“Which makes me wonder why he gives two shits about her now. It really doesn’t matter to me. I’m not leaving here,” I tell her.
“I can’t stay with you forever, Krista.”
“I know that. What the fuck? Did I ask you to spend your life with me?” I ask glaring at her. I didn’t ask her to come here to begin with. I might like Ester and yes, she is one of the only friends I have, but that doesn’t mean I will put up with her shit.
“You’re such a bitch. I think this whole plan of yours is stupid as fuck.”
“I didn’t fucking ask you. No one knows I’m here. For all they know I’m still in Wisconsin. That’s the way I’m going to keep it.” Nobody knows that I’m in Maryland. Hell, I never thought I’d be here either, but I will do what I need to do to keep that bastard away from her.
“Tom is stupid as hell if he thinks he can actually fight you. I’ve never seen anyone fight like you,” she adds with a laugh pulling one from me too.
“I trained hard. It wasn’t for nothing. If I have to use it against him, I will. She’s happy, Ester. Look at her,” I say, nodding toward the little girl smiling and running with her puppy in their yard. I stare at her, mesmerized by how much she looks like me. There would be no mistaking her for another child; that much I know for sure.
“She’s perfect,” she whispers.
“I know. That’s why I won’t let him near her, and I can’t tell them. If they knew, they would hide her, Ester. I would never see her again.”
“A little selfish, aren’t you?” I roll my eyes.
“No. I just know that I can’t live with not seeing her. I don’t expect you to understand.” As I stand from the bench I’ve been perched on, I head toward the park. I know Ester won’t follow me and I’m glad for that fact. There are a lot of people in the park today. From the looks of it, they are having a birthday party. I don’t go to my usual spot under the big droopy tree since they are all over there, instead I walk over and sit on the swing. I often wondered why this swing was here. It’s nowhere near the others. It’s off by itself. I sing to myself slightly when I hear laughter behind me. Looking over my shoulder, a little girl runs past in a big fluffy dress laughing so hard she can barely keep going. A smile tugs across my face.
“You’ll never catch me, Wolfman! You’re too old!” She calls out over her shoulder. Another round of laughter and she keeps going. I laugh a little too at her innocence. To be young and free. Someone coughing behind me causes me to turn and look over my shoulder. The man stands there with his head down, hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.
“Little shit,” he hisses between gasps. I laugh although I didn’t mean to laugh out loud. His head comes up and our eyes lock. The corners of his lips curl up. “Krista, right?” He asks. Shit, it’s the guy from the tattoo shop. I nod my head once before looking straight again. He comes up behind me, I can feel his presence as he grabs the chains of the swing.
“What are you doin’ out here?”
“Taking a break.”
“From work?” I shake my head.
“Life.” He grunts in response before he moves to lean against the post that the swing hangs from. His hair’s pulled back, his big blue eyes glittering in the sunlight as he looks down at me.
“Sometimes a break is what we need. Sometimes it isn’t what we think either.”
“What does that mean?” I ask confused by his words. He smirks at me and shrugs. “Is that your daughter?” I ask nodding toward the little girl.
“No. That’s my little sister. It’s her birthday. Ten years old,” he says with his eyes full of pride.
“She’s beautiful.”
“Thank you. You got any family?” He asks looking back down at me. Not anymore, I think to myself.
“No. Just me.”
“You live here?” I shrug.
“Do we ever really live anywhere?” That earns me a laugh from him.
“I like you. You wanna come hang out with us?” Although the offer was nice, I don’t know that I could handle being around all those kids right now.
“Thanks, but I’m good here.” He nods his head and shoves off the pole.
“Change your mind, you know where to find me,” he says nodding toward the group. I smile my thanks and watch him walk away from me. The little girl comes running toward him once more, slamming into his legs and knocking him to the ground. I find myself laughing out loud which isn’t something I’ve done in a very long time. Wolf stands back up wiping his ass before turning and winking at me.
Five
Wolf
The night crawled by and all the kids left with the parents. That left us adults out here to do our thing. The guys decided that since there was already liquor here, they might as well come hang out. I didn’t mind. That’s how we roll.
“How is Savannah?” Sly asks about my sister.
“Growin’ up too fast. I don’t like it,” I huff and take another pull from my beer.
“Heard that. Reminds me of Dezzy. I missed too much of her life when she was growin’ up. It’s good you’re close to your family.” I nod my head. I know I’m lucky to have my family close to me. Sly didn’t always have that with Dez and I know he regrets it till this day. Most of the guys are loners looking for something more, some kind of family in the club. While I have the picture-perfect family on the outside, I don’t see eye to eye with my parents the way I should. Dad was a cheater most of my young life and mom turned a blind eye to it. I never wanted to see my mother cry the way she did, but I always knew he caused it. I guess that’s when I started to get a little more rebellious.
“Who the hell is that?” Shaft asks pointing toward the trees. I glance over and blink a few times.
“Shit, she’s still here?”
“Who is she?” Gauge asks this time.
“Her name’s Krista. I’m doin’ some tattoo work on her down at the shop. She was sittin’ out there earlier too.” It’s a little weird that she’d still be there but it also piques my interest. I stroll away from the guys and over to the swing she’s been on for hours only to find her sleeping. How in the hell is she staying upright?
“Hey,” I say softly so I don’t startle her. She slowly opens her eyes and blinks a few times before looking up at me.
“What?”
“Why are you sleepin’ on a swing?” I ask amused with the whole situation.
“I was taking a nap.”
“On a swing.”
“So?” Damn she’s mouthy. She glances around when it must finally dawn on her what time it is. The suns long since gone down and the moon hangs high in the sky. “Fuck!” She leaps from the swing and runs toward the back of the park and out of stupid curiosity I follow along. I see her standing at the edge of the buses gazing down at one of the houses in the neighborhood next to the park.
“What the hell was that about?” She looks over her shoulder before looking back to the house once more.