Page 15 of Axel

I knew this topic would eventually come up. I guess I had just hoped I could pretend like he would never want to know about my life, but now that we were beginning to bloom into something, I guess it was only natural that the guy I was seeing and now sleeping with would want to know about my past.

Sighing, I began. “Axel, my past isn’t a fairy tale. My parents split up when I was young. My dad had an affair, my mom went into a dark depression, and my brother became the king of assholes. I left my small hometown after high school and haven’t looked back since. Only Lacy, and now you know this. I don’t really speak to my family anymore. One day I will again, when the pain isn’t so fresh, but I don’t like to talk about them.”

I waited for Axel to drill me with questions, but he didn’t. Nodding his head, Axel seemed to understand what I was saying.

“I get it. Families can be fucked up. My parents loved one another but their lives ended too soon. I understand not wanting to relive your past. Maybe one day you can share more with me, but for now, I am more interested in the present and the future. Besides, anyone who could leave you or treat you poorly isn’t anyone who I want to meet anyway,” Axel finished, leaning down and kissing my knuckles.

Smiling, I looked at this beautiful man before me and knew that this was definitely the start of something amazing.

***

In the weeks that followed, Axel was beginning to really grow on me. Whenever Lacy and Drake were together, Axel and I would just hang out too. I enjoyed his company and knew that I was starting to develop real feelings for him. We spent every waking moment together and had a great time, but we had never had the official ‘talk’ about where we truly stood in a relationship.

One afternoon, while Lacy had to work, I decided to hang out with Axel and his brothers at the bar. It was a Saturday, and I had spent all my Friday night reading and studying for an upcoming test. I was actually grateful to be out of my apartment, even if it was at a biker bar.

“Stop that,” I laughed as Axel threw another peanut at me. He was sitting across from me, joking the whole time. He had been snacking on a bowl of peanuts but instead of eating them, he was playfully throwing them at my face as I tried to ignore him. “You are like a child,” I joked.

Dodging the throw, the peanut hit the floor behind him and Axel jumped up, throwing his fist in the air. “Two points for me,” he said. Thankfully, the other guys were ignoring us. The waitress and bartender were ignoring us, so we knew we could be rowdy.

Leaning over so no other ears could hear, Axel said, “You didn’t think I was a kid when I was inside you the other night,” he smirked.

I tried to hide the growing redness on my cheeks. Just thinking about Axel inside of me had me heated up again.

“You two need to get a room,” Lacy remarked, as she walked into the bar with Drake.

“Whatever,” I said, sticking my tongue out at Axel; he unsuccessfully threw another peanut at my head.

“Yeah. Ivy, let’s go in Drake’s room,” he joked, strutting around the side of the table to where I was seated next to Lacy.

Suddenly, everyone grew quiet around us and I couldn’t help but notice the change in the atmosphere. Drake and Axel tensed next to us and I followed their gaze to the front door.

Standing in the doorway were four guys with black leather vests but with red patches on them. Their menacing stares told me enough to know this wasn’t their typical hangout spot.

“What is going on?” I whispered to Axel.

“Nothing. Just stay here,” he said, as he got up and quickly ran up to the door. Drake yelled for Axel to stop and went after him.

Lacy looked worried as she watched the guys rush toward the group. Nothing about this looked good at all.

“I think you guys need to leave,” Drake stated, his body tall and showing he meant business.

The larger man with a shiny bald head just glared at Drake. “Looks like you finally grew a pair of balls. Too bad your daddy isn’t around anymore to see it,” he remarked.

Lacy tensed next to me and I grabbed her hand.

“Who the hell are you talking to?” Axel jumped in, clearly not going to sit back and let someone talk to his brother like that.

Shoving him aside, the bald man gave a hearty laugh. “You Raven Boys always were a pain in my ass. This bar is on my side of town. I told your dad years ago to sell. Now, I am going to tell you boys, sell this bar or you will pay,” he said, pointing his finger in Axel’s face.

A few of the guys in the bar stood and waited for something to happen. I could tell they were ready for a fight if one were to break out.

“Get your finger out of my face, Chuck. I already told you, that war was between you and my dad. It ended when he died,” Axel stated.

Drake glanced back at Lacy and that was when all hell broke loose.

“Aww, looks like you found yourselves some hot girls. Maybe I will take them as collateral,” Chuck started, licking his lips as he looked between me and Lacy.

I felt my stomach churn and I thought I might vomit. How could this be real life? I felt like I was watching some horror movie.

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