shithead,” Duke says and shoves Jeremy away. The second I see
the opening, I stand in front of my brother and stare up at Duke.
He grits his teeth and, with rage in his eyes, says,
“Move.”
Knowing that this could turn out to be
a very bad idea, I take a step closer to Duke and place my hand on
his chest. Leaning in, I say, “Please, we need to check your
head.”
Duke shakes his head and pushes
slightly against my hand. Being sweet is all I got in my toolbox to
get Duke to chill out enough so that my brother can keep his teeth,
and unfortunately for Jeremy’s smile, sweet doesn’t always come
easy for me. Stepping off to the side, I remove my hand from his
chest, and look at the pavement. Diesel said I just have to do
better and demand better of Duke, and that’s all I really got. So I
bite back my temper and gently place my hand on Duke’s back. His
muscles tense at the contact. I keep my hand still, but make
circles over his cut with my thumb. It takes a good, long minute
before the tension dissipates and he screams, “Fuck!”
“ He’s lucky he’s your
brother or he’d be in the emergency room right now,” he says
without taking his eyes off Jeremy. The words are clearly meant for
me, so I give him an “I know, baby,” Grady strides up and grabs a
hold of Jeremy by the back of his neck, giving him a menacing
grin.
“ I’ll
babysit while you two talk your shit out,” Grady says then drags
Jeremy, who’s finally catching on that he did something wrong, into the
clubhouse.
Duke turns around and
stares at me with a blank expression. I move slowly, reaching out
and taking his hand. With a quick squeeze, he moves forward, and we
walk into the clubhouse, hand-in-hand.
I’m sick of the walk down
the hall to his room. Nothing good ever comes of us going to his
room, but I have orders from Grady, and I don’t want to be the next
person he babysits after he gets done with Jeremy. As far a I’m
concerned, Grady and I can be like ships passing in the night. This
time, though, it’s different. I lead the way, and I’m the one to
open the door. I’m the one who waits until Duke walks in, and then
I shut the door behind me.
He says nothing at first.
He just walks to the dresser in the corner and places his hands on
the edge, shoulder-width apart, and leans in. When he finally stops
huffing and puffing like he’s a character out of The Three Little Pigs ,
he says, “My bike. He scratched my fucking bike.”
“ He fucked up, and I’ll
bet he’s paying for it,” I say. I feel like such a traitor, but
really, how many times can I cover for his ass?
“ My bike,” he says slowly.
“There’s no paying for that shit. It’s about respect.” If I wasn’t
so infuriated by how dense he is, I would tell him how hypocritical
that is with a few choice curse words. Instead, I remain silent
because I can’t even get my vocal chords to work right now.
Dick.
“ Have you taught him
nothing?” he snaps. My fists ball up at my sides, and I squeeze my
eyes closed for a minute to let out a silent scream.
“ I’m
trying here,” I say. I can’t stand here and talk about respect with
him right now. Try as I might, I still see Dawn in my head, riding
his dick, and smirking at me.
“ What?” he grinds out and
turns toward me with anger still in his eyes. Pushing off the
dresser, he closes the distance between us and presses himself up
against me while keeping his arms at his sides. “You got something
to say, so say it.”
I keep myself steady and
refuse to bend to his heavy frame as it pushes against me. “Your
bike can be replaced, the scratch can come out. But that shit you
pulled last night? That shit won’t come out.”
Looking down, his face
softens, and he takes a step back. Screaming, he slams his fist
into the exposed brick just once before pulling back and flopping
himself onto the bed. He wipes his now bloody knuckles on his jeans
and flexes his hand. With his elbows on his knees, he puts
the opening, I stand in front of my brother and stare up at Duke.
He grits his teeth and, with rage in his eyes, says,
“Move.”
Knowing that this could turn out to be
a very bad idea, I take a step closer to Duke and place my hand on
his chest. Leaning in, I say, “Please, we need to check your
head.”
Duke shakes his head and pushes
slightly against my hand. Being sweet is all I got in my toolbox to
get Duke to chill out enough so that my brother can keep his teeth,
and unfortunately for Jeremy’s smile, sweet doesn’t always come
easy for me. Stepping off to the side, I remove my hand from his
chest, and look at the pavement. Diesel said I just have to do
better and demand better of Duke, and that’s all I really got. So I
bite back my temper and gently place my hand on Duke’s back. His
muscles tense at the contact. I keep my hand still, but make
circles over his cut with my thumb. It takes a good, long minute
before the tension dissipates and he screams, “Fuck!”
“ He’s lucky he’s your
brother or he’d be in the emergency room right now,” he says
without taking his eyes off Jeremy. The words are clearly meant for
me, so I give him an “I know, baby,” Grady strides up and grabs a
hold of Jeremy by the back of his neck, giving him a menacing
grin.
“ I’ll
babysit while you two talk your shit out,” Grady says then drags
Jeremy, who’s finally catching on that he did something wrong, into the
clubhouse.
Duke turns around and
stares at me with a blank expression. I move slowly, reaching out
and taking his hand. With a quick squeeze, he moves forward, and we
walk into the clubhouse, hand-in-hand.
I’m sick of the walk down
the hall to his room. Nothing good ever comes of us going to his
room, but I have orders from Grady, and I don’t want to be the next
person he babysits after he gets done with Jeremy. As far a I’m
concerned, Grady and I can be like ships passing in the night. This
time, though, it’s different. I lead the way, and I’m the one to
open the door. I’m the one who waits until Duke walks in, and then
I shut the door behind me.
He says nothing at first.
He just walks to the dresser in the corner and places his hands on
the edge, shoulder-width apart, and leans in. When he finally stops
huffing and puffing like he’s a character out of The Three Little Pigs ,
he says, “My bike. He scratched my fucking bike.”
“ He fucked up, and I’ll
bet he’s paying for it,” I say. I feel like such a traitor, but
really, how many times can I cover for his ass?
“ My bike,” he says slowly.
“There’s no paying for that shit. It’s about respect.” If I wasn’t
so infuriated by how dense he is, I would tell him how hypocritical
that is with a few choice curse words. Instead, I remain silent
because I can’t even get my vocal chords to work right now.
Dick.
“ Have you taught him
nothing?” he snaps. My fists ball up at my sides, and I squeeze my
eyes closed for a minute to let out a silent scream.
“ I’m
trying here,” I say. I can’t stand here and talk about respect with
him right now. Try as I might, I still see Dawn in my head, riding
his dick, and smirking at me.
“ What?” he grinds out and
turns toward me with anger still in his eyes. Pushing off the
dresser, he closes the distance between us and presses himself up
against me while keeping his arms at his sides. “You got something
to say, so say it.”
I keep myself steady and
refuse to bend to his heavy frame as it pushes against me. “Your
bike can be replaced, the scratch can come out. But that shit you
pulled last night? That shit won’t come out.”
Looking down, his face
softens, and he takes a step back. Screaming, he slams his fist
into the exposed brick just once before pulling back and flopping
himself onto the bed. He wipes his now bloody knuckles on his jeans
and flexes his hand. With his elbows on his knees, he puts
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