Page 29 of Denial

“You goin’ up to the room now or do you want to get somethin’ to eat before goin’ up to finish your nap?” Jinx asks me as I wiggle to be set down.

“I think I want to help down here for a little while and eat,” I tell him as my mom spots us and stands from her seat to rush over to us.

“My baby girl,” she says, tears in her eyes while she pulls me into her arms. “I’m so glad to have you here with us. I’ve been so worried about all of you.”

“I’m happy to be back, Mom. We’re okay. Nothing happened up there other than I was tortured every single day by the therapist. Speaking of her, where is she now?” I ask, looking back at Jinx because I never thought about her until now.

“She went home. We figured since you’re home now, you can utilize the physical therapy center here in the city. We’ve got the gym here and I’m sure your dad and Vault have already been making plans to bring in a therapist to the clubhouse on the days you need to see them,” he answers me with a smile on his face because he knows I fucking hate therapy and the pain I’m in afterwards.

“Great,” I say, drawing out the word as King hands over my cane once my mom finally lets me go.

“I’m gonna go down with the guys. Here are the keys to my room,” Jinx says, handing over a set of keys he’s pulled from his pocket. “Make yourself at home and try to get some rest. I’ll be up as soon as I can.”

“Okay,” I return, tilting my head up to accept the kiss he gives me.

Jinx doesn’t let the kiss get too deep or last too long with everyone staring at us. I can feel their eyes on my back as Jinx pulls back and smiles down at me. I watch as King, Raptor, and him disappear toward the hallway of the clubhouse where the door leading down to the basement is.

“When did that happen?” Sam asks, walking into the common room from the kitchen.

“Um, a few days ago,” I tell her, uncertainty filling my voice as I walk with my mom to the table she was sitting at.

“Thank fucking God!” Sam says, turning to face Slim while holding out her hand.

I watch with a smile on my face as Slim hands over some money and everyone in the common room starts laughing their asses off. These guys will bet on everything and they don’t care who it involves. I’ll admit I’m curious to know what this bet entailed though since I’m obviously part of it.

“I didn’t think Jinx had the balls to claim you when you weren’t here at the clubhouse. Thought my grandson was gonna be an old man before he finally fuckin’ took that step with you,” Slim says, a large smile on his face as he gives me a wink because he knows that Jinx was gonna claim me before then.

“My boy definitely pulled his head out of his ass. Hope, I’m glad to see the two of you together. Just remember that if he ever needs to get his ass handed to him, call me and I’ll take care of it. I would say call your dad, but I’d prefer my son alive and breathing,” Sam says, laughter filling her voice as she goes to sit with Jennifer. “We’re just taking a break from the work we’ve been doing. Are you gonna go up and take a nap or help out?”

“I plan on helping. I’m sore after the journey home, but I’m not gonna go to bed when things need to be done out here,” I tell her as Slim comes over to sit with us.

“You’re not going down in the basement?” Shy asks him as he lifts her and takes her seat before placing her in his lap.

“Nope. Killer, Jinx, King, and Fox deserve this fucker. They’ve got more than enough guys down there to witness him answerin’ their questions. I’ll go down when they catch the other fucker,” Slim states leaning over to play with Torrin, Annabell and Vault’s daughter.

Morgan steps up to our table and I let out a squeak of fear because I didn’t even see her walking toward our table. She gives me a soft apology before setting a plate of food down in front of me. I dig in because I’m starving with a mumbled thanks to Morgan as she scurries away to do something else. No one ever sits around here for very long when things need to be taken care of. We all have a job to do and our own weight to pull. The only ones I’m not seeing do much work are the Phantom girls. All but one of them are sitting on their asses and talking while everyone else eats and then gets up to go back to work taking care of stuff. Knowing that Annabell and Savannah are busy and not out here to watch what’s going on, I stand from my seat and head over to the girls.

“I know you think manual labor is beneath you. However, you’re in the Phantom Bastards clubhouse and there are rules for you to follow. You’ve been reminded of these rules more than once now. I have a feeling Vault and Annabell are ready to get rid of all of you. Right now, you’re supposed to be up cleaning and making sure all the shit from the fire has been taken care of. Everyone here is working with the exception of you lazy skanks. So, I suggest you either get off your ass and start doing something, or you fucking pack your shit and leave. Vault will not be nice if he has to fucking talk to you about this shit again,” I state, my hand on my hip as I keep a firm hold on my cane with the other hand.

“You aren’t anyone here in this clubhouse. Jinx has already proven that you’re nothing and will be claiming Morgan as his ol’ lady. I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but you need to get the fuck outta my face,” one of the girls says as she stands from her seat and gets in my face.

“I am more than you’ll ever be in this clubhouse. You know Killer?” I ask sweetly as the girl pales from head to toe right in front of me. “He’s my fucking dad. And Jinx isn’t going to be claiming Morgan like you all seem to think. He is my man. So, not only will I be claimed by the VP of the club, but I will also always mean something to this club and matter more than all of you combined. I mean, we can get my dad if you want to debate just how much I mean to this club. I’m sure he’d love to hash it out with the likes of you.”

“Nope. We’re going,” the Phantom girl says as she runs from the common room with the rest of the girls following her and we all start laughing our asses off.

“Good job, Hope. Put those fucking skanks in their place,” Annabell says, walking over to me and pulling me in for a gentle hug. “We missed you around here.”

“I missed you all too. I’m gonna finish eating and then you can point me in the direction of where I can help out,” I tell her as she steps back and lets Savannah pull me in for a hug.

“We’re not gonna have you on your feet for long periods of time, Hope. I know you’re still working on things and getting stronger every single day. But you know as well as the rest of us that you’re not where you need to be yet. I know you’ll be upset if you do anything to push back the progress of your recovery. So, we’ll find things for you to do that aren’t leaving you standing the rest of the day,” Savannah tells me as they walk over to the table with me and sit with their kids when my mom and Aunt Kim stand from the table and disappear into the kitchen.

I finish eating my food as we all talk and laugh while watching the kids play and have a good time. When I’m done, Annabell and Shy walk me back to where the fire impacted the clubhouse. There’s a large tarp covering where a solid wall used to stand so nothing can get in the clubhouse from outside. I’m assured there are boards and other shit on the outside so it’s not just a tarp hanging over the new opening of the building. Most of the debris and trash has already been removed from the hallway and the rooms that were impacted by the fire. A few of the Prospects are cleaning out one of the rooms and loading up garbage cans full of debris. Knowing I won’t be much help here, I leave the area and find the laundry room.

When Vault had the clubhouse built, he put a room in the back of the clubhouse on the first floor over by the Prospect’s and Phantom girl’s rooms that hold five washers and dryers. Multiple loads can be worked on at once and that’s what we need for the club. Plus there’s a long table that stretches down the middle of the room where we can fold laundry as it comes out of the dryers. I honestly love this room because not many people come in here on a regular basis and when I need to think, I can be alone in here if it’s not good enough outside to go to my favorite spot.

One of the Phantom girls is already in here folding laundry. I give her a smile as I look at the machines to see how much time is left on the current loads being washed.

“Would you like some help?” I ask her, knowing I can’t stand around and do nothing.

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