~Chapter 1
~Peach
The best memory I have of growing up is that of my mother. My mother was tall, skinny, and very beautiful with long flowing dark hair and eyes to match. I remember bits and pieces from when she was still around and what our family used to be. Fond memories of the times that we were truly a family, and not the fucked-up shit it became.
My mom was such a caring woman, she could never say no to anything that me or my little sister, Alison, wanted. I remember the day, I was maybe ten, we went out for a picnic and came back with two kittens that we found at the park we happened upon that day. My step-dad, Harold, was pissed, but somehow my mother calmed him down which seemed to always be the case. Harold said we could keep them as long as we took care of them. I named my little tabby, Sunny, and Alison named her little calico, Puzzle.
As the weeks passed by, the kittens grew on us and we enjoyed having them around. Alison was only six, she was too little to help do much other than play with them, so I did almost everything for the cats. I fed them and gave them water to drink. I even cleaned their litter boxes without complaint. Having the kitties was something that really brightened up our days.
It wasn’t until a night about two months later that all shit broke loose. The night that changed my life forever, a night that I have done my best to forget for the almost fifteen years since. A night that my life started down a path that no life should follow.
The day I lost my mom and sister, was the day my world shattered around me, like any little girls would. When I got home from school, I sat down to do my homework as usual. It took only a brief time for me to realize that one of the kittens had gotten out the front door as I came in.
As I sat at the kitchen table, I hear mewling and looked towards the window. Seeing Sunny outside, I dropped the homework I was doing and headed out the door to try and catch the cat. Rushing out the door, I didn’t notice that Puzzle slipped through this time.
Trying to round up Sunny, I barely noticed the other one had taken off running towards the street. That’s when I saw my mom and sister walking up to the house, coming home from errands. My sister stopped dead in her tracks and turned around chasing after her cat without thought. Mom rushed behind her screaming for her to stop. The next thing I knew, I heard screeching tires and screams that I wish to never hear again fill the air.
The loud crash drew my eyes in, and looking towards the noise, my feet started to move. I moved slowly to see my mother and sister both lying in the street unmoving. The group of neighbors that had come out of their houses were quick to help, but as it turned out, nothing could be done. Making my way closer to them old lady Irene from down the street grabs me up in her arms and holds me tight, turning me away from the scene. Her tight grip not loosening until the police arrived on the scene to take over for her.
The thought of my sister and mother dying because of me never strayed far from the front of my mind during the rest of my days living in Burlington with my step-daddy.
My step-daddy, Harold, does his best every day to make sure that I never forget that I am the reason that they’re gone either. Which kicked off with a bang, less than two weeks after my momma and sister’s death. I hear Harold screaming for me, which I try my best to ignore. My ability to ignore the situation only lasts until screams of a different kind started to move through the house. Those of what I was to learn were the kittens that we had brought home from the park.
Sneaking down from my room, I see step-daddy waiting for me to turn the corner as he is burning the fur off of one of the kittens. Running towards him, I don’t see his hand fly out to connect with my face. As I fall to the floor, my eyes shoot up to see him snap Sunny’s neck, throwing that body at me before moving towards the other kitten. The screams that I realize are coming from me are quickly silenced when Harold again slaps my face hard before grabbing up the other kitten. Smashing its head against the kitchen table three times, I feel something splatter against my face before Puzzle’s limp body is tossed at me.
Hitting a pile of flesh that used to be Sunny, Harold looks at me while grabbing for his bowling bag and his whiskey. Taking a large swig from the whiskey he steps closer before speaking, “Clean up this fucking mess girl. I knew that these fucking cats would be more trouble than they were worth.” Looking towards me, he pokes at me with the whiskey bottle, before taking another swig. “You wanted these fucking cats, they are the reason that you let your momma and little sister die.”
Cleaning up the kitchen, I gather up the cats putting them into a Kleenex box that I empty out from my room. Burying them in the backyard is much more of an undertaking than I had thought. But, as soon as Harold has left for his bowling league, burying them is exactly what I do.
