by Jenny Wood
“I’m parked over here, so….” He pointed to a navy blue, compact car, a few cars down from mine. He still wasn’t looking at me so when he turned to walk away, so I’d reached out to grab his hand. When I’d grabbed his wrist, instead, he flipped around in a blur and yanked his hand away from me; eyes huge.
“Whoa, whoa. Hang on.” I show him my hands.
“Sorry, I …. Sorry, that wasn’t...You grabbed me.” He stammered.
“I did. I’m sorry, I just didn’t… I didn’t want you to go yet, I wasn’t trying to hurt you or hold you here.” I say, even though getting him to stay here was exactly what I’d been trying to do, I would never do it forcefully.
“No, I know. Just a reflex is all.” He nervously laughed. He made to move the hair from his face and I noticed his hand shaking. I wanted to grab it again and just, hold it still between mine. I didn’t like that reaction and I had a strong feeling that it was a reaction he was used to.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked, having no other reason to keep him here. His smile was more genuine now but I still couldn’t help but think something was up.
“I’m fine, really.” He says softly. “What you did for Jase today… that was really sweet, he’s a good kid.” He tells me. We’re still standing between two rows of cars halfway between his and mine.
“He is a good kid. Reminds me of Kingsley when we were that age.” I remember a time when Kingsley was lost, thinking about skipping college and fighting with his dad. Of course, he had me and Kayson and his mom too, but I remember those sleepless nights, staying up with him; trying to figure shit out.
“I can’t imagine any of you that age.” He smiles a smile that about knocks me on my ass. I’ve got to get over this attraction I have to him. There’s no way someone as soft and sweet as Cameron would end up with someone like me. I got to answer him, maybe offer to show him pictures of all of us boys when we were that age, or any age if it’d end up with time spent with him; but before I can, we’re interrupted.
“Tell Asher I’ll be in touch, Cam” We hear yelled from across the lot. Cameron jumps and takes a step closer to me. The guy eyes us and smirks before getting into his car and again, the uneasy feeling is back.
“Friend of yours?” I ask Cameron.
“He’s a co-worker of my boyfriend. I don’t know him that well.” He says.
“Asher’s your boyfriend?” I question, even though Conner had told me it was. Cameron doesn’t answer, he just nods in acknowledgment. I can see the way his face tightens up at the mention of the boyfriend. His teeth clench and his fingers ball into fists.
“He the one responsible for your lip lookin’ like that?” I should’ve finessed that a little better but I get the feeling that he is. Cameron looks surprised but refuses to look at me. I don’t feel comfortable letting him leave, thinking what I do.
“Does he hurt you, Cameron?” I ask, quieter than before. He looks scared shitless right now and I don’t want to be the one to ever make him feel like that.
“It’s not how you’re thinking.” He says quietly.
“I think that anybody who puts their hands on you in any way that you don’t want is not okay. That’s what I’m thinking.” I tell him bluntly.
“I have to go, thank you for dinner. I’ll do everything I can to help Jase.” He abruptly turns away and heads to his car. I obviously can’t detain him and he doesn’t know me well enough for me to try to get him to talk about such personal things. Still, I don’t like this.
“Cameron. Cam, wait!” I take a few steps after him but keep my distance so I don’t scare him anymore.
“Give me your phone.” I almost demand; I can’t help it, it’s all I know to do. He looks me over for a full minute before handing his phone over. I put my number in and explain. “I understand that you don’t know me that well and I’m not someone people trust at face value.”
“I trust you.” He interrupts. I stop mid-dial and look up at him. I believe that. He does trust me.
“Good.” I dial my number and wait until I feel it vibrate in my pocket to make sure I have his number now too. “I’m giving you my number. If you’re ever in a situation you don’t want to be in or you need a ride or to talk or if you’re just bored and wanna say hey. I want you to pick up the phone, and call me. No matter where I’m at, no matter what I’m doing. I’ll pick up.” I hold his eyes with mine, hoping he catches the seriousness in my offer.
