Page 28 of Mace

“What’s up with the sunglasses?” he asked, sitting up to the bar.

Sprite flashed him her best smile and he instantly knew that something was up with her. She never smiled at him that way. “My future’s so bright, I have to wear shades,” she teased.

“Ha, ha,” Chains grumbled. Getting a straight answer out of Sprite was like pulling teeth. “You want to try again?”

“No, because it’s none of your business as to why I’m wearing sunglasses,” she spat. Sprite turned her back on him and he wanted to demand that she not ignore him—as if that would do him any good. “I was just making conversation,” he lied. It was bugging him that she wouldn’t give him a straight answer.

“Well, now you’ve made me feel bad for being a bitch to you,” she said. “Here, have a beer on me,” she said, handing him a tall glass. She leaned in close enough for him to see the bruises on her arm and cheek. Sprite was wearing sunglasses to hide bruises and that plain pissed him off.

“Who did that to you, Sprite?” Chains asked.

“Did what?” she asked, playing dumb.

“Stop,” Chains ordered. Half the guys in the bar turned to watch them, including Savage. “Just give me a straight answer, Sprite. I want to help you.”

“I don’t need any help,” she insisted. “I can handle myself.”

“Was it a boyfriend?” he asked, pushing her for answers. The thought of her having a boyfriend made him madder than he’d been in a damn long time. He had no claim to this woman, yet he somehow felt protective of her.

“I told you, I don’t have a boyfriend, Chains,” Sprite said.

“No, you told me that you wouldn’t give me your number because you don’t date guys in the Royal Bastards. You never said that you don’t have a boyfriend.” He could tell that she was thinking over their prior conversation and when she realized that he was right, she just shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Well, I don’t have a boyfriend,” she repeated.

“Then who gave you those bruises, Sprite?” he asked again.

“If you must know, it was my mother’s boyfriend. I came home from work the other night to find him drunk, and he got a little bit handsy. I told him to keep his fucking hands off me and he lost it,” Sprite said. She took a step back from him as if trying to hide after telling him the truth. “Do you feel better now that you know?” she almost whispered. Nothing about her situation made him feel better.

“No,” he breathed. “You live at home with your mom?” he asked.

She nodded, “Yeah, I was trying to save money for my own place. I just got a job at an accounting firm, and I work here nights to earn extra money, but I still have to pay my mom rent and half the utilities, so it’s taking me a while.”

“I’m guessing that her scumbag boyfriend doesn’t pay rent or utilities,” Chains said.

“Nope, and she defends him at every turn. I really need to move out of there, but I’m not ready to do that just yet—you know, financially. Although my mom packed up most of my stuff and helped me load it into my car. I’ve been sleeping in it for the past two nights, with all my shit.”

“You’ve been sleeping in your car for the past two nights?” he asked.

“Yep,” Sprite said, “I parked it out back and Savage has been kind enough to let me use his personal bathroom back in his office. It has a shower and that’s all I really need.”

“What about the rooms that he rents out upstairs?” Chains asked. He knew that a couple of the guys stayed up there from time to time.

“They are all full and although he offered, I couldn’t let him kick someone out for me. I’d feel awful about that.”

“Did you call the cops on your mom’s boyfriend,” Chains asked.

“I didn’t get the chance. My mom said that he took off after he did this to me, and she said he hasn’t been back since. I called to check in on her, and she was pretty pissed off at me. She even went as far as to say that I was to blame for him leaving,” Sprite said.

“That’s bullshit,” Chains growled, “it’s not your fault that her boyfriend is an asshole. If you ask me, your mother is better off without him.”

“Agreed, but I can’t go back there until I’m sure that he’s gone for good. Plus, my mother told me not to bother coming back anytime soon. She said that she needs time to cool down.”

“How long will that take?” Chains asked.

“The last time this happened, I had to sleep at a friend’s place for three weeks,” Sprite admitted.

“Wait, this has happened before?” Chains asked.

---