Page 20 of Revelations

“If you want to rest, you can go up in my room, Angel. I just changed the sheets and stuff this mornin’. I can take you up there now and come get you when everyone gets here,” I tell her, my voice almost a whisper as I lean closer to Genesis and let the vanilla and apple scent of her body wash fill me. I’ve come to love the smell of Genesis and know exactly when she enters a room before I even see her.

“I’m okay, Raptor. Thank you for taking care of me all this time. Both of you have done so much to help me and I’ll never be able to repay you. For now, I’m going to sit here and try not to hit my shoulder again,” she says, a grimace on her face as I immediately look at her arm.

“Sweetness, you didn’t tell me you hit your arm before we left the house. What happened?” Devil questions, fear in his voice as he starts to pull his phone from his pocket.

“That’s why I didn’t tell you. You’ll want to call Doc to come see me. It aches a little more than normal, but I’m okay. I was leaving the bedroom and stumbled a little bit. My shoulder bumped into the door frame and jostled me just enough to make the area ache more. I promise if it starts to hurt more, I’ll let one of you know,” Genesis says, resting her hand on my thigh under the table as I reach over to take Matie from Devil.

“I’m gonna hold you to that shit, Angel. And if I see you gettin’ tired, you’re gonna go up and rest. Our families are loud, boisterous, and will drain your energy without meanin’ to. I think my mom wants to go to a late lunch when they get here so I might not be here all the time, but Devil has a room here and can take you to his if I’m not here,” I tell her, my voice lost as the door opens and I look over my shoulder to see our family members streaming in the door with the largest smiles on their faces. “I hope you’re ready for this, Angel. You’re about to get a crash course in Phantom Bastard family right now.”

Caleb and I stand from the table and watch as person after person file through the clubhouse door. Slim is first and he heads straight for Dylan as I spot Carson making his way in the room from upstairs. I turn my head as Slim embraces his grandson while looking for my parents. My brother, Geek, steps up next to me and I look at him with a smile on my face. He’s been doing his own thing and I haven’t really seen him around the clubhouse too much lately. That will have to change because we used to talk all the time and I feel as if I haven’t seen him in months since we moved here. Finally, I spot our parents making their way through the door. Mom is brushing her pants off and I know something has happened out in the parking lot. Geek and I rush to their sides as the common room becomes a chaotic mess.

Mom, Geek, and our dads are sitting at the diner in town. While we love hanging out with everyone at the clubhouse and I know Shy and the ol’ ladies planned a huge lunch for everyone, we chose to have some time to ourselves before we embrace the chaos. I think Mom just wants to know what’s going on with Geek and me without worrying about everyone else butting into our conversation and shit. Sometimes it’s nice to have just somefamily time without everyone else around. Not often, but every now and then I just want to be alone with my parents and brother. Plus, it means I get to be away from Devil. I’m not ready to watch him sit with his family and not tell them about us yet again. It will kill me to know it’s one more day that I can’t be at his side.

“So, I want to hear all about what you two have been up to since we were last here?” Mom asks us, her voice filled with concern and happiness. There’s also a touch of sadness in there as well.

“Mom, don’t be sad. Raptor and I are livin’ our lives the way we’re supposed to. You know this is what we were plannin’ on doin’ the second we patched into the club,” Geek says, his voice holding that touch of happiness only he can infuse into his words when our mom is around.

“I know. It doesn’t mean that the house isn’t empty as hell and we don’t miss the two of you boys every single day. Your dads won’t show how much they miss you, but I know my men better than anyone else. So, tell me how things are going. Especially about Genesis and her son,” Mom says again, her voice wobbling slightly as our dads put their arms around her shoulders and waist while holding her close between them.

“I’m helpin’ King and Valor with the security company. I never thought that’s what I’d be doin’ when I moved here, but I honestly love the work. Yesterday, I sent a team out with a band who just started their first tour. They didn’t even realize they’d need a security team until their manager insisted on it. If I didn’t put one together as fast as I did, they would’ve had to cancel their first show and refund all those fans who bought their tickets. No, I don’t know the name of the band off the top of my head. From what I was told, it’s a group of friends who made it big on social media and are embarking on tour as an openin’band for a huge act,” Geek says, surprising all of us including myself.

“That’s awesome! I’m sorry I haven’t been around much, Geek. Things have been crazy with Genesis and the baby. I’ll have to spend more time with you movin’ forward,” I promise my brother as he turns to look at me.

“You’ve had a lot goin’ on, Raptor. I don’t blame you at all. Honestly, I’ve barely been at the clubhouse. Ghost and I have been hangin’ out away from the clubhouse. It’s nothin’ against anyone there, we just don’t want to be surrounded by everyone on a constant basis. It can be overwhelmin’ with everythin’ goin’ on. You’ve been busy with Genesis and Matie and have your own shit goin’ on. We all go through some shit every now and then and that’s fine. Get your life situated and then we can hang out and you can tell me all about it,” Geek tells me with a soft smile on his face.