For the next six years, not a day goes by that he doesn’t remind me that I am the reason we were left here together like this. The only nights that I feel safe are those that he heads to his bowling leagues, because I know he’ll come home too drunk to yell, smack me around, or throw things about. Those nights I trick myself into thinking that this life is normal, that the way we are is the way that everyone lives.
Throughout those years, the days that he is home I frequently think about leaving, this house or this world. He screams at me constantly, blaming me for everything from him not getting a raise, to the paper not being delivered on time. Six years of constant questions and doubts about the person that I am, has led me to having problems in school on almost a daily basis.
The night I finally leave he is drunk, which he does every day, and is going into another one of his rants after finding something out of place in the living room. And like what has become a constant during the last two years, he starts to slap me around. As I begin to try and fight back, his fist connects to my jaw causing me to black out. The first time that has happened since this whole thing started those long years ago. Waking back up long minutes later, I scramble away from Harold’s fumbling hands. He has been looking at me as more than a kid for a few years. I guess he finally decided that me being passed out would be a good time to try and fuck me.
Causing me to do something that I had been thinking about doing since the day this shit began.
I leave.
My only saving grace during those six long years was the old lady down the block. Momma Irene was a heaven-sent angel who always seems to be there when I needed someone. Through those six years, I leaned on Irene more and more, and she became someone I knew that I could trust. When the day came that I finally decide to leave, its Momma Irene that I trust to confide in. She gives me some money, and sends me on my way, letting me know to always keep in contact with her, never hesitating to reach out when it was or wasn’t needed.
I did exactly that five years later, a few weeks after I turned twenty-one, when I have finally had enough of trying to get by, enough moving from one man to the next, one shitty situation to the next, one rat infested place to another. I wanted to be able to settle in one place, and my mind thought that Irene would be just the right place to start.
I had sent notes and letters to her over the years. Sure, they were few and far between, but I always wanted to make sure that she knew that I was safe and that I was doing okay. I know that she moved out of Burlington and into Chicago after her husband passed away. Finding out that Sara had been watching out and over her as well. One of the few times I reached out by phone, was right after Sara took off three years ago, and I found out that a few members of the MC that she interacted with were watching over Momma Irene. I was happy knowing that she wasn’t alone, that someone was watching over her, even if it was a bunch of old burly bikers.
I am not sure what if anything she has told any of them about me, but I know that it is time to head back. She answers on the first ring the night that I call. Hearing her voice is like a punch to the chest and I’m taken aback by her voice.
“Momma Irene,” was all I could croak out before the tears started to fall. The sniffles don’t stop, only slowing before I hear that voice again.
“Rebecca? Is that you sweetie?” There is a long pause before she goes on, “I have hoped you would reach out soon. It’s past time for you settle down and get away from where you are, sweetie. Can you get to me in Chicago? Do I need to send some of the boys to pick you up?” Pausing again, she steadies her voice before saying again, “I can send Preach to you if you just let me know where you are.”
“I’m in Georgia. Have been since we got back from the rally in Florida. If you could send someone that would be good.” Pausing I take a deep breath and go on, “I’ll need some money too. I have been staying with some guys that won’t be all that happy to see me leaving. And the guy that I am with-”
“No worries, sweetie. Send me the address and I’ll send him on his way. He will probably bring one or two of his brothers with him, so don’t fret when they pull up. Know that they are there to help get you home safe.”
“Okay Momma Irene. It’s so good to hear your voice again. Thanks for helping me out, bringing me back-“
“You’re family little girl, there is nothing I won’t do for family and the same goes for the men that are coming to get you. Nothing like that step-daddy of yours or from what I can tell those men you have been keeping company with. You will see Rebecca. We will see you soon.”
With that I hang up the phone and hope that life is starting to look up for me. That thought is quickly pushed aside as Jackson and James storm into the house quickly after I have gotten off the phone, high as hell and looking for a fight. And lucky me, their eyes are set on me.