Page 31 of Where We Ended
He barely looked up from the interior of the hood when I approached him. The sound of tires being rotated and power tools echoed around us, but I made sure my voice was loud enough for him to hear me.
“What happened between you and my mother?”
Dempsey pulled a red rag out from his back pocket and let out a sigh as he moved around the car.
“Thought you hated me.”
I moved with him, shrugging. “Got over that after a while. Why is she with Dirk?”
Dempsey was clearly hurt over the situation. I could sense it in the way his shoulders were rigid, his mouth was tense, and his jaw was locked.
“All I know is I came home one day and she told me it was over. She got real emotional, cried a bunch but no matter how much I asked what the problem was, she just sobbed. Never told me. Just said we were over. I fought for her…I went to Dirk, and I fought for her, but…”
He trailed off, but he didn’t need to say anything more.
“That’s how you lost your captain’s patch?”
He nodded, solemn and serious.
“Nearly took my life, but Sasha stepped up, started kissing him, distracted him…I don’t know why she’s with him, Silas, but I can tell you it’s not because she cares for him. Your mother hates that man with every single piece of her soul. I finally had to accept that your mother was always a survivor and this new relationship might just be part of her lasting…she’s planning something, or he’s a means to an end. Whatever it is, she’s doing it willingly.”
That didn’t fucking help ease my fears or worries even the slightest bit.
I shoved off the car and gave him a nod as I exited the garage.
That was two weeks ago, and with all the demands the club has put on me, I’ve barely had any time to see my mother or Natty. The former had essentially moved in with Dirk, leaving the house to me…well to us, but I hadn’t really been alone with Natty long enough to enjoy it.
I planned to change that tonight.
My initiation to the club was short since a few of us had pledged. The club was loud as the night went on, and I slipped out through the back door, heading home. I could see the fairy lights burning gold through my bedroom window. Natty had bought a shit ton of them over the summer and hung them all over my ceiling, along with green vines. It looked like something from a cheesy movie, but I’d never tell her to take them down, not when each light was a reminder of her.
Soft music played as I used my key to slip in through the back door. I shed my cut, leaving me in just a t-shirt, jeans, and motorcycle boots. Then ran a hand over my hair, wishing I’d showered earlier.
“Natty?”
“In here!” she called from the kitchen.
I found her at the island counter cutting vegetables. Her hair was tossed up into a bun with loose pieces framing her face, which made her blow a puff of air to move it out of her eyes.
A smile crept along my face, unbidden. A piece of sunshine breaking through the storm in my chest.
“Feel like I haven’t seen you since I got back.” I settled across from her as she chopped celery.
She kept her gaze down. “Been busy.”
The sound of the music filled the dead air, the house was stuffy and warm. Sweat rolled down her neck and gathered near her hairline.
Eyeing the kitchen window, which my mother always had open, I was curious at it being closed. In fact, all the windows were closed.
“How come you’ve shut all the windows?”
She kept chopping, keeping her gaze fixed on her dinner. “Sasha isn’t here. You weren’t either.”
“So?” I wasn’t following her logic.
With a sigh, she finally set down the knife, and in a deeper tone than what was natural for her, she mocked my words. “Caelum, first rule of not dying. Don’t be a fucking idiot. Don’t make it easy for anyone to break in.”
Oh.