Page 125 of Patching Over

“Of course, you will,” Brick retorts. “All in favor?”

“Aye” rings throughout the room, causing sinister smiles to appear on many of my brothers’ faces.

“Since that’s settled, Jingles plans to make Belle his ol’ lady, but she’s got shit to take care of at home, so he’s going to be traveling back and forth until she decides if she prefers to stay there or move here.”

“We can’t lose our Road Captain, we just got him,” Rainman points out, tossing a patch in my direction. I grin when I seewhat it says, still shocked that I’m now an officer. Looking at me, he continues, “I’ll have the rest of the stuff updated for you, so keep an eye on your bank account.”

Startled, I look at Brick who smirks at me. “We made it retroactive, Brother, so there’s more money coming your way.”

“Appreciate it, Brothers,” I murmur, a grin crossing my face. Since I live at the clubhouse, my expenses are minimal, so whatever I get will just pad my savings account.

“You earned it, Jingles,” Brick says. “Now, we’ll likely have more brothers from other chapters coming in, so let’s make sure we don’t give the club girls extra work. Also, no killing any of the decorations.” At this, he glares at each of us around the table since several brothers made the mistake of snickering. “Ry and Rory worked hard to decorate the clubhouse, and they plan to do it for Thanksgiving and Christmas as well.”

“I helped,” RiffRaff adds, chuckling. “Since we now have a club princess, and because Ryleigh’s Christmas memories until last year are sucky, I think we need to do this.”

“It looks good to me,” Phantom says. “Growing up, Christmas wasn’t all that big a deal, but last year was fun, and with our little princess around now, I imagine it’s only going to get better.”

“We had good Christmases until Ry was taken,” Banshee murmurs. “After that, it was kind of another day for the most part.”

“Alright, let’s get back on track. We’re going to do a Secret Santa, although I suspect my woman and Rory will likely buy for everyone because that’s just who they are,” Brick advises. “We’ll draw names on Thanksgiving, and everyone is supposed to put a few things they’d like on their piece of paper below their name. Gift cards are not off the table, but do your best to buy a physical gift because my woman feels that it makes it more personal.”

“Got it, Pres,” everyone choruses.

“So, let’s go down and acquaint ourselves with our guests, shall we?” Brick asks. When we all nod, he slams the gavel down again and yells, “Church dismissed!”

CHAPTER

FIFTEEN

Belle

I didn’t see the other woman in the room when I first walked in, my focus solely on Moira. She doesn’t look like she did when I last saw her, so I know that the man Jingles called Angel worked on her as well. “Mo?” I ask, slowly moving to the bed where she’s propped up against a bunch of pillows.

She doesn’t turn her head to look at me; no, she continues looking straight ahead. Even when I reach out and take her hand in mine, I get no response whatsoever, which breaks my heart.

“Hi, who are you?” A female voice asks.

Turning, I see an attractive woman coming out of the bathroom, only I don’t recognize her at all.

“I’m Belle, who are you?” I question.

“Nylah. I’m Rael’s ol’ lady. He’s from the Tonopah chapter, and brought me because I’m a nurse, only Angel did a lot of the work for me.”

“Has she said anything at all?” I ask.

“Not a peep. Even when me, Rory, and Ryleigh bathed her, she didn’t utter a word, flinch, or act as though anything was happening.”

“That’s not good,” I whisper. “How far in your head are you, Mo?” I quietly ask. “Please, come back, Sleeper’s friends found us. We’re safe again.”

Nylah sits on the other side of the bed and takes the bowl that was sitting on the nightstand in her hands. She carefully spoons a little of the soup in Moira’s mouth, and I watch my friend swallow, but there’s no change to the expression on her face. It’s as though she’s eating by rote.

“Is she… can she hear me?” I inquire.

“As far as I know, yes, she can. I always tell families to talk to their people as though they’re answering them, even when they’re unconscious or in a coma. I think your friend is in a catatonic state, likely due to the trauma she suffered.”

“What helps that?” I probe, willing to do whatever it takes to get my friend back.

“There’s a working theory that certain medications can help because they work on the areas of the brain affected. Unfortunately, since I’m just a nurse, I don’t have any of those, and from what I understand, the hospital is not an option due to the circumstances.”

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