Damaged and the Cobra (7 page)

When depressed, I clean obsessively. My manager
called me the hummingbird housekeeper because I was a flurry of activity. I
cleaned my tables, other servers’ tables, swept the floor, cleaned in the
kitchen then started again. I wanted everything scrubbed down as if hoping to
wipe away my unhappiness. It never worked, but I couldn’t stop myself.

Waking up and knowing I would tell Aaron goodbye, I
was a frenzy of cleaning. Even focused on wiping tables, my mind saw Aaron
everywhere. The green in the ugly carpet reminded me of the scales on his
cobra. The blue on the tiles in the restrooms made me think of Aaron’s eyes.
Every man I saw was compared unfavorably to the one I wanted. This included
Dylan who picked me up for school.

That morning when he drove me to work, we were both
silently angry. As he dropped me off at school, Dylan decided silence wasn’t
working for him. He grabbed my wrist and stared down at me.

“If you sneak off again, I’ll know it.”

“Let go of me,” I whispered, afraid to lose my
temper and cause him to lose his. I’d seen him truly enraged before and I knew
he had no problems hitting a woman. “I need to get to class.”

“That guy will use you and toss you aside. You want
to be his former slut?”

“I want to go to class.”

“I’ll be here when classes end and your loser
boyfriend shows up. If you try to weasel out of telling him to fuck off, I’ll
tell Larry and you can move the fuck out. Do you understand?”

Staring in Dylan’s eyes, I realized he was jealous.
He would never really view me as a sister. This was as much of a certainty as
how I would never view him as anything more than my asshole stepbrother.

Classes were boring and I nearly fell asleep a few
times. The night before in the closet hadn’t been restful. Plus, I had nothing
to clean and my depression lingered in my thoughts. While I dreaded telling
Aaron goodbye, I wanted to get it over with too. I guess deep inside, I just
wanted to see him. Everything was better when I imagined his gaze on me.

When my second class ended, I walked to the quad
next to the senior hall. Both Dylan and Aaron were waiting. My stepbrother was
glaring at Aaron who didn’t seem to notice he was there. Dylan remained on his
Harley in the parking lot while Aaron walked towards me.

Gorgeous and powerful, Aaron looked irresistible.
His tanned arms shined in the late afternoon sun and I wanted them wrapped
around me. Instead, I had to tell him goodbye.

With Dylan glaring at Aaron, impending violence was
thick in the air. However, I refused to have anyone hurt over me.

“What’s up?” Aaron asked.

“I can’t see you anymore.”

“Why the hell not?” he asked, frowning in the
direction of Dylan before returning his gaze to me.

“I need to finish school. Once I do, I won’t have
to live in that house and I can do what I want. Until then, I need to do what
I’m told.”

“Fuck that,” Aaron whispered, reaching out to touch
my face. “I can handle your idiot brother.”

“It’s not him. It’s Larry and I need to behave or I
can’t go to school.”

“I can…”

“No,” I said, leaning into his warm palm. “Please,
I need to be smart and finish school. I’m sorry.”

“Lark…”

“Maybe when I’m done with school in a few years, if
you’re not with someone else, we could try again.”

“You’re fucking kidding, right?” he said and I
flinched.

Backing away, I panicked a little at his anger. “I
guess that would be stupid to think you’d wait so long. You deserve to find
someone.”

Aaron rubbed at the back of his neck and sighed
loudly. His blue eyes flickered to Dylan then back to me.

“I’ll wait.”

“What?”

“If this is the way you need it to be, I’ll wait. I
want you and I’m not settling for anyone else. When you’re rid of those fucks,
I’ll be waiting for you.”

Staring at his perfect face, I couldn’t believe he
would wait.
For me.
No one had ever thought I was special. Even Raven
ditched me.

As I smiled in awe at his gesture, he reached out
to caress my cheek again. I wished to find the words to make him understand,
but I wasn’t an articulate person and Dylan was moving towards us anyway.

