Hotel Key

Chapter 24

2 Years Ago

The next morning

Daryl woke up to the smell of coffee. RickyJo crawled across the bed and plopped a little kiss on his forehead. She was glad he was finally awake. It was a beautiful day and she wanted to take the Aston back home to the garage, pick up her cousin, and get the bikes out. She smelled like shampoo and oranges and Daryl guessed she had been awake for some time. He was right, she went down to the pool and swam laps to burn off her hangover. Then she came back to the room for a shower and ordered them breakfast. RickyJo thought about waking him earlier, but he looked so peaceful she had decided to let him sleep.

Sipping her coffee, RickyJo poked around for her phone and checked the notifications. There were a few texts and calls from Laney. She cleared the notifications without reading the texts since she knew they would upset her and she didn't want the whole day ruined with drama. Tonight was the party Jessica was throwing her for getting her research published in the Journal of Food Science. While it embarrassed her a little to be the center of attention, she was proud of what she and her research assistants had accomplished. All three of her assistants were girls she had been mentoring since they were undergraduate students. And now each one of them had received multiple job offers from all over the country. The list of students applying to work for her tripled over the last year and she had a feeling she was going to have a lot of interviews to do before the start of the next school year.

Daryl came out of the bathroom and sat down at the table across from RickyJo. She was drinking her coffee and poking at the fruit and oatmeal she ordered for herself, puffing on the rest of the joint they had smoked the night before. She handed it over to Daryl. He took a hit and pulled the cover off the food she ordered for him. Daryl smiled. He had to admit, she knew him well. Holding it out, he offered her a piece of the bacon she ordered for him. She smiled and shook her head. Aside from occasionally indulging in seafood, Laney was a vegan and was constantly pressing RickyJo to give up red meat. RickyJo looked down at her fruit and changed her mind, holding her hand out for the small crispy piece of pork. Daryl handed it to her and clapped his hands, making her laugh. She chewed away, picking up her phone again and typing out a quick text.

"Who ya texting?," Daryl asked. He hoped it wasn't Laney.

"Merle," she said, "...gonna see if he wants ta drive out to Nana's with us today to get Jess." Daryl nodded. "It's so nice out I thought we could pick up the bikes and ride back." He nodded again, that sounded good to him. They both finished their breakfast and their smoke and headed down to the lobby so RickyJo could check out of the hotel. Then they went back to the apartment to drop off Daryl's bike and pick up his brother.

RickyJo was looking forward to seeing her nieces. She was surprised when Jessica explained to her that the girls were off for a visit with their father for the weekend. RickyJo hoped that didn't mean Jess was sleeping around with the man again. He was married now, and had a new baby with his wife. Leaving the subject for the time being, she flopped on the bed while Jess packed up a small bag. Then they headed out together to get their bikes. Along with the cars he collected, RickyJo's grandfather had quite a few classic bikes. Plus there were some newer ones that RickyJo bought. The old ones were too heavy for her. When she grabbed the keys for her BMW, Daryl rolled his eyes at her. The bike had a custom hot pink paint job, and Jessica had a matching one in neon orange. Whenever they took them out, people always stared. Merle was poking around at the bikes. He had driven most of the older ones before.

"Why do all the new bikes have ta be painted up all fuckin' girly," he complained loudly.

"Because I bought them for me, not yer dumbass," RickyJo reminded him. Then she flashed him a wicked grin and added, "You can always ride bitch on the back of mine." This brought some laughter from Jessica and Daryl. Merle just gave her the finger and turned back to the bikes. He really really wanted to take out the new Ducati Streetfighter she bought. But the fucking thing was purple. And not a dark, almost could be black or navy color, but bright ass purple and sparkly. What a horrible thing to do to a bike.

"Ya know we got a custom purple helmet to match that bike," Jessica informed him.

Daryl laughed. He already knew which bike he was riding. He liked the old 1970's Harleys. They were what he always wanted to drive. The only thing that could make those bikes better is if RickyJo would leave her bike there and ride on the back with him. But Daryl could see she already had her beamer out, gassing it up with the small pump they had next to the garage. So that clearly wasn't going to happen.

RickyJo leaned back so she could see into the door of the garage. She was thinking about how long she was going to wait before she told Merle that she bought that Triumph Rocket III Roadster he showed her online. And she didn't have it painted yet, so it was still matte black. It actually looked so good black she was thinking about leaving it that way.

