Xavier stands between Ripper and I looking absolutely shocked to see me standing in front of him this morning. “Skyla? What are you doing here?”

Eloise steps around me, shoving her brother’s chest with all her might. “We were looking for you!”

Xavier snatches Eloise’s wrist and pulls her behind him, his expression changes drastically as he towers over me. “I can’t believe you brought El here, what the hell is wrong with you?”

Diablo snaps his jaw in warning, but it’s Eloise who comes to my defense. She pulls out of her brother’s hold and punches at his ribs. “What the fuck, Xavier? I brought her here!”

While the pair of them argue about nothing in particular and everything under the sun most of the crowd grows bored and disappears. Even Diablo lays down, placing his chin on my foot. I cross my arms, holding my 9mm close to my chest.

“Why didn’t you come back?” She pleads.

“I did!” He yells.

“This isn’t what I meant, Xavier, and you know it! You were supposed to come get me, to come home.”

“I’m sure you’ve been fine.”

“No I wasn’t! I was worried,” Eloise shoves him again “WE were worried! You’ve ghosted us for weeks!

“I thought you were dead you asshole!” She cries.

Xavier just stands there, socked by her confession which apparently still isn’t enough to knock any sense into him. Well if he won’t comfort her I will, she quickly breaks down into tears on my shoulder as soon as I pull her into a hug.

“El, I’m sorry.”

“No!” She snaps, sniffling and furiously wiping away her tears. “Fuck you, Xavier. Or Gauge. Or whoever the hell you are.

“My brother would have come back for me!

“My brother hated the club life and didn’t want anything to with it. That’s what that deal was all about right?

“Most of all, my brother wouldn’t be drunk at nine o’clock in the morning in bed with some hangabout!”

Oh, speak of the devil. The girl in question launches herself at Eloise screeching about Eloise being a bitch. The men nearby just stand there, not even Xavier flinches to intervene.

“Diablo.” Getting his attention proves to be enough. He jumps to his feet and barks. It slows her down, my gun in her face extinguishes the rest of her anger. “You will not touch her!”

“But she…” 

“You were just chasing after a man like a poorly trained pet begging for attention, girl have some pride. That’s his sister!”

A moment of recognition flashes across her face, I mimic her raised hands as she turns to leave without another word. The remaining few outside are either amused or ready to blow my brains out. Today is not at all going how I’d planned.

Finally acknowledging Xavier, “I want my keys.”

“They’re up in the room, I can take you to them.”

Eloise. I’m not letting her out of my sight and she clearly isn’t done yelling at her brother. Shaking my head ‘no’, ready to tell him absolutely not.

“El can stay with the prospect,” Xavier says as if he was reading my mind “I’m sure after that little show of yours he’d not let anything happen to her.”

The same kid Goose had sent after Xavier earlier steps forward, definitely more interested in Eloise than he should be. Ripper remarks than no one would dare fuck with his daughter. 

“I’ll keep an eye on her…” he starts.

“Listen, baby face,” I interrupt “I’d love to thank you for keeping her safe, you know, cause you’re such a ‘badass’ and all, but quite frankly she can take care of herself. BUT if anyone does mess with her I will feed you to Diablo.”

Right on cue he snaps at the air as if to emphasis my point. The poor kid swallows hard trying to keep his composure. Ripper’s laughter breaks through the tense moment.

“Baby Face?! Goddamn boy, I think you just got your name!” Ripper pats his back.

The kid groans, “Nah, just feed me to the dog. I don’t want to be known as Baby Face forever.”

After Eloise ensures me she’ll be fine I tell Xavier to lead the way. We go back through the bar, Goose does this ridiculous shoulder wiggle and winks at me. For a moment the guitar on the wall stops me in my tracks again, it feels too familiar and the weight of uncertainty pulls at my chest.

“Skyla? It’s this way.” Xavier calls me back to the present. Fighting back tears as Diablo and I follow him through the back door. The room we walk through looks like a lounge, four mismatched sofas and other various furniture fill the room. The recliner’s occupant snoring away.

A pair of televisions and various gaming equipment line one wall. No one in the room says a word, though I do notice the way their eyes watch Diablo. 

Through another set of doors and we’re back outside. The grass inside this courtyard of sorts looks like it’s been dead for ages, the sunken in area must have been a pool at some point that the dirt to fill it settled in.

Up a set of stairs and down a corridor, Xavier stops in front of an unassuming door. “Here.”

“Okay, so where are my keys?”

“Can’t we just talk for a minute?” He ask, stepping closer.

“It’s been three weeks since you walked out of my place and not a single text or call, but now you want to talk?”

“Yeah, it’s just-”

“Just what, Xavier?” Feeling annoyed, I can’t help my snappy tone. “If you didn’t want anything to do with me that’s fine, I’m a big girl. The least you could have done is called your sister and let her know you weren’t dead in a ditch somewhere. Or, I don’t know, given me my fucking car back.”

“She’ll be fine. I’m here, for her.”

“That’s bullshit, just tell me whatever you wanted to say ‘cause all I am hearing right now is how easy it was for you to stay away from her, from me.”

I’ve clearly hit a nerve. Xavier turns around and swipes his long arms across the table. Papers, beer cans, and one red lacy bra go flying. Startled, Diablo jumps to his feet. He’s as confused by the outburst as I am.

“It was made pretty clear that I wasn’t wanted, that there was nothing to come back to, so I just decided to stay away.” He snarls.

“What are you even talking about? We’ve been worried about you for weeks! And you’ve been here the whole time, what? Feeling sorry for yourself?”

