“I’ll head with Horseman. Does your mom have a sump pump and all that?” Vader asks, looking right at me.
Immediately, I nod. “Yeah, she does. Go on and head out to the store, then I’ll call you if I don’t have something I need here, then you two can grab it.”
“Sounds good,” Horseman says, and then he and Vader head for the garage. We have two club vehicles, plus my truck, so I know they’re probably going to grab the keys to the club’s truck or the SUV.
I walk into the kitchen to grab a Coke from the fridge before I head back to the garage, and when I get there, Hawk is already waiting for me. “You know, it would be nice for once to have an easy day,” Hawk tells me, and I understand what he’s saying. Sometimes the stressors in life are just too much. Not that it’s too much at once, but if something happens every day, there are oftentimes you just want one day to have a break. I understand exactly what he means, and there have been many times where I’ve had the same sort of frustrations. It kind of makes me wonder if something else is going on behind the scenes that’s stressing him out, but I’m not one to pry. After all, it’s not any of my damn business.
I go around the garage and grab my tool bag out of my cabinet and go through it to make sure I have everything I might need. Horseman and Vader are already heading out to the hardware store to get some PVC and some Flex Seal. I use Flex Seal for everything when there’s a leak. It doesn’t matter if it’s a roof, busted pipe, or anything, really. That shit is on point no matter which way you need to use it.
Mom lives about thirty minutes away from the clubhouse, closer to the city, so once I have everything in my truck, Hawk and I head out. The traffic isn’t too bad because I take the back roads. You couldn’t pay me enough to take the highway around lunch. Everyone’s too busy speeding around on their hour lunch breaks to make it back to the office on time. I don’t want to be caught up in that headache, that’s for sure.
We arrive at my mom’s house. It’s a traditional style home for the Pacific Northwest. She’s tucked away in a cozy neighborhood with homes on either side of her and across the street. I pull my truck into her driveway, but when Vader and Horseman get here, they’re going to have to park in front of her house.
We make our way up the two short stairwells to her house since it’s somewhat on a hill, and then I knock on the door. Only a few short moments later does she come to the doorway. She smiles widely at me, “I found the valve and shut it off just like you said, but sweetheart, it’s a total mess down there. I’m so sorry to bother you boys.”
“It’s never a bother, Mom,” I tell her before pressing a kiss to the side of her forehead and then proceeding to walk inside.
“This is what we’re here for, Mrs. G,” Hawk tells her while I’m already opening the door that leads down into her basement.
As soon as I open the door, I see what she’s talking about. The pipe must’ve been burst for a little while. There’s enough water to go up to your ankles. I start heading down the stairwell, place my tool bag down on one of the steps, and spot the pipe that’s burst too. It just looks like a crack in the PVC, which doesn’t happen too often. It’ll be an easy enough fix. We’ll just take off that piece of pipe at the joints, and I’ll measure it, then let Horseman know the exact measurement that I need to replace it. I grab a measuring tape from my tool bag and head into the water. Thank fuck for waterproof boots.
“I did already get the sump pump started and out the window. I figured I could help you boys some way, at least.” She’s now at the top of the stairs, looking down at me.
“Thanks, Mom, but I would’ve got it handled when I got here. It’s no big deal.”
“Yes, well, I helped you out anyway. Didn’t I?” Mom sticks her tongue out at me like she used to do when I was a kid. I release a bit of laughter before I shake my head and then walk further into the water.
In no time, I get the measurement for the pipe and shoot a text off to Horseman. Within a couple of minutes, I get a text back saying he’s gotten everything and is on the way. I check out the sump pump, and there’s a higher setting I can put it on, so I change that. With any luck, the basement won’t have any water in it by the end of the day. I’ll just have to tell Mom to come downstairs and unplug it later once it’s all done.
About half an hour later, my mom comes down the stairs. At this point, Horseman and Vader have already gotten here with the supplies, and Hawk is cutting the PVC to fit. “Sweetie, what can I do to pay you boys for this?”
I wave my hand in dismissal. She doesn’t have to pay me shit. “Nothing, Mom. Seriously, we got this.”
“That’s nonsense, and you know it. Come on now, how about I fix some food for the club? I haven’t done it in ages, and I miss it.”
It’s not worth the argument, so I cave. “Fine. Do what you want. You’re going to anyway.”
Mom smiles from ear to ear. “I’ll bring something by next week then. All you have to do is let me know how many mouths I’ll be feeding. Now, if the snow’s bad or we get some, someone will have to come pick me up. You know I don’t drive in that stuff anymore. My reflexes aren’t quite what they used to be.”
“I’ll pick you up myself, Mrs. G. Would you mind makin’ some of them peanut butter brownies? They’re delicious, and I’ve really been wantin’ them lately.”
“Of course! Anything for you boys. I wanted to come over anyway and meet Charlee. I heard Kinetic got back with his old flame, and he has a daughter now. My goodness, how his life must’ve changed so much,” Mom goes on.
“It has, but for the better, if you ask me,” I chime in.
Just as mom talks about Kinetic with his family, I think about Hermoine. I really hope she’s okay and that she isn’t too sick, but when she’s better, I’m going to make a move on her. I think it’s worth risking our friendship, especially if we could be something great together, and I know we can be if we give it a chance.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Hermoine
I need to open my eyes.
For the life of me, I couldn’t tell you why it’s so urgent that I do so or why I have to fight so damn hard to make it happen, but I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.
I need to open my eyes.
There is an ominous darkness lurking at the edges of my mind, stalking me like a predator before it reaches out and claws at my body, trying desperately to drag me back into its warm embrace. And God, that warmth is tempting. But I can’t let it win, can’t give into the haze that is calling to me like a song.
Why, though?
As I fight off the shadows, barely keeping them at bay, my mind grows clearer, and memories start to trickle in—closing up the shop for the night, taking the trash out back before the world went dark, waking up in the back of the construction van with Geno sitting across from me, Geno telling me that he’s my real father and that my parents had lied to me my entire life and finally, fighting for my life as Geno sank a needle into my neck and the world went dark again.
Oh, fuck.
Geno.
The van.