Page 7 of Unveiled Wounds

“Probably. The work isn’t really a problem. If you wanted to start in ten minutes, no one’s going to stop you. However, if you try to collect payment for that work, the bank can see it as income.” She twirled her pen between her fingers. “I bet if you wanted to start your own design firm, we could put it under someone else’s name and pay you as an employee. It’d be legal, as long as all the paperwork is in. The bank wouldn’t be able to take the money earned through the business because, technically, it wouldn’t be yours.”

“Okay, thanks.” I squeezed her hand and stood up from the table. I wasn’t used to people helping me without wanting something in return. She’d listened to me without rushing or making me feel like I wasn’t worth her time, and I wanted to give her something back. “I’m glad Zook wised up and didn’t let you walk away for a second time.” I turned, running back to the safety of Grizz’s room.

Chapter 4

Be As Loud As You Want

Meredith

It was Friday night, and the party swirled around me as I sat on a couch near the middle of the main room. New Year’s Eve had brought in a fresh round of hangarounds, and every week since, they’d shown up with new friends. Barely-there shirts, short shorts, and heels.

I watched as a group of four girls sauntered into the main room. There was clearly a leader as the first girl walked ahead of the rest, stopped, and scanned the various prospects. I watched her as her eyes bounced between bikers before she landed on DeadZone. She turned on her heel and faced the girl next to her. I was too far away to hear what was being said, but the intent was obvious. I didn’t know if I was supposed to save him or not.

The girl tried to act nonchalant as she made her way over to where he sat at the bar, but he wasn’t paying attention. It wasn’t until she rubbed her hand across his forearm that he jumped and took off running. He moved closer to the pool table, but when she tried to follow him, he shook his head. It made me wonder if Dead didn’t like to be touched. When we watched TVtogether, he stayed on his side of the couch, and I stayed on mine.

Turning my head, I focused on the other three girls she’d walked in with. They were giggling at their friend’s misfortune, and it made me sad for her. I had two best friends that I had known since elementary school, and we would have never done something like that. It wasn’t funny.

Unlocking my phone, I pulled up our group chat. I hadn’t seen them since before the accident, nor had I allowed them to visit. However, I knew what would happen the minute I told them to come. They would swoop in and hold me together, putting patches over the holes as I spilled the whole sordid tale. It would be a temporary fix, and once they were gone, I’d be back to the same, or worse. If I was going to heal, I had to do it for myself.

I quickly typed out a message and sent it before I could rethink the words.

Meredith

I miss your faces.

My eyes went back to the group leader. She was trying to pick up Op. She’d get nowhere. He liked them older. I wanted to walk over there and give her some advice. These men could smell a skank coming a mile away, and while most of them had no problem dumping and running, they’d never commit. I’d made the mistake of trying to explain that once to a hangaround, but all she’d done was call me bitter. It made me appreciate the man in my life who hadn’t given up on me, and I was at the point where I didn’t want to give him a reason to.

I was about to turn off my phone when Grizz’s picture appeared. One random Wednesday night, back when we had first started dating, he called to say he was driving the four hoursjust for dinner and dessert. The man had literally fed me, had taken me home to fuck, and then left. I’d woken up the next morning, realizing he’d changed his contact picture to a half-naked selfie.

“Hello, Jonathan,” I answered. I could hear the smile in my tone.

“You’re feeling feisty.” He chuckled. There were background noises, but nothing distinguishable. I couldn’t pinpoint where he was.

“Not really. I’m watching a girl trying to put the moves on Op. Am I getting old? I just want to walk over there and tell her to put some clothes on. Like I don’t have something in the closet that’s similar.”

His chuckle turned into a hearty laugh. “Nah, baby. You’ve just been around the club long enough to know that it’s usually the conservatively dressed ones that get the most attention. Corrupting them is fun.”

The conversation awkwardly dropped off.

Grizz cleared his throat. “I had to swap the leaky faucet in the customer bathroom at the club’s diner. Chef would have done it, but he was the early shift, and the part came in. Did you eat? I can grab you something if you’re hungry.”

“No, I’m good,” I replied. I had grabbed a plate with the rest of the club and forced myself to sit at a table during dinner.

“You lying to me?”

“Why would I lie about food?” I might have mishandled some situations, but I wasn’t a liar.

“Just checkin’. I’m going to grab dinner since I’m here anyway, but if you want me to bring you something, I can.”

“No, seriously, I’m good.” I continued to watch the girl. I didn’t know if it was because I had done something similarly stupid, but I knew she was throwing out her best moves. When they didn’t land the way she wanted them to, she tried harder, andit just reeked of desperation. I didn’t want to be reminded that the club thought of me in the same light as I was thinking about her. If this was the way the entire night was going to go, I was leaving. “Hey, Jon? Do you think it would be okay if I went out and worked on the desk? I don’t feel like sitting here, watching this week’s episode of terrible reality TV.”

“You don’t have to ask me. If you feel like it, go. No one’s going to stop you.”

“Okay, I think I’m going to do that.” I stood from my spot and made my way across the bar to the kitchen door.

“I have said nothing, because you’ll just deny it, but I’m proud of you. Really proud, Mer.”

I scowled at the phone, but before I could retort, the call went dead in my hand. “Ugh, you’re insufferable,” I whispered. Heading out to the garage, I couldn’t help putting an extra hop into my step. We hadn’t worked on the desk since Christmas, and suddenly, the urge to restore the flaws into something beautiful was too strong to resist.

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