Chapter 3

3

Acid – Age Twenty

I sigh as I spin my phone in my hand, waiting for Perrie to message me back.

Since her dad died—since she kissed me, and I turned her down—she’s been different. She doesn’t train anymore; the gym is closed.

Cass mentioned their mom can’t deal with it so Steal offered to buy it, but he was declined so he built a ring in the basement here, hoping she’d train again, to bring the old Perrie back. But she hasn’t. She barely even speaks to me, and I fucking miss her.

I feel so lost….

I messaged her twenty minutes ago, inviting her to spar with me, and fucking nothing, and even at work, I barely get a fucking grunt outta her.

I slam my phone down on the bar, and Piston, my little brother who’s sitting on my right, raises a brow at me, but I shake my head at him, not wanting to hear it.

I get it, I love her, I know I do, but I’m fucking filth, which is something he doesn’t know, and not only that, I wake several times a fucking night screaming from my memories. I can’t put that on her, and I also can’t lie to her either, and to be with her includes explaining my past, and I fucking can’t.

She knows my father is a dick, but that’s about it.

I can’t have her looking at me with disgust. It’s bad enough that Piston looks at me with resentment most days.

He thinks I abandoned him when I left home at eighteen, but I fucking didn’t. I worked with the club to try and bring Aiden down, failing at that at every turn, so I paid the fucker instead while running his drugs until Piston was old enough to leave.

When I gave Piston a prospect cut, he was shocked but elated. However, since seeing how I lived after moving out, the resentment has hit him, even if he tries to hide it now that he’s a brother.

“Why don’t you call her?” Piston asks, and I sigh.

“I did, five times…” I mumble back as I spin my phone on the oak table, and yes, I’m fucking sulking.

Why can’t she understand I’m no good to her, that friendship is just better?

Why the fuck does she have to push me away?

Piston sighs as he leans against the bar, “Ol,” I look at him, “she lost her dad, her hero, and you knocked her back.” I open my mouth to defend my actions, but he speaks a little louder, “She was sixteen, emotional, and our pasts hang over us daily, I get it, but at that moment, she needed someone to help take her mind off her loss, just for one moment, and now she’s struggling. Cass mentioned she hasn’t been home much, staying out late at night, and she’s worried. It’s why Hammer convinced Pez to continue working at the diner when she tried quitting so that he could keep an eye on her.”

I run my hand through my hair with frustration and admit, “I fucking miss her, Eli. I miss her smiles, her laughs, our sparring. I fucking miss her!”

He nods. “I know, and I know she doesn’t speak much when we see her at Huntsmen Grub. It’s only been two years, brother, give her some time. John wasn’t just her father….”

I sigh. “I know; he was her best friend, her hero.”

She fucking idolized him, as girls should do with their fathers, but Perrie, anything went wrong, whether it was school, her mom, even boys, John was the person she went to.

Piston nods and goes to speak, but we both look in shock as shouting echoes from the kitchen before Steal comes into the room, dragging a sobbing Cass, who is covered in fucking blood, by her hair.

What the fuck?

He shoves her, causing her to stumble, before he gets his gun out and aims it at her head. Cass looks at him with absolute heartbreak and betrayal.

“What the fuck!” I snap and rush in front of Cass, not giving a shit that this man is my friend, my pres.

“Get out the fucking way, Acid!” he growls as his body shakes with anger.

Piston steps up next to me and snaps, “We aren’t going to let you shoot family just because you’re our prez, Steal. Cassidy is family!”

His nostrils flare as a crying Faith grips his arm, but her brown eyes show something I don’t fucking like—glee.

What the fuck has she done?

“Fucking move now!” Steal booms, and I move so my whole body covers Cass, who grips my arm, her hands trembling.

“Listen, Ollie; I w-won’t have you hurt. Perrie has l-lost too much as it is, s-she can’t lose you, too,” she whispers, her voice trembling.

I shake my head and say, “And she can’t lose you!”

Steal curls his finger around the trigger, and I hold my arms out, “Go on then, shoot me, a brother, someone you fucking sponsored, just so you can shoot the woman you claim to love, a woman you promised to keep safe.”

His jaw tenses, and he growls, “She killed Brute. Stabbed him in the heart!”