“Thank you.” He clears his throat twice before he speaks softly. “Thank you, Jody.” He whispers and turns away. This time I don’t stop him as he gets into his car and drives away.
“You got a girlfriend?” The girl in my chair turned again to ask me. I’ve reminded her four times in the last half hour to hold still. I was trying to tattoo a butterfly tribal across her lower back. Yep, a tramp-stamp; but this girl was twenty years old and of sober mind, so after asking twice if she was sure she wanted it for the rest of her life and her batting her eyes and giggling at nothing, she assured me she did. In California, women were far worse. Jinx and Kayson have all but been mauled by ladies who were far too forward and desperate to hook up with a tattooist. Lucky for me, I wasn’t that approachable. Apparently, this girl missed that memo. It was going on three in the afternoon and I’d felt like this day would never end.
“Nope,” I answer, not stopping on the purple wing of this butterfly. I could tattoo a butterfly with my eyes closed, I’ve done so damn many. It’s kind of a rite of passage to young girls, I think. She giggled again, why? I have no idea; I didn’t say anything remotely funny.
“How come?” She asks. I don’t answer.
“I’d think any girl would be lucky to come home to you.” She turns her head again which turns half of her body with it. I don’t like fucking up, I don’t do it often and it’s almost never my fault.
“Listen sweetheart; every time you move, I get this close to making this butterfly look like a kid colored it in. You have to sit still.” I tell her again. She sighs and turns back around, hands over the back of my hair and rests her head on her forearms.
“How many tattoos do you have?” She asked, luckily staying still.
“Lost count a couple years ago,” I answer. While it’s true I don’t like talking, especially to people I’m not familiar with. I can’t be rude and clients come in and expect to chat and be distracted from sitting still and the sting of the needles.
“Which one’s your favorite?” She kept going. If she’d been someone I gave half a shit about, I’d tell her about the pocket watch I’d had inked over my left rib cage. The time read: four-eighteen; which was my brother Liam’s birthday. I’d also put his name underneath, hidden in some fog. Kingsley inked that on me on my twenty-first birthday and no matter what I’d added to my body, that one stayed my favorite. I’m not as tatted up as Kayson and Kingsley, I didn’t have them lined around my neck and all over my stomach and thighs. Maybe I’d get there eventually, but I hadn’t yet. My arms were covered and I had pieces lining my chest and back. Both of my legs had big pieces but I’d not gone higher than my knees. My most recent was a pink daisy that Kady had drawn for me. Her big doe eyes and slight pout to her lips. She knew she had me when the second she’d said my name in that too-innocent-to-be-believed tone in which she always said my name.
“A pink daisy that my little sister drew for me,” I tell her instead. Technically not a lie, it was my second favorite.
“Aww, that’s adorable. How old is she?” She asked.
“Seven,” I tell her. While it’s true that Kady wasn’t my biological sister; she’d taken to me just as she had her real brothers from the minute we’d all met her. We all have sleepovers and trips to movies and the zoo, I’m always included because to them, I’m their family. I’ve never been more grateful to have them all in my life, especially when I think of that pocket watch and the brother that I’d never again see.
“That’s hot.” She murmured loud enough for me to hear. I wanted to ask her wh
at was hot about a seven-year-old girl, but I knew what she meant. A lot of ladies saw one of us guys with Kady and flocked to flirt. It was a wasted effort on all of us.
“Alright.” I’d said as I’d just finished shading in the last corner of the tribal piece. “You’re done,” I said, squirting the alcohol on the area and wiping it down before I wrapped it. I went over the aftercare and gave her a pamphlet on how to clean it and keep it that way until it healed. She nodded along, biting her lip and batting those eyes again while I politely ignored her. She wasn’t a bad looking girl but again...not my type.
“Another one bites the dust’aaaah” Kayson sang as she walked out after paying. He’d been finished with his own client for almost a half an hour while I finished mine up.
“I don’t understand why people permanently mark their bodies just to flirt with a stranger.” I scoff, throwing my trash away and start to sanitize my area from top to bottom.
