Bullet: Devil's Rose MC #5

Chapter 12: Mason Ohara

"Bullet? Are you okay?"

I whip my head around to find Vegas standing there.

He scared the absolute shit out of me. What the fuck?!

"Yeah, just thinking about things."

"Okay, well, if you ever want to talk."

"For sure. Um, I think I'm gonna head to the warehouse. See if anyone needs anything."

He squints his eyes at me but only nods his head.

"Alright. Slasher and Bear are there as far I know. And Tank. With the girl."

"What girl?"

"She's new to town I guess. She kinda walked into the bar and was just like there. He won't tell me about her or anything, but they've been spending time together. Anyway, not the point, but they are there."

I've got to meet this girl.

"Thanks. We'll talk later."

"Just so you know, you're actually super weird. You should fix that."

How does he sound so nonchalant when he says shit like that?

How do I fucking 'fix that?'

"Yeah, bye."

"The vibes are off!" Vegas screams as I turn away and walk to my motorcycle.

My vibes are off. He caught me in a bad moment. I wasn't expecting company during my self-pity session. My goodness. Can't a sorrowful man get some motherfucking privacy?

Also, I don't think I've ever heard Vegas use the word 'vibe' before. He shouldn't do it again. He isn't as cool as he thinks he is.

I swing my leg over the seat of my motorcycle, start the engine, and secure my helmet on my head. The rumble underneath me brings me a sense of adrenaline and comfort at the same time. I don't fucking know how that can be, but I don't want the feeling to go away. 

Sometimes, the only way I feel like I can face what's ahead of me, in the next minute and for the rest of my life, is to just get on my bike and go somewhere. It's never far, but it's enough for me to get out of my head and focus on something tangible, like the literal road in front of me. It is one of the most helpful and self-care things I do in my life.

I use my feet to push my bike out of my parking space and make sure that it's okay for me to merge onto Main Street. That name is so fucking boring and uncreative. I wonder what it would take to change it. Probably a lot of work I'm not willing to put in.

It doesn't take long for me to see Piper standing in the window of one of the Main Street clothing stores called The Flair Collective. It's one of those places that pretty much has any style of women's clothing that you could desire without having the feel of a rundown thrift shop that has that certain moldy smell to it. 

It's Piper's favorite place, so I've been in there many times. She raves about how body positive and inclusive the store and its clothing are, so she rarely shops anywhere else. The prices aren't bad either; there isn't much to complain about when it comes to The Flair Collective, even the name is cool.

As though she knows it's me, she waves at me, an infectious grin lighting up her face.

Fuck, she's the best. I'm not kidding. I feel so fucking good around her. My angel.

My time at the warehouse is brief. Tank (and Hazel - the girl Vegas was talking about), Slasher, and Bear all seem to have a hang on the finishing details between the money and weapons deal that we have with the federal government on what we raided exactly thirteen days ago, so it isn't much for me to do. 

I check up on the technology updates that Poison set up though I don't understand what I was reading, but I wrote them down for Poison and Scout to interpret. They probably know what the machines are saying. The trip wasn't a waste of time though. 

I got to meet Hazel, and I can tell she's a badass. I like her already.

Now, I've decided that I need to stop by the toy store for a present. Piper's into building with Legos, harder sets at least, and I've been finding her just sitting at the bar with like a hundred pieces laid out in front of her. 

She loves having people (little kids mostly) stop by the table and help her out for a few minutes. I have only been in her apartment for about thirty seconds while she dropped something off, so I didn't get the chance to look around or anything, but I'm sure she has a spot for all the Lego sets that she's completed so far. 

Some of the bigger sets I've seen her do is an Infinity Gauntlet from Marvel, the Daily Bulge building from Spider-Man, the Star Wars Millennium Falcon, Hogwarts of course being a Harry Potter fan, and the Sanctum Sanctorum from Doctor Strange.

So yeah, that's how she spends her free time.

For the past week, I've been trying what tv show set I should buy for her to build. I've never really been a big fan of Legos, but I'm happy to feed her obsession. And help her build them when she wants them. 

Because I have the money to spend (working so much, and after some pretty good runs, I've been making a ton of money back after my brother decided to steal mine), I've decided that I'll just buy all the Lego sets I know she'll like. 

This includes The Office, the Friends apartments, Central Perk, the Queer Eye Fab Five Loft, and a Mandalorian ship of some kind that includes Grogu/Baby Yoda which practically brings tears to her eyes every time she sees it. 

She is also kind of a nerd. I adore watching her speak when she comes to topics such as Marvel or Star Wars. She's just so passionate about it. Half the time, I don't know what she's saying but I listen anyway.

Anyway, long story short, I have spent about $300 worth of Legos on her (not that the money is a problem, I'm more worried about the Lego obsession). Now that we're going on an actual date tonight, I feel like I now get to spoil her however and whenever I want. 

To me, her asking me out kind of permitted me to just buy her stuff. I've been waiting for what feels like forever to buy her things, anything she wants. She's one of the most independent people I know, so I'm not spoiling her because I feel a need for her to need me or because I pity her lack of wealth. 

I want to spoil her because it's fun. I enjoy making her happy when I pay for shit. It's good to have the money to spend, thank god for my job. I would rather spend the money I make being part of Devil's Rose on her than on myself. 

And now, I'm pretty much waiting for six pm to come around.

I never realized how lonely and cold my house felt. I didn't have anything to compare it to, but being in Piper's tiny apartment for thirty seconds felt like more of a home than my house does. I guess I didn't realize how chaotic and welcoming a home could be when it felt like a good place to be. It's Piper too. She's just naturally homey, relaxing, and safe. 

The only two other people that aren't related to the MC that made me feel that way were my mother's parents. My grandfather (sofu), Daito Ohara, and my grandmother (soba), Emi Ohara, were two of the best people on the planet before they passed away. 

They never got custody of me - it was a long battle regardless - but I wouldn't change my childhood only because I had my best moments with them.

I look back at the times when my mother, Mei, and my brother, Hugo, were gone. They would just leave me while they went on my mother's work trips, and I would get to stay with my grandparents. Even though my dad left me when I was two, and I was being abandoned by everyone in my life, they stuck around. 

They were the greatest. I would have loved them to meet Piper. They would have loved her.