I raise a brow at him.

Brute was fucking massive, an absolute fucking tool, and our Road Captain, a role I’m supposed to take over soon, and Cassidy is fucking tiny.

“You saw it with your own two eyes, did you?” I ask him, and his nostrils flare.

Fucking thought not….

“Faith saw her do it and I trust Faith’s words over hers,” he nods to Cass who chokes back a sob, and, in this moment, I know whatever fuck up has just happened, he’s lost her.

Years, fucking years they were together, and he’s just confirmed he never trusted her.

Idiot!

Piston speaks up, “Since when do you take word of mouth from a woman who wants your patch, Prez? I have cameras in that kitchen and yet you’ve gone from zero to a hundred all on the say of someone you used to fuck, someone who has been trying to split you and Cassidy up since day one.”

“Put the gun down, Steal,” Anchor, our now VP, demands, the brothers all nodding in agreement, all-knowing Cass wouldn’t be capable of killing someone.

She wants to be a fucking doctor; she wants to save people, not kill them….

He doesn’t do as we demand. Instead, he glares at Cass behind me and sneers, “Pack your shit and get out of town, because if I see you again, you won’t have my brothers standing behind you; they’ll be standing behind me once they see the truth of what you did.” He looks her up and down with disgust and hate, and I grab Piston’s arm to stop him from hitting our prez who states, “Faith was right about you, you’re nothing but a lying, patch-chasing whore. Now get the fuck outta my clubhouse!”

I stare daggers at him and turn to see Cassidy’s face pale, tears coating her cheeks. Blood covers her hands, arms, and chest, and I swallow hard.

She looks like someone who just killed someone; her eyes are vacant, her body shaking, but the question is, why did she?

More importantly, how could she, and what did Brute do?

Gently, I take hold of her shoulders and slowly turn her, keeping my body covering hers to ensure the fucker doesn’t shoot her in the back as I slowly guide her out of the club, the brothers all looking at her with a mixture of confusion, concern, and distrust.

Piston stays at my back until the door closes, and I walk Cassidy to her car, where I open the door.

Only when she’s sitting does she speak.

“Look after Perrie for me, Ollie,” she whispers, and I crouch down, gripping her cheek, wiping away the tears for her.

“He’ll come to his senses, Cass. He’ll see what he’s just done and who for,” I try to comfort her, but she shakes her head.

Sniffling, she croaks, “The love of my life just held a gun to my head.” I wince. “He-he threatened to kill me all because he listened to her without getting the full story from me. He should have left me alone that day, not pursued me….”

My eyes race between her haunted ones, and I ask, “What happened, Cass?”

She cries, “It doesn’t matter now, does it? He’s made his mind up; just promise me you’ll look after my sister. She’s not the same since Dad died, Ol, and now, with me leaving….”

She shakes her head and looks down at her hands covered in blood, horror rolling off her.

I grip her hands, making her look my way, and confirm, “I promise.”

I’ll protect Perrie with my life, even if it’s from myself.

She nods and leans forward, kissing my cheek, and whispering, “I love you, Ol, you and Eli. Thank you for becoming my family, my brothers.”

Emotions hit me hard, and I stand as she shuts her door before driving away.

I fist my hands and watch as she spins away from the gate before I turn and storm into the clubhouse. Piston is in Steals face, Anchor trying to hold him back, and I storm over to them. I shove Piston out of the way before shoving Steal hard, who gets in my face.

“Remember who the fuck I am, Acid!” he growls, and I nod.

“Yeah, I know exactly who you are. You’re my fucking friend who’s just destroyed someone I saw as a sister. You’re a man who got led by his emotions, allowing that bitch,” I point at Faith, who gasps, “to get in your head instead of seeing the situation like a president. You didn’t even get Cassidy’s side of things or demand for Piston to check the cameras he set up; you believed a woman who has wanted you for fucking years over a woman who gave you fucking everything.” His jaw ticks, and I chuckle darkly. “You are going to go to bed. You’re going to sleep on this, and come morning, when Cass is gone with no trace, because, let’s face it, Piston taught her well, you are going to regret your actions, and you’re going to realize that you’ve just lost the best thing that ever happened to you, all because you got fucking scared.”

