Page 14 of Five Summers

I burst into laughter. “She’s so pissed at you, man.”

“Yeah, I’ll give her some attention tomorrow, she’ll be fine.”

As we round the corner, Ace’s house comes into view. He lets out a deafening roar upon seeing that car, which is parked right in the center of the driveway, blocking any available space for Ace to park.

“This is complete bullshit,” Ace says, as he double parks on the side of the road. “I’ve reached my limit with this dipshit.” He exits the car and heads towards the house.

I quickly step out of the car, hollering at Ace. “Hey, wait up, man. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Before I can stop him, Ace bursts into the house.

I quickly follow, my focus quickly shifting to Ace’s mother, asleep on the couch. The room reeks of booze and weed.

Entering the room, I see a middle-aged man who looks as if he is the leader of an old biker gang. His arms are all decked outwith cool tattoos that give off a rebellious vibe. The icy stare in his eyes subtly reveals his twisted pleasure in inflicting pain and suffering upon others.

It’s weird to see a car in the driveway with what he’s wearing, which suggests he arrived on two wheels.

“Can you find another spot to fucking park?” Ace spits, then his jaw tightens and his fists clench in frustration. “Every damn time I come home, you’re parked there.” Ace gives him a piercing stare, but he completely ignores him and walks towards the chair where his leather jacket sits.

As he grabs it, he casually adds, “Let her know I’ll stop by later.”

“I’m not your fucking errand, boy,” Ace spits.

Without any warning, the old man immediately strides across the room and forcefully slams Ace against the wall, creating a loud thud.

“Listen to me, you cocky little shit. I won’t tolerate your crap like your mother does.”

“Screw you!” Ace yells.

I rush over and tug on his tattooed arm. “Let go of him, now.”

No matter how hard I try to free Ace, it’s impossible because the jerk tightens his grip around Ace’s throat. Ace’s face turns red as he desperately tries to claw at the hand suffocating him. This situation has the potential to become a real shit show. I need to get Ace and get the fuck out of here.

The wanna-be biker lets out a low growl, sending a shiver down my spine as he releases Ace. Breathing hard, Ace’s eyes widen, and he flinches as the guy hurls a punch toward the wall, narrowly missing his head.

Without uttering a single word, he turns around, grabs his jacket, and leaves the house.

Ace and I continue to stare at the door long after he’s gone.

“I can’t wait to get away from this shithole of a place,” says Ace. “I fucking hate my life.”

I understand exactly how he feels. It’s like being trapped in a pitch-black room, unable to see or hear anything, with a heavy weight crushing your chest, rendering you completely powerless. You have no control over anything in your goddamn fucking life. That’s why I also eagerly await my chance to leave this shithole.

Chapter six

Xander

Staying focused during practice is quite a challenge, especially with all the chaos with that biker. However, after Ace’s passionate rant about that obnoxious guy, he managed to enter a state of complete concentration. His sound is truly unique, and it complements my lyrics flawlessly. We’re making excellent progress.

As Ace drives me home, the silence in the car is deafening, filled with unspoken anger. He's clearly still bothered by what happened earlier, even though he hasn’t said a word. Once he drops me off, he'll probably hit up Jade for a distraction. And if Jade’s still pissed at him, it will be Savannah or someone elsefrom the group. That's Ace's pattern, hooking up to escape his shitty life.

As we're getting closer to my place, I see Poppy Reeves chilling, sitting on the curb, fully engrossed by her phone. As I take a breath, the haunting melody of her singing that night rushes back to me. Will the sound of her alluring voice ever reach my ears again?

The sight of the empty space in her driveway confirms that her mother must be gone for the night. Maybe they had a fight again, and that’s why she’s sitting on the side of the road. I don't know why, but all of a sudden, I'm noticing every movement that Poppy makes.

Despite living two doors away from her for years, I've never been tempted to pry into her private life. So, why the fuck do I care now? Maybe it’s because I’m still trying to figure out why her voice did something to me the other night when she sang. And maybe the fact that Poppy is throwing me off. Poppy fucking Reeves, the loner. That girl doesn’t catch the eye of any guy. So why the fuck am I thinking of her in a way I shouldn’t?

“Yo, is that Poppy Reeves sitting in the street?” Ace eases off the pedal as he gets closer to my house. “That girl’s a fucking freak.” He parks the car.

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