TRYKE

Walking out of the hospital is a bit surreal. I’m beyond relieved that Lily is gonna be okay. I don’t know what I would do if I lost her.

I’m lost in my own pity party when I hear, “Py..Tryke..Pyro, fuck, man, what am I supposed to call you now?” I chuckle as I turn to see Tracker and Viker standing near their rides.

“Tryke,” I tell them both as they approach me.

“It’s good to have you back, brother,” Viker says as he takes my arm and I take his.

“Thanks, I’m not sure everyone else feels that way, though.”

Tracker smiles. “You’d be surprised.”

“How’d you guys find out anyway?” I ask them. I blink, my contacts irritating me.

They both laugh. “These dumbasses are worse than a lady’s aide society with their gossip and shit,” Viker says.

I can’t help but laugh. It’s true, they are. “Hey, you gonna put your name in?” Tracker asks.

I shrug. “I’m not sure anyone would want me as Pres.”

They both scowl at me. “Why the hell not?” Viker asks.

I give a humorless snort. “Because, when shit got real, I let the idiots win,” I tell them both. That’s something I’ve had to live with the last six years. Instead of fighting back, taking Rooster out immediately, I ran.

“Fuck that, It’s rightfully yours. You should put your name in,” Tracker urges. “Ain’t no one going to challenge you.”

“Loki might,” I say. “He deserves it, he’s busted his balls for this club for years.”

“Maybe, but he’s not a Beaumont,” Tracker says stoically.

“Technically, he is,” I remind them.

“How so?” Viker asks.

“He colored my sister.”

“Skit’s your sister? I thought she…when your parents…” Viker whispers like it’s a conspiracy.

“I needed her out of the lifestyle, away from the club. I needed to keep her safe,” I tell them.

“Understood, brother,” Tracker says.

“No one blames you, and no one doubts you,” Viker tells me.

“That’s good to know,” I share and we part ways to our individual bikes.

I toss a leg over my bike while I blink repeatedly. My contacts have never irritated me like this before and it’s annoying as fuck.

Instead of going straight to Lily’s house, I go to mine. After last night, I need a shower. I stand naked in front of my bathroom mirror, staring at myself. I don’t even recognize the man looking back at me. His hair’s too long, his eyes too brown. I reach up and stretch my bottom eyelid, my vision blurs as I press a finger against the contact and extract it. The bright green of my eye shines bright behind the brown coloring of the contact. I repeat the process on the other eye and I’m now staring at someone who better resembles myself, but still, it’s not me.

Walking out of the bathroom, I go into my closet and pull down my shaving kit. Ever since I came back as Pyro, I haven’t used a shaver, but I’ve always kept one on hand and I need it now. It’s time to make Pyro go away and bring Tryke back to life. This is the best place to start.

I return to the bathroom and plug in the shaver and I flick the switch. It kicks on and the vibration in my hand is a reminder of what I’m about to do. I smile at myself and lift the hair on the side of my head, the one with Lily’s tattoo and I press the shaver to my temple and swipe it through, leaving a nearly bald streak in its path. I come back, closer to my ear, and repeat the process.

I keep going until that side of my head is bald and free of hair, then I start on the other side. I haven’t touched the back yet. It’s been six years since I’ve cut my hair. Here’s hoping I don’t fuck it up.

Ten minutes later and I’m looking at my hair again in the mirror. The top is still too long, but I kind of like it. I can’t see the back, but it feels alright. I have a nice thick stripe of hair running from my forehead to the base of my skull. The mohawk is much longer than I’ve ever had it, but I kind of like it like this.

“There you are,” I say into the mirror. “I’ve missed you.”

For the first time in my life, I regret the scar on the side of my face and I wish there was a way to make it disappear. But unless I’m going to have surgery, it will be a permanent part of my face for the rest of my life. I take a deep breath before I step into the shower.

About thirty minutes later, around ten, I’m headed toward Lily’s house. My scruff has been shaved off, my hair fixed, sort of, and my contacts are gone.

When I pull up in front of Lily’s, I see that someone brought her bike back here from Loki’s and it makes me smile. She can keep riding it. I know Loki won’t stop her and if Loki is willing to let her ride, there ain’t a brother in Roswell who would make her stop.

In hindsight, it was probably ridiculously stupid of me to think she’d stay away from the life, but I’d hoped.

The front door opens and Piper stands there as I kill my bike. “You’re not Loki,” she says sadly.

“No darlin’, I’m not. Is Emily here?”

“Duh,” she says as I approach her.

I laugh. “Do I know you?” she asks me as I step up the front steps.

“No, but I know you,” I tell her with a smile.

“Are you sure?”

“What makes you ask?” I counter.

“You look like mommy’s brother.” My heart picks up a beat in my chest. “But mommy said he died,” she says sadly. “I never got to meet him.”

I kneel before her. “What if I told you that I am your mommy’s brother.”

Her eyes widen and she lights up. “Are you really mommy’s brother? Are you really Unkie Kellen?” she asks, hopeful.

“I am, Piper.”

