Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“Bird, don’t forget your toothbrush and body wash and shit,” I called. We’d both left our bedroom doors open. Even being in different rooms felt like we were too far apart.
“Want me to grab yours?” he asked as he hurried down the hallway.
“I’ll get them.”
Bird was in the bathroom and I was zipping up my suitcase when the front door of the trailer flew open so hard that the floor beneath us shook and the picture frames on the walls in the living room crashed to the ground.
I froze in place. I hadn’t heard Pop’s Harley. Why hadn’t I heard him coming?
It was then that I knew I should’ve taken Bird and left with just the clothes on our backs.
“The hell do you think you’re doin’?”
“Nothin’.” Bird’s voice was quiet. Timid.
“What you need your toothbrush for? Goin’ somewhere?”
I moved so quickly that my feet barely touched the ground and my shoulder hit the doorframe as I swung into the hallway. Pop was standing outside the bathroom and Bird was inside, but the door between them was open.
“Why aren’t you at the barbecue?” I asked, my tone loud and disrespectful.
I knew what was coming before he even turned to me. I knew, and I didn’t care. I would’ve done anything to get him away from Bird. Anything.
“You think you’re so clever,” Pop spat, walking toward me. “Goin’ to the club lookin’ like that.”
“Looking like what?” I countered. I wished I had something to protect myself. A baseball bat or a stick or even a can of hairspray.
“Poor Nova,” he said, still coming toward me. He wasn’t hurrying which was even more terrifying. “Fell on the porch after she’d been drinkin’.”
“I thought I covered for you pretty well,” I replied softly.
For a split second, I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could snap him out of whatever demon had taken him over. I knew quickly that wasn’t the case.
“Don’t you touch her,” Bird said, his voice quivering as he left the bathroom.
“You stay out of this,” Pop shot back, not even turning to look.
“Bird, go back in the bathroom,” I ordered, not taking my eyes off Pop. “Lock the door.”
“You tryin’ to cause me problems at the club?” Pop asked. I didn’t think he required an answer.
Bird still hadn’t moved.
“Go, Bird,” I ordered again. I wasn’t sure how long I could fend Pop off, and I didn’t want Bird to see it—I also didn’t want him to be the next person in the path of Pop’s rampage.
“Nova—”
Pop was closer to me than he was to Bird.
“Run, Bird,” I said quickly, glancing for just a second at my brother’s terrified face. “Run to the neighbors. Call 9-1-1.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew they were a mistake. As Bird flew into motion, Pop spun, reaching for him.
I reached for Pop.
My fingers dug into the leather cut he wore, my nails scratching on the patches that covered the back. I scrambled for purchase and dodged as Pop’s elbow jerked back, glancing against the uninjured side of my face. It hurt so bad that my eyesight went hazy for a moment, but I didn’t let go, dragging my feet as Pop chased after Bird.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and lifted my feet off the ground, making Pop lurch forward when the resistance was gone. Our legs tangled together and he tripped. I’ve never in my life been so happy to see someone fall.
We grappled, and his fingers twisted in my hair, making tears fill my eyes.
No one in the history of the world had ever been more determined than I was at that moment. He could hit me and he could rip out my hair and he could knee me in the stomach, but he would never get to Bird. I held on like moss on a tree, gripping Pop with every bit of strength I had so that Bird could escape.
Then Pop grunted and twisted and as I looked up, I saw Bird standing there, breathing heavily as he kicked Pop in the back a second time.
“No, Bird,” I choked out, unable to get enough breath in my lungs. “Go!”
Pop jerked away from me and my head hit the side of a table and everything went fuzzy. As I tried to get my eyes to work, I could hear him getting to his feet.
Then I heard the sound of my baby brother being hit, his whimper of pain, and felt the floor shudder as he fell.
“No.” I wasn’t sure if it was a whisper or a scream. I wasn’t even sure if I’d said it out loud. I somehow got to my feet and stumbled toward where Pop stood over Bird.
The gunshot was so loud it made my ears ring.
Chapter 19
Rumi
There were bikes everywhere. They’d parked in the driveway, in the grass, up the street, in the neighbor’s garden. When Brenna had said that the boys had gone to take care of Samson, she hadn’t been kidding. Nearly the entire club had raced over to Samson and Ash’s place.