Thank you for your continued interest and support. I appreciate it. I do not own Glee or the characters, neither do I own Reaper's Legacy.
There are two or three more chapters left, plus an epilogue.
MERCEDES
SUNDAY
MARLEY: Kevin won't tell Ryder anything about your date. Did something go wrong?
ME: Sam.
MARLEY:?
ME: We had a great time then Sam showed up. I'm pretty sure I'll never hear from Kevin again.
MARLEY: Jesus Wringer. Stalk much?!
ME: No, it wasn't like that. He was having dinner with the guys and we ran into him in the parking lot. He had a little bullshit talk with Kevin then Kevin ran off. I realize he doesn't know us very well, but he didn't even make sure Bray and I were safe when he left. Epic fail all around.
MARLEY: Pisser! Kevin loses margarita privileges. I hate wimps.
ME: Meh...
MARLEY: So you talk to Wringer at all?
ME: Nope. Fuck him!
MARLEY: Gotcha. Hey you going to the bachelorette party? Marge invited me and I want to go, but it would be weird without you.
ME: Can't decide. I like her and would love it, but... You know...
MARLEY: Yup, I get it. Keep me posted.
MONDAY
SAM: Can I pick Bray up after school? I've got a thing I want to take him to.
ME: What kind of thing?
SAM: I've got a friend who races and his car is down at the track. He said Bray could have a ride.
ME: Is it safe?
SAM: It's as safe as any car. He'll go slow.
ME: Biker friend?
SAM: No. No colors. No Collectors. I don't agree with you on that, but I'll respect it and give you time.
ME: I don't need time. I need you gone.
SAM: Can I take him or not?
ME: Okay. Home by 6?
SAM: Can 7 work? I'll get him dinner.
ME: Sounds good. No games, though. Drop him off and leave.
SAM: I hear you. No games.
WEDNESDAY
SPIRIT: So you coming to party or not? Marge really wants you there.
ME: Um...
SPIRIT: Please come. I know things are shit with you and Wringer. I don't care, neither does Marge. We like you and we'd love to have you there.
ME: Okay. I don't want to stay out too late though. I have work on Friday.
SPIRIT: No prob. Even a few hours would be great for Marge. Marley too? She's fun. Um, could you ask her to bring her blender, too? We're starting at my place before hitting bars...
ME: Dork :p
SPIRIT: It's not dorky to know what you want ;)
ME: Guess not. I'll see if Emma can watch Bray.
SPIRIT: You can share our sitter if you need to.
ME: I'd rather have him closer to home. He's more likely to sleep. Our lives have been crazy lately and he has school tomorrow.
SPIRIT: See you tomorrow night 3
ME: Sounds good.
THURSDAY
MARLEY: I can't believe she's having the party on a Thursday. Sucks! Ryder has to work tomorrow. A hangover and a baby don't mix!
ME: You don't have to drink, you know.
MARLEY: Shut the fuck up! Are you not drinking?
ME: No... I have to work in morning.
MARLEY: You preggo or something?
ME: Oh, you're funny.
MARLEY: :- So, do you know why a Thursday?
ME: Marge said she's got a thing with her mom this weekend. Spa or something.
MARLEY: I'm jealous. We should do that.
ME: Right after I win the lottery.
MARLEY: Hmmm... Your gonna have to start buying tickets.
ME: Why don't you buy for both of us?
MARLEY: So long as I get to drink for both of us, I'm down with that! SMOOCHES.
"Fuck!" Marge screamed, spinning around. "I lost my veil!"
She stood up in the limo's open sunroof. It was just after midnight, and we'd decided to go cruising before hitting our final destination... A karaoke bar.
About an hour ago, she had declared she wanted... no, needed... to sing "Pour Some Sugar on Me" before the night ended.
Apparently, it had been playing when she and Stud met. And apparently, the world would end if we didn't sing it again tonight.
We knew this because she'd been very clear...The existence of the world literally depended on successful completion of this karaoke mission.
