Chapter 1: Haunting Memories
1688 Words
Blythe's P.O.V.
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~ Flashback, age 13 ~
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"Come on, you promised you'd sit with me while Tae finished our project," Ozias whined as he tried to drag me to the computer lab.
"I know, but Evander just asked me if I could meet him in the library really quickly," I said, trying not to laugh at the pout on Ozias' face. "I'll only be a minute."
"Oh, please, Evander is going to keep you the whole time," Ozias sulked.
"I won't let him," I replied, but he wasn't convinced.
"What if I just go with you?" he suggested, shrugging his shoulders.
"That would leave Tae all alone, and you know I hate that," I said.
"You only hate it because he hacks into your socials every time you give us more attention than him," Ozias teased.
"Yeah, and last time, he posted a ton of embarrassing pictures of me," I replied with a laugh. "The double chins... I was so hideous."
Ozias laughed as he reached up to cup the side of my face, brushing his thumb across my chin. My laughter died down as he stared at me. Electricity was crackling between us, and I held my breath, unsure of what to do. I don't want to pull away, but I'm also a little bit scared.
"Double chins... Hideous," Ozias scoffed softly. "Would it make you feel better to know that I jerked off to those pictures?"
My face flamed as embarrassment coiled in my belly.
"W-what?" I stuttered.
Ozias, as usual, wasn't phased in the slightest.
"It was real, it was raw, it was unfiltered you," he replied. "And nothing gets me going more than you, Sweets. At any angle."
He's joking, right? He has to be. We've been friends our whole lives pretty much. Ever since the first day of fourth grade.
Ozias had stood up for me when some boys were pushing me around on the playground. I had been at school for a few days and couldn't seem to make any friends. We moved in the middle of the school year and everyone pretty much had their friend groups already. I never seemed to fit in.
That day was the first day anyone was nice to me. Ozias and his friends had been on an extended weekend vacation, so it was the first day I had met any of them. Even as kids, they were all very protective of me. That day, Ozias had threatened the boys who were pushing me, and then took me inside to meet his friends.
The six of us have been practically inseparable ever since.
That being said, this charming attitude that Ozias has isn't new. Ever since we were old enough to know what se.x is, he's made comments similar to this. However, this is the boldest thing he's ever said to me.
I blame the fact that they were all raised in a motorcycle club. The Inferno's Demon Riders MC. The demons are great, don't get me wrong. I've spent so much time in the clubhouse that it's like a second home to me. I know that they party and party hard. I also know that they make sure I don't see everything that happens there either.
"Did I break you?" Ozais teased me when I just stood there with my mouth open like a mor.on.
"Break her? That's my job, isn't it?"
I groaned at the sound of that voice. I didn't even get the chance to turn around, or plan an escape before Chayton slung his long arm around my shoulders. Ozias smiled at our friend before they fist bumped.
"You'd never break Bly and you know it," Ozais told him, shooting me a wink.
"You have no idea how much I want to," Chayton muttered.
I looked up at him with a frown. Chayton is just a big bully. He's rude as hell, but he has a big heart under it all. He's just a big ol' sassy pants. But he's so dang tall and buff, you'd never guess he was kind. You just have to dig for it.
"Anyway," Chayton continued without looking at me. "What are you guys doing?"
"Well, Peaches here thinks she's going to meet Evander all alone in the library," Ozias told him. "I told her that I should come with."
"Oh, definitely," Chayton said, spinning us around in the direction of the library. "Let's all go have a little bit of fun."
Ozias was on my other side within seconds. He was so close that his fingers brushed against my hand. I looked at him and he winked at me. My face flushed with heat and I quickly looked away.
"So," Ozias said. "Want to come to the clubhouse-"
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~ Present, age 25 ~
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Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
My alarm clock going off pulled me from my dream. Or my memory, I should say. I groaned as I reached out to slap it, making it stop. I rolled over in my bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking about that damn dream.
It's been years since I've even seen them. Almost ten whole years. Why do I keep dreaming about them?
Probably because my time with those five were the only times in my life that I was happy, that I felt safe.
Still, I wish it would stop. I hate having to be reminded of everything I lost every time I try to sleep. The good memories hurt just as much as the bad ones now. Although I would rather dream about them then-
I shook my head, clearing the thoughts from my mind.
I'm not going down that road first thing in the morning. Or ever, if I can help it.
Slowly, I dragged myself out of bed and headed for the bathroom. My apartment is tiny as hell, but it's just me. Well, me and Butter, my black cat that I saved about a year ago. Found him outside the diner I work at, licking a stick of butter that didn't quite make it into the dumpster. Hence, the name Butter. He was wounded, scared, and only a kitten when I found him. We've been together ever since, and he is my dearest and only friend.
I talk to the girls at the diner, and we're friendly, except Abby, but... After everything I went through with my first set of friends, and everything after... I can't bring myself to trust anyone. Understandably so, but it's lonely as hell.
Lonely or not, at least I'm free now.
I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror. I look like I barely slept. I was crying in my sleep again, so my eyes are a bit puffy. I can't believe I was crying over a stupid memory like that.
I guess it wasn't that stupid. Not for the 13-year-old Blythe. The one that thought those five hung the stars in the sky.
That day was the day that we all found out Ozias was moving. The party he was trying to invite me to at the clubhouse was his family's going-away party. Ozias didn't even know himself until that night.
Honestly, Ozias is the only one of them that I don't actually harbor any hard feelings for. Other than his lack of communication when he moved, he never did anything to me. Ozias never bullied me, he was never mean to me, and he always knew how to make me smile.
I wonder if the reason he never wrote me a letter, or texted, or even added me on any of my socials was because of the others. Or maybe he just outgrew me and forgot about me. I don't blame him. We were kids and he didn't know. Or maybe he did know and just didn't care.
Ozias' family was deep in the MC. His father was part of the club and owned a gym in town. The whole reason they moved was because The Inferno's Demon Riders opened a new chapter. It was right in the heart of whatever state was the biggest MMA scene. Ozias' dad jumped at the opportunity.
I remember how the six of us spent that party. We were all sad, devastated really. We tucked ourselves in Kylian's room for the entire night. We reminisced. We promised to never lose contact. We cried and laughed and...
And it all turned out to be a lie anyway. It doesn't matter anymore. We were just kids, and I was stupid for thinking that we would remain the way we were forever.
My mom picked me up from the clubhouse the next day. It was something she had been doing for the last few years. I never questioned it because I was just happy that she would let me stay the night.
After she announced her engagement though, I realized that I had been overlooking a lot. Like the small, lingering glances they made. The way that Tusk would always make sure he was near us in some way. The way that he would already be talking to my mom when I came down the hall. How comfortable she seemed to be there.
Tusk was a great guy. He was the club's enforcer, and he was always kind to me. That didn't change when he married my mom either. No, it was other people that changed. Like his son and his son's friends.
I thought that living with one of my best friends was going to be the coolest. It was anything but. My whole life changed after that. That's what happens when people around you start scheming.
I rolled my eyes at my reflection before jumping into the shower, the water as hot as it could go. I need to stop thinking about them. All of them. The MC, my mom, the guys. They're all in my past. I'm moving forward now. Moving past it all.
Past the MC. Past my fake friends. Past my delusional mother. Past my sperm donor of a father. And most importantly...
Past my abusive husband and the scars he left me.
- Writer
