If my dad only knew what she said to me he wouldn’t be so quick to brush off the pain filling me. He’d find Jess and go off on her. My dad doesn’t hit women, but over the years Jess and my mother have made him want to break that rule countless times. He can’t stand anyone bullying me or making me cry for any reason. If I don’t keep an eye on him, he’ll call Shelly to beat the hell out of Jess on my behalf.
“Jess will never suffer any consequences, Dad. It hasn’t happened yet and never will. She’ll continue running her mouth and doing whatever the hell she pleases because everyone is afraid of her. Right now, I can’t confront her because she won’thesitate to hurt my son. She knows that’s the best way to lash out and cause me the most pain. The only reason it hasn’t happened yet is because I’ve never been alone with her. If there’s witnesses, she won’t be able to deny anything. She definitely knows how to play the victim and get everyone to believe her,” I remind my dad of the way Jess has always handled everything in her life. She knows how to manipulate every situation she finds herself in and come out the victor.
“Okay, enough talk about that vile monster. Are you ready to go into the lawyer’s office? We’ll get something to eat after we’re done here. You need to try to eat something,” my dad asks me, knowing I need to leave the situation with Jess behind.
“I’m more than ready. The sooner we get the paperwork signed, the better I’ll be able to protect my money from the she-devil. You know she’s been trying to get her hands on it for as long as I can remember. Today she’ll know she won’t be able to touch it without going through me. I have a feeling I’ll hear from her in a matter of days. You know she’ll start her threats and everything else the second she remembers it’s my birthday and that I got my hands on my money,” I say as my dad parks as close to the door of the lawyer’s office as possible before shutting off the truck.
“I want you to let me know every time she contacts you, Sheridan. Now is not the time to risk her doing something even worse to you. Think of your son and do what you have to in order to protect him from her,” my dad says before getting out of his seat and heading around to help me out of the passenger seat.
Together we make our way in the lawyer’s office and I give my name at the reception desk. The young woman smiles at me and informs me she’ll let Mrs. Arnold know I’m here. My dad leads me over to a seat and helps me down while taking the one right next to me. I look around the waiting area of theoffice and know this lawyer costs a ton of money. Way more than I’d ever be able to afford. Well, before now I should say. I’ve got more money than I’ll ever know what to do with now. My grandparents made sure my life would be easy and I’d never have to worry about anything ever again. Especially after the accident with my mom.
It doesn’t take long for an older woman to walk into the waiting area. She’s tall and wearing a pantsuit in black. Her graying hair is tied back in a severe bun and there’s no make-up on her face. The smile on her face is genuine and her eyes shine as she looks at me.
“Miss Sheridan?” she asks as my dad stands from his seat and helps me out of mine.
“Yes, ma’am,” I return, walking up to her and holding out my hand to shake hers. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s wonderful to finally meet you, Miss Sheridan. Your grandparents used to talk about you constantly and I thought I knew you better than my own children some days,” she says, laughter filling her voice as she leads my dad and I to her office. Once we’re inside, she pulls out one of the chairs for me and helps me sit down before rounding her desk and taking her own seat. “I have to inform you that your mother has been doing everything in her power to get access to your money over the years. We’ve blocked every attempt and the police have talked to her more than once. Because she never actually took any, they couldn’t arrest her. I have a feeling she’ll come at you hard. Is this a fair assessment?”
“It is. My mother has never liked me and I know she’s all about the money I was left because it’s from her parents and she doesn’t feel as if it should be mine. They didn’t leave her much at all and she was very, um, upset we’ll say,” I inform her honestlyas I try to get comfortable in my seat while my dad reaches out and rests a calming hand on my arm in support.
“We’ll put every protection in place we can to ensure your mother doesn’t have any way to access the money, Miss Sheridan. “Today, we need to sign the forms so the money is officially yours. I’ll let the bank know everything has been signed off on and send over copies of the paperwork so they have it on hand. They’ve also been alerted to the fact that your mother will try to get her hands on your account. The manager has already put safeguards in place to protect your money.”
“Okay. What else can we do to ensure she can’t touch a single penny?” my dad questions, his voice hard and cold at the thought of his ex-wife getting something she doesn’t deserve.
“There’s not really much we can do. You can add a secondary name to your account and make it so both of you have to be present to withdraw any funds from the account. Even if your mother somehow got some kind of identification with your name on it and her picture, she wouldn’t be able to withdraw anything,” Mrs. Arnold tells us and I know that’s one of the things we’ll have to take care of today before we think about doing anything else.
“I can do that. I’ll add my dad to the account because she knows he won’t let her get away with any bullshit she tries to pull with me,” I say, instantly blushing because I swore in front of Mrs. Arnold. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have used that word.”