I take a chance and look out the window at the far side of the room, it’s view is just the tree line of the nearby woods. Taking a deep breath in the hopes that it will help me gather my thoughts, I feel like I’m talking to a teenager again and not a grown man who’s almost thirty. One that won’t man up and tell me what the actual problem is.

When I turn back around I find Xavier with his arms crossed leaning up against the wall and blocking my exit. With the wave of my hand I gesture to the empty beers, and abandoned bras and underwear thrown around the room.

“Has all this helped you hide from whatever is really going on?” I ask softly.

“You’re one to talk.” Xavier moves to the sofa, sitting down in a huff.

“Me? What have I done to make you think I didn’t want you around? I lent you my car for fuck's sake!” I hold up my hand to let him know I’m not finished. “The day you went with me to pick up the devil I told you I wanted you to be around, whatever that meant to you, I chose you.”

Xavier is just sitting there staring at his feet, clenching and unclenching his fists. He looks like he hasn’t eaten a real meal in days. I don’t want to fight, this morning has been chaotic enough, I crouch down and place a hand on his knee hoping to get him to at least look at me.

“Xavier.” I plead.

He brushes my hand away as if it burns, sitting back to put as much distance between us as he can. The motion catches me off guard and I quickly get to my feet, stepping back.

“She told me about it,” he snarls, “Eloise told me about James.”

“Are you kidding?”

“You clearly weren’t going to tell me.”

“Yes I would have, as soon as you walked in my door.”

Xavier finally look me in the eye again, but I don’t recognize this side of him. His face is twisted up in disgust. “Yeah, well I don’t want to fucking hear about the other men you’ve taken to bed.”

Laughter fills the room, and it takes me a second to realize it’s my own. I’ve lost it, apparently. Going around the room I snatch up every bra I see and throw it at his face. The fucking nerve!

“Seriously? You want to go there? Cause I’ll tell you aaaaallll about my time with James.”

“I said, I don’t…”

“No!” I snap, pointing my finger at him. “You’re going to shut up and listen to every fucking word!

“I met James for dinner after dropping Eloise off at the mall so she could meet her friends for a movie.” Resuming my bra assault as I talk and search the room for my car keys. “He said the dinner was an attempt to apologize for his drunken behavior the night of the open house…”

“He…” Xavier ducks to avoid another article of clothing I’ve plucked off the floor and lobbed at his head.

Ignoring him, I continue, “I drove Diablo and I in your car to the restaurant he picked. We sat on the patio and the food was delicious.”

Growing tired of playing in who-knows-whose dirty laundry I stand up and cross my arms, watching Xavier’s scowling face as his clenches his jaw. What’s going through his head right now? Doesn’t matter, he better listen carefully.

“The whole meal was painfully awkward and dull, we could barely hold a conversation. He apologized a few times while trying to get what he wanted to say just right. He had his sobriety coin with him, though clearly the program isn’t doing much good for him.”

His face softens for a second at the idea of me having any idea what a sobriety program might look like, his eyes take in the pile of clothes now on the couch next to him and on the floor at his feet.

Out of the corner of my eye, right under the corner of the bed, I spot my key ring and quickly move to grab it. This is what I came for after all, Xavier can keep doing whatever and whoever he wants.

“After dinner I politely thanked him for the meal, apology accepted, and drove home alone in your car. Diablo and I fell asleep on the couch waiting up in case Eloise needed us.” With a sigh I make my way to the door, patting my side. “Come on Diablo, let’s go home.

“Goodbye Gauge.”

Before he can get a word out I’m slamming the door between us and rushing down the corridor. Down the stairs two at time, I can hear Xavier yelling after us but I don’t dare look back.

Through that lounge room, there are more men hanging around now. Diablo lets out a low growl in warning as we side step one and finally make it back into the bar. My heart is racing and I’m hoping I can find Eloise before her brother gets here.

“I’m leaving, like, right now. Are you going to stay or come with me?” I rush out, almost out of breath.

“Skyla!” Xavier shouts from behind us. “Wait!”

“I need to know, now!” I implore her, Eloise asking me what’s going on at the same time.

Xavier is making his way over to us faster than I can make my escape. Leaving Eloise to drive herself home, I’ll let her dad or brother worry about her for now, I try to duck around a few tables but it’s no use.

He catches me by the elbow and I startle at the contact, Diablo snaps in his direction. A warning to let go. Every pair of eyes in the bar is our audience now.

“What’s going on?” Eloise rushes over.

“You should talk to your brother.” I try to choke back my emotions, he doesn’t get to see how hurt I feel right now. “He can tell you all about how he assumed that the ‘date’ I had with James meant I jumped right into bed with him. How’s he’s been here the whole time enjoying his fill of drinks and women instead of having the balls to look me in the fucking eyes…”

I don’t know how I got all that out without being interrupted. Xavier lets go of me, letting his hand just fall to his side. I regret looking up at him immediately, he doesn’t look sorry at all. Just pissed.

“What the fuck? Wow, Xavier!” Eloise says quietly, as if everyone in here isn’t hanging on our every word. “Skyla, let’s get out of here.”  

Diablo’s snarling face is enough to get outside without any one else trying to stop us. The whole room had been watching us like a fucking soap opera.

“Leaving so soon, ladies?” Ripper asks as we rush passed him. “You’ll miss the weekly cookout and party.”

“I want my guns on my doorstep by Monday morning, Ripper.” I stop walking just long enough to warn him. “If they’re not there I will contact every law enforcement agency in the state to report them stolen.”

I notice Xavier stepping out of the bar and it urges me to keep moving. Taking Eloise by the hand I practically drag her around the building back to where my Plymouth is parked. Ushering Diablo onto the backseat, Eloise has only just closed her door before I start the car and floor it out of the lot. I narrowly miss running over Xavier as he steps away from the bar to stop us.