Page 75 of Praying for Thunder

“Oh yeah. They always have ‘faith’ and ‘never give up’ and shit. Impossible.”

Very disappointed, I sat back in the chair. “That sucks.”

He picked up his phone to get back to texting. “Tell me about it.”

I thought for a moment… “I need to tell her goodbye, then.”

“Sure do!” He never looked up.

“Tomorrow?”

Dark eyes peered up inquisitively. “Did you just hustle me, boy?”

I had. “No. Just making sure she doesn’t come looking for me.”

“You are your mother’s child.” Smiling, his jaw ticked in disbelief. “And mine, tricky hellion.” He went back to his phone that was buzzing in his hand. “I ain’t got time for you to be chasing around some little girl, dumbass. The answer is no to the goodbye.”

Not wanting to push my luck and get kicked again, I came up with another plan… That night, I snuck out one of our bedroom windows. No experience with shimmying down a wall, I hit the ground with a loud thump.

A very annoyed Onus found me on the ground, holding my ankle. “You stubborn little asshole.”

I couldn’t even stand but demanded, “I can walk there!”

To get rest through the next night, Onus—thinking I wouldn’t try the window again—locked me, Roamer, and Chubs in our room. He claimed they were guilty by association. They threatened to tie me to my bed if I got them in trouble again.

So… once the two fell asleep, I opened the window and gave it another go. Finally getting to the ground—without a loud thud this time—I took one step and froze. Piercer was there, waiting, smoking a cigarette.

Not sure where my balls came from, but the next thing I knew, I was roaring and charging! Was it me knowing I was in trouble anyways? Or the inclination I wasn’t going to get to see Rya? Or my frustrations taking over? Maybe it was as simple as confidence since I now had shoes. I don’t know, but I confronted the man who killed my Ani.

My head butting him, I wrapped my arms around his waist and shoved forward. Only because my attack caught him off guard was I able to succeed, knocking him back two steps before the man gained his balance again.

His hands connected, and he reared down, hitting my back so that I would let him go. I was mentally too far gone. My mouth opened, and I sunk my teeth into his midsection.

He howled in pain, then punched me on the top of my head.

My teeth tightened.

Once unleashed, the hatred for this man, and the exhaustion of being afraid for my life, made me the strongest fourteen-year-old known to this MC.

But, there was one who led for a reason.

Onus’ three middle fingers suddenly jammed into my ribs, forcing me to open my mouth and yelp in pain. His thick arm then wrapped around my waist, hoisting me from the ground. His anger had my body going higher than expected since I was much lighter than his men. I took advantage, letting my right leg soar through the air, kicking Piercer across the face.

He fell in the direction I kicked his face. Holding his cheek, he hit his knees.

The revenge didn’t compare to the pain he had caused me with Ani, and would be very short-lived, but it was a fantastic start.

Not wanting witnesses, Onus dragged me back inside. “Big mistake, Hellion.”

He took off his belt, then handed it to a smiling Piercer.

He wasn’t the only one in the living room. Most Titans had crawled out of bed with the commotion. I didn’t care who watched what was coming. This man, Piercer, was my whole focus.

Seething, spital flew from my mouth. “Go ahead, hit me! I hope every time you do, you see her face!” I turned my back to him and gripped the end of the long wooden dining table.

With every strike against my shirted back, I devoted that much more hate to the man I would never offer a peace treaty to.

Whack! Whack!