Page 32 of Barker

We’ve become quite the duo in his drag races. This past week alone I had been part of three of them and I had won. I think Barker makes sure to put me against someone he knows I can beat though. I don’t know if it’s because he knows I can’t afford to lose the money, or because I’m his girlfriend; but either way the extra income is a huge help. This week I managed to pre-pay for my dad’s dialysis treatments for the next month. It was such a huge relief to be able to do that.

“Hey, you okay?” Barker hollers out over the noise of the track.

I’d gotten lost in my thoughts. “Yeah, Sorry, just zoned out.”

Barker nods and we both face forward and wait for our light to turn green.

****

Barker and I went for the best two out of three and he won. I got distracted by him during one of the races and ran my go-kart up onto one of the tires on the side. I got stuck and one of the workers had to come to rescue me. It was embarrassing, to say the least.

Afterward, he takes me for burgers, fries, and shakes at the local drive-in diner. It’s one of the best places in Los Angeles. We sat in the car jamming to Metallica and eating our food. A rumble from a motorcycle catches our attention, and to my surprise, it’s Gunner with a girl on the back of his bike. Barker waves and then leans over and asks, “You want to go say hi with me? You can meet his girlfriend, Paris.” I nod and we head over to where Gunner and Paris are parked.

Barker officially introduces me to Gunner and then Paris. However, hearing Barker introduce me as his girlfriend sent a new wave of excitement and butterflies throughout my body. I was smiling like an idiot and I knew it, but I didn’t care. I was happy, so incredibly happy. Happy almost seems foreign to me. These last few years have been incredibly hard but right now with Barker… it feels like I’m finally catching a break. We stand and chat with them for a bit before heading back toward Barker’s car. As we’re making our way backWhen I Fall in Love by Michael Bublécomes over the speakers of the drive-in. This has always been one of my favorite songs. I remember my dad listening to this all the time when I was a kid but by a different singer. “Ohhh, I love this song,” I say dreamingly.

Barker looks over at me and smiles, then before I know it, he’s not walking anymore. I stop and he yanks me back toward him by the hand. I collide with his chest. We’re standing in the middle of the drive-in where there are a few tables to sit and eat at if you don’t want to sit in your car. They are under the canopy to protect you from the weather. Barker reaches up with his free hand and caresses my cheek.

“What are you doing?” I ask him.

His eyes are unreadable. “Dance with me.”

I look around, slightly confused. “Here?”

Barker nods. “Yes, right here, right now.”

“Barker.” Before I can say anything else, one hand is on my hip and the other in his hand and he’s moving us slowly, well swaying really. I can’t help but feel all eyes on us. I’m pretty sure that no one has ever danced here at the drive-in or seen Barker Tobin dance with someone at all. “Everyone is staring.”

Barker shrugs. “Let them.”

“I think they are trying to figure out what you did with the Barker Tobin that Los Angeles has come to know.”

“I wasn’t really him. I just didn’t know it until you showed up. You reminded me of who I really am,” Barker says. With those words, I forget everything and everyone else around us. It’s hard to be concerned about the outside world when someone says things like that. Words that complete your soul and mend your tattered heart. Barker Tobin is making me fall in love with him and I don’t want to stop it.

Twenty-Eight

Barker

Everything had changed in my life since the moment my path had crossed with Annistyn’s. She had shown up as a hurricane in my life. I wasn’t expecting her. I sure as hell wasn’t looking for anyone. I thought my life was good. I thought I was happy, but I had been lying to myself. Annistyn made me see that.

Ever since our date where we had danced under the canopy, between the tables, in the middle of the drive-in, everything had changed. I was in love with Annistyn. I hadn’t told her yet, because I was still trying to come to terms with the fact myself, but I knew I was. She was everything I needed but didn’t know I was missing. She completed me in a way I didn’t even know was possible.

I spent my nights with her sleeping softly beside me. I watched as her face relaxed and became peaceful in her sleep. She was unguarded during that time. I’d wake up to her lightly pressing her lips to mine in the mornings. The sun streaming in from the windows behind her, creating a halo around her blonde hair. It gave her a halo that I was sure she had anyways because someone this good had to be an angel and nothing I deserved.

For the first time in my life, I had a sense of home, a sense of contentment and belonging. It was peaceful and I was enjoying it. I knew Annistyn would be mine forever. I knew every time I saw her, every time she crossed my mind, she was my home now.

It was a little after two in the morning, and I was just about to doze off when I heard Annistyn’s phone ringing. She had just drifted off to sleep herself. Work had been packed the first few hours tonight and then it had slacked off, so that the last couple of hours felt like forever. I reached over and grabbed her phone trying not to wake her, but when I saw the name on the phone I froze. The nursing home was calling Annistyn and at this time of night that couldn’t be good. I sigh and wake up Annistyn. “Annistyn, the phone.”

She sits up instantly and grabs the phone from my hand. The waver in her voice as she answers breaks my heart for her. The room may be dark, but I can make out the moisture forming in her eyes easily enough. I get out of bed and start getting dressed. I rush out of her bedroom and knock on Talon’s door. He opens it while rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Annistyn’s dad,” is all I say, before rushing back into Annistyn’s room. She is sitting on the side of the bed, the cell phone lying beside her on the bed, and her head in her hands. I kneel down in front of her. “Annistyn, darlin’, talk to me.”

Annistyn sniffles and shakes her head. “He’s been taken to the hospital. He’s had a massive heart attack. They don’t think he’ll make it,” she sobs. I pull her into my arms and just hold her while she cries. Finally, she calms down and gets dressed. All three of us pile into her Civic with me behind the wheel and make it to the hospital in record time. The fact that I didn’t get a speeding ticket is pure luck because I broke every traffic law in existence.

I go up to the registration desk and let them know Annistyn is here. When I return, I notice her whispering to Talon about something. I don’t butt in because it’s not my place. Talon is like family to her. When a nurse steps out to get Annistyn, Talon follows her. Before she heads back, Annistyn looks over her shoulder.

“I’ll be right here darlin’.” She gives me a small nod and then disappears through the door.

I scrub my hands over my face. I want to do more than just sit here, but right now there is nothing else I can do. I’m sitting in the lobby when I hear a rumble from motorcycles filling the area. When I look out, I expect to see my brothers from Sons of Sin since I had texted Drake and Zayde to tell them what was going on, but it’s not the Sons of Sin. It’s Jerick and his goons from Deviant Devils. What the hell are they doing here? I think to myself.

I start to stand up when Talon comes barreling through the door. He doesn’t even speak to me he just dashes outside, and of course, I won’t let him face Jerick and them alone again. He had to do that last time and it would be the only time.I’m on his heels. Jerick, Cam, and Patrick and heading toward us. “Not here, Jerick,” Talon calls out to him, his tone serious and threatening.

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