"Hey asshole!," she called to the man, "...ya remember that Roadster you were showin' me last week?" Merle looked over at her with sudden keen interest.

"Yeah, I rememba," he said. He saw RickyJo was looking at him with one of her biggest, prettiest smiles. She was really enjoying whatever she was about to tell him.

"It's up in the front garage," she said, "they delivered it yesterday."

Merle looked at her. He figured there was about a fifty fifty chance that she really bought the bike, or that she might just be giving him shit. Merle raised his eyebrows and looked at RickyJo, trying to read her expression. Once he was satisfied that she wasn't pulling his chain he ran out and pulled her up into a big hug, kissing her on the cheek and neck, making her laugh.

"You can borrow it fer a while," she told him.

Daryl watched as the two of them took off running up to the front garage, trying to race each other. He knew there was nothing going on between them, but finding out they were talking about buying some bike that neither of them bothered to mention to him made him uneasy. He wondered how much time they were spending together when he wasn't around. Daryl always felt awkward visiting RickyJo at the university where she worked. But he knew his brother loved going up there. Merle would drive up there and eat lunch with her as often as she would let him. It's like high school except all the girls are legal. Daryl also knew if she was in the right mood, RickyJo would let Merle lie and tell the girls there he was her brother. For some reason unknown to Daryl, that particular lie was a real panty dropper.

Merle and RickyJo came riding back from the front garage a few minutes later with her on the back of the bike. They flew past Daryl and Jess, heading all the way down the driveway towards the back of the property. A few minutes later they reappeared, this time stopping so RickyJo could climb off and get her own bike. Merle walked the bike over to the pump and filled up the tank. The girls were talking about stopping for lunch somewhere on the way back. Without consulting the guys, they decided on some Mexican place they liked and Daryl hated. The food was good, but the menu was in Spanish and that's all anyone who worked there spoke. Because of the time she spent abroad, RickyJo was almost fluent in spanish. And though he often liked to pretend he didn't speak any spanish, choosing instead to yell at people to 'speak fucking english', Daryl knew his brother understood and could speak it fairly well from his time in the service. Jess knew enough to get by, which left Daryl out as the only person that couldn't understand shit of what anyone in the damn place was saying. He decided to shrug it off. RickyJo would order for him and he would be fine.

With everyone gassed up and ready to go, they headed out, waving to the girls' grandmother as they drove by the main house. RickyJo tried to talk her Nana into coming into the city for her party. But the woman would have none of it. Jessica's girls were gone and she was looking forward to having a quiet evening to herself. Plus she hated going into Atlanta and avoided it whenever possible. She had to drive into the big hospital there for her cancer treatment years back, and it soured her on the drive there and the place itself. Jess climbed off and shut the main gate behind them, locking it. Then they headed down the long country road that would eventually take them to the highway.

It was a two hour drive back to Atlanta. They stopped about half an hour from the city for lunch. The man working there recognized the girls and greeted them warmly. There were not many tall blonde women that spoke fluent spanish with a portuguese accent. And the girl that sometimes came with the tall blonde had the reddest hair the man had ever seen. He chatted a little with the women as he showed the group to a table and then quickly brought out chips and the beers RickyJo had ordered for everyone.

"No margarita?," Jess asked RickyJo.

"Gotta pace myself fer the party tonight," she said, "No tequila before four o'clock." Jessica laughed.

"Ya know I'm makin' pink margaritas tonight," Jess reminded her. RickyJo was torn between being really excited and really scared. Jess would never tell her exactly what she put in the mix, but it was by far the best mixed drink RickyJo ever had. The last time they drank that shit, she got blackout drunk and woke up on her bedroom floor with Daryl's feet in her face. Tonight, the students that helped her with the research project were coming. And the two that lived locally were bringing their parents. So she was going to need to keep it under control. At least until they left. Daryl just started laughing. RickyJo might have forgotten what happened the last time she got tequila drunk but he remembered it just fine.

After they ordered, the girls took off to go do whatever girls do in the bathroom together. It seemed like they were gone quite a while when Daryl heard a lot of loud noise and music coming from the kitchen of the restaurant. He looked at Merle and they both got up and headed to see what was going on. When he rounded the corner, Daryl couldn't help but to just start laughing. RickyJo and Jessica were in the kitchen, salsa dancing with what looked like a dishwasher and a cook. The rest of the staff were clapping and cheering them on. The man that showed them to the table noticed the brothers standing in the doorway of the kitchen and turned the music back down. Jessica kissed the man that she was dancing with on the cheek and they all headed back to the table, RickyJo turned back to give the men in the kitchen a wave. As they walked back to sit down, Daryl wrapped his arm around RickyJo's waist and gave her a quick kiss. Jessica noticed but didn't say anything.

