A New Ride Begins

Chapter Ten

"Think he's dead?" I hear Kenny's rough voice asking from somewhere above me.

"He's not dead," Ellie whispers softly.

"He better not be. His Da would kill me," Chibs chimes in.

I open my eyes at the thick accent, seeing Chibs, Ellie and Kenny standing over me. I'm tired. Dog fucking tired. It has to be early. At least it feels early. I know it damn sure feels like I have just fallen asleep. What in the hell are they doing gawking at me?

"Nothing better to do then watch me sleep?" I mumble as I run a hand over my face, my other hand automatically gripping the leather book that had settled on my chest.

"Whatcha got there, boyo?" Chibs asks, nodding toward the journal.

"What are you doin' here?" I ask, ignoring his question.

"Ya disappeared from the party last night. Promised Nero I'd keep an eye on ya."

I sit up and nod slightly. Of course he called Nero. Why doesn't that surprise me?

"You know you got yer Ma worried sick," Chibs says as he sits on the coffee table in front of me.

"I'm gonna go jump in the shower," Kenny says, probably noticing the awkwardness that seems to surround the four of us.

"Yeah," Ellie continues. "And I'm gonna go...anywhere that's not here," she says as she quickly walks out of the room.

"So you called Nero," I notice, the words being more of a declaration then a question.

Chibs nods.

"He wants you to give him a call," he says, handing me a phone charger.

I reach out and take the wire from him.

"Thanks," I mutter, not looking forward to a lecture from the people who raised me.

"What's in the book?" he asks, his eyes on the journal once again.

"Answers," I respond somberly, the previous mornings nightmares still fresh in my head.

"Did ya find what ya were looking for?" he asks me, which is the same question I have asked myself repeatedly since last night.

I shrug, letting the silence fall over us.

"I know enough about the things my parents did," I say after a moment. "I still know nothing about who they were."

Chibs nods and stands up as an idea appears to come over him.

"Meet me at the clubhouse at 7," he orders. "And call your parents."

Then, he walks out of the front door without another word.

***

I find Ellie standing in the kitchen, leaning over the counter with a cup of steaming coffee twirling in her hands, her gaze fixed out the window. I walk over to the coffee pot as she glances my way. She reaches up and grabs a cup out of the cabinet and slides it across the counter toward me. I nod some thanks and fill my cup as she continues to look out the window and into the backyard. I find myself beside her and copy her stance, looking out at what I am sure was once a beautiful scene. Years of neglect have the rose bushes over grown and patches of dead grass cover most of the large space.

"Never really had much time to get out there and get my hands dirty," she says before bringing the cup up to her lips, her eyes still on the barren land.

"Wouldn't take too much to put it back on the right track," I tell her, blowing gently into the cup of dark brown heaven.

"I have the opposite of a green thumb," she laughs, looking over at me. "I have what you would call a black thumb. Every plant I touch dies almost instantly. It's like a disease," she jokes.