"Scarlett."
At the sound of Val's voice I immediately straightened up and pushed myself out of the guys arms. I was wrestling with my t-shirt when I felt someone push my hands away, pulling the shirt from where it was tangled over my face. If I'm being honest, I was scared to open my eyes because I knew Val would be quite angry. With that being said, my drunk brain pushed all sober thoughts of fear away and peeped one eye open with an innocent smirk on my face.
"Yes, friend?" To say he was pissed would be an understatement. If I had to explain Val's face at the moment, it would be like those cartoon characters who's faces go really red and steam comes out of their ears.
"Did we not just have a conversation about your drinking issues?" he spoke through clenched teeth. Â Shit.
"Yes, BUT, we're celebrating. Something. I think?"
"You have problems."
"I'm aware. Now I am going to continue to bask in the glory of being the greatest fucking keg stander of all TIME." At that the guys once again cheered for me. The look on Val's face showed me that he was anything but amused.
"Listen I know what this looks like, but I'm trying ok?" I lowered my voice so only he could hear.
"Doing keg stands is you trying?" I smirked.
"You know I can't say no to a drinking competition. Nate is my older brother, it's practically in my blood." Val looked at me with a weird expression that I couldn't quite place.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Nothing. It's just...this is the first time you've said something about Nate, or actually hung out with the guys, in months." I felt my heart clench at the sound of his name, but I pushed it away.
"I told you, I'm trying."
"I guess you're right."
"Now are you going to party with me, or are you too old?"
"I'm only 25 Scar, and I can still outdrink you any day of the damn week."
"We'll have to see about that."
"First I have some people I want to introduce you too. The patch over was just made official and I want you to meet the new guys." He put his arm around me, leading me back to the bar where most of the guys were. Some were playing pool and some were talking to the club girls.
"Alright everybody listen up. There's someone important you guys need to meet. This is Scarlett. She is our sister and if any one of you lays a single finger on her, you'll have me and the rest of your brothers to answer to." I rolled my eyes at that. He introduced me to Neo, the guy who's ass I had just whooped in the keg stand competition, the one they called the Crow, who was pretty fucking terrifying, Ryder, Flash and Diesel. All pretty large and pretty scary looking biker guys with some of the coolest tattoos I had ever seen. They all gave me warm smiles, even Neo, who was still upset that he got his ass handed to him by a girl.
"Where the fuck is Jax?" just as he said that, a guy came stumbling out of the bathroom with cigarette hanging from his lips, his hands fumbling with the zipper on his jeans. One of the club girls came stumbling out after him, wiping her lips. He gave her a smirk as she walked away, lighting his cigarette before looking up. My breath caught in my throat when his eyes caught mine. His light hair was pulled into a messy bun at the nape of his neck. His green eyes were practically fucking sparkling. He had stubble along his sharp jaw and full lips. His skin was mostly covered by the white long sleeve shirt he wore under his cut, but I could see the tattoos creeping out on his neck and hands. For some reason, I felt like I had seen him before.
"I see you're making yourself right at home. Jax, this is Scarlett. Scar, this is Jax, my new VP."
"Nice to meet you." My voice sounded a little breathless and I wanted to roll my eyes at myself.
"Oh darlin' we've already met." He said with a smirk. I gave him a questioning look, but before I could say anything I was pulled away by Neo.
"Rematch. Drink this." He slid a shot across the bar. It was a strange colour and did not look appetizing. Obviously I downed it anyway, wincing as it went down my throat.
"Damn girl. You really are the champ."
"What was even in that?"
"You don't want to know, trust me." I cringed and nodded, deciding that it was time for a cigarette.
I walked into the backyard, thankful to be alone. It felt like a regular night, but something was different and I think it was me. I hadn't allowed myself to be close to the guys in what felt like forever, and I didn't realize how much I missed them until now. They were the only family I had left and I had pushed them away because I was fucking terrified to lose them.
"You did good in there."
"Thanks. Drinking competitions are kind of my thing." I said with a smirk. Val came beside me, shaking his head with a smile as he pulled out a cigarette.
"I meant with the guys. I know how much they missed you. Ash wouldn't shut the fuck up about you in there."
"Ash, huh?"
"Don't even think about it, Scar. You know the rules I really don't want to have to beat one of my guys for fucking around with you. You know I'll kill someone if they break your heart." I knew he wasn't lying. What he didn't know was that I barely had a heart left for someone to break.
"Ok, ok. No club guys, I got it."
"That means the new ones too." I gave him a look.
"I saw how you were looking at Jax in there. Stay away from him Scarlett, I mean it. He's not a good guy. He will fucking ruin you and that's going to cause a boatload of shit for the club." I knew he was right, so I just nodded. Â The truth was that maybe I wanted him to ruin me, maybe then I would feel something besides the pain of losing my brother.
"Ok Val."
"You're too good for any of them. You deserve someone normal, someone who's going to give you what you need." Â I rolled my eyes, knowing where this conversation was heading.
"And what is that exactly?"
"A life away from all this shit. This wasn't what your parents wanted for you, or Nate. They wanted you to get out."
"Well they're not fucking here. It's too late for me now anyways. I have nothing without this club. Â My brother died for this club, you really expect me to just leave?"
"Don't say that. You could move out, go to that school in the city that you and Stas-"
"Don't. Don't you dare talk about that backstabbing bitch around me ever again." He sighed.
"Look, maybe she had a reason for leaving." I narrowed my eyes at him.
"What possible fucking reason could she have for leaving me when I needed her most, without any explanation, without even a fucking goodbye? A week after Nate and she picks up and leaves without a fucking trace. Who the fuck does that?"
"I don't know Scar."
"Exactly. So stop fucking acting like you do. I'm done with this conversation." I threw my cigarette on the ground before pushing through the doors and heading for the bar. Maybe I had started to try to move on from Nate's death, but I wasn't ready to even think about Anastasia. Just hearing the name of my former best friend of 15 years had resurfaced all the anger I had managed to push back. Everyone knew not to talk about her around me, because if they did I might be forced to admit to myself that all the anger I was feeling towards her was really just pain. I started pouring myself another shot, hating that fact that I was still thinking about her.
"Mind if I have some of that?" I slid the bottle down the bar without looking up. I was pretty sure that if I tried to move my head would explode. I could practically feel my liver crying. I needed to get to bed, but I had a strong feeling that getting up the stairs would be a large problem. Maybe if I pretended the bar was my pillow...
"Oh no you don't." I felt someone pulling me up from my seat and I groaned.
"Come on darlin' let's get you upstairs." I nodded eagerly, but didn't move. I didn't even have the energy to open my eyes. The guy laughed before I felt him wrap an arm around my waist before picking me up.
"You know, we keep meeting like this. Are you always drunk?"
"99% of the time." I slurred and he laughed again. His voice was deep and rough, but it was nice. He had a nice laugh. His arms were strong and warm, and more comfy than my bed. I felt him kick open the door to one of the rooms upstairs and put me on the bed, but I didn't let go.
"Alright darlin' this is where you let go." He chuckled. I forced my eyes open, only to be looking into a familiar pair of green eyes.
"I know you."
"We did just meet, like not even an hour ago. And another time before that."
"You're the angel." I suddenly remembered being in his arms a couple nights before.
"I'm no angel darlin', I'm just the opposite." His eyes were dark, all laughter gone and replaced by something else. I could feel myself being pulled away by sleep. I pulled him closer, letting my head fall into the space between his neck and shoulder. He smelled like a mixture of nature and man, like fallen leaves in the forest and cut grass, but also like cologne and cigarettes. I tried to say something, to tell him to leave or to stay, but it was too late.