“They can’t resist your broody charm.” Kayson jokes. I roll my eyes and ignore his verbal jabs. He’s got another appointment in twenty minutes and mine isn’t for another hour. When he starts to talk to me about what he and Conner got up to last night, I was thankful to see a familiar face walk through the shop doors. He was a little nervous but he smiled when we all hollered out our acknowledgments.
“Heeeey, if it isn’t our new baby bro,” Kayson yelled, jumping up and grabbing Jase in a bear hug that looked like it might squeeze him in half. Layla teased and harassed him while saying hello, messing up his hair and embarrassing him by pinching his cheeks and telling him how cute he was. Jinx just shook his hand and gave him a few good slaps on the back. Jase was all smiles.
“How you doin, bud?” I asked after the onslaught of welcome.
“Good, I’m meeting Cameron across the street in a bit but I’m early because the kid I tutor was out sick today.” He shrugs, looking around the shop, he’d never been in here before.
“See somethin’ you like?” Kayson smiled. Jase looked around and checked out the most common tattoos that were hanging in poster size frames attached to the wall. He looked to be seriously contemplating it.
“Better wait on that, hadn’t we? He’s not quite 18 yet.” I remind them.
“I’ve had a quote I’ve wanted for a really long time. Could you do it, here?” He asked.
“Course, we’re a tattoo shop pal. What’d you have in mind?” Kayson asks. None of us were prepared for his answer.
“I was born to walk this world alone.” He says, running his finger absentmindedly over a wild rose tattoo that says “MOM”. I’m not sure he even realized what he was doing or how much it said. None of us know what to say but I guarantee that all of us are thinking the same thing. That we’d make sure he wouldn’t have to walk it alone, anymore.
“Come on, kid. You’re gonna need fuel if you’re spending the evening filling out applications. Let’s go.” Jinx put his arm around him and guided him to the door. Layla looked seconds away from bursting into tears. They’d both be good parents, I could see it in them now, the need to mother…hover. Jase looked back at me in question.
“Go ahead, bud. I’ve got an appointment coming in, in just a few minutes. You can come back and watch when you’re done if you want.” I smile at him encouragingly. The kid got under my skin, I’ll admit. I wanted to hover too. That was new.
He had about an hour and a half before he was due to meet Cameron. I was hoping he’d stay here and cause Cameron to come looking for him. Stupid as it was, I’d not stopped thinking about him all day. If I’m honest with myself, I’d not stopped thinking about him since the wedding. I’d been doing my best to stay away from him until then, now he was impossible to ignore and I didn’t want to.
Chapter 5: Cameron
I was late meeting Jase. I was working in the pit today and we’d had a car accident come in with three critical teenagers at the very last minute. It had been hard and we lost two of them; the driver and his best friend. The girlfriend survived and was just getting out of surgery when I’d finally clocked out. I was over two hours late. Luckily, I’d had a minute to text Jody to see if he’d give me Jase’s number but as luck would have it, Jase was with him at the shop. I’d told him my predicament and hoped that Jase would still be available in a couple hours, but Conner closed early on Tuesday nights for kid’s night.
“Why don’t you meet us at my house, I’ll order something from that Mexican place over on Elm and 5th. You guys won’t be disturbed and Jase can hang out until you get there.” He’d offered. I’d been to his house plenty of times over the last year or so with Morgan and Conner, but Morgan was on his honeymoon this week and Conner was going to be at his store, being that Tuesday is kid’s night. Jase would still be there with us, but I’d never been otherwise alone with Jody before yesterday and I was a nervous wreck. I was far too attracted to him and the more time I spent with him, the more I wanted to, more. I’d showered the hospital smell off of me, luckily, I kept a change of regular clothes in my locker so I didn’t have to run home and change nor did I have to wear scrubs. I lined my eyes with liner and shined my lips with gloss and was finally on my way, two hours after I was supposed to initially meet Jase. I felt like shit about it.
“I’m so sorry I’m late, there was a bad accident on 251. Three kids, two didn’t make it. I tried to hurry.” I explained after Jody let me in. He stopped in the middle of his hallway and turned to me.