Out of the two of us, my brother has always been the more sensitive and considerate. Yeah, he’s right there with the rest of us causing trouble and being a menace. He would just rather hang out in a quiet location with a few people versus everyone in the club. The times it gets to be too much for him, he disappears until he’s ready to return. It’s how he’s always been and I can’t fault him for it. There’s a lot of us when we’re all together and it can be very chaotic and loud. It’s one of the reasons I’m glad Genesis didn’t put up a fight about staying in the house instead of the clubhouse when she first got hurt.

“Who is this Genesis we keep hearin’ about?” my dad Boy Scout asks me, before turning to face the waitress who just showed up.

She’s your typical woman who wants a walk on the wild side for a night or two as I watch her pull her top down, practically exposing her chest in a diner full of customers. Shebats her eyelashes at my dads, brother, and me while completely ignoring my mom. That shit doesn’t fly with any of us.

“If you can’t take our order without flirtin’, send someone else over,” I bark out, startling the waitress. “In case you couldn’t see, my dads are very happy with my mom and you don’t stand a chance in hell with them. Better women have tried over the years and they see no one but her. I’m also not interested in anythin’ you have to offer. I can’t speak for my brother but I’m sure you’re not his type when the first thing you do is almost expose yourself around kids.”

“You can’t talk to me like that,” she says, her voice high and whiny, grating on my nerves.

“I can talk to you anyway I choose. You’re the one disrespectin’ us when we’re just tryin’ to have a family meal. I do know the owner of this business and she wouldn’t appreciate the fact that her waitress is doin’ the shit you are right now. She’s fired people for far less,” I state, my voice hard and cold as the waitress’s eyes almost bulge out of her head and her face goes pale. “Get the hell out of here and send someone else over.”

The waitress rushes away, fake crying as my parents look at me. I never used to be so damn hard when it comes to women. I’m sure it’s everything getting to me after so long. My head is all over the place and I want to get the hell away from everyone and just shut the world away for a while. Unfortunately, I’m not able to do that shit because our family is in town and I won’t ever make them feel as if I don’t want them around me.

“Genesis is a woman who waitresses at Enchantment. Several weeks ago she was attacked outside the club. Beaten to hell really. Devil and I have been takin’ care of her and her son as she recovers. She’s still got a lot of healin’ left to do. Her ribs were cracked and they dislocated her shoulder,” I tell my parentsas my dad Wood winces. He’s had a dislocated shoulder and knows how horrible the recovery is.

“She has a son?” my mom asks me, watching as a new waitress walks up to our table and smiles at my mom and only her.

“Yeah. Matie’s not quite a year old. Cutest baby ever. He’s so good too. Never gives us any trouble and loves to play. Learnin’ to give him a bath was quite the learnin’ experience,” I answer my mom as she starts laughing with me.

We all order our food and the waitress disappears without a fuss. She does apologize for the previous woman’s behavior toward us though. While waiting for our food, Geek and I answer our parents' questions and no one brings up the fact that I’m so different from the last time they saw me. I guess that happens when you’re confused and heartbroken. This visit will soon tell me if it’s worth waiting for Devil to get his head out of his ass or not. If he doesn’t say anything to his family about us, then I’ll know it’s time to move on and get over him. No, I’ll never be with another man. Devil is the only one I’ve ever wanted and I don’t see that changing at all. At the end of the day, I want to be happy. Yeah, I’d be happiest with Devil and Genesis but we don’t always get what we want in life.

Chapter Fifteen

Devil

AS OUR FAMILY members make their way into the clubhouse, Raptor stands from the table and hands Matie back to me. He doesn’t say a word to me as he walks away and meets up with Geek when their parents walk through the door and Jennifer is brushing something off her jeans as if she fell or something in the parking lot of the club. Killer is right behind them, his eyes searching the room for his daughter as my brother joins her at the table. I watch on as he makes a beeline straight for Hope and pulls her into his arms when she stands from the table. Genesis pulls the bottom of my tee-shirt as I watch everyone continue to enter while my grandpa talks to Carson next to Hope.

“Can you take Matie and me to the couch where Morgan’s sitting, please? I feel like I’m in the way here with all your family members showing up,” she asks me, her voice barely above a whisper as I lean down to hear her.

“You’re not in the way, Sweetness. Our family wants to get to know you and Matie. You’re just as much part of our family as anyone else in this room,” I tell her as Caleb pulls her chair back and gives me a look over the top of her head.

“You know this shit is chaos. Let her have some time and you can take our parents and grandparents over to herwhen things have calmed down a little bit more,” he tells me, a knowing look in his eyes as I turn back to face Genesis.

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