I walked into my parents' house for the first time since the big blow-up with my mom. The house seemed more like a war zone than the home I had grown up in since I was a toddler. Where there were normally pictures on the wall, they were thrown down and glass from the frames made walking somewhat dangerous. Brent had followed me home to make sure I made it back safe and then walked me to the door; upon seeing the living room, he followed me inside with his gun drawn.
"Mom? Dad? Abel?" I didn't walk any further into the house, concerned about what I would find. My dad appeared from the hallway and his brow raised at Brent, who slowly holstered his gun once he saw the club president.
"What the hell is going on, Dad? Were we attacked or something?" He shook his head and ran his hand over his face as his eyes surveyed the living room. I looked over at Brent and gave him a weak smile. I appreciated him making sure I was okay, but it seemed like there were some family issues going on that I didn't even know about.
"I'll call you later, okay? Be careful." I gave him a quick hug and breathed easier when I read the understanding in his eyes. Hopefully he understood why I didn't invite him to hang out or something like that. He nodded over at my Dad before heading out of the house, glass crunching underneath his boots as he walked.
"What happened?" I walked over to the couch and tossed my bag down, never taking my eyes off of my Dad. His eyes were glossy and I could tell he'd been smoking to take the edge off of whatever I'd missed.
"I got some news I wasn't expecting. Abel went to track Mackenzie down." He shook his head and sat down in his lounge chair. I slowly lowered myself down on to the couch, checking it for any glass or debris first.
"Does this have anything to do with Tara Knowles?" At the woman's name, my Dad's eyes focused on me and I had my answer. I knew I should have encouraged her to leave town that day.
"What do you know, Victory?" He watched me intently as I shook my head and pulled out my pack of cigarettes. Something told me I was going to need some nicotine to get me through the night.
"Not much. I know she was looking for you and that you, mom, and that woman had a long talk in the garage office and it didn't seem to go over well. I also know you two were together when you were my age. So, what happened between the three of you talking and you redecorating the living room?" I lit up my cigarette and took a long drag before tossing him the pack. He sighed and took a cigarette, lit it, and tossed it back over to me.
"Well, I found out that you and Abel have an older sister." He said it so calmly that I almost thought he was joking. I choked on the smoke that filled my lungs and drug my fingers through my hair. It didn't make any sense. Why would we just now be finding out about a sister that was at least a couple years older than Abel.
"Wait. So, Tara comes around and tells you about a daughter that has to be what, almost twenty-five or six? That makes no fucking sense." I shook my head and strummed my thumb on my cheek. My dad suddenly stood up and walked over towards the window, just staring out into the darkness.
"She's seventeen, Vic. Your mom and I split up for a few months when you were little. It didn't have anything to do with Tara, but she showed up and I don't think I have to tell you how babies are made." My whole body was numb and I started wondering where he had gotten his marijuana, because it was obviously laced with some trippy shit.
"I'm sorry, I could have sworn you just told me about a younger sister from a booty call with your ex girlfriend that happened when you and Mom supposedly split up when I was what? One?" My voice had started to rise without me even realizing before I was yelling at him. He blew some smoke up into the air before dropping his head and leaning his forearm against the window pane.
"Yeah, well, she's coming here after school's out in Chicago. I don't really feel like talking about it, Vic. The four of us need to have a family meeting about it tomorrow." I heard Abel's bike pulling up in the driveway followed by my mom's Camaro. I closed my eyes and clenched my fists.
"Everyone needs to leave me alone for the night." I warned him before grabbing my bag and storming off to my room before Abel or Mom got inside. The last thing I wanted was to see the truth in their eyes and convince myself that Dad wasn't playing some fucked up joke. My blood was already boiling and I needed to be alone before I said, or worse did, something I would regret.
I didn't sleep at all. The light filling my room was the only thing that brought me out of the trance like state I was in. I had switched off from pacing my room to sitting on the end of my bed throughout the night. Brent had texted me at one point, but I didn't even open the message.
Eventually, a soft knock came from the other side of my door and I felt my chest tighten instantly. One the other side of that door was reality and reality just made me angry. I heard the scraping of metal in the lock and knew that Abel was picking it like he had done so many times before. He looked almost as happy as I felt.
"Where's Misty?" I asked as he invited himself into my room and closed the door. He raised his brow at me before he seemed to register my question.