“Hands off, fucker!” Dylan hollered.

Aaron’s expression changed and I thought they would
fight.

“Please, don’t,” I whispered.

Exhaling hard, Aaron stepped back. I could see how
much it killed him to leave Dylan unbloodied. If I thought beating the crap out
of Dylan would fix everything, I would step aside and watch Aaron flex his
muscles.

Nothing would change with them bleeding though.
Yet, something had changed inside me when Aaron said he would wait. For the
first time since Raven ditched me, I felt like Thunder Kitten. I would pace
myself and play nice, but I wasn’t making Aaron wait. I would find a way to be
with him. Larry’s rules be damned.

Restless in a way no amount of painting could fix,
I called Cooper to get a few beers. I wanted him to make me believe Lark would
return to me. I needed Cooper to tell me I wasn’t a fool to wait for her. Craving
a voice of reason against the dreamer in my head, I knew my friend wouldn’t
sugarcoat shit.

“What if I’m wrong?” I said, finishing my beer as
we sat at the bar. “What if the things I see in Lark are lies like with
Kristen?”

“Lark isn’t Kristen. She’s a sweet girl with a
shitty family. Kristen was a shitty girl with a sweet family. It happens.”

“What if I wait and she never comes back? What if
she just hooks up with another guy and I’m the dumb fuck waiting around for a
lie?”

“Do you want to fuck someone else?”

“No.”

“Have you fucked anyone since you got hung up on
Lark at the wedding?”

“No.”

“You haven’t fucked anyone in months?” Vaughn
barked from farther down the bar. “No wonder you’re such a whiny bitch.”

Cooper glared at Vaughn who shook his head. “What’s
the difference really? If I fuck that brunette over there or I go home and fuck
that blonde over there, what difference does it make? They have the same damn
parts and I get off either way. I think you two are over thinking this shit.”

“It’s different,” Cooper growled. “My girl isn’t
like any other girl. Fucking her isn’t like fucking any other girl. If you ever
had a woman claim your heart and make it her bitch, you’d fucking know that.
Instead, you fuck random chicks and pretend you don’t need more. You’re full of
shit though. Judd might not have needed more until he had more, but you’re a
man looking to give his balls away. You’d give it to Bailey or Lark or anyone
else if they were the right one. I know that and you know that, so shut the
fuck up.”

Vaughn shrugged off Cooper’s comment then stared
into the mirror behind the bar. I ignored the two of them and nursed my beer.
When I glanced at Cooper, he was glaring hard at Vaughn.

“If you break it, you own it,” he said.

Vaughn just stared at the mirror and held the
bottle in his hand like he might throw it. Instead, he shrugged again.

“No harm, boss,” Vaughn said, getting up. “You can
save your Valentine’s Day speeches though. A man with a contract on him
wouldn’t be smart to hand his heart or balls over to a woman who wouldn’t have
him around long. Still, enjoy suburbia.”

Cooper watched Vaughn walk over to the blonde then
he focused his dark gaze on me.

“Lark is your girl. I know shit and I know that.
You know it too, but you let Kristen’s crap make you second guess everything.
Lark is yours and you’ll wait. Maybe you’ll whine about being horny or lonely
or you’ll write sonnets or some lame shit, but you’ll wait. No reason to keep
pretending otherwise. In fact, it just makes you look stupid because I know you
and that girl owns you. I suspect you own her too. Chicks just hide their shit
better.”

Recalling the way Lark looked when she wished to go
home with me the first night, I knew she wasn’t playing. I felt her need from
across the table. I’d shivered then and I shivered again. Those eyes weren’t
hiding anything. I needed to stop playing mind games. Lark was worth waiting
for, no matter how long it took.

“Maddy’s going to pop soon,” Cooper said, finishing
his beer and getting ready to head out. “Tucker is attached to her. It’s pretty
fucking adorable. The guy about wets his pants every time she makes any noise
that might be labor pain.”

“You’ll be an uncle soon.”

