Fuck. His mom. Of course it had to be his fucking mom. He'd rather have the fucking devil call him than his mom "Oh my god. No wonder you got so smashed. Shit Kells," "Why did she have to do this. Gone for almost twenty years of my fucking life and now decides to turn up," he seemed angry, but I could tell he was more upset than anything else "Every year, I would sit on the stairs on my birthday ready to hear her knock on the door and come back into my life and every year she would never come, no card no nothing. And now she's right there, on the other end of that phone," he said, staring at his iphone with tears in his beautiful blue eyes. The eyes that had seen too much, the eyes that had gone through too much shit for one life time "Do you wanna cry?" I asked He sniffed "Kinda," I hugged him and he buried his face in my shoulder. I felt his warm tears make my shirt wet and honestly, I didn't care one bit because this was what he needed. Kells needed a minute to stop being mr tough and just let it all out.
I took Casie to school again the next morning. Kells was still fast asleep when we left the house but I promised Casie he would be awake when I picked her up. When I got home from dropping her off, I could hear Kells in the kitchen. "You were surprisingly sober last night," "Yeah," "Are you going to call her back?" "No. I wanna go get another tattoo and you're coming with me," he said, changing the subject "What if I'm busy?" "Are you?" He looked disappointed "No, course not. Where are we going to get it done?" "I will show you,"
The parlour was dark, lit by neon signs everywhere. Intricate designs covered the walls, ranging from delicate flowers to hardcore skulls. The place was run by a guy called Oliver, but everyone called him Gunner. Gunner and Kells met at an Eminem concert and have been friends ever since. They joked that Kells had stolen his name and put it in a song. "You just know the whole of fucking Cleveland don't you?" I said as he flipped through the book of designs "Pretty much. Here," Kells replied before handing me the booklet "You're choosing my tattoo," "Ooh the pressure," I said before looking through the book. Finally, I found one I liked. It was the hand of a skeleton holding a rose "This one," I told him, pointing to the design "Yo that's sick. Okay where?" I looked for a blank spot big enough to have the design on it. On most people, this would be easy, but Kells was covered in intricate tattoos. However, he had none on the back of his neck. "Alright. Gunner! We're ready," he shouted. Gunner came through and put on some black latex gloves. "So you chose it?" He asked me "I did," "What she doesn't know is I'm choosing hers once you're done," Kells said. My head snapped round to look at him "What?" "Yep. And I already know what I'm choosing,"
I watched Gunner draw the design onto Kells's neck in awe. Kells didn't even see like he was in pain, I guess he was so used to getting tattoos that they didn't hurt anymore. "Yo Gunner this looks so sick!" Kells said after Gunner had finished. "You're welcome, bud," he replied as he peeled the latex gloves off his hands and began sterilising his gun. "Soo, Chloe," "You seriously want to choose me a tattoo?" I asked "I already have," he said, turning his head to the side that his XX tattoo was on. "You want me to get the double x?" "Yep," "Then I guess I'm getting a double x tattoo. Where am I getting it done?" "Right here," he tapped behind my ear, the same place where he had his. "Oh and plot twist, I'm going to be giving you the tattoo,"
Somehow, I had ended up in the chair that Kells had just sat in, about to get a tattoo. "So have you done this before?" I asked "Nope," Kells replied as he dipped the gun in the ink. I remained very still as he did it. I sent Carmen a Snapchat of him tattooing me, and she instantly FaceTimed me. "Chloe Hale you are being tattooed by Machine Gun Kelly," "Yes I am," I said "Yo are you the girl that's a massive fan?" He asked Carmen "Focus!" I shot back before giving Carmen a chance to reply "I am, okay I'm almost done," "It looks really good," Gunner said from behind me "Carmen, Gunner, Gunner, Carmen," I introduced them as Kells finished up. "Finished. Chlo this actually looks great," he said. It did. I loved it:
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We picked up Casie from school together. She saw Kells and ran into his arms "Dad! I missed you!" "I was only gone for one night, Kiddo. Hey do you wanna see my new ink?" He asked as we walked towards his Matte black 4x4 "Yeah!" She exclaimed as Kells bent down to show her the back of his neck "That's so cool. When can I get a tattoo?" "When you're 18," he said sternly. I loved how even though Kells was a 'rebel' he still tried to raise his daughter like every other dad, even though he was far from the average American father "Chloe got a tattoo as well," "Ooh what did you get?" Casie asked me curiously. I pulled back my hair, which was currently covering it. Casie gasped "You got double x! You and dad are matching! Dad pleeaaase can I get a tattoo now? Please! You and Chloe have them," "Cas you can't get one until you're 18 because it's illegal, okay honey?" He said as he drive down the street Casie sighed "Okay,"
