He stood up, and she took a step back. “I am.”
Tabitha shook her head. He was finally smiling again, and she liked that. She hated it when he was sad.
“What are you two doing?” her father, Tiny, asked.
“Nothing,” Tabitha said. “But The Skulls rule, Chaos Bleeds … drool.” She winked at Simon, letting him know she was doing this on purpose.
“That’s my girl!” Eva, her mother, called out.
While Simon looked toward where their parents were, Tabitha took a step toward him and placed a hand on his chest. She didn’t know if he felt that spark or whatever it was when she touched him, but she felt it all the time. It was like a constant hum between them. Moving toward his ear, she whispered the words. “Tag, you’re it.”
Reluctantly, she pulled away and began running away from Simon. He gave her a couple of seconds, and she ran around the swings, watching as several of The Skulls were now facing off with the Chaos Bleeds. Simon wasn’t interested in anyone else though. He was on the other side of the swings, and she smiled at him. “You’re not going to chase anyone else?”
“No one else I want to chase.” This just made her smile at him. She couldn’t help it. Simon made her feel even more alive. As she rushed one way, Simon followed, and she quickly changed direction, running across the park and heading toward the small garden that Angel liked to maintain while she was there. She didn’t get far as Simon grabbed her and spun her around. They both collapsed on the ground, and she was laughing as he landed beside her.
“Tag.”
“You caught me.”
Simon stared into her eyes, and it almost made her forget to breathe. “I’ll always catch you, Tabby. You’ll never have to fall again, and if you ever do, I’ll be there with you.”
Silence fell between them, and she was breathing hard as she stared at him. Simon always offered her the world, and her mother had told her to be careful. There was only so much that she could do. She was a Skull, and Simon a Chaos Bleeds, but she loved him. She didn’t care what her parents said. She knew she was in love with Simon, and no matter what, she belonged to him.
“Food!” The spell was broken. Simon stood and held his hand out. She took it, knowing she always would, no matter what.
Pulling out of the memory, she felt an equal measure of happiness and sadness. Even then, she’d known a choice needed to be made and it would have to be her to make it. Running a hand down her face, she decided to take Daisy’s advice and not think about it. Instead, she opened up the books Daisy had left for her and got some studying in. After an hour of looking through all of Daisy’s notes, she headed downstairs to get a drink. Lacey was in the kitchen, attempting to make a sandwich.
“You want one?”
Seeing the amount of mustard on one slice of bread, she shook her head.
“I know I can’t cook, but I can order takeout. I think that is what Whizz and John are getting.”
“It’s fine.” John was Daisy’s adoptive brother. Whizz and Lacey had taken him in a couple of years ago. Where Sally and Daisy had been older and knew they weren’t their real parents, John didn’t know the truth. There were a few times she’d babysat with Daisy, but Lacey liked to do everything herself, or at least as much of it as possible. Tabitha took a sip and watched as lettuce was placed on the bread, along with large slices of tomato.
“I know it’s tough, this thing you have going with Simon. It’s a hard decision to make.”
Lacey was once part of a different MC that was completely wiped out, burned to the ground. Their name ceased to exist.
“I know.”
“I picked Whizz,” she said.
“You’re telling me to pick Simon?” Tabitha asked. “Over the club?”
“I know it was easy for me. I didn’t have any family and the club died, and I’m not going to delve into that. What I’m trying to say is even before all of that, I did pick Whizz. I know you’re supposed to be loyal to the club, but what is loyalty if after a time you become so resentful of them?”
Lacey stopped making a sandwich. “We’re your family and I get that there will possibly be a chance that trouble will fall between all of us at some point. You’ve got two hard-assed Presidents. It’s going to happen, but that doesn’t mean between Chaos Bleeds and The Skulls, they can’t work it out at some point. Don’t give up on him just yet.”
“I won’t,” Tabitha said.
“I figured you’ve had your mom and the men telling you their point of views. I figured an outsider perspective would help.”
“There is no way you’re an outsider.”
Lacey laughed. “I was once. Don’t forget that. I’ve got a wealth of knowledge that doesn’t include any of The Skulls.”
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you. For helping Daisy. I know she’s had a tough time of it and I’m just so happy to see her smile again. It means a lot to me.”
“She loves you, you know. You and Whizz. She loves you both.”
Lacey’s eyes filled with tears. “Well, thank you.”
She walked past Lacey and gripped her arm, hugging her. “Also, the bread is off. There’s mold on it.”
“Wait, you can eat that stuff on cheese.”
“It’s completely different on bread.”
Poor Daisy. Lacey didn’t know the first thing about food and cooking.
After making her way back upstairs, she got down to studying. The time ticked on by and before she knew it, Daisy was back.
She stood at the top of the stairs. Daisy looked fine. There was nothing off about her. Whizz and Lacey bombarded her with questions.
“I’m fine. The date went well. It’s school tomorrow. I’m going to take a shower and get ready for bed. Goodnight.” She kissed Whizz, then Lacey before heading upstairs.
Tabitha followed her back to her room. “Well?”
“Let me shower first.” Daisy removed her jacket, looking at the bed. “Did they help?”
“I don’t care about them right now. Come on, tell me.”
Daisy rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay, let me get a shower, okay?”
She disappeared to the bathroom.
Cleaning up the books, Tabitha changed into her own pajamas and climbed into the bed.
She waited. Twiddling her thumbs.
Daisy finally entered. Her hair was curled up in a towel but she wore a pair of flannel pajamas.
“So, how was it?” Tabitha asked.
She sat on the edge of the bed and smiled. “It was good.”
“Did he sit in silence? Did he speak? Did he even eat? Did he stare at you? Come on. A girl needs to know answers right now.” She reached out and touched her arm. “Please.”
“We talked about everything and nothing. He was … totally different.” Daisy frowned.
“He was? Good different? Bad?”
“I … it was nice,” she said. “Yeah, I was nervous and he held my hand and we talked about school. He asked me about my plans once we graduate. Where I want to go to college. What I want to do. We laughed about Miles and his antics. He had the same spaghetti as me.”
“Did he kiss you?” Tabitha asked.