“I’m already an uncle,” Cooper mumbled, sliding on
his jacket. “I just can’t hold the kid yet.”

“You and Farah still planning on trying?”

“No planning. We’re just trying now. She’s off the
pill. Whenever it happens, it’ll be cool. Farah worries she’ll suck at being a
mom. Can you believe that shit?” Cooper asked as his dark eyes warmed at the thought
of his wife. “The way she takes care of Sawyer and me and everyone else and she
thinks she’ll be a bad mom. These girls with their shit families get all fucked
up in the head and no logic is going to fix it. They just need to face their
fears and see how amazing they are when their idiot parents aren’t around to
fuck things up.”

“Should I fix things for Lark?”

“I don’t know. If it was me, I’d go smack her
stupid brother and father around. I don’t know if that’d be a good idea though.
Those fucks aren’t low life drifters like Farah’s parents. That Larry asshole
is a respectable member of the community. If you want to smack him around,
you’ll need to do it in a more subtle way. Of course, if he ever fucks with
you, we can just remind Mister Upstanding how his kind doesn’t run Ellsberg.
It’s us dirty biker types who keep his house from burning down or his head from
getting cracked open. If it comes down to it, I’ll help you take him down. Pop
says behave. I say I’ve got my bud’s back.”

Grinning, I shoved him away from me. “Crap. I’m
worried you might hug me next.”

“I was thinking about it,” Cooper said, smiling.
“Farah’s turned me all nice and shit. I’m getting manners too. It’s
disgusting.”

“Horrifying,” I teased. “Thanks for the offer, but
I feel like Lark needs to make a move. If she needs me to, I’ll burn down houses
and crack open skulls. Right now, I feel like maybe she needs to find her way
back to me. If she does, I’m keeping her and ruining anyone who tries to take
her away.”

“Now, there’s the punk ass jerk I became friends
with.”

“Thanks for coming out and giving me a pep talk. I
know you hate being away from your woman.”

“Farah’s worth all of the bullshit I had to wade
through to win her. I bet Lark’ll be the same way for you. Don’t over think shit
man. Just wait for your girl and she’ll be yours. No fucking car salesman is
going to stand in the way.”

“Fuck he won’t.”

Cooper grinned then patted me hard enough on the
shoulder to make up for any softness we’d shared. I watched him leave then
glanced at Vaughn pouting with a blonde who made it all better. I’d had plenty
of hookups, but those days were over. Lark was mine and no other chick would
do.

Bailey punched the bag hard then ducked as it came
back at her. She kicked at it, missed, and nearly fell on her ass. Tawny
watched this display then nodded as if Bailey accomplished something great.
Taking the hint, I nodded at Bailey too. The girl was a lot of fun, but she
needed praise like no one I’d ever met. Even small children were more
confident.

“Yeah, I kicked its ass.”

“It never stood a chance,” Tawny said, hitting the
bag with less force and keeping it from attacking her in return. “Judd says we
should hit it lighter and work more on our endurance.”

“Who cares what your man says?”

Tawny just grinned. “We’re getting married in
Vegas.”

“You gonna get Elvis to marry you?”

I laughed. “I wouldn’t mind having Elvis marry me.
I mean, Elvis would do the nuptials, not that I’d marry Elvis. He’s hella old.”

“The dude’s dead,” Bailey muttered. “I don’t want
to call you stupid, but…”

Still smiling, I shook my head. “That’s what he
wants everyone to think. No way did the King die on the crapper.”

“A conspiracy theorist? Do you believe in aliens
too?”

“Of course. Who doesn’t?”

“I don’t.”

“You’re still young,” I said, patting her cheek.

Bailey loved any kind of physical contact and
grinned at my gesture. “Yes, I’ll totally believe in stupid shit when I get all
mature. Sounds about right.”

Ignoring her teasing, I focused my attention on
Tawny. “When will you get married?”