The food came and they ate a while in silence. Then RickyJo remembered what happened the night before. She wasn't sure if Jessica already talked to Merle about what was going on.

"Ya know we have to go over to Debbie's house today and get Merle's shit," RickyJo told her cousin. Jessica nodded. She already knew. This made RickyJo happy, since she knew it meant they were talking. She always thought if Jess and Merle would just stop sleeping around on each other, they would make a great couple.

"I'm bringin' my gun," Jessica announced. Merle laughed at her. "Whatever," Jessica told him, "...that bitch is fuckin' crazy." No one was going to argue with that. They didn't call her Druggie Debbie for no reason. RickyJo turned her attention to Merle.

"No more with that girl," she told him, "...ya need to leave her alone." Normally anyone trying to tell Merle what to do would get a fist to the face but he just nodded. He knew RickyJo's comment came from a place of concern for him.

"She's gonna get a no contact order anyway," Merle said.

"Good," Jessica told him.

Jessica pounded on the door of the dingy little trailer. It was on the outskirts of the city and the place was just awful. It was the kind of trailer park where they had to set traps for all the stray cats because there were so many. Some broken furniture littered the front yard and RickyJo wondered if it had been from the fight the night before or if it had just broken and been tossed outside instead of in the garbage. And speaking of garbage, there were a few ripe bags sitting on the ground next to the small wooden steps. There were flies all over the bags and the stink made RickyJo wish she didn't need to breathe to live. Jessica pounded on the door now, yelling for the woman to open up. RickyJo thought to suggest that the woman might not be home but her car was in the driveway. Finally the door opened a crack.

"He ain't here is he," the woman asked from inside the house.

"No," Jessica told her, "...we just came for his crap." The woman opened the door wider. Despite being early afternoon, Debbie had clearly just gotten up out of bed. Her hair was disheveled. Even if it had been brushed she was working on a good three inches of brown roots and frizzy blonde ends. The woman was so skinny RickyJo guessed if she turned around and lifted up her shirt they would be able to count every single one of her ribs. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a ripped tank top. There were bruises on her arms and she had a pretty good black eye forming on the left side.

"Merle do that?," RickyJo asked the woman.

"Yeah," she said, "...and he knocked out ma damn tooth too."

"Was that before or after you yanked his dick as hard as you could and hit him in the head with a glass candle?," Jessica asked her. Unlike RickyJo, she had absolutely no sympathy for the woman. In all the time she had known him, Merle never laid a hand on her. And she knew Debbie was crazy, since the woman tried to stab her in the face once with a plastic fork. If she got smacked, then she deserved it. RickyJo didn't say anything else, she just got out the garbage bags they brought and started putting in the things she could tell were Merle's. She handed a bag to Debbie and told the woman to go get whatever was his out of the bedroom and bathroom. The place was so disgusting, RickyJo would rather just throw this mess away and give him money to go buy new clothes. Merle was lucky she didn't see any roaches or she would have been out of here before she came in. He was so clean when he stayed with her, she couldn't believe he was okay with sleeping in this trash dump. Then again, maybe things seem cleaner when you're high on crack.

Jessica didn't think Debbie would try anything with both her and RickyJo around, but she kept a close eye on the woman anyway. RickyJo kicked at an old pizza box that looked like it had still had a few pieces of pizza inside. Then she tried to pick up the clothes that were under it without touching them. Jessica was looking around for Merle's leather riding jacket. It was the only thing he asked for specifically so she wanted to get it and get the hell out of there before she got fork stabbed. Luckily, Debbie came out with one half full bag, holding the jacket. RickyJo took it and handed the items to Jessica, giving her a look that said she thought it was time to get the hell out of there. Then she touched Debbie's arm lightly and walked her back down the hall. RickyJo got out her wallet from the back pocket of her jeans. Then she pulled out several hundred dollar bills and pressed them into the woman's hand.

"Go get your tooth fixed," she told the woman. Debbie just nodded with a blank look on her face. RickyJo added, "...and the next time Merle calls you, why don't you do yourself a favor and not fuckin' answer." Debbie nodded again and RickyJo headed back down the hall and followed Jessica outside.

