A Broken Beautiful Beginning (12 page)

“Fuck this
…” I mumble as I make my way upstairs to change out of my pyjamas.

I dress in a pair of
skinny jeans, sneakers and a black hoodie to cover the plain shirt I was planning on sleeping in. I don’t care if it looks as if I’ve just rolled out of bed. Caleb better have a good fucking reason for ignoring me like this.

I grab the keys off the counter, tuck my phone in my
jacket pocket and lock the door behind me as I make my way to the club.

Arriving at the club house, I’m surprised to see it so dead. I’ve never seen it this empty. My father is nowhere to be found, neither is Hunter or Caleb. A few of the College students are hanging around, the music is low and the lights dull. I spot Jesse wiping down glasses and placing them on the shelves as he waves me over.

“What you doing here babe
s?” he says, giving me a tight hug as I stretch over the bar top.

“I’m looking for Caleb. H
e’s been hanging out here every night only coming home in the morning. I knew this was going to happen as soon as he said he’d help Daddy out. This is fucking ridiculous.” I rest my elbows on the bar and run my hands through my hair. I look up to see Jesse’s confused face.

“I’ve been working this sh
ift for the past two week’s babe and it’s been like this
every night
. Don’t know where the boys are, everything’s been hush-hush even Anna has been left in the dark.” He says seriously.

I move to get off the stool. “Where is Anna? Upstairs?” I point to the stairs behind
the bar.

“Nah, she’s staying at the lake house. I heard a few of the whores talking about a fight between Anna and
Grimm. He said she had to stay at the lake house, something about it being safer for her since not many people know where it’s located, told her that she needed to stay away from the club house for a while. Anna threw a fit, packed up her shit and left.” He motions for me to have a drink and I shake my head.

“Why didn’t she tell me? She usually tells me everything? I haven’t heard from her for the past three days. Shit... I hope she’s okay.” I take out my phone to see if I have any missed calls.

None.

I
give Jesse a quick goodbye, head to my car and take the long way back to the house.

The stre
ets are dead, but as I’m driving past the gym I notice cars parked all down the street. I slow down as I drive past the glass windows of the gym, but I can’t see many people inside.

“Why are there so many cars and where are all the
ir owners?” I speak out loud as I turn the radio off and park on the other side of the street. All the shops that surround us are closed. It’s going on quarter to four in the morning, what the hell could be open at this time? I climb out my car and make my way over the street toward the gym.

Loud music catches my attention and I
step back and look down the alleyway between the gym and next building. A huge metal door opens and four people come out stumbling, obviously drunk. The girl’s battle as they drunkenly walk in their heels, trying to walk without falling, the men draped all over the girls laughing and talking about their
winnings
. As I pass the group, I watch as one of the girls drops something on the floor. She’s too drunk to notice it slipping outta her hand.

I lean against the wall and act as if I’m writing a message on my phone. As soon as they disappear around the corner I walk toward the shiny silver looking coin on the floor. I
bend down to pick it up, it’s pretty dark in this alleyway but I can see the emblem perfectly. My dad’s MC emblem is engraved onto this coin. I turn it around and it says
Admit One
. I frown as my eyes look the coin over. I hear the metal of the door being opened again and the loud music coming through, it sounds as If someone’s on a microphone inside. When I hear laughter and voices I quickly pull the hood of my jacket over my head.

“You
gonna stand there all night or are you gonna come in? Boss has a surprise tonight. He’s fighting some punk who challenged him. You don’t want to miss it, heard Boss can pack a punch.” I look up to the holder of the deep rough voice and see a huge black dude, his head is shaven and he wears a black tight shirt with the same MC emblem that covers the coin. He shows me a big bright smile. One look at this guy makes me want to run, but his tone is really friendly. I don’t remember this guy being on our payroll at the gym, I don’t confront him instead I walk up to him, show him the coin thankful that he doesn’t know who I am.

He waves me in and slams the door shut behind me, locking me inside with all the madness that surrounds me. The place is crowded, music is blaring and the floor beneath me vibrates from the loud music. There’s girls walking around the crowded room issuing drinks, they
’re all wearing the same outfits. Hot pants, black platforms and the standard issue shirt the female trainers upstairs all wear. I notice a few big guys walking around checking the place out as if they’re some sort of security, they too wear the gym’s custom employee outfits but I didn’t hire any of these people.

Everyone is dressed to impress, beautiful lights adorn the ceiling, everything
’s really fancy and expensive looking. The smell of perfume and cigars sweep through what I thought was the gym’s basement. There are huge black leather lounge chairs all around the room as well as beautiful glass tables with little lamps on. Ladies are wearing dresses and the men in suits. My casual attire stands out like a sore thumb but everybody is too fixated on the centre of the room to notice me. There’s a huge staged boxing ring in the centre of the massive floor.

Thud...thud...thud
…

I ca
n make out the sound of fists meeting flesh over the hoots and hollers of the crowd. I move to stand near one of the pillars when my eyes whip back to one of the men in the ring. Even though no one can hear me through the noise, my trembling hands cover my mouth as a gasp tear’s from my throat. The familiar tattoo of a Harley with the name Willow underneath it is the first thing I notice, then I look at the tattoos that cover his arm; I squeeze my eyes closed praying that this is just a dream.

I open them
slowly to see Caleb savagely attacking his opponent. The other guy is also all muscle and nearly the same size as Caleb but not quite. I’ve never seen Caleb look this raw and angry, this is not my Caleb. He’s not this wild animal. Caleb grabs the other man’s neck and brings his head forward kneeing him in the nose.

