“Look, I don’t know what else to say… I didn’t want you to see that…”
“But you knew Mina was coming by! What if she had walked in on you?!”
“I thought she was walking! I woulda been done by the time…” but before he could finish, there was a loud smack, followed by his cursing.
“You fucking pig! You bastard! What the fuck is wrong with you?” Mum was shouting. Judging by the sound, I put together that she had slapped him. It wouldn’t be the first time. “You keep me prisoner! Why? What the fuck do you even need me for? Why won’t you let me leave…?” She began to sob uncontrollably and I longed to run in there and make my mother smile, but I was terrified of being caught listening. I started to slowly back away, deciding that it was probably best that I made myself scarce.
“You aren’t going anywhere!” James hissed and behind the door, I could hear the sounds of struggle, heavy footfalls, and a loud grunt. My heart hammered in my chest at the sound of their physical fighting and I fought the tears and fear back as I moved away.
“Fuck. You.” Mum was practically spitting. “I’m leaving. I’m taking Mina and we’re gone!”
“You can’t take Mina,” I froze at James’ words, forgetting that I was trying to give them privacy.
“Like hell I can’t!”
“You fucking try to take her from Shay and I, and I will fucking end-”
But before he could finish the office door swung open and I was caught in the direct sights of my mother, staring up at her like a deer in headlights. Over her shoulder, James was red in the face, livid, and both of them froze at the sight of me standing there.
I stared back, feeling my lip quiver as I took in the sight of them. Tentatively, I looked over Mum’s shoulder at James and held out the Tupperware. “I-I was just coming by to-to bring you these…” I mumbled, embarrassed and upset, as I placed the container on the ground. “I’m sorry!” I turned to leave, but my mother stormed after me and snatched my upper arm, squeezing hard through the thick sleeve of my coat.
“We’re leaving!” she snarled angrily and stomped down the hall, lugging me behind her. I stumbled as I tried to keep up with her brisk pace.
“No, you’re not. Not like this!” James roared and stomped after us. “Shay! The door!”
Mum burst into the lounge where the men were gathered, and she glared at all of them. “No one fucking stops me!” she growled and yanked me to my feet when I tripped. “No one stops us!” But when she turned to head to the door, it was blocked by Shay, Cody, and Aron; his other buddies flanking one of the fire exits at the side. Shay’s dark brows were pulled low over his silver eyes as he glared at Mum, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Let Mina go, and you can leave,” he said in his furious, deep voice.
“Fuck you, you shit!” Mum spat at him and dragged me closer, causing me to whimper a little when her grip on my arm tightened hard. “Mina is my daughter! And we’re leaving this shithole behind us!”
“You aren’t leaving, Emily,” James said from behind us, his voice back to calm and collected, but there was a dark edge to it. I lifted my wide, frightened eyes from Mum, to James, to Shay and his friends, and back again. I had no idea what was going on and the whole situation was scaring me. “You need to calm down first. You’re in no state to drive that shit-mobile anywhere-”
“If you replaced my car with a new vehicle, rather than some beat up piece of shit, then I wouldn’t have this problem, you ass!” she snapped at him.
He chuckled. “Why? So you can crash a brand new car? Along with the other one you totaled?”
I could sense my mother’s rage and was trying desperately to think of a way to calm everyone down. I reached up and tugged at the sleeve of her coat, which she hadn’t taken off the entire time we’d been here. Mum glanced down at me, her eyes softening. I wrapped my free arm around her waist and huddled into her, hugging her close, hoping it would calm her. But it only seemed to fuel her fire. Mum clutched me and backed up towards the bar. Everyone in the club was watching us, and it seemed to me like my mum was behaving as a cornered animal would, like on a documentary we’d watched about rangers in Africa trying to corner a wild leopard so they could attach a tracker to it.
Shay took a step towards us.
“Don’t!” Mum snarled at him. “Don’t you come any closer!”
“Let Mina go then,” he said in a deadpan tone.
“Move away from the door and let us leave!” she cried desperately and her grip hardened on my arm. I let out a pained sob and stumbled again when she moved quickly to the side, trying to put more space between us and them. I was starting to panic now, and my breathing was coming out in quick gasps as I tried to get air into my lungs.
At once, Shay’s eyes flashed angrily. “You’re hurting her-”
“You don’t have her best interest at heart! She’s not yours!”
“Em,” James’ voice was closer, his voice filled with warning. I was being held so tightly against my mum, her hand pushing my head into the side of her coat, so that I couldn’t see around myself. I had no clue how near the others were, but judging by the sound of their footsteps and their voices, they were closing in. “C’mon, babe, I get it, you’re upset. But you shouldn’t be driving like this, let alone bringing Mina with you-”
“Don’t, James! I know what sick twisted shit is going on in this club and I won’t fucking take it anymore!” She was practically panting now. “I know what I see! And I know that Shay wants-”
“Enough, Emily!” James shouted. “Shay has been nothing but a good big brother to her. You need to let this go. Do you really think we’d hurt her?”
“Fuck you!” she screeched. “You’re blind! I see it! I fucking see!”
“You’ve been hitting the bottle a little too much lately, babe,” James spat at her, his voice filled with disgust. This was something that had been occurring a lot more lately, my mother’s drinking. It was one of the many things she and my stepfather argued about. That, and the club.
“Mina,” Shay’s voice gentled as he spoke to me directly. “Mina, don’t you want to hang out with me? Isn’t that why you came here today? To see me?”
“Don’t you try to manipulate her!” Mum screamed at him.
“Mina, I want to see you… come on, I’ll get you some lunch and we can watch some TV with the guys. Does that sound like fun?” he went on, speaking like she didn’t even exist.
I tried to twist in my mother’s hold to look at him, but she just pressed her hand harder against the back of my head, keeping my face buried into the material of her winter jacket. At the move, Shay let out a deep growl.
“Stop it, Emily,” Cody’s voice rang out then. “Just let the girl go and this can end.”
“You can’t order me around! Who the fuck are you?”
“He is a prospect and a part of the security for our club. I grant him every right to intervene,” James snapped. “And as such, he also deserves the same amount of respect you would give any member of the Beasts…”