"Why the hell did ya give her money?," Jessica asked. She already knew. Debbie reminded RickyJo of her own mother, who was horribly addicted to drugs. RickyJo didn't answer, she just helped Jessica shove the bags into the trunk and then go into the driver's seat.

"Ya know she's gonna spend that money on drugs," Jessica said. RickyJo shrugged.

"Then she is gonna spend it on drugs," RickyJo said, "...but her ugly missing tooth will be her own fault."

Jessica could tell RickyJo was upset over Debbie's condition. RickyJo knew the woman started the fight, but that didn't make it right for Merle to slap the teeth out of her mouth. And it brought back some memories from her childhood she would rather not think about. A man on top of her mother, slapping her and making blood fly out of her mouth and splash across RickyJo's fuzzy footie pajamas. The man ripped her mother's clothes off and did things to her that made her scream and cry. They were the same images that came into her mind anytime she had gotten close to having anything sexual happen between her and Daryl, making her seize up into a panic.

Jessica reached over and squeezed her cousin's hand. She could always tell when RickyJo was having a bad flashback. Over the years they got fewer and farther between, but sometimes she still had them. Jess also lost her parents when she was young, but they died in a car accident, not by suicide. And before that, they were wonderful and loving parents. She had memories of her father pushing her on a swing, his red hair so bright out in the sun that it looked like it was on fire, not memories of terrible men doing appalling things to her and her mother. Many times over the years she tried to convince RickyJo to see a counselor, but she always refused.

RickyJo pulled herself together and backed the jeep out of the short driveway, heading back to her apartment. On the way, her phone started buzzing. She pulled it out and checked it, thinking maybe some of the chairs and tables they were renting for the party were being delivered. It was Laney. RickyJo sent her straight to voicemail, cringing a little at how mad she knew it would make the woman.

"She's not comin' to the party tonight, is she?," Jessica asked. RickyJo shook her head. She never even told Laney they were having a party. RickyJo was planning to say something about it the night before when they were at the hotel, but Laney stormed out in a huff before she had a chance.

"How did the hotel thing go last night?," Jessica asked. Merle had already told her the whole story on the phone last night, but Jessica wanted to hear what happened from RickyJo.

"She got mad 'cause I was talkin' ta Daryl on the phone and stormed out," RickyJo said.

"She was mad because you were talkin' to Daryl?," Jessica asked. Laney was very possessive over her cousin's time. Jessica knew the woman got mad at RickyJo when she would come out to spend the weekend at the farm with her and Nana and the girls. And they were her family.

"I think she was mad 'cause she heard me say Merle was comin' to stay at the apartment," RickyJo said.

"Has she been on ya again about makin' Daryl move out?," Jessica asked. RickyJo nodded. Jessica worried about RickyJo's safety, living in the busy part of the city. It made Jessica and her grandmother feel safer to know she had Daryl staying with her. Laney had some fucking nerve. RickyJo glanced over at her cousin, she could tell Jessica was getting angry.

"Daryl is not going anywhere," RickyJo assured her, "...I like livin' with him and if Laney wants to break up with me because of it, that's the choice she can make."

Jessica smiled. She was glad to see that RickyJo was finally sticking up for herself when it came to Laney. It was always strange to her that RickyJo could face down Merle at his worst but she would let that bossy little bitch push her around. Jessica often wondered just how good of a lay Laney was. What she didn't understand was how emotionally manipulative the woman was. When she didn't get her way, she would make RickyJo feel terrible for hurting her feelings. Laney figured out early on that tears were the way with RickyJo. She just could not stand to feel like she caused someone else pain and would usually give in to anything Laney wanted.

"Ya know Laney isn't the only one with feelings," Jessica said gently, "...when was the last time she was worried about hurting yer feelings."

RickyJo nodded. She knew Jessica was right, but she wasn't sure what to do about it. Before she found Laney, she was so lonely. It was nice to feel wanted and needed. And she had to admit she liked the sex too. Going back to not having any would really suck.

"Alright," RickyJo said, "...enough serious. Let's get in party mode." Jessica laughed and gave a little woohoo, throwing her arms in the air. Then she leaned across the seat and gave her cousin the best hug she could without running them off the road,

"I love you," Jess told her, "...and I am so proud of you for the science journal thing, even if I didn't understand a fuckin' word of it." RickyJo hugged her back.

"I love you too."