I’m close enough to hear the loud crack of the
man’s broken nose, blood splattering everywhere as it pours from his nose but neither one of them stop fighting. The man spits out blood onto the already blood stained white mat beneath them. Chills of disgust run down my body as Caleb laughs at the guy. The broken nosed man goes for a kick but Caleb grabs his leg, lifts it and knocks the guy to the floor. I place my hands over my ears to block out the sickening sound of the man’s grunting. I watch as Caleb kicks the man to the floor, his opponent raising his hands to try and hide his face from the onslaught of Caleb’s aggression.

When a tall bald guy wearing a black shirt with
the words “Referee” on it lifts Caleb’s hand up in the air, Caleb gives the crowd that beautiful dimpled smile. I have to swallow the dread that fills my stomach. A sick feeling suddenly washing over me as I stand here watching someone I thought I knew.

My eyes drop, I can’t
bear to look at him any longer, the lies that surround me, the screaming in my ears, stuffy air and the walls that feel like they’re closing in on me making me feel claustrophobic. I lift my head just in time to see Avery and her damn blue hair tips making her way toward Caleb and hugging him tightly.

She pulls away and looks his face
over; he has a small gash on his eyebrow but nothing serious. She looks concerned for him, affection evident in her smile. My heart hurts as I watch her place an ice pack on his head and hand him water. I’m not sure if he even realizes how close she is, he’s too busy feeding his ego with the crowd applauding him. I start to look away as he allows her to touch him, not expecting to meet Hunter’s eyes across the room.

He seems
shocked to see me, obviously surprised and he’s not the only one. How the hell did they manage to renovate this place right under my nose without me knowing? He moves around the person standing in front of him making sure to keep his gaze on me.

This is when
I spot my father and a bunch of club members seated in the corner. One of the security guys issues money out to them on a table. My father and his brothers are all laughs and cheers
until
he sees me. My disappointment must be evident because his smile instantly drops as he quickly stands up. I look back to where Hunter is now leaning into the ring calling Caleb over. I back away as I watch Caleb and Avery look in my direction as Hunter points me out.

When
Caleb’s eyes meet mine
he knows
he fucked up. He pushes Avery aside and runs in my direction. I pull my hood down and make a beeline for the door, the kind bouncer opens the door and I sprint toward my car. I start the car in a panic and as I’m speeding down the street I see Caleb making his way in the middle of the street watching my car drive away. When I see him sprinting after my car, I drop my eyes from the rear-view mirror and speed up a little, focusing on the road ahead.

CALEB POV

I feed off the
crowd’s excitement as I give my last and final blow to the bastard who challenged me and he’s out like a light in no time. I lift my hands and move around the ring smiling at the crowd, Avery hugs me but I’m too preoccupied feeding my ego and making the crowd go berserk to pay her much attention. She’s only here to talk business, there are things that needed to be discussed and this was the best place. I didn’t plan on going into the ring, I don’t need to fight anymore, I have Harley now but the little shit wouldn’t stop bitching about how much he could pack a punch, and I needed to do something about it. It feels good to know that I’ve still got it. I watch Hunter frantically making his way up onto the ring, he motions for me to come closer; his eyes searching through the crowd.

“What’s up bro?” I ask concerned.

“Harleys here dude, we fucked up big time.” My head whips around to look in the direction he’s pointing and there near one of the columns stands Harley. She’s wearing a hoodie but her bright blond hair leaks out of the black jacket. Disappointment, shock and pure rage cover her face and the tears that run down her cheeks shine when the lights cross over her.

“Fuck!” I push Avery aside and head toward Harley with a sprint, Harley turns and does the same, running away from me.

I battle to get through the cheering crowd and by the time I get to the street she’s already pulling away. “Harley!” I scream out running after the car but she’s too fast.

I watch the taillights disappear as she turns the corner and drives away.

I rest my hands on my knees as I hunch over breathing in deeply. “God…what have I done?” I mumble out of breath.

Grimm and Hunter are waiting outside for me when I get back to the gym. Grimm climbs on his bike. “I’m going to the club house, maybe she’ll
turn up there looking for Anna; don’t think she knows Anna is at the lake house.” He says, before driving away.

Hu
nter throws me my jacket. “We’re going to your house. She better fucking be there for your sake!” Hunter spits bumping into my shoulder as he walks past.

“Hey!” I shout, he pauses mid-step but doesn’t turn to look at me. “Who pissed on your
fucking battery?” I’m irritated and angry with myself for allowing Harley to find out this way. I know I’m taking it out on Hunter, but I don’t care at this point.

I don’t see him
coming; all I feel is my back being thrown against the brick wall as he holds me up against it.

“You… pissed on my battery brother.” He snarls into my face, his eyes piercing.

“What the fuck bro?” I struggle underneath his tight hold. “I’m the one who may have just lost my girl; I don’t have time for this right now!” I shove him off of me but he comes back at me like a wild animal holding me further up against the wall.

“I told you I wasn’t going to keep any more secrets from her, didn’t I? It wasn’t my place to tell her, but so help me God Caleb
… if she hates me because of your actions… I will make your life a living fucking hell.” He almost whispers the last part, his raspy voice laced with venom.

He shoves me one last time before pulling away. “Get your shit
together; we need to go find her.”

I’m so fucking angry right now but I can’t blame Hunter, I’m the one in the wrong. Fuck… If I was just open with Harley from the beginning I wouldn’t be in this situation. I’m the only one to blame and because of my actions I may have just lost my girls.

We arrive at the house but Harley’s car isn’t there. I open the front door and scramble through the house searching for Harley, calling out her name but there’s nothing. She’s not here. Hunter looks down by the beach and comes up empty handed too.

I call her phone but there’s no answer, after a dozen rings it just goes straight to voicemail. I call Jesse and Grimm both are out looking for her. I soon call off the search party though when my mother phones.