I think that if it were only Rue here he’d be asking me a lot more questions but as it is he quit that line of interrogation so I guess not all of his family knows about his soft spot for Poe.
The rest of dinner passes a little easier. Tomi and Speck field a lot of the questions that get thrown my way, probably because I’m sweating so much.
Keely packs all of the leftovers into a plastic container and pops it into my fridge. I try to stop her but she waves me off. "You've got classes all week, this should keep you going for a few days. I'll drop some more off just as soon as you need."
I blush. "I'm fine. I mean, I'll totally live on ramen and energy drinks for the next few months but that's not anything out of the ordinary."
She laughs at me and slings an arm around my shoulders, pulling me in tight for a hug. "Tomi will be on the phone to me in a heartbeat to come fill your fridge up. He eats like a freaking bear, you'll be spending half your life down at the grocery store for him."
Oh.
Right.
I guess he’s already told me he’s not going anywhere so that must mean that he’s… moving in? I just kind of stand there and let her hug me while I'm just struck fucking dumb over it.
"You broke her again, Mom. You need to ease up a little, she's all scared and shit." Trink cackles and finishes up wiping the dishes. I try to help her put them away and she shoos me off into the living room. I'm so freaking pissed the carpet isn’t done in my room when Keely starts poking around.
“It’s coming along so well! Poe was telling me about how much you guys have gotten done, she was excited to come help you paint. You should be so proud, Angel. Really proud of all you've done."
Tears well in my eyes and I clear my throat to try and shift them. "Thanks. It was... it was hard but worth it."
She nods and pulls me into another hug. "You call me if you need anything, you hear? If you're busy with classes or you need someone to talk to, you call me and I'll be around here in a snap. You've been taking on too much by yourself, you can lean on us a little while you get your feet under you.”
I nod and clear my throat again, grateful when she lets me go and nudges me into the living room. "I think Trink is planning on parking her ass on your couch for the rest of the night, Speck too. Rue will drink with Tomi and the others until I drag Hawk home. Get yourself settled in, the Callaghans have made themselves at home.
She's right and they really do park their asses.
Eventually Keely drags the older men home but Speck messes around on my TV until he finds some action flick to watch and the beers just keep flowing. Trink ends up with her head in Rue's lap, whining about some guy she hates in her classes while he listens stoically. He's so gruff and grumpy usually, it's strange to see him just relaxing back and hanging out with his family.
Tomi locks everything up, checking the front and back yards before he settles on the couch with me, dragging me into his side and passing a fresh beer to Rue.
It's so comfortable, I fall asleep there without even meaning to.
I wake up in my own bed to the sound of pained groaning.
I find Tomi on his back, passed out and snoring next to me, and the door to the bedroom open. Trink is standing in the kitchen rummaging through my cupboards like a crazed woman.
I creep out of the bed and over to her.
“I should never drink with these assholes. I have school in an hour and my head is fucking thumping."
I smile and grab the aspirin. "I'll cook you some breakfast. A greasy breakfast will soak some of the alcohol up. Grab a shower while I get it sorted."
She turns her bleary eyes to me. "I fucking love you."
I shrug and push her gently to the bathroom. I get everything started on the stove top and I'm getting my goddamn stupid fucking oven lit when Tomi slinks up behind me, cupping my ass through the yoga pants I threw on to cover up.
"As good as the view is, get outta the way and let me do it. Have you got classes this morning? We'll go get a new one."
I've already looked up how much they are and I have to be careful with my budget, I still have to redo the bathroom, the carpet, and get a fence put up.
I move aside and shrug. "I've got classes in an hour. It's fine, I just gotta learn how to do it as fast as you do."
He lights it in no time and stumbles outside to pee because Trink's still hogging the bathroom. I bite my lip at the thought of old Mrs. Farley getting an eyeful of him.
The old bitch'll have a heart attack.
Rue stumbles through to the kitchen, eyeing the piles of bacon like a caveman and mumbles, "You need a fucking fence."
Then disappears outside to take a piss as well.
Gross.
Speck is still snoring when we all finally sit down to eat. I ask about waking him but Rue shakes his head. "More bacon for me, the little fuck can eat back at the clubhouse. Trink, pass me a beer. I need the hair of the dog."
It's all so freakin domestic.
This is what being a Callaghan means.
The problem is that I relax.
Now I have a life and a man and everything I didn’t even know that I needed I relax into it and I forget that I wasn’t just keeping secrets.
I was running from them.
I spend the day at the library studying and attending lectures. Tomi checks in constantly like he said he would but I’m feeling better today. My ribs aren’t hurting at all and my lip has finally sealed over so with a little makeup you can’t see a thing.
Poe and Trink both message me about coming over to help pick out tiles so I know I have to stop in at the grocery store. It’s shocking to me how much food they all go through but I’m so thrilled at having them all around me that I can’t really complain. I stop in at the store down the block from the Mugshots bar.
My saving grace.
I grab a cart so I can make a proper shopping trip out of it. I know all of the shit that Tomi likes and now I have a deep freezer I can get to filling it up with shit for him. Otherwise, I really will be in here every other day.
Everyone in the store is polite to me, all smiles and kind words as I pass and I just enjoy the hell out of living in this town.
As I walk to the back of the store I glance out of the window and I see the car.
My breath dies in my chest, my heart stutters to a stop, my skin begins to crawl.
I know whose car that is, that car is etched into my fucking soul for all of eternity but it should not be in Coldstone. No, it should be far away from me, all the way in Maryland where my monsters are supposed to stay.
Paul has found me.
I dart out of the grocery store leaving my cart behind and I fumble around in my bag for my keys. I need to get to the clubhouse right now. I need to get on the road and call Tomi.
A hand clamps over my wrist, squeezing it until I feel a snap, the pain like blinding light through my skull. “Jazmin, there you are.”
A year ago, I would have frozen.
Fuck, six months ago I would have burst into tears and slid back into the mindset of that little terrified girl I once was. Alone and scared and utterly fucking helpless.
I’m not her anymore.
My keys are already in my hand so it’s easy enough to lift the pepper spray and aim it at his smirking face, pressing the trigger on it and unloading the can of liquid fire into his face.