Page 36 of Sexy Beginnings
Chapter Twenty-Four
Lucy
Tracie and I are having lunch in town today. I told her after everything that happened, I felt like we needed a girl’s day out to relax. We have gotten our nails done and put a small dent in our wallets. Since I turned eighteen, Shooter has insisted I can’t work for free at the club, so they have been paying me to keep up with things like I used to. It isn’t much but it’s enough that I don’t need to ask Jordan for money. As we are sitting at one of the outside tables, I hear my name being called. When I turn around I can’t believe my eyes. Amy.
Shit. I stand up as she walks over, not sure of how this will go. She hugs me when she reaches me which completely takes me off guard. Amy is one of my sisters. She was twelve when I left, which would make her sixteen now.
“I miss you!” I’m so shocked by her reaction to me that I don’t even respond. I frantically look around for other members of my family trying not to panic. “Mama and Daddy said you shaved your head and got addicted to drugs but you look so pretty.” She looks me up and down.
That shakes me out of my shock. “Hey, I miss you too. What are you doing here?”
“We are shopping with Mama. I saw you and told her I had to go to the bathroom. I don’t have long. I wish we could talk more. I’m so lonely in the house.” She could never call me on a house phone, she would get caught.
She misses me and wants to talk to me? It’s everything that I’ve been feeling. It would be amazing to be able to keep in touch with Amy more. “How long are you going to be here?” I look around us for any sign of my mother.
“Um, not long. Mama was almost done.” She chews her bottom lip nervously.
“Okay, come with me one minute. I’ll be right back, Trace.” I head into the phone store across the street and buy a prepaid phone. “This is loaded with minutes. You can text me and when you run low I’ll buy more and put them on for you, but you have to keep it hidden, and just keep it off unless you are using it okay?” She nods. I quickly scribble my number on a piece of paper before giving her a quick hug. “Hurry back before they come looking for you.”
I wait until she is out of sight before walking back across the street to Tracie. “What the hell was that all about, Luce?”
“That was my little sister Amy.” I can’t help the huge smile on my face.
“Sister? As in your crazy ass family sister? Are you insane?” Her eyes grow wide.
“Trace, I only gave her a pre-paid phone and my number, not national secrets. She said she missed me.” As much as the MC is my family, I can’t lie and say that I haven’t felt the absences of my real family. As cruel as they were it still feels shitty to not have my family around. That is not saying I want my family around, but I miss certain aspects of that life. I miss having siblings and the way we used to be able to bond together. We would sit up all night sometimes and talk. Seeing Amy brought all of that back up to the surface. It’s really hard to explain. I just want that connection.
Maybe reconnecting with Amy will give me that.
***
It’s been one month since the day I first saw Amy. I talk to her every night on the phone and we text whenever she can get to the phone throughout the day. I’m starting to worry about her. She’s sixteen now and the family wants her to marry. She doesn’t want to, she tells me every night how unhappy she is. She reminds me so much of myself. I want to help her. I’ve decided to try to talk to Jordan about it.
“Hey, babe?”
He’s sitting on the couch in our house. It’s now fully furnished and I love it. We only spend about half our time here because when he is at the club, he likes me to be with him. Plus I have been helping out there, and I have been spear heading the new restaurant the club is opening. They are trying to increase revenue from legitimate businesses even though the revenue from the runs is doing just fine.
“Yeah, what’s up?” I sit down next to him, stroking his head gently. He looks over at me arching an eyebrow. “What did you do? Or what do you want?”
Shit. He knows my game so well by now. “What would you think if we had a houseguest for a while?”
“Fuck, are you pregnant?” His eyes just about bug out of his head.
“God, no. I have been talking to my sister Amy for the past month. She is—”
“You have been what?” His voice raises. “Are you crazy, Lucy? Why would you ever have anything to do with anyone from that family?”
“Hey! She’s scared. She’s me all those years ago, Jordan. She just needs a friend, someone to care. She needs help.” I plead with him.
He stands up pacing in front of me, his face completely unreadable. “Lucy, I don’t know about this. I have a bad feeling.” His voice is hard and I can tell he is not open to talking much more about it.
“Can you just think about it? She’s cried to me so many nights on the phone. She’s just a kid, like I was.” My heart breaks when I think of her in that house with my monster of a father.
“I’ll think about it. We have a run tonight though. If anything happens it won’t be for a few days.” His voice is cold and I don’t know that I will get very far with him. I need him to know how important this is to me. I don’t want to screw up his head before a run though so I decide to table this discussion until he gets back.
Every time he leaves, it scares me. I worry something will happen, something will go wrong and he won’t make it back. Even if he didn’t insist, I would stay at the clubhouse anyway. Tracie is the only person who keeps me sane during the runs.
“You ready to leave?” I look over at him. I can tell he is irritated learning that I’ve been in contact with Amy. Maybe if they can meet first it will help. Next time I talk to her, I’ll have to ask when she is going into town again.
I can’t believe the assholes told them all that I was strung out on drugs. Well, I can be but still.
I need to get her away from them.
