Page 6 of Roses and Skulls

“I bet you’re excited,” Cole continues.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I respond.Ecstatic.I roll my eyes, why the fuck would I be excited? The club has a damn get-together for every little thing. Nothing new.

“I need to drop these two knuckle heads off at school and then I’ll run you to the shop. Lily is at the junkyard with Jackson today. JD got a bunch of stuff in over the weekend.”

So, I’m at the store by myself today?my Australian companion asks.

Uncle Dan sighs. “Is that okay? I can stay with you if you want.”

Quickly, I change the voice on my phone to that of an English-speaking woman and respond.Nope, that’s cool. I just needed to know if I was going to be left to communicate with the customers.

Carson starts laughing. “I thought you told your dad that you didn’t know how to change the voice on your phone?”

Dan chuckles too. “You’re fixing to get your ass whopped, little girl,” he says as he pulls up in front of the school.

Like dad would lay a hand on me, please,I type, giving him my best bored as fuck look.

Both boys hop out, leaving Dan and I alone.

“Why are you torturing them, hun?” he asks, letting the truck idle.

I look away from him to stare out my window, biting my tongue. I so desperately want to tell him everything. This is exactly why I avoid him at all costs. Besides Jackson and Lanie, he is one of my best friends. And every time I’m with him, I just want to crawl up on his lap like I did when I was a little girl and share all my problems with him. He reminds me of grandpa. They both have a calmness about them. Well, grandpa had, he isn’t around to be calm anymore.

He sighs again when I don’t respond, pulling away from the curb. It’s just a short drive to Aunt Lily’s shop, Junkyard Treasures. She makes the coolest things out of, well, out of anything. My cousin, Jackson, and JD both work with her. JD also owns the local junkyard, so it all makes sense. I help around the shop when I can. The only things I make and sell at the store are my chimes. I make one, hang it up in the woods and when the damn thing doesn’t speak to me, it gets brought here. They always sell out, but I’ve never been here when one has sold.

Thanks for the ride,I type as I open my door to hop out. Dan grabs my arm to stop me.

“Hey, I have something I want to talk to you about.”

I sigh loudly and drop my head back against the headrest.

“Mama Bear finally found a buyer for the bar. The realtor gave them the keys yesterday,” he says, watching my every move for any sign of discomfort. They all tiptoe around me now. Always trying to protect me. I’m sure if they could have gotten away without telling me, they would’ve kept me in the dark.

I thought grandma was just going to take some time off in Florida with Aunt Katie and Aunt Ally. How long has it been on the market?

He grimaces, giving me my answer.

I see.

Everyone is moving on.

Okay, good to know. I jump out of the truck before he can say anything else. This discussion is over.

I quickly unlock the door and hustle inside, watching through the window to see if he follows. I flip the lights on, and his head drops to the steering wheel. I pull my eyes away and head to the back to get things ready for the day. When I come back out, he’s gone.

Part of me aches, the part that wishes he would have stormed in after me and demanded I talk to him. But the other half says, fuck him, fuck them all. The only thing I am to them is a fragile little MC princess.

The day moves slowly as I stew over grandma selling the bar. And don’t tell me my parents didn’t know about this. Or maybe they did tell me. I have a habit of tuning them out, so…

The little bell over the door dings and in bounces my best friend. “Where’s Jackson?” she immediately asks.

Hello to you, too,my phone greets her.

She laughs. “Sorry, you don’t have one of those dangly things between your legs.” Lanie hops up on the counter, tossing my birth control pills at me.

Thanks for picking these up.I shove the pharmacy bag in my purse, good to go for another three months. And no, I’m not using them to protect myself against an unwanted pregnancy. I’m still getting zeroaction. They help with my cramps, that’s all. I turn back to face my friend.And if you must know, he’s helping Lily at the junkyard today.I shove her as hard as I can until she stumbles off the counter.

“Jeez, what has you in such a tude today?” she grumbles, taking a stroll around the shop to see if we have anything new.

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