17. Indy

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Indy

" O h my god." Janie gasps as she looks at the dress I'm holding up. "That's so fucking hot, girl. Go try it on!" Next weekend is Ren and Atlas' anniversary. To everyone's surprise, Ren's parents are hosting a party to celebrate it. Ren's parents have been openly against Atlas and Ren's marriage since the start, but since Howie came into the picture, they've become more accepting, wanting to have the opportunity to be with their grandchild.

"I don't think hot is what I should go for," I say as I look at the black mini dress on the hanger. It is really sexy, and I never wear anything to feel sexy. It's soft, with a high halter neck, sleeve cuts, and cut-outs at the chest and the sides of the waist. I would definitely need some kind of boob enhancer if I got this. "Maybe I could try it on…" I mutter, and Janie cheers.

"Thank god! Ren is wearing her boring dresses, and Sunday is being a butthole." Ren snorts at Janie.

"It's a maxi dress, and I'm still breastfeeding!" Ren huffs. "It's easier to pop a boob out when needed in something that isn't skintight."

Janie waggles her brows suggestively. "I'm sure At would love it."

"Don't," Ren whines, shaking her head. "You think I don't hear about that enough from him? Anyway, you said you liked the dress!"

"I do! But I also would like you to be slutty with me now and then."

Raising a blonde brow, Ren shakes her head. "My entire family will be at this party, slutty is not what I'm looking for. Plus, Atlas is on a mission to fuck me in their house, and I have to do everything in my power to keep that from happening." Sunday laughs at our blonde friend as she rocks Howie in her arms.

"Ren, you could be covered in cow shit, and that man would still have sex with you."

"That's not even a joke," Ren says flatly as I walk behind the curtain to change. "I have been, and he did."

"Ash would never." Sunday snorts out a laugh. "He would turn green, offer to bathe me, and then gladly go at me. Well, not now. I would kill him if he got near me, but you know."

"Know what?" I ask as I rip open the curtain and stare at my pale sister-in-law. "Oh my god."

She looks at all of us and groans. "Okay, it's super early." She warns, and I nearly faint.

"You're pregnant?" I whisper-scream, and Sunday smiles softly.

"I am, but it's too early, guys. No one says anything." We all take a moment and hug her. Sunday has a teenage son that she had at thirteen under unfortunate circumstances. Wade's amazing, and I love him to bits. He hit puberty last year, and between that and Howie being born, we were all taking bets on when she and my brother would start trying.

"You are going to need a sticky push-up bra." Janie stands behind me and grabs my boobs, pushing them up and together. "Look at that." She grins, and I have to admit, they look very nice up there.

I turn to Ren. "You sure this isn't too much?" Ren shakes her head.

"You look amazing. Just stay away from my brother. He'll fall in love with you." She laughs, and I giggle.

"Hey, I could use a rich man in my life." I give her a playful wink before returning to the dressing room to change again.

"Too skinny!" Nika, Stevie's Croatian grandmother, states as she puts a massive bowl of potato soup in front of me. "Eat, put meat on you, then not so cold."

"Baka!" Stevie hisses. "You can't say that!"

"Ahh!" Nika waves her hands. "Can't say this, can't say that. Should I just stay in the back, Stefa? That pleases you?" Stevie rubs her temples as I chuckle.

"No, no! It's fine, Nika, this is delicious. Thank you." I take a spoonful of the heavy soup and swallow it. Nika smiles and kisses the top of my head before taking her leave.

"I didn't even know you had soup options on the menu," Ren states as she takes a bite.

"We don't, Nika just made it for y'all. You know how she is. She loves to feed people." Stevie says softly, and I laugh.

"Janie is going to be salty she missed out on this."

Stevie shrugs. "Baka has a section for Janie in the fridge. I'm sure some of this will end up in there." I raise my brow at Stevie. She's acting off, quieter than usual.

"You okay?" I ask softly, and she shrugs.

"Yeah, I guess so. I had an issue at the convention that I'm not fully over yet, I guess."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ren asks, and Stevie shakes her head.

"No, thanks. I'll be alright. I just need to process everything." She gives us all her reassuring smile before we go back to eating.

I moan as I take another spoonful of soup. "This is delicious. I bet Derek would like this," I say, standing up.

"Oh?" Ren chuckles. "Derek, huh?" My cheeks go warm as I stick my tongue out.

"Shut it," I tell her, walking to the counter. "Nika!" I holler into the back. The older woman comes out with her butcher's knife in hand.

"Get out!" She hollers and then looks around. "Oh, sorry, I thought you were in trouble." Laughing, she slams the blade into the block.

"Uh, no. I was wondering if I could get a to-go container for my friend? He's kind of weird about fast food, and he's working all day today."

"Ahhh, a man? Is he big man like the Fox and the Compass? Or tiny like you?" I laugh lightly.

"You've met him, Derek. He's a big guy." Her wrinkled brows shoot up.

"Derek is good man. Good aura. And he likes my Krafna! I make a bag. Nika no like the men, but that one, I would let him live." I smile uncomfortably before walking back to the table. As I sit, my best friends are all grinning at me like jerks.

