Molly stops walking and looks nervous.
Teddy looks at me.
His face is all banged up from his first punishment.
“Fuck,” he whispers.
“I can trip you or you can throw yourself down,” I say. “Your choice.”
“Mac…”
“You broke the rules,” I say. “Outside stuff is never allowed. Ever. You almost killed the girl you claim to love. She had to be brought back to life by my boy Taz. You can’t compete with that. So throw yourself down these fucking stairs, let Raf and Aric drag your ass to the side where the poets write under the trees, and tell them you’re never going to break the rules again and who you’ve been getting your shit from. It’s that simple.”
Teddy starts to shake.
He looks back at Molly.
She takes the ring off her finger and shakes her head.
“It was never going to happen,” she says.
“I didn’t mean for you…”
“Time’s up,” I say.
I swing my right foot at Teddy’s legs and push at his back.
Down he goes.
I lean against the stone wall at the top of the steps.
“What’s your plan now, sweetie?” I ask Molly.
“No idea,” she says. “I keep telling myself I should go to the hospital. I can’t believe what happened.”
“I can,” I say. “He got cheap shit and it almost killed you. Why’d you listen to him?”
“I don’t know,” Molly says. “He’s offered before but I never took anything. I was just… I don’t know. Something in me just snapped.”
“That’s been going around lately,” I say.
I walk down the steps and Teddy is looking really rough.
Raf and Aric have that shit under control.
I can focus on better things in life.
Like managing my business and my feelings for Jolie.
Mama Dae wanted a cookout.
I’m never in a position to turn down food or to spend time with Mama.
Especially when she wants the entire crew there.
I know she’s going to get on my ass about the collection she wants. I haven’t thought about it for more than ten seconds, which is my fault and a problem. My distraction is in the form of Jolie. Now that does help me a little because Mama dreams of all of us finding someone to be with. She calls us her boys and thinks of us as her kids. She knows our flaws and while they piss her off, she doesn’t attack us for them.
Now, at the same time, she would give anything to have some grandkids running around her house, trying to keep her young.
In a way I almost feel bad for her for that.
Not having the life she really wants.
I mean, any one of us could go knock up someone. It’s not hard to do.
But Taz as a father? Les as a father? Aric… Raf… fucking Ado?
Are you kidding me?
Of course Mama thinks I’m the one to do it first. And Jolie will be the lucky one.
All that shit just makes me laugh.
I open the back door to Mama’s house to go outside and Raf is at the grill, cooking some burgers.
He’s shirtless, which will piss Mama off if she sees it.
Now for Raf, he doesn’t want his clothes to smell like food.
There’s a can of soda on the side of the grill.
Raf grabs for his drink, which is a bottle of booze.
The can of soda is there to hide the booze.
Again, Mama will get pissed if she sees Raf drinking.
Not that he cares.
“A few minutes,” he says to me.
“Better make it quick, bro,” I say. “She’s got her famous chocolate pudding pie all ready to go. Taz got too close and she hit him with her cane.”
Raf laughs.
I light a cigarette and slide my phone out of my pocket.
Before we go calling it quits, I still want to show you the stars, sweetie.
The door opens behind me.
“I can’t feel my fucking left leg,” Taz says.
“You don’t touch someone’s pie without permission, man,” Aric says.
“That sounds dirty,” Taz says.
Les comes outside too and slams the door behind him.
I slap the back of Aric’s head.
“What the fuck?” Aric yells.
“What did you just say about Mama?” Les asks.
“I didn’t mean it like that,” Aric says.
“Where’s Ado?” I ask.
“Mama told him to go clean her bathroom,” Taz says.
“Now that’s dirty,” I say with a smile.
My phone vibrates.
You don’t like the stars. You don’t like anything romantic.
I shake my head.
You make me want to be romantic. I’ll see you tomorrow night. Where we first met.
“How bad do you think Mama will torture Ado?” Raf asks.
“Better than being in the basement,” Taz says.
“She’ll just break him down a little,” Les says. “Scrub the bathroom. Wash the dishes. She’s a badass like that. Amazing she can dish out manual labor as punishment all the while being in control of…”
Les stops himself.
I look at him.
We don’t talk about anything.
We don’t talk about what actually goes on or why.
“He deserves it,” Aric says. “Fuck him.”
“Someone upset over there?” Raf asks.
“Maura is no more,” Taz says.
“Oh, damn, I’m sorry,” I say. “She meant so much to you.”
Aric lifts both of his middle fingers. “I sent her ass packing. Get it right, okay?”
“I’m sure you did,” I say.
“Just had to let her go,” Aric says.
“I’m sure you’ll find another one soon enough,” Raf says. “Until then, get your hands and lotion ready.”
Everyone laughs.
I look at my phone.
A text pops through.
I never said I was meeting you again…
Of course not, sweetie. That’s not how this works.
