Page 4 of Amy's Santa

I resist the impulse to run after her, and get off Silky, not into what I’m doing anymore.

* * *

[Drew coming up 28, Amy coming up 18]

Fuck. I can hear Heart’s voice from here. He sounds angry. Walking into the clubhouse I see I was wrong. He’s fucking furious.

“You arenotgoing to Phoenix and that’s final. You’re staying here.” His hand hits the table.

“They’ve got a great nursing program, Dad. Look at the curriculum,” his daughter offers calmly.

“No.”

Thank fuck. Don’t want Amy or any of the kids for that matter moving off of the compound. Fuck knows what could happen to them out there.

Unseen by the disagreeing pair, I watch and listen to their altercation with interest, admiring that Amy’s trying to approach this reasonably, rather than making it a shouting match. But for all her patiently spoken words, I think with a smile, there’s no way she’s going to come out the winner. Heart won’t let her go. I smile to myself,she’s not going to get what she wants.Heart’s never going to allow her to move off of the compound and live over a hundred miles away where we’re not on hand to provide assistance should she get into trouble.

Uh uh. No way.

* * *

[Drew aged 28, Amy aged 18]

“I’ll fuckin’ miss you. Anything, anything you need darlin’, I’ll be there. Anyone gives you any trouble, you let me know.” Heart’s eyes glisten.

Amy’s leaving tomorrow, in the end getting her way, and has enrolled in a nursing program in Phoenix. She successfully wore her parents down, though it had taken some time to do it. Of course the threat that she’d just leave anyway persuaded them to give her independence. I know Heart’s hoping she discovers her mistake. All her life she’s been surrounded by friends and family, she’ll be lost on her own. But she’s intent on studying up in Phoenix.

Heart had even asked me to talk to her, but our relationship has soured, and she’s only been cold with me since she’d seen me months back with the sweet butt. It had worked, she’d stopped flirting with me. I’d lost the girl who saw me as boyfriend material, which was a decided plus, but I’d also lost my friend, that fun-loving easy-going girl who I’d enjoyed spending time with.

“Hey, Amy, I’ve got a laptop for you, and here’s a brand-new phone with everyone’s numbers programmed in.”

Hearing Mouse, I grin. Yes, we may have made certain both devices have the latest tracking software programmed into them.

She rolls her eyes as Heart continues rambling on about how he’ll come get her if she just says the word. “Dad, I’ll be fine. Mouse, thank you.”

I fucking hate it. Slamming my beer on the bar, I walk out.

The next morning I wander down to the auto-shop where Amy’s getting into Heart’s car. Marcia’s saying a tearful goodbye as she’s not going with them, staying behind with their other kids. I suspect it’s because she’ll lose it if she went and had to leave Amy alone in a strange place.

Well, I’ve done what I can, it’s up to her now. I’ve checked out every piece of information I could find about the dorms where she’ll be staying and making sure her route to the university won’t take her through any neighbourhoods she should avoid. I admit, I was looking for a security flaw or an inherent danger as an excuse that she shouldn’t go there, but no, she’d chosen well. I had nothing to give Heart to use to challenge her.

While she’s given warm hugs to everyone else, she hasn’t said one word of goodbye to me, let alone let me hold her for one final time. It’s up to me to make the approach. I walk to the passenger side of the car, place my hand on the roof and lean in through the open door, simply staring at her for a moment as I imprint the image of her on my mind. One final try to leave on good terms. “Goodbye, sweetheart. Remember you can always come home if you don’t get along on your own.”

She stares back, unsmiling. “I won’t be back,Wizard,” she says, prophetically, then determinedly turns to stare out of the front window.

I straighten my back and stand. Silently wishing her well, while conversely hoping she’ll soon come running back, admitting she was wrong.

* * *

From then to now…

Amy never returns. Or not for anything other than short visits. In between her semesters, she volunteers at the hospitalsfor experienceshe says, but I don’t think any of us are fooled. The compound is her home no longer and nothing here holds any particular attraction for her.

Me and her? Well, as the years pass, when she does come back, we gradually get into a better place, and can at least talk courteously to each other.

I concentrate on being the best member the MC has ever had, my hard work and dedication paying off when Drummer steps down as prez, and I move to the seat at the head of the table.

I’m Wizard, President of the Satan’s Devils MC. The Tucson chapter isn’t just a part of the club, it’s the mother chapter. Not only did I have to earn the trust of the local brothers, but the respect of all the members, officers and presidents of all our charters. It had been an uphill struggle but I’d succeeded.

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