Page 29 of Spider

“Come on, you have to try Lizzie’s pancakes,” I say, taking her hand in mine. I lead her inside, and the bell above the door chimes as we enter.

Lizzie’s head pops up from behind the counter. “Take your seat, Spider. I will be there in 2 shakes of a witch’s tit,” she calls out.

I laugh and take a seat in my usual booth, with Nova sitting opposite me. I hand her the menu to look at, even though I am going to order for her. She smiles as she looks over the menu, her eyes taking in all the different choices.

Lizzie comes over, carrying her coffee pot. “Coffee?” she asks.

“Always, darlin’,” I say as I slide my mug across to her.

“Um, do you have any green tea?” Nova asks.

“Sure do.” Lizzie smiles. “I will get that for you. Do you know what you will be having?”

“Yeah. We will both have the breakfast specials please, darlin’,” I state. Nova raises her brow. “Trust me, you’ll love it,” I assure her.

“Okay. I will be back with your green tea,” Lizzie states, smiling before walking off.

“So, I guess you come often?” Nova asks.

“Sweetheart, in more ways than one,” I tease, winking. Nova laughs, shaking her head. “Yeah, been coming here for years. Acid, too,” I add.

Nova smiles. “Tell me more about my brother. What’s he like? Does he have a favourite band? Movie? Or foods? What food does he hate?” she asks, leaning her face on her hands, waiting for me to answer.

“He likes Metallica and System of a Down. Bands like that, but those are the ones he plays the most.” I pause, trying to think of a movie. I smile. “When we broke out of the home, some old dear gave us some money because she felt sorry for us. We helped carry her shopping for her,” I state. “Anyway, we went to the market and got some food. We were fucking starving. Never felt hunger like it. We saw that the cinema was showing a range of different movies cheap, so we went and watched The Lost Boys.” I smile at the memory. “We used the last of our money and it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but for once we wanted to live a little like everyone else.” I sigh.

“So, that’s his favourite film? Is it good?” Nova asks.

It’s my turn to give her a look. “You’ve never seen The Lost Boys?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “Nope.”

“Fuck me. Then I will have to make sure you watch it. We should have realised then that we would end up joining an MC. Vampires on motorcycles, living by their own laws, living freely. Man, it was all we wanted,” I say before taking a swig of my coffee.

Nova looks at me with soft eyes. “I’m glad you had each other,” she says softly, and that guilt I had buried resurfaces.

I clear my throat. “He isn’t fussy with food. We couldn’t be in that place. So the pair of us both appreciated whatever we got. He is a sucker for a doughnut though. Fucker could eat them all day, every day.”

Lizzie comes back over with Nova’s green tea. “There you go.” She smiles.

“Thanks darlin’, how are things?” I ask her.

She shrugs. “Well, you know, ticking over. Got the lunch special later; my famous lasagne and garlic bread.”

“Damn, reckon you could save me a bit if I come back tomorrow?” I plead.

“I can’t promise. It’s my favourite, too. Plus, I am not here tomorrow. I’ve got a concert to go to.” She smiles.

“Who are you seeing?” I ask.

“Alanis Morissette. I can’t wait! I’ve been listening to her since I was an angry hormonal teen. Nothing like a bit of feminine rage,” Lizzie jokes. Nova laughs, nodding along. “So, as Spider is an uncultured dumbass with no manners, who might you be?” Lizzie asks, giving me a wink. “Only joking darlin’, you know I love you, just not as much as Austin Butler.”

“I’m Nova. Acid is my brother,” Nova says, choking back her laughter.

“Now you mention it, I can see the resemblance. Can’t you?” Lizzie asks me.

I shake my head. “Fuck no. Nova is stunning, and Acid is an ugly fucker.”

“Ha, well you ain’t no oil painting, sweetheart.” Lizzie snorts. “But you have one thing right. You are stunning. Clearly you got given all the good looks and Acid got the…” Lizzie pauses for a moment. “The well endowed family genes.” She sighs.

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