As one of the most sober women in the limo, I'd been assigned to make sure we didn't get distracted and forget. And seeing as I wasn't one hundred percent sober, I'd carefully written this on my inner arm with a pen as a reminder.
Now, I stood next to her, watching in horror as the little white scrap of tulle she wore on her head flew through the air towards Sketcher, who was following us on his bike.
Holy shit!
Would it make him crash?
Apparently, a drifting veil wasn't a serious road hazard to a bike going twenty-five miles an hour, because he avoided it easily enough. And the prospect following him... The one I'd seen at the Armory party but hadn't met...pulled off to go fetch it.
Nice.
"That's good service," I told Marge. She started giggling, and then she fell down into the limo, officially drunk off her ass.
I popped back down, too...
Spirit lay back across one of the seats, laughing so hard she was crying. Meg had her shirt up, flashing her boobs while Marley took a picture.
I wasn't sure I wanted the whole story on that one...
Anyway, a woman I'd just met named Sherry, was pouring champagne in that very slow, very deliberate way drunk people have.
Unfortunately, she'd forgotten the glass...
I hoped whoever arranged the rental had coverage for that kind of thing.
Another woman with short, curly, reddish-blonde hair sat giggling in the corner. Back when she could still speak in full sentences, Marge had introduced her as Jilly. She used to live in the area before moving away, although, she still had a business here.
Mel and I looked at each other and she rolled her eyes.
Although I didn't drink too much, I was still in a pretty good mood. But I was definitely planning on a cab ride home.
Mel though... She had a haunted look in her eyes that bothered me. No wonder the girls had been worried about her. Something was obviously wrong.
"So why don't they just go home?" I asked her, scooting over to sit next to her.
"Who?"
"Sketcher and the other guy, Bullet."
"Bullet will stick with us all night," she said quietly. "He's supposed to keep an eye on us, and make sure we make it home safe. I guess Sketcher's just along for the ride. Maybe he's worried after what went down with Seeker and Crash."
"He was watching you while you were dancing," I said. "He may not have seemed interested before, but he's definitely interested now."
"I could give a fuck!" she replied, her voice flat. "Sketcher, Seeker... Men in general. I think I'm swearing off them entirely. Too bad I can't just flip a switch and go lesbian."
"I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way," I said, sighing. "Men really are a giant pain in the ass, aren't they?"
"Speaking of, how's Wringer?" she asked. "I hear you're fighting with each other."
"Uh...that seems a bit strong," I said. "I'd say we're just not talking much, which is what I wanted. No offense, but after what happened, I don't think I want anything to do with the club."
She sighed.
"I can understand that," she replied. "You didn't exactly get a good intro. I know it probably doesn't seem this way, but they're actually really good guys. It's not like this shit happens all the time."
The car swayed and Spirit crashed into us.
"You two are boring!" she yelled in our faces. "We're having a good time here. If you don't sing me something good at the bar, I'm making you ride with Sketcher."
I can sing, but I would rather have my eyes poked out than do karaoke.
I didn't say that, though. I just smiled politely and decided this was a sign... I'd call a cab after Marge sang her song. I had to be up in six hours, so that was probably for the best anyway.
At least I didn't have to worry about Bray... Emma had taken him, offering to keep him overnight and get him ready for school the next day. That was a huge help.
"Oh my God!" Meg squealed suddenly. And we all froze. "We haven't done presents yet!"
"Presents!" Marge yelled, clapping her hands. "I love presents!"
At that, Meg lurched down to the front of the limo and pulled back a big basket full of unopened packages and envelopes.
She grabbed one at random, throwing it to Marge.
"Who's it from?" Sherry asked. Marge tried to focus on the writing, then shook her head.
"Can't tell," she said. "They have really, really messy handwriting."
"Here," I said. "Let me look."
She handed it over...
"The tag was printed off a computer," I said, snorting. "It's not even a fancy script or something. You're too drunk to read. Oh, and it's from Jilly."
