Chapter Twenty-One

Axel

My head was all over the place. I was angry with Savannah for keeping secrets from me, and angry at myself for getting so attached to her so quickly. And angry at Duke for wanting to take her away from me. I didn’t even go to work that day. I dropped Savannah off at Pop’s, and then I called Spike and asked him to look after the shop for me. I knew I wouldn’t be able to concentrate at work. Instead, I stayed home and tried to do my research on Duke. I found a lot of things on the club, but very little on him. Afterwards, I sat in the living room and watched movies to keep myself from thinking too much. I went to Pop’s later that evening with full intentions to shout at Savannah, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. She had made a delicious meal for the family, and Bobby was so happy to see me. I barely spoke to her, but I didn’t shout at her either.

I barely slept that night and woke up in the morning feeling exhausted. It was clear that I hadn’t slept well by the look on Spike’s face when he saw me walk in.

“You okay, man? You don’t look good.”

I sighed. I didn’t need a mirror to tell me that I was a complete mess that day. “Not really. This whole thing is such a huge fuck up. I feel horrible about it all. Just horrible.”

“Any more news from that Duke guy?”

“Nothing. How about you? He hasn’t come back to the shop, has he?”

“No. Don’t worry; you’ll be the first person to know if he does. I’m sure he won’t come back here. How is Savannah?”

I shrugged. “She’s staying with Pop until I figure out what to do. Which, right now, is nothing. I have no idea what to do about this whole situation. I hate not having a plan. Anyway, for now, I figured it was better that she stayed with him.”

“Oh yeah? Think she’s safer there?”

“I honestly have no idea. Probably not. I don’t even know if Duke is going to come after her. But I just didn’t want to be around her. I’m so angry at her for not telling me about all of this. I mean, she’s put everyone’s lives in danger. I don’t care about myself, but I care about Bobby. He shouldn’t have to deal with this. He’s only six years old. What six-year-old should have to have that in their lives? It’s not fair. There’s no way he can understand it all. Hell, even I don’t understand it all. Whatever Duke has against our club is strong, and it’s something that I will never understand.”

“The club? Who is Duke anyway? Why is she involved with him?”

“He’s part of XMC, and definitely not a good person. Looks like he runs the place. That’s the club Savannah’s father was a part of. He passed away, so I’m assuming this Duke guy has taken over. And if he has then it looks like it has all gone to his head. That is not the right man to get even a little bit of power. I know very little though. Savannah hasn’t told me much. I wish she had though. It would’ve been nice to have a bit of warning about it all.”

“That guy is an idiot. I wish I could say that I wasn’t scared when he showed up with his army of men, but I was. They looked mean. And there were so many of them.”

“Yeah, but let’s hope they’re more talk than action. Although, I’m not sure.”

“Yeah, they definitely look like they’re more action. Look, maybe you shouldn’t be so hard on Savannah through all of this,” he said.

I turned to look at Spike in surprise. I hadn’t expected him to take her side in all of this. Wasn’t he supposed to be my friend? I thought he’d be just as angry at her as I was.

“What do you mean? Why shouldn’t I be hard on her? She’s the one that put us all in danger. I’m very mad at her. Why aren’t you?”

“No, she’s not the one that put you in danger. You have no idea what she’s been through in her life. Look at that man, Axel. He’s awful. If she was a part of that club because of her father, then maybe the whole thing is not her fault. She didn’t choose to be there. She’s there by association and you know that’s not the same thing at all. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a hold on her. Maybe Savannah is desperately trying to do the right thing. And yeah, I agree she should’ve told you, but in her defense, she barely knows you. And yes, again, before you say anything, I know that’s her fault and not yours, but it sounds like she wasn’t in the best situation before this. She’s doing the best she can. And in her eyes, she’s probably doing the best for Bobby too. If anything, she probably needs you now more than ever. I’m not mad at Savannah. I’m mad at that Duke guy for all of this, and that’s who you should be mad at too.”

I sighed. “I hate it when you’re right.”

He laughed. “I try my best. So, you going to talk to her? Sort it out? You do realize she’s probably going out of her mind thinking that you are mad at her.”

“I guess so. I’ll go and see her after work. I want to hang around here in case Duke shows up again.”

But Duke didn’t show up, and when I called Pop throughout the day, he assured me that nobody suspicious had been hanging around. Duke was quiet, a bit too quiet for my liking. I didn’t want him to show up, but I still found it very strange that he hadn’t. In a way, I just wanted him to come again because waiting for him to show up was worse. I spent most of the day trying to work hard and to forget about everything, but Spike’s words had stayed with me. He was right; Savannah was only trying to do her best. She needed someone to be on her side for a change. She’d been through more than I could imagine and she needed me now more than ever. I had to prove to her that I was one of the good guys. She probably wasn’t used to having anyone to talk to. So, after work, I went out to the strip mall, and I picked up some takeout curry. I headed back to Pop’s place and knocked on the door. I hadn’t spoken to Pop for a while, and I was relieved when he answered the door with his usual cheery self.

“Something smells good,” he said to me, and he looked down at the bags in my arms. I’d gone to one of his favorite restaurants, and the smell from the bags had been wafting through to me ever since I collected the food.

“I figured we could all use a decent meal. And I don’t want Savannah to have to cook every night. All okay?” I said to him.

“Yeah, how about you?” he whispered so that nobody else could hear.

I nodded. “We’ll all be fine,” I said. “I’m not sure what’s going on or what’s going to happen, but I don’t want to leave Savannah all on her own anymore. She needs me.”

Pop smiled. “She does.”

