Dad was at the kitchen table, stressed out, worried that we were going to lose the house. I always wanted to move out, I was old enough to do so, but I feared leaving Dad alone. Part of me wished he would just sell the house. It would help out so much with the store. The house had nothing for me. The store did. Strange as it was but the memories of my mother were more prevalent at the store than at the house.
I was in the bedroom and it was always weird to me. The closet still had my mother’s clothing in it. I couldn’t bring myself to look. Lucky for me I didn’t need to go into the closet. I just needed to go into his top left drawer. There were two dressers though. I picked the one on the left.
As I opened the drawer I got an uneasy feeling. I looked in the mirror and saw nothing. I was too old for the ghost stuff but there was a part of me that wondered if my mother could come back to me as a ghost. Just for a quick visit. Just to explain what had happened the night…
I dug through my father’s always stained socks and couldn’t find a pill bottle.
So I kept digging.
That gave me nothing.
I dug through every sock in the drawer and found nothing.
So I went to the next drawer. It was an unflattering drawer. My father’s underwear. I gritted my teeth as I stuck my hand into the drawer. I told myself he needed his medicine. It was worth the awkward grossness.
My hand dug to the bottom of the drawer and I felt something.
It wasn’t a pill bottle though.
It was a small envelope.
I pulled it out and saw handwriting on it.
Birth record. Proof.
There was a date under that. It was scribbled pretty badly but I knew it wasn’t my birthday. And it wasn’t my birth year. It was two years older than I was.
It peaked my interest so I turned it around and opened it.
“What are you doing?” a voice growled behind me.
I looked up in the mirror and saw my father standing there.
I quickly tucked everything away.
Turns out the medicine was in the other dresser.
Whoops.
I got him his pills and then had to leave for work.
All I could think about was the envelope.
The date.
Birth record… proof?
When I got home from work, I found Dad on the couch, passed out. He would stay there for at least a day or two. Then he’d wake up and be normal again. He’d function as he always did. It was weird to me. I had no idea what could be wrong with his heart. But it was better to not ask questions.
I snuck into his room, my heart racing.
I quickly went to the underwear drawer and had to dig through it again. It was just as weird and gross as the first time.
But there was a big difference this time.
The envelope… was missing…
chapter sixteen
(jace)
NOW
I was on the back porch. I pinched the bridge of my nose as the mid day sun pounded on me. I licked my lips and still tasted Ava’s sweet cum. I hated to admit it to myself but I believed everything she had said to me. On the brink of orgasm she was desperate to come and there wasn’t a shred of dishonesty in her eyes.
Sid was on the line with me, taking in everything I told him.
The end result was pretty cut and dry. The attack on the prospects was simple retaliation on the MC for busting up a few games and taking the cash. One thing was for sure - Sid didn’t give up money. We would fight this out.
The key now was to deal with Ava and her father.
I leaned against the railing, feeling the sun peeling against my face.
“Prez, she’s given me the truth,” I said.
“You fucked it out of her?” he asked.
“Something like that. I hate to say this, but I believe her. This isn’t a pussy thing, Prez. From the second I saw her at the store I could tell she was terrified. She works the games, okay? She’s seen everything. The people. The drugs. The prostitution. She was front row and center. Her old man is somehow tied into it. Forced into it. Beyond the store, if you ask me.”
“Then we get him next,” Sid said.
“Kill him?”
“Depends on what he gives us.”
“Shit,” I said.
“Hey,” Sid said, “all this aside, it’s about the club, right?”
“Of course. I barely know Ava. What the fuck do I care?”
This thing was… I did care. I felt connected to her.
“Hold up, Jace, I have to take a call,” Sid said. “I’ll get back to you in a few minutes. This is something important. I want you to stay put with the daughter. Keep her there and keep her talking. We’ll figure this out soon enough.”
Before I could say goodbye, the call went dead.
I felt like throwing my phone into the thick brush at the end of the yard.
This thing was getting deeper and I had a feeling we weren’t done yet.
Ava was scared. Her father was losing control. And someone wanted her, him, and guys in the MC dead. It was all twisted up.
I turned and grabbed the backdoor to go back inside.
There was only one thing I could think of doing to calm myself down.
Ava owed me one… and I was going to cash in right now…
She still had the fucking towel on when I opened the bedroom door. I tossed the phone to the dresser and shut the door.
“Still in the towel?” I asked.
“I never got a shower.”
“You’re pretty bold for being a stranger.”
“I don’t think we’re strangers anymore, Jace.”