1
Charming, California, a place I called home. Meera Adams is my name. I'm 26, live alone, and I'm struggling to live normally again. I just got a job at Charming Middle teaching 5th grade English. That's a good start at trying to have a normal life, right?
My body jerked some as I opened my eyes and looked at the white ceiling above me. I inhaled slowly and slowly looked to my left to see a snoring, tattooed back facing me.
"That can't be good." I mumbled. I rolled over and nudged his shoulder.
"Happy." I said lowly and only got a light swat at my hand on his shoulder and I nudged him harder now which made him groan.
"The fuck?" he groaned.
"You gotta wake up… you slept over." I replied. He never sleeps over.
"What? So?" he groaned curling up more into my blankets.
"So you need to leave. I have to get ready for work." I said moving from the bed. My room was dark, yet some of the rays of the sun was coming through my black curtains.
"Hey it's not my fault you have good pussy." he said, voice laced with sleep. I refrained from rolling my eyes and merely moved to the bathroom and stopped in the doorway for a second to look at Happy's face as he fell back asleep. That is Happy Lowman, a member of the famous SAMCRO motorcycle club. He's dangerous and he's a killer that much I know. I promised myself that when I moved back here I would stay under the radar. But I was easily pulled back in when I came into contact with my best friend, Tara Knowles. She was dating SAMCRO's vice president, Jax Teller and they threw very fun parties. Tara wanted to celebrate my return and somehow managed to have a welcome back party for me, with permission from Clay Morrow. I knew some of them when I was a young girl so Clay easily accepted me back. But they didn't really know me and I didn't really know them.
I met Happy one of their parties and so we fuck on occasion. He was good practice for me and didn't know he was helping me learn to not get attached to men I slept with.
The shower's water felt great sliding own my body. I sighed gently and massaged some of my joints. My sides were mildly bruised from last night's little get together. I was used to it now. At first I didn't think I could handle the roughness and harshness of Happy, but it seemed he brought out a side in me I didn't think I had. As I began bathing, I heard the door open and already knew it was Happy.
I thought he was going to pee, but instead I jumped at my shower curtains being pulled open. I only got a glimpse of Happy's hardened naked body before he began entering the tub. I tried to ignore him and focus on my bathing, but my wash cloth was taken and dropped to the floor and I looked at him confused only to have his lips crashing onto mine. Already my body was ignited by the taste of alcohol still on his breath. And of course, I tried to fight the urge due to limited time I had.
"We don't have time." I said trying to lean back from him, but already he had me pressed into the wall, his hand lifting my right leg up with ease.
"We always got time." he muttered roughly, kissing me once more. The fact he didn't have a condom with him was enough for me to pull my face away. It as unspoken that we always used protection as I was on birth control. We didn't know much about each other and I didn't want to catch anything. He sucked his teeth with annoyance and I looked up at him.
"Make me some pancakes?" I asked politely. He looked me over with a hard stare.
"I ain't yo maid." he said defiantly and then I leaned down to his chest and bit his right nipple which made him growl and grip the back of my head pulling me back to look up at his feral eyes.
"Please?" I asked, and he looked away contemplating for a moment.
"Aiight." he said before getting out of the shower and grabbing my towel I planned to use.
"Hey." I called and he just smirked and wrapped it around his waist and left. I shook my head and finished bathing. Once I was clean and dried. I did my hair merely pulling it back into a nice bun. I could movement from my kitchen and could hear him in the kitchen for a moment. I didn't expect him to really be there by the time I was dressed and I was correct to assume so. I was in a white and red polka dotted dress when I entered and saw a plate with four pancakes on the table. I lifted my head at the sound of a motorcycle revving and taking off.
He even washed his dishes which I stunned at. But he did like things clean that much I knew when I was at his house. I ate only two of the pancakes and saved the other two before grabbing some leftover chicken and rice for lunch.
I got to my car and took off no longer thinking of the night before. Class started at 8 and things went by smoothly as usual. When my second class started I taught and time went by. My third class however, looked tired and bored, so I stopped and made everyone get up and stretch and dance from one song of my Pandora Children's playlist. They enjoyed that tremendously. As I was grading papers during lunch, a hard knock got my attention. I lifted my head to see a white man standing in the door way confused, his eyes hard and menacing. I blinked with confusion. He had a dominant stance and wore a beige buttoned up shirt with black pants and boots.
"Hello. Can I help you?" I asked and he marched in, his eyes already trying to intimidate me.
"Are you Ms. Adams?" he asked with almost disgust? It sounded like I was in trouble. I nodded and smiled standing up now.
"Yes I am. How can I help you?" I asked.
"I'm AJ Weston." he said giving me a look over. Weston? I looked up in thought before my eyes popped with happiness.
"Oh yes. Duke Weston's father." I replied. He didn't answer. Instead he just took out a blue ribbon and tossed it on the ground.
"Should have known." he muttered. The blue ribbon was a reward I gave to students who passed all their quizzes and tests throughout the week. Duke was the only student to do so. I slowly crouched and took the ribbon in my hand. He was so happy to have it. "I came to return the handout." I stood back up and tilted my head confused.
"Handout?" I asked.
"I don't need my son getting rewards for things he hasn't earned." he accused. "I don't believe in a winning system where everyone gets a prize for participating." I nodded thinking of his words.
"Well I agree with you wholeheartedly." I replied and his eyes sharpened on me as he took a step toward me now and I tensed a bit at the motion. I glanced at his arms and could see some swastikas on his arms.
"So then why the fuck did you feel the need to give him a ribbon?" he asked and I looked up at him with a mild frown at his use of language.
"Because he earned it." I said calmer than I had expected. "He is the only child to get this ribbon in his class, because he worked for it. He passed all of his quizzes and tests and got A's on all of his homework."
Mr. Weston's frown did not move from his face.
"Singling him out now so all the colored kids can pick on him for being better than them is not going to work. I know your agenda." he accused sharply.
"My agenda is to make sure all of kids learn, and I challenge them so they want to challenge themselves in the future." I argued and he raised a finger to me.
"Don't give my son anymore of these bullshit ribbons again." he threatened, and I just stiffened some at his words before nodding.
"If that is what you want Mr. Weston. But you may want to know, Duke is very talented and smart. You should be proud." I said.
"I don't need some… African American woman to tell me that." he said with anger in each word and I winced. He was so angry. I had never seen that in Duke before. But it made sense as to why he was so shy around the children of color versus the white students. I gave one nod before he turned and moved from the room. I let out a low exhale of hair and looking at the ribbon now in my hand. Poor Duke. It must have crushed him to have his reward taken away.