Marge pouted.
"It's not my fault you guys bought all those shots," she said. "And it's not like I could let them go to waste! That's just wrong."
Sherry nodded sagely.
"She's right... If you throw away booze at your bachelorette party, the marriage is doomed."
"You say that about everything," I accused. "The marriage is doomed if she doesn't order the steak and the shrimp. The marriage is doomed if she doesn't dance with at least ten guys. The marriage is doomed if she doesn't tell us how big Stud's dick really is. How can all of that be true?"
"I know these things," she declared. "Am I right, ladies?"
"Hell yes!" Spirit chimed in. "Sherry knows her shit. If she says the marriage is doomed if Marge doesn't drink enough, it's time to start pouring shots down her throat!"
"Right now it's time to open presents!" Meg yelled. "Ladies, we need to focus. The marriage is doomed if she doesn't get these open before we hit the karaoke bar!"
"Shit!" Marge said, her eyes opening wide in panic. With that, she ripped into the bag, peeked down inside, and started giggling madly. Then she pulled out a giant double-headed jelly dildo in swirling colors...
"Oh Jilly," Marge said, sighing. "It's beautiful! How did you know?"
We all burst out laughing and Meg grabbed another present... This one was from Sherry, and I shit you not, it was a giant, strap-on dick...
"That's so you can put Stud in his place," she told Marge. "That man's ego needs controlling, and that's a great tool to do it with."
"I love it," Marge whispered. "Oh, I cannot wait to try this."
"You think he'd actually let you use it on him?" I asked. And she started giggling.
"I think just the sight of it will make his head explode," she said. "It's all about creating the right kind of romantic mood, you know?"
Mel got her a beautifully illustrated Kama Sutra, Spirit got her a thong that said "Support Your Local Collectors MC" on it, I got her sensual massage oils and Marley got her some sort of electronic thing that we all just looked at, trying to figure out what the hell it was.
"Read the instructions," she said. "Trust me, you turn this baby on, you're gonna love it."
Marge tilted it, obviously confused, and I tried to figure out where it would even fit on a person's body.
I really, really wanted a look at those directions, but when we looked for them, nobody could find them in the piles of tissue paper cluttering the limo...
We pulled up to the karaoke bar just as Marge finished opening her presents. It was quarter to one, which gave us about an hour before last call.
And because the marriage would be doomed if she didn't have more shots, Marge had more shots. Then she got up and sang her Def Leppard song and we all joined her for the chorus.
Meg took over the mike to sing "White Wedding," and then Marge realized the marriage was definitely doomed if she didn't text Stud a picture of her modeling her new panties... So we all tripped back out to the limo.
That's when I decided to call it a night. It was my understanding that when the bar closed, they'd all be heading back to the Armory to join up with the guys...
Of course, the girls didn't want me to leave, but seeing Sam wasn't exactly one of my goals for the evening.
Ten minutes later, the cab pulled up and I gave him my address. I guess I'd had more to drink than I realized, because the next thing I knew, we'd pulled into Emma's driveway.
"Wake up," the driver said. "Is this where I drop you?"
I looked around, trying to clear my head. I wasn't drunk, but I wasn't totally sober, either.
"Um, yeah," I said. "Just pull around the house, okay?"
He did, and I fumbled in my purse for money. I gave it to him and stepped out, digging for the keys. I'd forgotten to turn on the outside light, which didn't help. Or maybe it was just burned out because I usually left it on all the time.
The driver must've been a nice guy, because he waited until I got the front door open before he pulled away. Too bad he hadn't waited a minute longer...
When I flipped on the light I nearly had a heart attack.
Shaun was sitting in the center of the couch...
Hey, no time to read over guys. I'm just about to fix breakfast then head off to work. My busiest time for work is just beginning so whenever I can get an update out, I will. I worked all seven days last week and this week it's going to be six days...
Anyway, much love to you and stay safe!