Page 4 of Bound by Family
Being a brother in Ravage is something you must have a clear head about. It’s not just parties and rides. This is a business, as well. We have to trust each other and have each other’s back at any cost. Deke doesn’t have that reliability yet. Maybe in a couple of years, he’ll find it … or not.
“Deke! Come on, let’s go do something,” my brother, Nox, says from over by the fire pit, making his way to us.
Nox, short for Lennox, is fourteen-years-old, along with his twin sister, Austyn. He has the makings to be in the club, but he’s got some years to go before that’s even an option.
“What?” Deke barks a bit too hard for my liking, but I sit this out and wait. One thing I learned while being with the club is patience … for the most part. Some things trip my trigger, but I can keep myself in check. Fighting my kid brother’s battles when he’s more than capable of it isn’t a reason for me to go off cold-cocked.
Nox and Deke were pretty close growing up. They both got in hot water for different shit they pulled. Stupid kid things that really are a rite of passage. I admit, though, when they got together and stole a car, then spray-painted it with hot pink lettering, that was over the line, being that it was the school’s principal’s car. My parents and Deke’s parents, GT and Angel, blew up all over both their asses. Nox and Deke were on bathroom duty in the clubhouse for four months. That’s a job no one here wants, not ever.
“Let’s go to the lake or something,” Nox says with hope in his eyes.
“I don’t want to go to the damn lake. I’m going to hang out with my friends after I leave here.”
“Can I come?”
“Hell no. You’re fourteen.”
Nox’s shoulders slump just a touch, then rise quickly. One thing I have to say about my little brother is, he may be fourteen, but he holds his own.
“What? Now that you’re sixteen, you’re too good for me?” he charges back, and I try to hold back a smirk.
“Damn right.” Deke looks at me then back at Nox.
Thinking back, I did the same thing. Once I had the freedom of my own car, Deke and I didn’t hang out like we did before. Maybe that’s where his animosity comes from.
“Don’t be a dickhead,” Nox retaliates. “Just because you didn’t—”
Deke jumps to his feet and punches my brother in the face, knocking him to the ground.
I rise from the picnic table as Deke looms over him, pointing his finger in my brother’s face. “You need to keep your fucking mouth shut.”
Nox rises and wipes the blood from his lip, spitting it on the ground. With fiery anger burning in his eyes, he gives Deke a savage kick to the gut, then a punch to the face. Then Nox says in a low threatening voice, now pointing his finger at Deke, “Remember who you’re dealing with. I may be fourteen, but you putting your hands on me isn’t going to happen.”
Deke rises to his feet as brothers, their ol’ ladies, and the children begin to come over to see what the fuss is about.
I hold up one hand and get chin lifts in response. These two need to work their shit out, and it’s not to a point yet for anyone to step in.
“Screw you!” Deke says, lifting his fist as Nox backs up just out of reach, and Deke loses his footing.
Nox doesn’t attempt to hit him back. Instead, he stands there, watching and waiting. That right there, that simple thing, is why I respect my little brother. He has skill and tact, even at his age. It also shows where Deke is lacking. Sometimes patience will win the war. Deke’s half-cocked and ready to pounce rather than wait his opponent out. That, right there, will get you killed.
“What the fuck is going on here?” My mother comes up behind some of the guys and eyeballs the action just as Deke tries and fails to land another punch. “Told you, you should have practiced more, Deke. You forget; I taught my kids everything they know.”
Shocking the shit out of me, she doesn’t intervene. My mother is notorious for finishing fights, even if she didn’t start them, just for the pure fun of it. She’s something. I’m still trying to figure out what that is. Only thing I do know is she’s a kickass mother who loves her kids hard and has high expectations for us. Not to mention, she lets them be voiced as much as possible.
Nox again does nothing, simply stands alert and ready. “Why do you have to be such a dick?” he asks.
Deke looks around at the crowd, then charges my brother, knocking him to the ground. Fists fly, grunts echo, and blood appears on their skin. Everyone watches. I have no doubt someone is going to jump in there pretty soon.
This teenage quarrel is just a day in the life of one of our family gatherings. Most of the time, it doesn’t get this far, but Deke now has something to prove with Nox’s little throw down. He wants his cut and doesn’t want to be seen as a pussy in front of the guys. This is what happens when you raise a group of strong-willed kids together. There are bound to be disputes.
Each of the two take hits as I see my father and GT stand off to the side, arms crossed as they watch the chaos.
My brother somehow maneuvers Deke to his stomach with him on top. Deke’s arm is extended as Nox holds it down. Deke tries to get free, but my brother holds his own. They’re a pretty even body match, even with the two-year age difference.
“Alright, enough,” my father calls out in that tone that makes everyone around him listen and take notice.
My dad has been with Ravage for years. He met my mother here when she got out of prison. My mom is club through and through, and if that means she had to do time for some shit she wasn’t even guilty of for the club, she would do it again. It’s a long story for a later time.