Tomorrow night. I know where I’ll be. Now stop bothering me.
I laugh at myself.
Everyone just looks at me.
“Fuck you all,” I say.
I finish my cigarette and go into the house and I see Ado standing with pink rubber gloves on his hands, holding a bucket by its handle. The bucket is filled with cleaning products.
He looks sweaty and sick.
I take a picture with my phone.
I might need that for use later.
Everyone is in a food coma.
Mama’s pies are so heavy you need a crane to move around after eating just one slice.
I think she did it on purpose so she could get me alone to talk.
Ado is at the sink washing dishes.
The guys are at the table, ready to pass out.
Mama and I go out back.
“Mac,” she says.
“I know,” I say. “Soon.”
“I don’t do soon.”
“I know.”
“Stop saying I know,” Mama growls at me. “It’s not about the money.”
“It’s about the message,” I say. “I get it. I’m sorry.”
“Is this girl distracting you?” Mama asks. “You’ve never been distracted by a girl before. Who is she?”
I smile. “I had to handle personal business.”
“What does that mean?” Mama asks.
“Just dumb shit, Mama,” I say. “Nothing you should worry about.”
“You mean like the young woman who almost died in your house?” she asks.
I grit my teeth.
Mama knows everything.
“I handled it,” I say. “She’s alive and well. And the guy who fed her the garbage has been dealt with.”
“You’re wrong, Mac,” Mama says.
“I’m wrong?
”
Mama holds up her right hand. Her fingers are small and plump. She wrestles a ring off her pinky and hands it to me.
She wore the ring so it was turned around.
And now I’m holding the diamond ring that Molly gave back to Teddy.
Mama’s eyes are dark as she nods.
Which means Teddy…
“Fuck,” I whisper.
“It’s about the message,” she says. “Now send the message I need sent, Mac.”
“Believe me, I am,” I say.
I hand the ring back to Mama and she flicks it through the air like I do my cigarettes.
I feel my heart jump a little.
There are times when Mama can be… scary as fuck.
Just as quick as she can be scary, she can be sweet.
She smiles and grabs my right hand.
“Now, Mac, tell me everything about this pretty young woman you’re falling in love with.”
16
I have to take care of the message Mama wants me to send.
I have the address and looked it up online.
It’s a fucking mansion.
With a gate.
Of course it is.
So some rich asshole is skipping out on a debt to Mama.
Thinking he’s untouchable.
It makes more sense why Mama is so pissed now.
It really isn’t about the money.
And it’s not even about the message either.
It’s about respect.
I close out all the screens on my phone and slip it into my pocket.
I jump off the railing as Hanky comes up the half pipe and does a one-eighty.
Peg Leg Mikey comes hobbling over, using his board as a little bit of a crutch.
I point to his leg. “Hurt?”
“Comes and goes,” he says.
“Where’s your medicine?”
“Got a little out of hand,” he says. “I’m rationing until payday.”
I look to Les and whistle him over to me.
Les is always good, he’ll have something in stock.
Fuck me for whatever the hell is going through me, but I take care of Peg Leg Mikey.
He squeezes his fist tight and swallows hard. “Thank you, Mac.”
“Not a word.”
“Never.”
“How are things around here?” I ask.
“Not bad,” he says. “Little moments here and there. I try to take care of them.”
“Maybe we should suit you up,” I say.
“Meaning?”
“Give you authority,” I say. “For this spot. Make it yours. Work out a deal.”
“You’re the boss, Mac,” he says.
I walk toward the beach and I feel Les’s eyes on me.
“Just say it,” I say to him.
“What you just offered…”
“Am I allowed to do that?” I ask. “I don’t give a shit. If it protects us and the business, then I’m going to do it. Do you trust Peg Leg Mikey?”
“Yeah,” Les says. “He’s solid. He knows not to fuck around. It’s not like he can run, right?”
I look at Les.
“Sorry,” Les says. “Too low?”
“Just a little,” I say.
“I get the feeling that Mama is on your ass right now,” Les says.
“She is.”
“And you think bringing Peg Leg Mikey in is a good idea?”
“Don’t know,” I say. “Don’t care. Mama is pissed, but not at me. Nothing I can’t fix for her.”
“Alone?” Les asks.
“I’ll let you know when it’s time,” I say.
“Okay,” Les says.
I stop walking and look around for Jolie.
If she bails on me… well, I’m not sure what I’ll do.
I can text her.
That’s not good enough.
I can track her down.
That’s easy.
Or maybe she just needs more time…
Or not.
“Look at this,” Les says.
I see him grinning.
Of course he is.
Jolie is walking toward us.
And she’s not alone.
So it’s like we’re back to square one then.
Jolie showing up with Violet.
Like she needs protection.
The sun is starting to set as they close in on Les and I.
“Don’t fuck this up for me, bro,” I say to Les.