I take a step back and curl my lip. “You’re my friend; you and your father saved me two years ago, especially after losing John, but right now, I can’t stand the fucking sight of you, and the thought of staying here under your leadership makes me want to hand in my fucking cut.”

His eyes harden, but I ignore him, heading to the stairs where the brother’s rooms are occupied by non-officers. I should be moving into mine when I take over as Road Captain, but with Brute now dead, that could be sooner rather than later.

I whistle at Brandy, my usual clubwhore, needing a distraction, and she grins, rushing my way wearing the shortest fucking skirt I’ve ever seen. I notice Piston shake his head at me, but I just lift my hand, not giving a shit.

I promised Cassidy I’ll look after Perrie, which also includes protecting her from me.

I’m filth, dirt. My skin fucking crawls all the time, and the thought of allowing anyone to even see the marks on my back from Aiden and his whores, let alone touch them, makes me want to run, but the thought of Perrie seeing them, touching them, I want to slice my own fucking throat.

Brandy kneels before me as soon as we enter my temporary room, and I undo my jeans.

I need a fucking distraction; I need to get out of my head. I need to get over my fucking past.

I pull my semi-hard cock out and tap it on her lips which she opens willingly for me, and I thrust inside.

It takes me about ten minutes, but I finally get hard when I picture Perrie’s light blue eyes, the only girl I can get hard for, and I thrust my hips hard, hitting the back of Brandy’s throat, making her gag. She doesn’t push me away, though. Instead, she sucks harder, keeping her hands behind her back like instructed, and I groan, squeezing my eyes tight, trying to stay in the moment as my balls tighten, a tingling sensation hitting the base of my spine, before I spurt my load down Brandy’s throat.

I take deep breaths to get my breathing under control as nausea hits me, the urge to scrub my cock red raw pulling me, and I try to ignore it as Brandy stands and turns, bending over my bed, showing me her bare, glistening cunt.

I swallow the bile that comes up and breathe through the urge to kick her out, and grab a condom instead.

It’s just sex…. I repeat over and over as I slide the condom on my flaccid dick, giving it a few tugs before shoving three fingers inside Brandy, making her moan.

Just sex….

“Shove your tongue inside my hole, sweetheart,” the woman moans as a man holds my head at her cunt.

I gag at the smell, trying to pull away, but the guy shoves my head forward, and then grabs my cock, yanking it a few times before he threatens, “Do as she says, or I’ll fuck your ass.”

Tears spring to my eyes as I do as I’m told, her nasty taste hitting my tastebuds, and she moans, moving her hips against my tongue.

The guy doesn’t let go of my dick, his hold tightening, and my tears fall as the woman comes on my tongue, the juices coating my cheeks.

“Yes, yes!” she screams, gripping my head as the guy starts to move his hand, trying to get me hard, which rarely happens now, my mind finally able to go against my body’s instincts.

He growls with frustration before he places a condom on me, and then maneuvers me so I’m leaning over the woman. Her cheeks are sunken in, her eyes cold and dead, track marks marring her arms, yet she grins. She’s fucking pathetic and disgusting.

The man places my dick at her entrance and forces me to thrust forward, and she grins, “Come on baby, get hard for mommy….”

Bile rises again, and I squeeze my eyes tight.

I gasp as I jump up in bed, sweat drenching me, my breathing hard.

Fuck, fuck, fuck….

“They’re dead, you killed them,” I repeat over and over, trying to calm my racing heart.

I run a hand through my hair before grabbing my phone. My heart thunders when I see a missed call from Perrie, but instead of calling her back, knowing she’s most likely hurt about Cass leaving, no thanks to Steal, whose balls she’s going to tear off, I put my phone down and climb out of bed, walking over to the shared bathroom I have with Piston.

I turn the shower on as hot as it will go before climbing in, allowing the hot water to scald my body as I place my hands on the shower wall, willing for the memories to disappear.

“They’re dead,” I repeat as I squeeze my eyes tight.

This is why I won’t let Perrie in. This is why I can’t make her mine, even though my heart and soul belong to her. They have since the moment she put an angry teenager in his place.

She deserves better than me, than my dirt, and the day she finds someone better, someone other than me, will be the day I crumble to pieces.