“It’s okay, Miss Sheridan. Every now and then it’s appropriate to use those kinds of words. I use them more often than I’d ever admit to anyone outside this office,” she admits, causing all of us to laugh at her response.
After discussing things for a few more minutes, I sign all of the necessary paperwork and get the money I was left in myname without any restrictions on the funds moving forward. The three of us put a solid plan in place to ensure my mom can’t touch my money before my dad ushers me from the office and out to his car. We head over to the bank and take care of things there so my dad will have to be with me any time I need to withdraw money from the account. The bank manager assures us everything will be taken care of and my mother won’t be allowed to touch a single penny of the money. The second we’re done, my dad takes me out of town to a diner we eat at every so often. We don’t know anyone there and it’s a place I won’t have to worry about running into Jess again. I actually manage to eat a good meal before we leave and my dad takes me home. It’s still early and I have no plans to leave my house again. I’ll be spending my birthday alone because Shelly is busy with classes today and couldn’t get home for the weekend.
Chapter Seven
Tease
TODAY HAS BEEN one for the records. Jess has been bitching about everything and brought her shit to the clubhouse thinking we’d deal with her ass. She was kicked out in less than five minutes by Rooster and told never to come back until she learns how to act right. That was after she tried to get me to make her my ol’ lady with threats Omen and Knuckles overheard. She’s getting desperate to become my woman and no matter how many times or different ways I tell her, she refuses to accept it’s never gonna happen. Then, I went up to take a shower and walked out to find Foxy naked in my bed. She’s another one desperate to become an ol’ lady and doesn’t understand it won’t ever happen. I kicked her out of my room and made sure she knows everyone will hear about her latest stunt in church. Foxy is about to be kicked out of the club and it still doesn’t stop her from being desperate enough to do everything she can think of to land one of us.
“Tease, you hangin’ out tonight?” Knuckles asks me as we make our way out of church.
“I don’t know yet. I’m kind of tired of dealin’ with the girls bein’ all over me when I walk through the door. It would be nice to sit down and have a drink without them takin’ that as a sign I’m down to fuck,” I tell my cousin as I grab my phone and the knife my dad gave me on my sixteenth birthday.
“Glad I don’t have to deal with that shit as much as I did before. These women are becomin’ a real problem. I’d like to say I can’t believe Foxy was naked in your bed, but that would be a lie. Rooster and Marie are gonna talk to her and the rest of the girls tonight. Maybe they’ll do it when we’re all here so they realize none of us want their hands on us for any reason,” Knuckles responds as we make our way to the bar and take a seat at the end.
Foxy is across the room cleaning the tables with a scowl on her face. Marie already punished her after I told her what happened. She saw me storming through the clubhouse and stopped me so I could tell her what was wrong. It didn’t take much for her to connect the dots when she saw Foxy rushing up to me. Until Rooster and her talk about the situation, Foxy is on probation and not allowed to drink or be with the men. That’s a punishment none of the girls can stand because everything they care about is taken from them.
The Prospect behind the bar hands Knuckles and I each a bottle of our preferred beer along with a shot each. It’s our customary drink after church. Most of the guys are lining the bar to grab their own drinks before either settling in on the stools or finding a table. Several conversations are taking place among the men as music plays in the common room and the girls remain on the couch where they’ve been sitting. None of them are making any moves toward the guys after Marie went off on Foxy before our meeting. They know better than to be out of line when Marie is here. Knowing she’s already pissed off at one of the Slayer Slits, they’ll be on their best behavior tonight so they don’t have to face her wrath. It’s the one time we ever get peace from them.
“How are things with Sheridan?” Knuckles asks me as my dad walks in the clubhouse and heads straight for us.
“The same as they have been. She seems to be doin’ a little better and has been able to keep more food down from what I heard her tell Dr. Matthews. Our boy looked good on the ultrasound and was movin’ around like crazy. She’ll have one every time we go in until she goes into labor. Dr. Matthews doesn’t want to take any chances with either one of them considerin’ how sick she’s been,” I answer as my dad sits down next to me and taps the bar with his knuckles so the Prospect knows he wants a drink.
“Good to hear everythin’ is good with my grandson,” he says, turning to look at me as I down my shot and set the glass back on the bar. “You talkin’ to Sheridan yet?”
“No. I don’t know if I can forgive her for the lie,” I state as Marie and Rooster enter the common room and take a seat with Omen.
“She didn’t fuckin’ lie to you, Son,” my dad explodes, anger filling his face as he turns more to face me. “That girl wouldn’t know how to lie if her life depended on it. She made do with the situation she was in and you heard yourself that the antibiotics she had taken messed with her birth control. I don’t fuckin’ blame her for not seekin’ you out to tell you about the baby. Especially when you gave her the cold shoulder like you did after fuckin’ her.”