"Shut up," I mutter, sipping my soup. "We are just friends."

"Derek doesn't have friends," Stevie says, her voice laced with amusement. "Derek has made it very clear he doesn't want friends."

"I guess he changed his mind," I say, hiding both my annoyance and embarrassment at the situation.

"While I'm fine with that," Ren states, placing Howie's pacifier in his mouth. "I hope it is strictly platonic on both ends. If that's the case. We just don't want you to get hurt."

I glare at my soup, no longer hungry. I hear Nika call out that the food is ready, and I stand.

"I'm going to go ahead and go. I'll talk to you girls later."

"Indy wait," Stevie says, but I wave her off and smile at her.

"It's fine, I'm not upset. It's just been a long day. I want to give this to Derek, go to Luca's, and rest." They both give me an apologetic smile, and I walk over to Nika and grab the bag. After arguing for a minute about me paying, she yells at me in Croatian and walks away, so I stuff a twenty in the tip jar before walking out.

Nuts About Dough is the bakery where Stevie works part-time. Her Croatian grandmother, Nika, and her mom, Zora, run it together and keep the Hel's crew well supplied with pastries and the infamous peach danishes. It's not far from Hel's, so I walk the few blocks to the shop. I'm having a pleasant yellow day, minus the fatigue, so I want to enjoy it.

Once at the front door, I lean onto the railing and pull myself up the single step to get inside, ignoring how irritated I feel at how hard that one step was. Opening the door, I hear Fox call out from the back.

"We'll be right with you!"

"It's Indy!" I call back and am met with a string of "Hey Indy" from the guys. I walk into the tattoo area and frown.

"Where's Derek?" I ask, noting his empty station. Atlas flinches as he looks up from his client.

"Someone knocked over the mug you bought him, and he freaked out. He was already having a bad day, but I think that set him off. Fox made him go out to his car and sit in time out." I nod, heading to the back. I lean down, pressing cheeks with Ash, who is also with a client, before walking out the back of the shop. I see his Yukon and sigh as I grip the plastic bag and lean onto the railing. I get one step down when I hear a car door open and shoes running over the blacktop.

"What in the hell are you doin'?" Derek scolds as he runs up the stairs.

"Hey," I smile brightly. "I was coming down to see you for a minute." My smile fades at the look of anger on his face.

"You can't take stairs. You know this. Why in the fuck would you risk going down these metal stairs? Do you have a death wish, or did you forget your brain today?" I flinch at his words as I force myself back up the step.

"I wanted to talk—"

"Then fucking call. You don't do something this reckless. You want everyone to stop mothering you? Think before you fucking act. Like I'm not having a shitty enough day, I nearly had a heart attack watching you come down those stairs!"

"Okay!" I cry out, silencing him. I know my face isn't masking my emotions at all. I'm hurt and humiliated, and now I'm crying. Perfect. "Sorry," I whisper and turn to go back inside, but freeze momentarily and look back at him. "Here." I hand him the bag, and he stares at it.

"What's this?"

"I knew you were working late and wouldn't eat fast food, so I grabbed you something from Nika," I whisper, and I hear him call out to me before I shut the door and lock it.

"Fuck, Indy!" He hits his fist against the door as I walk back into the tattoo area and run into Janie.

"Help me get out," I say, and as if she understands completely, she goes to Fox and whispers in his ear. Fox looks at me, motioning to follow him, and we go out through the front of Hel's.

Fox takes me around the block before I stop him at a bus stop. "I'll take the bus. Thank you, though." I sniffle as I wipe a stray tear.

"Indy." He gives me an uncomfortable stare. "What happened? I know you went out there to talk to Derek. Do I need to beat his ass?" I let out a choked laugh while shaking my head.

"No, leave him alone. Please don't say anything, especially in front of my brother. Derek's obviously having a bad day, and I just was in the wrong place at the wrong time." I freeze as the bus pulls up, but smile when I see it's Dorene, a regular driver that knows I need assistance on and off the bus.

"Hi, baby," she smiles as she parks the bus and comes to help me.

"Hi, Ms. Dorene," I say as Fox lifts me up the step with ease. I turn to look at him as he sets me down. "Actually, I wasn't at the wrong place," I say softly. "Everyone needs to be able to vent sometimes. It's really okay. Don't yell at him."

Fox snorts, "He doesn't deserve your kindness first off, and second, it's not me you have to worry about. Torch is probably back there ripping his nipples off." I chuckle at the thought of Janie taking on Derek.

"Well, I have no control over her, but I am okay. Thank you, Fox." I squeeze his hand before letting Dorene help me up the last step and taking my seat. What Derek said, it hurt. I won't lie. But he deserves kindness, patience, and understanding because despite what he screamed at me, I saw the terror in his eyes when he ran to stop me, and I saw the guilt flooding over him when I gave him the food. So no, I'm not mad at him, and I forgive him, but that doesn't mean I'm not hurt.