The Broken Pieces of Us (The Devil's Dust #2.1)

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I meet Ruby at the front of the hospital. She looks beautiful as always with her bright red hair straight and flowing down her shoulders and her green eyes done up with black, smoky makeup. She is wearing blue jean capris with a green tank. My little sister and I have nothing in common but the color of our hair and eyes. At my age of forty and hers of thirty-two, we don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things. She got pregnant young, and our mother kicked her out. Ruby leaving was one of the hardest things I have been through.

She came to California and shacked up with some rich guy, got her a job, a house, and a car. Then she found out he was married and took everything he gave her and left. Some bitches have it so lucky. If I took what Locks gave me, it would be a cheap wedding ring he bought me years ago and that’s it. I look down at my hand; I don’t even wear the damn thing anymore. We have grown apart I guess, so what’s the point.

Ruby and I make our way into the emergency room and into Scarlett’s room. She is pale and has vomit all over her. I stare at the tubes going into the crook of her elbow and wires going down the front of her gown.

“She really did a number on herself this time,” Ruby whispers, not entering the room.

Ruby crosses her arms and looks down the hall, her lips pursed

“I can’t do this anymore, Delilah,” Ruby says, beginning to cry.

“Do what?” I ask, placing my hand on my hip, curious at what she’s going on about.

“I will not watch my daughter kill herself, shoot herself up with poison and whore herself out for a high.” Her voice cracks, heavy with emotion. “I have watched my daughter die more times than a mother should in one lifetime,” Ruby says, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

“So what are you saying?” I question, looking back down at the fragile eighteen-year-old in the hospital bed.

“I’m done. I have given her more than enough chances; this was her last. She wants to kill herself, she can do it elsewhere,” Ruby declares, turning and walking away. How can she say that? How can she give up on her daughter? Does she not remember what her own mother did to her, throwing her out to the wolves? This is why Ruby called me. She knew I wouldn’t walk away from Scarlett.

I grab Scarlett’s limp hand and give it a squeeze. I look at her and take in her deathly sight. Her red hair, which is just a bit darker than my own, hanging in clumps, big dark bags sagging from under her eyes. “Looks like it’s just you and me, baby girl,” I whisper.



I wake up chipper today, anxious to see the look on Locks’ face when Babs comes in for the day. I grab some clothes off the floor and hold them to my nose, sniffing for cleanliness. One good thing out of having Babs at the club, I’ll have clean clothes. I put on my black shirt, ripped up jeans, boots, and cut. I grab my cigarettes off the side table and head into the main area.

“Oh, Locks, you’re the worst,” Juliette flirts, pulling on her green jacket. Juliette is one of the girls who has daddy issues, stays around fucking any man who will show her the least bit of attention. She flips her long hair over her shoulder, her vibrant spider tattoo climbing her hand and catching my attention.

“Oh,” she says, surprised, “I didn’t see you there, Bull,” she continues with a fake smile.

“No problem, darlin’,” I reply, squeezing past her. I pluck a cig from the pack with my lips and light it just as my phone vibrates. “What?” I snap into the phone.

“How dare you touch my daughter like that?” It’s Roxy. I was wondering when I was going to hear from her.

“I got shit to do. What’d ya want?” I ask, getting straight to the point.

“She just got those extensions; you better pay for that!” she demands, her tone screeching into the line, causing my head to instantly throb. Roxy is like a damn Barbie, but with ass and tit implants. As long as she didn’t open her mouth to speak, she was a good lay. But that was about it.

“Yeah, okay?” I say flat.

“I’m coming down there and—”

“You come down here, I will shave your fucking head,” I threaten into the phone line. She gasps and goes silent.

“What happened to us, Bull? We used to be so good together,” she responds, her tone soft and more reasonable.

“We weren’t good together. You were just a chick I fucked. Your daughter keeps her shit up, she will be banned from this club.” I hang the phone up and growl in frustration. If only getting rid of Candy would be so easy. Candy is well liked by the boys around here. If I got rid of her, I would have a riot of horny men on my hands.

Babs walks into the club just as I’m making my way into the common area.

She has her curly red hair down, letting it drop down her shoulders. Her leopard top is so tight it outlines her tits perfectly, and her black jeans show off that nice ass of hers. What can I say? I’m a tits and ass man.