“I defended her once before,” Les says. “Remember that.”
“I know,” I say. “Jolie is scared of me. And herself.”
“Because of that Carly thing?” Les asks.
“Yeah.”
I move toward Jolie and waste no time touching her cheeks.
When I do, her cheeks turn red.
I lower my lips to hers for a quick hello kiss.
Violet sighs next to Jolie.
“How did you get here?” I ask Violet.
“I was there when you were texting her,” Violet says.
“Too bad you weren’t there when she was in my bed,” I say.
“That’ll never happen again,” Violet says.
“And here I thought you were the partying type,” Les says to Violet.
She looks at Les. “Not going to happen.”
I move my eyes to Jolie.
“Did you stand up for yourself?” I whisper to her.
“I told Violet to come,” she whispers to me.
“Why?”
Jolie moves to her toes and has her lips an inch from my neck.
“Because I knew it would piss you off,” Jolie whispers.
I grin. “Are you going to break a coffee mug over my head?”
“I might,” she says. “You might want to be the one to walk away.”
Jolie takes a step back and I grab her by her perfect hips.
I pull her close to me.
“That means nothing to me, sweetie,” I say. “I won’t walk away from something I want.”
“So I’m just a thing to you?”
“Wow. You attack one horrible bitch and now you’re ready to take me on.”
“You told me to, Mac.”
“And like always, you listen to me.”
We stare each other down.
I inch my mouth closer to hers.
I can’t save myself from wanting and needing to kiss her.
At the last second, Jolie turns her head.
“What actually happens at the skatepark, Mac?”
I grin. “Let’s take a walk and I’ll tell you.”
That puts Jolie in the hot seat to bail on Violet.
Violet stands with her arms crossed.
Les is loving it.
A girl acting like she’s not interested in him drives him crazy in a good way.
“I’ll be back,” Jolie says to Violet.
“Seriously?” Violet asks.
“Just a minute,” Jolie says.
“I’m not standing here with him.”
Violet doesn’t even look at Les.
“She’s adorable,” Les says. “Do you know how to surf, babe?”
Violet looks at Les. “Why? So you can make some perverted joke out of it? Like you want to surf between my legs?”
Les laughs. “No. I meant it literally.” He nods down to the ocean where Van and Clay are hanging with their crew. “We can splash around a little.”
“Oh,” Violet says.
Her cheeks go flush.
“But if we’re going down that road,” Les says as he inches closer to Violet, “I’m not sure you can handle my huge board.”
Violet looks down at Les and rolls her eyes.
She turns, arms still crossed, and walks toward the water.
“I hate you for this,” she yells to Jolie.
“I love you,” Jolie says. “You didn’t have to come.”
“You said come,” Les says to Jolie.
“Good luck,” Jolie says. “I hope she drown
s you.”
“Oh, she can drown me, babe,” Les says.
Jolie blushes.
I slip my arm around Jolie and start to walk.
Behind us I can hear Violet and Les arguing.
“So what do you really want to know about the skatepark, sweetie? This is going to be one of those things where the less you know, the better. And pushing for answers will get you into trouble.”
“That’s the word… trouble.”
I look at Jolie. “You’re wondering about the word trouble.”
“What is it?” Jolie asks. “It can mean not being allowed to go to a party. It can mean going to jail for the rest of your life.”
I nod.
She’s got a point.
“So once again we’re on opposite ends of the world, sweetie,” I say.
“How so?”
“Your version of trouble is you not going to a party? That’s almost too cute. You’re talking about… what… being grounded? Like being a kid?”
“I never said that was me,” Jolie says.
“Then what’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?”
“What?”
“Let’s go, trouble,” I say. “Tell me the worst thing you’ve ever done. Not even something you got caught doing. Just the worst…”
We have plenty of distance between Violet and Les and us.
They’re near the water and Les is talking to Van.
And that’s the last of my fucks to give when it comes to anyone but Jolie and I.
She’s seriously walking with me, thinking. Thinking about the worst thing she’s ever done.
“What about you?” Jolie dares to ask.
“I’m not sure you want me to say it,” I say.
Jolie stops moving.
She grabs my hand. “Is it all real?”
“What?”
“Everything, Mac. I have myself all torn up trying to figure out if it’s all real.”
“Do you think I’m the kind of guy to make something up to get attention? You saw what Carly did, right? I’m just me. And you see what happens…”
Jolie’s face turns angry red.
Jealousy makes her look prettier, if that’s even possible.
“That’s the worst thing,” Jolie says. “There. And I don’t want to admit that to you so you don’t get that dumb grin on your face.”
“Wow,” I say. “I don’t know where to start with that.”
“Why?”
“So the worst thing you’ve done is smash a coffee mug off the head of some bitch that kissed your boyfriend?”
Jolie scoffs. “Boyfriend? What…”
Mess You Up (Brooks Crest Book 1) Page 14