"In my dorm. She said it would be better if she wasn't around right now." He shrugged and picked up a toothpick from my skull shaped dispenser on my bedside table. I nodded and tried to decide if I was glad she was out of range from the fallout or not. Abel sat down on the end of my bed and stared down at his calloused hands. They were replicas of our father's hands.
"Did you know about mom and dad splitting up when I was little? I know you weren't that old." He nodded and twisted his SON ring around the middle finger of his right hand. It had originally been our grandfather, JT's, ring and Gemma had passed it on to Abel the day that he earned his top rocker.
"Now that it's been brought up and talked about I do. It's not detailed or anything, but I remember Mom took the two of us on a really long vacation around that same time. I think we went to New York or maybe it was Florida. It was one of those states on the East Coast." Abel furrowed his brow as he tried to remember more about a time I never even knew about.
Based on all of the stories I had heard about Mom and Dad made me think that they had never spent more than a week apart, except when he went to prison. I knew that it didn't really change who they were now, but it was still surprising. When you add that to learning about some new sister, it was overwhelming.
"Be at the table in five minutes." Dad called through the door. Abel and I looked at each other in silence as Dad's footsteps faded away. Had the situation been lighter, I would have thought it was funny how similar our call to family meetings sounded like call to church. Abel startled me by standing up quickly and hugging me tightly. I tucked my head into curve of his neck and swallowed down the lump in my throat.
"Come on, Vic. They both slept in their room so it can't be that bad." Abel kissed my cheek and led me out to the dining room with his arm around my shoulders. I leaned on Abel both physically and emotionally. We were always close and no matter what happened in this meeting or afterwards, he and I would stick together.
"Hey, Mom." I kissed her on the cheek before moving around the table and sitting down across from her and next to Abel. Dad normally sat at the head of the table, like he did during Church, but today he sat next to our Mom. It felt strange to see the head of the table empty. As a third generation Teller, club structure and protocol was instilled in my brain and it lead over to home life. That's why Mom always sat to the right of Dad, in the VP spot and Abel sat on his left in the SAA spot. I floated between sitting next to Mom and Abel, depending on my mood.
Dad repeated the information he had shared with me last night and expanded on details like how long he and Mom had split up for and when Tara's daughter would be coming into town. He and Mom held hands the entire time and it did wonders to ease my anxiety. At the end, he asked if Abel or I had any questions.
"Mom, did you know about him hooking up with that whore before this week?" Both of them gave me weak scowls and I hitched my shoulder. I was working on the assumption that Tara knew my parents were married at the time, so I considered her to be a whore.
"Yes, I knew as soon as it happened. Well, maybe a few hours after." She actually smirked a little and Dad laughed. I was surprised to see how easily they were taking it.
"Where's this kid going to be staying and what about the club?" Abel folded his arms across his chest and looked between our parents. I nodded and propped my elbows on the table. Our parents shared a look and I knew I wasn't going to like their suggestion.
"Well, she's going to stay at the guest house here and she'll be on a need to know basis as far as the club goes. I'm not going to keep her out of the clubhouse but she doesn't need to know about anything outside of what a hang around would know." Dad said matter of factually.
"She's going to be here for what? A month? She doesn't need to come around the clubhouse." My statement seemed to take everyone by surprise. I wasn't part of the club, technically, but they were my family. Abel's mouth twisted and he shrugged as if he couldn't find a reason to disagree with me.
"Victory, she's your sister. You may not know her yet, but she's family." Mom said, reaching out for my hand. I shook my head but let her take hold of my hand.
"No, she's not. Blood makes your related. Loyalty makes you family." I said confidently. No one made a move or said a word to disagree with me. They knew I was right.
"Look, just be nice and give her a chance. This isn't her fault and she's going to be nervous enough as it is. Try being a little more like me and less like Happy, Victory." My mom smirked and I rolled my eyes. Abel laughed and earned a sharp elbow jab to the ribs. At least this whole mess seemed to be taking the spotlight off of me for a little while.
The meeting was adjourned and Abel and I bolted out of the house. I didn't really have any plans but I wanted to get out of the house. Abel paused before starting his bike. I pulled my sunglasses over my eyes and looked over at him.
"You want to start working on that Triumph?" He asked with a smile. I nodded and laughed.
"Oh yes I do." I hopped down into my car and started it quickly. Not only did I want to get my bike road worthy, I wanted to lose my mind in turning wrenches and ratchets.
Yep, that just happened! We'll just have to wait and see how that bomb lands in upcoming chapters. Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed, followed and favorited :) It means the world to me, honestly.