“In a couple of months. Not planning to stress it. We’ll
just get a nice room at one of those cool themed hotels. Something up high too.
I don’t know if we’ll get Elvis to marry us, but we’ll have fun gambling and
doing all the touristy Vegas stuff. I’ve never been on a vacation before so
anything we do will seem amazing. I’m easily impressed that way.”

“Can I come?” Bailey asked. “I won’t interrupt your
fucking or anything. I just want to be in your wedding. I’m hoping to catch the
bouquet. I would have caught Farah’s if I’d been able to beat up the other
women. Too bad I promised I wouldn’t.”

“Yeah, you got suckered there,” Tawny said,
punching the bag. “Of course, you’re coming. It’s my wedding. I want my best
friends there.”

Awkward now, I tried to disappear, but Bailey
bumped me with her hip.

“I’ll pay for the conspiracy theorist to come
alone. What if we see a UFO and she misses it?”

“Are you sure?”

“Fuck yeah. I’m all kinds of giving and supportive
and shit. Tawny has trained me well. Besides, I don’t want to be the only one
there without a man.”

My mind flashed to Aaron and my plan. I suspected
Bailey would love taking part in it.

“I told Aaron I can’t see him anymore,” I said,
smiling despite how much I hated saying the words. “He said he would wait.”

Bailey frowned at me. “You shouldn’t make him wait.
A guy could die without sex.”

“That’s not true,” Tawny said, hitting the bag with
a look of determination on her sweaty face. “Do you want to see Aaron?”

“Of course. He’s amazing.”

“Eww,” Bailey teased. “You’re kinda gross when you
get all horned up.”

“I’m not horny.”

“Are you sure? You look at little horny around this
area,” she said, waving her hand around my face then breasts and finally at my
hips. “Aaron’s a great guy. You should have him write you a poem.”

Ignoring the poem idea, I kept smiling like it
would give me strength. “I don’t want to make him wait, but I can’t get kicked
out of the house and give up school. That’s why I’m going to sneak out.”

“Good for you,” Bailey said, punching the bag. “I’m
tired. Let’s get ice cream.”

A grinning Tawny hit the bag again. “Sneak out
how?” she asked me. “You live out on that road and don’t have a car. Is Aaron
picking you up?”

Tawny sensed I had a plan. Bailey didn’t, but she was
the one whose help I needed.

“I want to tell Larry that I’m spending the weekend
at Bailey’s then sneak over and spend it with Aaron.”

“Oh, cause I’m not good enough to spend the weekend
with?” Bailey muttered, offended for a moment. “Ooh, I love lies and trickery.
Do I get to lie?”

“Yes. In fact, I don’t think Larry will want me to
spend the weekend away. He’s a dick that way, so maybe you could come over and
remind him of who you are.”

“I don’t get it.”

Tawny wrapped an arm around Bailey’s shoulder. “Go
over there and throw your weight around. You’re Bailey Fucking Johansson after
all.”

“Hell yeah, I am. I’ll scare the fucker to death.
Should I smack him around a little too? I’ll do it because he’s mean to you and
you’re nice to everyone. I really should smack him no matter what you say.”

“If he mouths off, feel free to slug him. I doubt
he will though. He’s afraid of strong women. It’s why he scared off Raven. She
wouldn’t take his shit.”

For a moment, I hated myself a little for being a
loser who did take his shit. Then, I reminded myself I needed to go to college
and get a job in an office and be different than the loser women in my family.

Bailey started bouncing around and punching the
bag. “I know how to fight because my pop showed me. He wanted me to be tough,
so men wouldn’t take advantage of me.” She paused for a moment and frowned. I
sensed she realized men took advantage of her often. Despite her family’s power
and brothers’ violent tendencies, Bailey was a bang and hang girl. Guys never
took her seriously. She was hot, but forgettable and they treated her
accordingly.

Tawny hugged Bailey. “I like when you get all
tough. It gives me something to aspire to.”

