Comp's Chance

Damn, those words hit me right in the fucking heart. I’ve never really stopped to think about it, but I have pushed people away ever since my accident. I’ve locked myself in my room, only coming out when needed, to eat, or working out. I don’t even always stay for club parties. Why stay when all I see are pitying looks from some people and disgust from others? I don’t even try it anymore. I know my club members don’t give a fuck, but that doesn’t mean the people who come to these parties, the outsiders, don’t.

So, I stay clear. But where has that gotten me? I’ll tell you… no fucking where. I don’t live. I sit at my fucking computer and do a job ninety percent of the fucking time. I’m tired of this life. I know things changed the minute Sunny and Paisley walked into my club. I got my first glimpse of light and my first real taste of freedom. For far too long, I have been stuck in my head, full of bullshit self-pity. I’m tired of it holding me back.

I look over at the green fields passing me by and smile. Fuck this depressing life. The minute I get back, I’m claiming my new one. One where Sunny is by my side, and she and Paisley are safe from harm.

I finally make it to the prison and am easily let through security. I see my cousin sitting at a table in the back the minute I’m through. Damn, the fucker was huge before coming to the place; now, he’s a solid brick wall. I walk up to him, hoping he will give me anything, a smile or something, but he doesn’t.

“Not even a hug for your cousin?” I ask, sitting and folding my arms over my chest. Once upon a time, Bash and I were best friends. We grew up together and did everything together. He got hooked in with the wrong crowd, and I stayed away from their insanity. I still got burned, though, literally. Granted, it wasn’t Bash’s fault, but it doesn’t matter. What’s done is done, and no matter what he wants me to believe, I refuse to accept he belongs in this shithole.

“No small talk. I put you on this list just this one time to get a message to you. Stop putting your nose in my business and looking into the senator,” he says coldly. He forgets, though; I’ve known him my whole life. I can see right through his bullshit. Something is bothering him.

“Not going to happen,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. He wants to be a stubborn ass? I can play this game.

“I’m being fucking serious, Nix,” he says, using my real name to get his point across. He leans across the table to talk to me. “The senator has deep pockets. He’s looking for the girls now.”

“How the fuck do you know about them?” I ask, immediately on alert.

“Because, fucker, I’m in jail with a lot of nasty fuckers. They gossip in here more than the women in a fucking hair salon. Just keep your head down and stop looking into those people,” he tells me. I just smile. No way in fucking hell I’m going to stop.Sunny and Paisley will be protected. I don’t give a fuck what I have to do.

“Look, I get you want to help everyone, but just this once, can you fucking listen to me? Leave my shit alone, too. I made my choice, and I’m living with it. Just leave. It. Alone,” he says before rising and walking toward the guards in the back. No goodbye, nothing. Well, that was a waste of thirteen fucking hours.

I take a deep breath before placing my hands on the table and getting up. I need to find a hotel to crash at before making the long-ass trip back home, but all I want to do is pull an all-nighter and get back to Sunny. I walk out of the prison, hop on my bike, and ride back out of town. It’s getting dark, but I want to make as many miles as I can tonight before stopping. I see headlights coming up in front of me; the fuckers have their blinders on, nearly causing me to wreck, but I’m able to keep the bike steady even as they get a bit too close and run me off the side. What the fuck was that about?

I shake it off, knowing I need to pull over and get some rest before I crash this fucking bike. I look in my side mirror and see another set of headlights getting closer and closer. Approaching fast, too fast. I floor it, knowing they’ll ram my bike and cause me to lay it down if I don’t. It’s dark now, so all I can make out is a black SUV with what looks like sirens on top. Am I going to get killed by a fucking cop? When I take off, of course, the fucker turns his lights on, though. Fuck, it’s like he was baiting me into speeding. I take a deep breath before pulling the bike over and removing my helmet. I keep my hands where they can be seen, but I have a feeling this isn’t just some random traffic stop. My gun is attached to my side as the officer walks up to my bike.

“Do you know why I pulled you over?” he asks, looking down one end of the road and then the other.

“I’m guessing for speeding. I was almost run off the road. Sorry about the speed, but I thought you were trying to kill me,” I say, shrugging my shoulders. Might as well go with the truth.

I turn just in time to see him draw his weapon. I don’t have time to get to mine before the shot goes off. I feel the blood dripping down my side as the officer pulls his gun back and pistol whips me. Fuck, I pray I got enough information so the club can keep Paisley and Sunny safe.

The last thing that crosses my mind as I lose consciousness is that I just started living my life. I just accepted that Sunny would be mine.

Dying on the same day you’re reborn… now that’s tragic as fuck.

Eleven

SUNNY

Itake a deep breath, pulling my shoulders back. Nix has locked himself away, ignoring me for almost a week now. To be fair, I’ve been avoiding him, too, but only because he started it.

Yes, I am fully aware I sound like a child.

Get over it.

I don’t know what happened after the night he held me until I fell asleep, but it’s like he’s avoided me at all costs since then. Well, that shit ends today. I refuse to stay somewhere I’m not comfortable or wanted. If he’s so adamant about not wanting to be anywhere near me, I don’t need to stay here. I will just have to find somewhere else to go. I never want my daughter or me in a place where we are unwanted, and the last thing I want is for Nix to feel uncomfortable in his own home.

I head toward Swift’s office as Paisley runs away with Rae and Rome. The hardest part of this is going to be splitting them up. The kids have become attached at the hip. They do everything together, and Paisley has thrived being a part of their little group. I love it so much.

Paisley asked me to teach her to braid yesterday. She and Rae want to braid each other’s hair. Halle was sweet enough to showPaisley how to do Rae’s hair while I taught Rae how Paisley likes hers. The girls have been coming up with some cute, sometimes messy, new hairdos for each other. Seeing my baby girl so happy nearly causes me to fall to my knees when I think about taking her away. I also watched Rome sit with us while doing the girl’s hair. He even asked if he could learn in case no one was around. He wanted to be able to do it. Loki looked down at Rome with such a proud expression. Loki ended up joining us, explaining, “I should be able to do my baby girl’s hair if she wants me to. Teach me.”

He said it with a determined expression, and I watched as Halle swooned a bit before throwing herself at Loki. It got a little carried away, which seems to happen if those two are together in the same room for longer than five minutes. So, I took the kids and got them something to eat until the other two were done. All in all, it was a fun day.

As I get closer to the office, I see Piper walking toward me, Swift behind her, holding their son and smiling down at him. The soft look in his eyes has me nearly crying. I’ve always wanted that for Paisley. I always wanted more kids. I was made to be a mother; I know I just need someone to step up, like the men of this club.

“Hey, Sunny!” Piper says, waving at me. She’s another Ol’ lady, and she’s been nothing but welcoming ever since we arrived. She had a girls’ night with Halle, Izzy, Rae, and Paisley the other night. They asked me to go, but I had a deadline and had to finish some edits. Being able to send Paisley along while having a few hours of uninterrupted work let me get ahead of schedule for once. This club has been a godsend.

“Hey, Piper, Swift,” I say, nodding to them both. I stop and drop my head, fiddling with my hands nervously. I don’t want them to think I’m ungrateful for their help or that Nix has made me feel like this.