She gasps, “You know my name?”

I can’t help but chuckle at her. “Yeah, I know your name because I’m your Uncle Kellen.”

She pushes through the door and slams me with a massive hug. Her arms wrap around my neck, holding on for dear life. “So, you’re not dead?” she asks softly.

“No, baby, I’m not dead,” I tell her.

“Piper, what are you doing?” a voice says as a woman comes to the door. My eyes lock on hers, they’re a beautiful shade of blue. Her stick straight black hair cascades down her back. My heart stops in my chest. “Who are you?” she asks, but her voice comes out as more of a whisper and I smile at her.

“I’m Tryke,” I tell her.

She shakes her head. “That’s not possible, he’s dead.”

“No, he’s not,” Piper champions for me, turning around to face Emily. “This is my unkie Kellen. I know it is.”

“It’s a long story,” I say by way of explanation. “I came to talk to you.”

“Is everything alright?” she asks, concern in her voice.

“Hey, Piper, can you do me a favor?” I ask.

“Anything.”

I smile at her eagerness. “Can you give me and Emily a minute to talk?”

“I know, I know, adult stuff,” she mutters as she squirms out of my arms and she ducks inside the house.

I look past Emily and see that Piper has moved into the dining room. “Lily is in the hospital,” I tell her. She gasps and covers her mouth. “She’s alright, just a little beat up, but she’s gonna be there for a couple days.”

“Okay…” she says, unsure of what else to say. “Can we go see her?”

I can’t stop my features from scrunching up. “I wouldn’t recommend it, at least not for a few days. She’s pretty beat up. I don’t want to scare Piper.”

She nods in understanding. “I can handle Piper, but what should I tell her?”

I shrug. I haven’t the first clue about what you tell kids in situations like this. “I don’t…I have no clue,” I admit..

Emily smiles at me, her eyes roaming over my cut and lower. My cock hardens in my jeans and I pray to god she can’t see it. “Kiwi is usually pretty honest,” she says as her eyes make their way back up to my face. I bite the inside of my cheek to stop from blushing like a moron.

After I regain control, just a heartbeat or two, I say to her, “Well, I will leave that up to you, but she’s going to be fine. She needs her rest and some time to recover.”

“What about Loki?” she asks.

“He’s fine. He’s at the hospital with her…” I realize that we’re still standing outside and I’m not sure I like this. “Can I come in?” I ask.

“Absolutely,” she says, opening the door for me to step inside. I walk up to her, putting myself right in front of her. She’s much shorter than I am and her breathing catches in her throat. Her eyes, staring into mine, dilate, and I smirk.

“See something you like?” I ask her.

“Uh huh,” she breathes before her face turns bright red and she breaks our eye contact. I smirk. Taking the door from her hand, I close it gently. Piper is singing in the dining room, some Adam Levine song, Animals, I think it is, with no music playing. I shake my head and press Emily against the wall. I’m not touching her, but she’s trapped between me and the wall.

“And what would you like to do with it?” I ask her.

“Lick it from head to toe.”

My mouth falls slack, my cock hardens further and I move in closer to her, dipping my head so that my lips are mere inches from hers. Her breathing catches in her throat and she tilts her head closer, trying to get me to kiss her. I leave her hanging for a moment, but then I slant my lips over hears.

Electricity flies through me. My cock jumps, my heart skips and my breathing falters the moment our lips touch.

She wraps her arms around my neck, pressing her body against me and I growl into our kiss before wrapping my arms around her and lifting her. She wraps her legs around me and I press her against the wall. Our lips never stop. I slide my tongue along her lower lip and she opens for me. I press my tongue into her mouth and she starts sucking it and flicking her tongue.

I groan again and press my hips into her sex. “Oh god,” she wimpers as she tears her mouth from mine.

“Animals, like Animals,” rings out from the kitchen and it’s like dumping ice water over me. I let Emily back to the floor.

“Wow,” she breathes.

“Wow is right,” I agree.

I lift my hand, brushing the backs of my knuckles down her cheek. “I better go,” I tell her.

“Okay…” she breathes.

I pull back, putting distance between us, and her vision clears, her mind returning to herself and she looks at me like I’ve just stolen her virtue. I smirk at her. With my eyes on her, I say, “Piper, baby, I’m leaving.”

She comes running in and she looks from me to Emily and back to me again. “Already?” she says. “You just got here.”

I smile and break eye contact with Emily to look down at Piper. “I know, baby, but I got business to take care of.”

“Will you come back?”

I look at Emily again when I answer, “Oh yeah, I’ll be back.”

“Good,” Piper exclaims and she hugs my leg.

“See you later,” I say to both of them, but I’m looking at Emily with a look I hope says it’s a promise. Her mouth falls slack and her chest rises quickly for a moment.

“See you later,” she breathes.

I walk out of the house, my hand going to my cock, shifting it. It’s hard as fucking steel and climbing on my bike isn’t going to be fun like this, but I do it anyway. I look at the time on my phone, just before eleven. I have enough time to swing by the hospital before the meeting.