Beautiful Outlaw by Emily Minton

My Home Too

Shay

I wake up when the bed dips and Bowie settles in behind me.  He throws his arm over my body as his lips settle on my shoulder.  “It’s time to wake up, baby.”

Opening my eyes, I see sun peeking through the wooden blinds and fight the urge to go back to sleep.  I was so tired. I didn’t even look around after he sent me upstairs.  I just stripped off my jeans and crawled into bed.  “What time is it?”

“A little after seven,” he answers as his denim covered legs rub against my bare ones.  “I gotta get you to Nina’s.”

“Why?” I ask, sleep still clouding my brain. 

His arms tighten around me, and his lips move to my cheek.  “I gotta go to the clubhouse.”

“We just left there.”

He chuckles before responding.  “When I came up here, you were already out.  You slept through the night. I’ve been awake for nearly an hour. Already took my shower and shit. Tried to wake you up to take it with me, but you were dead to the world.”

I pull from his arms with a jerk and sit up.  “I didn’t even make Tag anything to eat.  He must be starving.”

Tag seemed so lost when I left him in his bedroom alone.  I don’t know his story yet, but I know it has to be sad.  A kid like him shouldn’t be on his own.  He should have parents to love him, someone to care for him. 

Bowie’s arm snakes out and pulls me back to him.  “He’s fine, baby.  That kid damn near demolished my fridge. I don’t know where in the fuck he put all that food.”

Turning my head to look at him, I start to ask the questions that have been on my mind since Tag walked in.  “Who is he?  I mean, who is he to you?”

“Rollo found him camping out in the barn behind the clubhouse, so I took him in.” He shrugs as he explains, playing it off as if what he did is no big deal, but it is.

“Where are his parents? Won’t they be looking for him?”  I can’t imagine not knowing where my child was, if I’m ever lucky enough to have one. 

“I don’t know who his dad is, doubtful that he does either.  His mom’s a club whore.  She’s probably on her back under one of the brothers right now.  She doesn’t give a fuck where the kid is.  If she did, she’d have made sure he had a roof over his head and food in his belly.”

Good Lord, what kind of woman just let her child fend for himself? “Does she know he’s here?”

“Doubt it,” he says as he lets me go and swings his legs over the side of the bed.  “If she does, she won’t fuckin’ care.”

He grabs his boots and starts the slide them on, ending the conversation.  As soon as they are on, he stands up.  “Now get your ass up. I got shit to do.”

“Why do I gotta go to Nina’s?”

“Like I said, I got shit to do,” he says as he walks to other side of the room and grabs his cut from the back of the closet door.

“But why can’t I stay here?”  The thought of exploring his house has me excited.  It’s an older two-story house with a beautiful wrap-around porch.  The years have battered the white paint covering it, but I can tell that it once was a beautiful home.  I didn’t get to see much of the inside yesterday, but I saw enough to know it needed a good cleaning.

He turns to look at me, studying me still sitting in his bed.  “I’m gonna be gone.”

Something about the way he says that makes anger bubble up inside me.  It’s as if I shouldn’t be here without him, and that pisses me off.  He said this was my home, but he’s not acting that way now.  “I thought you said yesterday that this was going to be my home too.”

He nods, narrowing his eyes at me.  “It fuckin’ is.”

“Then why can’t I be here without you?”

“You’ll be alone.” His answer comes out with a loud breath.

“If I was at Nina’s, I’d be alone, so I don’t see the difference.” Nina will be at work by now, and Priss would be on her way to school, so I would just be sitting in her house all alone.  Any other day, I’d be working too, but I doubt I have a job now.  I never even thought about calling them when I left for North Carolina, so I’m sure they’ll fire me as soon as I walk in the door of the salon.

He crosses his arms over his chest, never taking his eyes off mine.  “What the hell are you going to do here all day?”

“First of all, I’m going to wash all the dirty dishes piled up around the kitchen.  Then, I’ll be probably be nosy and check out all the rooms,” I reply with a smile.

He looks at me for a minute more before nodding.  “I’ll leave the kid with you.  If you have any problems, just call.”

I nod with another smile.  “Okay.”

He walks over to the bed and leans toward me.  Placing his lips on mine, he mumbles.  “Later, baby.”