof of how it could corrupt and rob a man of his morals, his memories, his life.
As if he’d conjured him just by his thoughts Demon appeared at the edge of the gravesite, Sidney and another girl Red had never seen at his side. Red sneered, and congratulated Demon silently on finding someone like himself to be with. Yes the two traitorous liars would get along well together. He ignored the twinge of jealousy and the feelings of longing that surfaced as he watched Sidney maneuver through the crowd, Demon’s hand on her back, damp black dress clinging to her every curve as she moved. He ignored the response his body gave as he noticed her hard nipples clearly pressed against the thin fabric of her dress. It was probably some glamour she’d worked, to make men want her whenever they looked at her. He looked away, Demon had found a black suit to wear somewhere. That figured as conceited as he was. Yes, the two of them would get along nicely, they even looked right together. Red pretended that thought didn’t punch him in the gut and put his mind back to Big Dog and the other two they had tied up back at the clubhouse.
The club had voted on what to do with them, against Red’s wishes, and had decided that they needed to be questioned before judgment was handed down. Another thing he could blame Demon for. He’d wanted to kill them all immediately but Demon had persuaded the guys to hold a vote then he’d made his case for finding out anything Big Dog might know about that Frederick guy before they killed him. Demon wasn’t even a real member of the Club, he was a Loner, not part of the family no matter what blood ties he had. He shouldn’t have had any say in what went on during a meeting but he’d convinced all of the voting members that his way was the right way. They thought he was being to hot headed, that he was too emotionally involved because Morgan had been kidnapped, but Red thought they should all feel the same way he did, and the fact that they didn’t hurt him. He’d be glad when this business was over and he could step down and get the fuck out of town. He’d had it with the whole thing anyway and now Demon was convincing the guys to turn against him. Even Donny-O had sided with Demon. He couldn’t trust anyone.
Everyone was there and waiting around the fourteen empty graves, with identical oak caskets sitting by each one. They waited for Martin “Sno” Turner, the oldest living shifter in Three Oaks, former member of the Dogs, and the closest thing they had to a preacher, to take his place at the podium.
He emerged from the crowd, his granddaughter at his side with her arm around his back and hand under his elbow, ready to catch him if he stumbled. He carried a large leather bound book under his arm, the book of laws they all lived by, a code of honor that had kept them safe for thousands of years, a book of wisdom that helped ease the troubled times that sometimes befell them. His thin white hair was matted to his scalp and his skin draped across his bones like a death shroud making him look like the most ancient thing in existence.
He approached the podium and lay the book on it with a thud. Red didn’t need to listen to know what he was going to say, it was said at every shifter funeral, but he listened anyway.
“Hey folks,” Sno’s voice boomed across the cemetery, in sharp contrast to his frail appearance, “You all know why we’re here this afternoon. Each and every one of us have suffered a terrible loss. A brother, a sister, a son or daughter, a husband or wife, a lover, or a friend. Today we mourn their passing not because we’re scared about where they’re going, because we know where they’re going and it’s a better place then this will ever be. No we’re mourning because we’ll miss them in our lives. Miss them sharing a beer with us at the c
lubhouse, or tucking in their kids at night. We’ll miss seeing them at a barbeque or riding through town at our side. But they won’t miss us. You can look out and smile knowing they’re roaming through the eternal forest under a bright moon, chasing their prey, and howling with those kindred who have gone on before us. No they won’t miss this world where our two natures are at constant war with one another, where we must hide from the outside in villages and communities of our own making for fear of being hunted. No friends, today they’re free. Free to be who they are for the rest of eternity.
“But we still feel the loss. Our little town will be a sadder place because they are no longer with us. But we can hold our heads up high because they died with honor, fighting against those who would harm one we loved, our brother.”
Red could feel the eyes of people turn towards him but he kept his head up and his gaze on Sno as he continued, “Their sacrifice will not be soon forgotten, and at night we will tell our little ones of the men and women who gave everything they had in service to their family. Let us read from The Book of Moons and Mysteries, if you have one with you, you can turn to page three forty one and read along.”
Sno waited while the few people who had brought a copy with them flipped obediently to the specified page before he began, “And so it was on the day of reckoning that…” but his voice was drowned out by the sound of car tires going to fast on gravel.
Every eye turned toward the cemetery access road as three black cars made their way towards the group. The hairs on the back of Red’s neck stood up and he almost shifted before he could get control of himself, and he saw similar reactions throughout the gathering. This was a crowd on the brink, the slightest thing could set teeth to snapping this day.
The cars slammed on brakes, tires squealing and slinging gravel as they stopped. When the men in suits stepped out, everyone held their breath, ready to shift in an instant and kill these men who had taken so much from them. Red watched women put their children behind them, he watched teenagers step in front of their elderly grandparents, boys and girls barely old enough to have gone through their first shift were shimmering, the change about to overtake them simply from the rage coursing through their bodies.
Dogs of War MC Episode 6 Page 2