Bailey hugged Tawny back, but she wasn’t convinced
by her friend’s lies. All of Bailey’s new nice girl tricks hadn’t changed
anyone’s mind about her. I saw a little sadness about this fact in her blue
eyes then she smiled.

“I like making old jerks cry. This plan of yours
should be fun.”

“Can you come over tonight?” I asked Bailey.

Nodding, she frowned at Tawny who had caught Judd’s
gaze. Even with the gym separating them, they shared a silent message. Tawny
lifted her hands and wiggled her fingers. Turning back to us, she smiled.

“I need to leave in ten minutes.”

“Eww,” Bailey said, hitting the bag. “You’d think
his dong would bore you by now.”

“Are you kidding? I love his dong,” Tawny murmured,
glancing at Judd.

“Double eww,” Bailey snorted. “I wish I could find
a dong that didn’t bore me after a few fucks. Why must men bore me so much?”

Tawny and I shared a look then shrugged in unison.

“So,” Tawny said, holding the bag for Bailey,
“there’s no dress code or anything for the wedding.”

“Screw that. You should get matching dresses like
Farah did.”

“I don’t want to wear a dress.”

“Nope, you’ll do it,” Bailey said, grinning. “Or
I’ll tie you up and force you. I’m feisty that way.”

“Yes, but I don’t like dresses.”

“Because you have weird legs?”

Tawny nodded and I could see she wasn’t lying.
Bailey snorted again.

“It’s a wedding dress. Your weird legs will be
hidden. You could also make your bridesmaids wear ugly dresses to distract from
you. That’s what my fat cousin did. We had to wear these lime green horror
shows. She looked like a fucking princes next to us. That’s what I plan to do
when I get married.”

“I don’t think you’ll need to distract anyone,” I
said. “You’ll make a beautiful bride.”

Bailey loved that comment and nearly hugged me to
death. I was still in her death grip when Judd appeared next to Tawny. She
stared up at him and grinned casually.

“I said ten minutes.”

Brushing Tawny’s hair from her sweaty neck, Judd kissed
just over the collarbone. “My watch is fast. Let’s go.”

Tawny laughed and wrapped an arm around his waist.
She waved at us before quickly disappearing out the door.

Bailey frowned then shrugged. “Everyone is horny
and in love. It’s pretty gross. Now, you’re going to be horny for Aaron. Who
the hell am I going to be horny for?”

“Maybe you should play hard to get and make the
boys chase you,” I suggested, sitting on a bench.

“Did you just call me a slut?”

Staring up at her, I thought she might hit me. “No,
of course not.”

Bailey rolled her eyes. “I don’t believe you. I’ll
hit your stupid stepdad, instead of you though. I don’t hit my friends,” she
said then added, “Anymore.”

Grinning, I tugged her next to me. “I am crazy
about Aaron, but I worry he’ll move on if I don’t find a way to be with him.”

“Aaron is loyal. He’s not a pussy though. Like he
fucks a lot of chicks, but when he’s with a girl, he’s only with her. He is a
sucker though. Like with Kristen.”

“Who?”

“His old girlfriend. She had a bunch of guys on the
side and they all thought she was faithful. It was stupid as shit because
everyone knew she was cheating, but no one said anything. Cooper didn’t even
say anything. Coop hated Kristen, so I guess he figured Aaron wouldn’t believe
him or something. I was the one who spilled the beans. I tell shit the way it
is and that bitch was making Aaron look like a punk. I wanted to kick her ass
for him, but Aaron was too nice. Huh, what was my point?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Me either. Anyway, Aaron is a great guy and once killed
a cricket that jumped in my hair during a camping trip. I was screaming and
everyone was laughing at me, but Aaron killed it for me. That’s a nice fucker
and you better be nice to him. Oh, you are nice. Never mind. I think I
exercised too much and it made me dumb. Want to get some ice cream?”

“Sure. Then, will you come over and scare Larry for
me?”

“Who?”

“My stupid stepdad.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m going to put the fear of God in him.
It’ll be fun, but first I need sugar so I can keep my train of thought.”