“Two didn’t make it? Are you okay?” He asked, seemingly concerned. That was nice. Nobody’s ever asked me how losing a patient affected me. It was never easy and it never got easier.
“I’m okay,” I tell him softly, touched that he thought to ask. “Telling the parents is never fun, that’s what took me so long today. I sat with the mother of the driver for a while until they got her son cleaned up enough where she could see him.”
“I’m sure she appreciated that.” Jody smiled a heart-stopping, small smile. It was hard not to just stare and appreciate his full lips and perfect teeth. The man was truly, too gorgeous to be fair. I cleared my throat as well as the thoughts that might be forming in my sexy man, muddled brain.
“Where’s Jase? I hope I’m not keeping him from something important.” I say as we walk into the living room and I see Jase sitting on the floor at a coffee table, papers scattered in front of him.
“Hey.” He smiled. “You made it. I started on a couple of these, but just the regular info, nothing too hard yet.” He joked as I took a seat beside him.
“Have you eaten?” Jody asked, standing behind the couch.
“Not yet,” I replied.
“Tacos? Burritos? Nachos? What’s everyone want?” He asked Jase and me. Jase, with his head down, scribbling like mad, answering question after question, didn’t even look up from his pile before he said; “Yes.” I smiled at the look on Jody’s face. He rolled his eyes but smiled at the kid who was becoming what he’d promised. His family. It reminded me of all the times I’d rolled my eyes at my little brother; like when he’d barge into my room without knocking or cry for me to read him a story before mom put him to bed, or how I’d be playing video games and he’d have to sit next to me with an unplugged controller, “playing” right along with me. I secretly loved being the one he looked up to but as a teenager, of course, I had to grumble about it. I’d give anything for those days back.
“One of everything it is.” Jody teased, walking out of the room with the phone pressed to his ear and the menu in his hand.
“Okay, let’s see how far you’ve gotten,” I say to Jase and look over the papers he’s already filled out.
“Your birthday is Thursday?” I asked, noticing the date on all of his forms.
“Yeah.” He says, uncomfortably. “Ms. Jay says I can still stay at the center, but I can’t tell anyone. It’s only a few more weeks until graduation, so, please don’t tell anyone.” He looks at me pleadingly.
“I won’t tell anyone,” I promise, softly.
“Won’t
tell anyone, what?” Jody says, walking back in to join us. He doesn’t sit on the floor like we do, but he sits on the edge of the recliner so he’s still close enough to be involved.
“My birthday’s coming up. Ms. Jay says I can stay but we can’t tell anyone. I told my social worker that I had a place to stay until after graduation so she won’t check on me. They’ve already signed off on me.” Jase explains nonchalantly, even though every word he says is breaking my heart. To be signed off on, like he’s just another name on a folder they can toss out now that he’s 18; or will be in a couple days.
“Oooor, you could just come here,” Jody tells him softly. “I told you, I mean, I guess not in any certain words, but I did tell you that me and my brothers were your brothers now. I wasn’t blowin’ smoke, kid. This is your home now too if you want it.”
“I have a little bit of money saved up. I could-“ Jase starts but is quickly interrupted.
“You can keep it and use it to live when you get to school. Just because graduation is coming up doesn’t mean you’ll go straight to college. You’ve got to get the paperwork done first, then be accepted and then we’ll have to pick one. These things take time, bud. I don’t want you worrying about anything but school right now.” Jody explains heatedly. “You’ve got a whole life of worrying and I suspect you’ve had a whole life of worrying. You don’t have to worry anymore, kid, we’ve got you covered. Me, King, Kayson, Conner, Morgan; we all wanna see you succeed man. Let us be here for ya.”
“And me.” I piped in. I’d help as much as I could too. Jase just smiled sadly.
“This is a big deal, ya know? I’ve been in the system since I was three years old.” Jase tells us. “I know how to get in and stay out of the way; I don’t know how to do anything else.”
“Well… we’ll teach ya.” Jody says, waving off Jase’s concern. “From here on out, you got one job. Focusing on school.
