“There’s my WayWay!” Mom called out the moment she saw Waylen. He ran to her, throwing himself in her arms. “I see you found him,” she said to me with her arms still wrapped around Waylen.
“Can I help with the cookies Granny?” Waylen asked her.
“We got a whole bunch set up for you over here, Way,” Sara said, showing him to the table off to the side.
The moment Waylen was seated and distracted thanks to Sara and cookies, Mom went right back to work. And by that, I mean with the cookies and harassing me.
“So, where’d you find him?” she asked me.
I blew out a breath as I sat on a stool across the kitchen island from her.
“You’ll never guess,” I grumbled sarcastically.
“The plant place again?” Lisa, another ol’ lady asked.
“It’s called Garden Sip,” Mom told her. “Wonderful place, no wonder the boy loves it there.”
I shook my head as I looked at my mom. I’ve got her eyes and smile, but I look more like my dad. Mom’s hair is starting to gray more now. Her normally brown hair has been getting lighter, and now I can see silver streaked through it. Sometimes I wonder if it’s me or Waylen that gives her those gray hairs.
“How often have you even been there?” I asked her.
“I buy flowers from Deidra at least every other week,” she replied, frowning at me. “Where do you think the flowers in the common room come from?”
“There are flowers in the common room?” I blurted, earning a flat look from my mother while the others cackled.
Just then, Void and Villain walked in, plopping down on the stools next to me. Those two are my age, but a couple of fu.cking id.iots I tell you. Granted, they don’t have responsibilities like I do. They’re twins and work at the tattoo shop in town that Wraith, another brother, owns. We went to school together and have been best friends for as long as I can remember. But they fu.cking get on my nerves.
“What y’all talking about?” Villain asked as he snatched a cookie off the counter.
“Oh, just how Jinx found Waylen at Garden Sip earlier,” Lisa told them.
“Wow, you and your kid both got the hots for Deidra Hartman,” Void teased, snorting as I gave him a flat look.
“Oh please,” Mom waved them off. “Waylen is too young to have the hots for anyone.”
That earned snickers all around as Mom gave me a cheeky smile.
“I don’t have the hots for her,” I stated.
“You have a nickname for her,” Mom replied factually.
“Yeah, you call her Thorn,” Lisa added.
“Because she’s a thorn in my side,” I grumbled. “Not because I like her.”
“Lies,” Villain said as he took a bite of his cookie and kept talking while chewing. “One time when Jinx got really drunk, he told us that he calls her that because she’s as beautiful as a rose, and prickly like one too.”
Mom and Lisa looked at me, trying not to laugh as I smacked Villain against the back of his head.
“Does bro.therhood mean nothing to you?” I complained.
“Just admit that you think Deidra’s hot,” he replied. “You like that attitude she gives you.”
“And only you if you haven’t noticed,” Void added.
“Yeah, she sure loves to give you sh.it, brother,” Villain teased me.
“Whatever, Deidra’s like that with everyone,” I said.
“Is she?” Void asked sarcastically.
I shook my head, refusing to even give it any thought.
“That sh.it don’t matter anyway,” I told them. “Waylen keeps going there because he’s comfortable with Deidra, thanks to Glory always taking him to the diner and leaving him there.”
“Poor baby,” Mom muttered sadly. “She was more of a mother to that boy than his actual mother ever was.”
“Ugh, don’t say that,” I complained.
“I mean… you can’t really deny that after she stormed in here ready to fight the entire club over your boy,” Void said.
“I’m not denying it, it’s just… fu.cking weird,” I admitted. “I appreciate what Thorn has done regarding my kid, but… her and I are practically strangers.”
“Practically,” Mom muttered, rolling her eyes.
“Well, Waylen loves being with her,” Lisa said. “Doesn’t that count for something to her?”
“Yeah. Thorn loves him. Says he’s always welcome there. Think I might talk to her about letting him go there every day after school. I don’t think she’d mind,” I said. “He promised me he’d behave if I did.”
“He promises a lot of things,” Lisa commented lightly.
“He’s only seven,” I replied.
“Saw Miss Green today,” Mom said, changing the subject.
Fu.ck.
“She showed up here while you were out, smelling to high heaven too,” she continued as she rolled out some dough. “Told me about the stink bomb.”
I sighed heavily.
“Stick bomb?” Villain asked with a laugh.
“I’m trying, Mom,” I said. “Waylen overheard her saying something about wanting my patch a while ago… I think he doesn’t want another Glory coming into the picture.”
“Bet he said Deidra would make a good mommy,” Villain mumbled with a wink.
“Shut the hell up,” I complained, pushing him hard enough to knock him out of his chair and onto his a.ss on the floor.
“He’s mad ’cause I’m right,” Villain grumbled as he got back on the stool.
“Anyway, I don’t know what to do other than pull him from school,” I said.
“What about getting him a different teacher?” Lisa asked.
“Already tried,” I replied. “School said they were taking her word over Waylen’s because he was a kid and sometimes kids misunderstand things or lie, and that if I can’t control my son, maybe I shouldn’t have him in school at all.”
Lisa gasped and looked at my mom.
“Oh, I went down there too,” she said. “Fu.cking jacka.ss of a principal.”
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