Page 1 of Filthy
Chapter One
Nix
“It’s not like I ask for much. All I wanted was for you to clean yourself up a bit for Christmas Eve dinner.”
“Ma, I am cleaned up. What more do you want?”
My mother turned from the stove and walked over to where I was sitting at the counter.
“You could have shaved this,” she said, pulling at my beard.
“It’s not even that long right now. I got it trimmed before I got on the road. I didn’t want it to freeze while I rode.”
“Nicholas Michael Stratford, I swear one of these days you are going to put me into an early grave worrying about the way you drive that motorcycle around in the dead of winter.”
“Not funny.”
As the youngest of five, I was always the one getting pushed around. Then three years ago I moved away and for the first time in my life, I figured out who the hell I was. Growing up a Stratford in our town left a lot to be desired. There were too many expectations that I wasn’t interested in upholding. Now I worked for a high end tattoo shop in New York City, rodemy Harley anywhere I went, and didn’t give a shit about who I fucked over in the process. It was freeing, it was life, it was my mother’s worst nightmare.
The back door opened and my asshole brothers made their way in. Even though I looked as if I could kick any of their asses at a moment’s notice, I was flicked, pinched and poked as they all walked by.
“Did you tell him yet?”
“Tell me what?”
“No. I wanted it to be a surprise.” My mother answered my older brother Rashid before answering me.
“Some surprise.” Julius added.
“Why does it seem like I’m the only person who doesn’t know what’s going on here?”
“Because you are. Honestly, Nix, you should be used to it by now.”
“You didn’t.” I said, turning back to my mother.
“I did. And before you say anything, this year is different.”
I pushed back from the counter and went to the fridge. With a beer in hand, I didn’t even bother with any more questions. It was fucking freezing outside, which made a ride pointless unless I wanted to die of hypothermia. So instead, I stood on the back porch and tried my best to calm down. I began chanting in my head that I wouldn’t lose my shit on my well-meaning mother. Every damn Christmas she would invite some girl she met to dinner to set me up. I was the youngest of the bunch, but I also lived on the other side of the state. In her crazy mom mind, she thought if she found someone for me here then I’d move back. I love my family, but there is no way in hell I’d ever move back to this town and they knew it.
The back door banged open, and I looked to find Rashid standing there. “You know she doesn’t mean anything by it, right?”
“Yeah, I know, but it doesn’t make it any better. Do you remember last year?”
He laughed, “That little church girl ran so fast she nearly fell down the steps when she saw you.”
“I swear sometimes I have no idea where she finds these people.”
“This year you may be pleasantly surprised.”
“Have you met her?”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“And, I’m not blowing this for mom. You’ll see who she chose for you when she gets here tonight.”
“Tonight? Christmas isn’t until tomorrow.”