Technically, it wasn’t supposed to be me, talking with him.
“He better not hurt you,” he mutters. I place my tea down and sit beside him on the couch, gathering him in my arms.
“Kid, it’s been me and you for the long haul.”
“Yeah, but if he hurts you or makes you cry, I’ll have worse things than the fire ants,” my nephew, my little protector.
My aunt giggles, and we both look at her. “What’s so funny?”
Her devious smile, “Oh nothing sugar, just a littledeja vu.”
“So, is he officially your boyfriend? Do I have to call him uncle?” Finn rapidly asks.
“Kid, give me a second to even figure everything else out. To answer all your questions, I have no idea.”
Lilly and Finn grin at each other and both say, “That’s a yes.”
I leave the couch before I get suckered into whatever mischief they are craving.
“Lottie,” Finn’s voice begs for my attention, “Are we going to be okay?”
Keola’s words echo in my head,“I will not let anything happen to you or the people you love.”
“No one will bring you harm, so long as you have me, your auntie Lilly, and now Keola,” I soothe him.
“Do you trust him?” Aunt Lilly asks me, making sure I’m making the right choice. And I pray that I am.
“He hasn’t shown me that I shouldn’t,” I admit. “Finn, you’re coming with me this weekend to the compound.”
The gasps that come from them, you would have thought I walked into a church with lingerie. “What?” I ask.
“The compound? Where all the bikers are at?” Finn asks.
“Do you think that’s safe?” Aunt Lilly questions me at the same time.
My head is still spinning with all the information, but sooner or later I’m going to be accepting the fact that this is going to be the new normal. We’ll be under the watchful eye of the club, the fact that Cedric is missing and had his hand in the recruiting of teens, and another club may or may not know my association with everything, which will extend out to my family.
I’m allowing my heart to open up the possibility of someone caring for me, showing me that I deserve a good life, but at the price of bringing harm or any further harm to people around me. How can someone feel so alone, and yet have people behind them?
Finn has been silent the whole time Keola picked us up from the house. I don’t think Finn wanted to spend his weekend at a compound with a bunch of bikers. I’m not even sure if I feel overly comfortable.
Keola takes many twists and turns, we are outside the city limits and towards the long roads of North Carolina. Winter graces the scene with bare trees, and left over snow from the past couple of days.
Lilly had gone back last night for a week or so before coming back for Christmas. I guess that’s why Keola knew I needed to bring Finn. Also, I feel damn ashamed that I haven’t been spending time with him like I wanted. I feel like I neglected him, keeping me at arms length, trying to make sure that he doesn’t have to feel like a grown up.
Keola’s truck creeps up to a gate guarded by two people I vaguely recognize. With a wave of a hand the gate opens leading up and over additional hills and turns, then soon revealing to us a huge area surrounded by different houses and buildings and a couple barns. If this is what a typical compound is supposed to be like, it’s more like a fortress.
I guess I was just expecting a bar and some bikes. The crunching of the gravel road wakes me from my train of thought. Before I can say a word as the truck parks, Finn jumps out from his seat and rushes out to the passenger side door and opens it.
Something I won’t take away from him, opening my door and making me smile at the gentleman he’s becoming.
Keola looks at me, confused and slightly in awe. “Does he always do that?” he asks. I nod my head.
“Looks like someone is trying to take my job already,” Keola sort of pouts, the man actually puffs out his bottom lip.
I jolt, “Are you seriously pouting because my nephew wants to open my door?” I have to laugh at the sight.
“Technically it was already my job,” Finn defensively says. What can I say, he's my little protector.