I walked into the living room and grinned at Bobby and Savannah. They were sitting on the floor with a mass of paper and coloring pens around them. Bobby was excited to see me and jumped up and down when I arrived. There was nothing quite like your own child being excited to see you.

“I made you a drawing!” he said. “It has a big house, and it has us, and it even has a dog. Isn’t he cute? Look how happy he has made us all. We are all smiling.”

I chuckled. Bobby was not letting up on the dog idea, and I knew that one of these days someone was going to give in to him. He sure was persistent and knew what he wanted in life. And, of course, it helped that he was so cute. He was a very hard kid to resist. I took a look at the drawing and smiled at him.

“Can I have it?”

“Yes, it’s yours!” he said proudly.

“Wonderful. I’m going to put it up on my fridge. Hey, it’s my first drawing from you. That’s so cool. I think you are a very talented boy. I hope to get many more of these.”

“Thank you. I will make you lots. I like drawing. Mommy is drawing too; come see.”

I took a seat and looked down at Savannah. She was drawing something abstract and was not looking me in the eye. I didn’t blame her. The night before I had barely said a word to her. I noticed that her hands were trembling slightly as she drew, and I instantly felt bad for not being on her side.

“Wow, what are you drawing? Looks interesting.”

“Uh, not much. I’m just messing around. Having fun with Bobby. He’s the real talent in the family,” she said. She still hadn’t looked up at me.

I moved onto the floor and picked up her drawing. I could see the look of surprise on her face as I did so. She probably thought I wasn’t going to speak to her again. I hadn’t been very nice to her the night before.

“I don’t know about that. This looks very cool to me. It’s very unique. I think you’re pretty good.”

She turned to look at me, and she had a frown on her face. She was obviously wondering what I was up to. This was not the same man from the night before. I smiled at her, and she gave me a sad smile back.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey back,” she replied. “Good day at work?”

I shrugged. “Could’ve been better. The office is a mess without you.”

She laughed. “That’s good to hear.”

“I bought dinner for us all. Chicken curry. I thought it would be nice to eat as a family. It’s Pop’s favorite meal, and it smells pretty delicious if you ask me.”

“I’d like that.”

We decided to all eat on the floor this time instead of at the table, much to Bobby’s delight. And, despite everything that had happened, we all made an effort to act like a family again. Bobby kept us entertained and had us in fits of laughter, and this time we all talked to one another, and there were no awkward silences. Savannah still seemed confused by my sudden change, but she kept sneaking glances my way and smiling at me, so I knew I had done the right thing. Pop seemed pleased that I was making more of an effort this time around. The food was delicious and a great hit all around.

“No wonder you love this place,” I said. “This food is amazing.”

“I told you. I have spent so much money there in the past few years. I think they’re still standing because of me.”

“Well, they have gained a new customer. That’s for sure. Thanks for a great family meal everyone.”

Then I stood up, and I saw Bobby immediately frown.

“Can we come home too?” he asked.

“For sure! You and mom,” I said.

Savannah looked surprised but didn’t say anything. We all said our goodbyes to Pop and made our way home. Bobby was in a great mood and seemed happy to be spending the night at home.

“I like it at Pop’s, but I prefer our home more. I like my bed,” he said. Then he sighed happily. “And one day I will make space in my room for my dog. I’ll put him in the corner and train him. You’ll see, he’ll be the best dog in the world. You won’t get upset with him. You’ll forget he’s there. I’ll teach him good. Now we just have to come up with a cool name for him. I’m making a list.”

I laughed. “One day, Bobby. Like your mom said, we’ll think about it. Not just yet though.”

I raised my eyebrows at Savannah. “He doesn’t give up, does he?”

“Nope. He’s got a strong character. Just like his dad.”

“And just like his mom.”

Savannah got Bobby ready for bed, and then we both took turns reading his favorite books to him. He didn’t want to fall asleep and kept interrupting our story to tell us about his plans for his new dog. But, as usual, he eventually got too tired to stay awake. His eyes kept closing, and then he’d force them open, and then he’d close them again. He was fighting a losing battle. I had a feeling he was too scared to sleep in case he woke up and found himself at Pop’s again.

“Time to go to sleep now, my angel,” Savannah said. “Just imagine all the cool dreams you’re about to have. That’s the best part, remember?”

He sighed and closed his eyes. “I’m going to dream about a dog,” he said.

I resisted a laugh and shook my head. I watched as he fell asleep and then we waited a few more minutes just to make sure that he was finally asleep. A small snore came out of his mouth as he breathed in and out, and I chuckled. It was the sweetest sound ever. We switched off the lights and headed upstairs. Once there, I chuckled again.

“That boy is so cute. I swear he’s going to get to us eventually with the dog story. One of these days one of us is going to end up saying yes. He’s got a way of doing it that isn’t even annoying. You just end up feeling bad for not agreeing with him.”

She laughed. “I know. I’ve almost said yes a few times. But now is definitely not the right time to get a dog. I’ll have to keep resisting. Hopefully, he’ll lose interest, but I’m not so sure he will. Uh, thanks for a great night. Thanks for the amazing dinner, it was delicious. And, well, it was good to finally hear your voice again. It’s good to be home. Uh, well, goodnight, Axel. I’ll . . .  I guess I’ll see you in the morning,” she said and started to make her way out the room.

I took her hand, and she turned around.

“Don’t go,” I said.

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

I leaned forward and kissed her.

“Come to the bedroom,” I said. “I’m glad you’re home too.”

I was glad when she didn’t argue. We walked quietly to my bedroom, and once inside, I closed the door behind us. It was so good to have her back. No matter how I felt about everything, Savannah was home to me. My house now didn’t feel right without her in it. We were going to have to make this work as a team.