Hailey’s leg jiggled up and down. Her fidgeting had been endless for the last hour, and before then, she had woken up from a sleep that was full of tossing and turning. Her dreams teased her with images of Rocco and Becca. There was one dream that stuck with her in particular, and she’d dreamed that she was further along, and that her baby was only days away from being born. In the dream, she was in her mother’s brownstone still, but no one was around. Anna and Becca were missing, and her water had broken. She remembered the way that the fluid had coursed down her thighs, and how she fell onto her back.
Hailey remembered the way that she called out until her throat was sore, and tears streamed down her face, and the contractions had begun. She ended up waking up before anyone else did, and she shuffled into the kitchen and warmed up some milk to use in the expensive hot cocoa that her mother kept in the kitchen. Hailey had been sitting on the edge of her bed ever since, she toyed with the idea of walking down the hall and knocking on Becca’s door, and she also considered pretending like nothing had ever happened.
Her eyes focused on the polished handle of the spoon that hung over the edge of her mug. I could pretend that Becca being here doesn’t mean anything. Hailey sighed, and rose to her feet. Except that Becca being here means everything. If Rocco went out of his way to keep her safe, who’s to say that he wouldn’t want to do the same for his baby?
Hailey raised her head and scoffed at her reflection in the mirror. The mirror that hung on the wall revealed a pink faced young woman with a lot on her mind. Or maybe I’m just a lunatic who takes their child away from their father.
Hailey curled her fingers around the mug handle and stepped into the hallway. The hardwood floors were cold against her feet. She lifted her foot and set it down slowly. Hailey moved crept down the stairs, and into the livingroom. Her mother’s work desk had been abandoned late last night, but her laptop screen displayed a stars flying into the air effect still. Hailey set her mug into the sink and stepped into the livingroom. She eased into the comfy chair at her mother’s desk and allowed her hands to rest on the laptop.
She inhaled, then exhaled. Hailey dragged her finger along the mousepad and the computer came to life. She clicked on the browser button and flexed her fingers before typing: Chasing Spirits Motorcycle Club, Chicago, IL.
A number of other results appeared but the actual location stuck out right away. An image of the club appeared beside a phone number and a picture of the riders. Hailey dragged the mouse over the phone number and highlighted it.
She frowned and pushed her chair away from the desk. Mom is one of the only people that I know that still has a landline. But, where does she keep it? Hailey peered around the living room, and briefly upstairs before her search brought her back into the livingroom.
Hailey sighed and moved into the kitchen and her eyes widened upon noticing the wall phone beside the pantry. She hurried back to the desk and scribbled the number onto a piece of stationary. She rushed back into the kitchen and leaned against the wall. Hailey lifted the phone off of the cradle and held it to her ear. The dial tone impatiently waited for her to dial, and Hailey slowly pressed each number.
She held her breath. The line went silent for a moment before it began to ring. Her stomach turned and she made a mental note to grab crackers or a piece of bread out of the pantry to quell the feeling in her stomach. Hailey chewed on her lip as the line on the other end went on it’s fourth ring.
She’d begun to regret calling until Clyde breathlessly answered the phone after the sixth ring, “Chasing Spirits Motorcycle Club, how can I help you this morning?”
Hailey gripped the phone so tightly she thought that she might crack the plastic if she gripped it any tighter. “Clyde,”
On the other end, the sound of Clyde’s fingers flying across his keyboard could be heard. He cleared his throat and said, “Yes, this is Clyde. Are you familiar with us? Are you calling about becoming a member?”
“N-no, I’m not. I’m actually calling to speak with…. Rocco.”
There was a pause on the other end before Clyde repeated, “You’re calling to speak with Rocco?”
Hailey nodded and said, “Yes, Rocco. Is he there? Is it too early?”
“Is this Hailey?”
Hailey’s heart beat so hard in her chest that she thought she was going to pass out. “Yeah. I just need to talk to Rocco really fast, I don’t really have any time for questions-”
“Hailey, Rocco hasn’t been back to the club since yesterday.”
“What?”
Clyde’s typing resumed and he said, “He and Meish exchanged words about Becca, I’m guessing. Next thing I knew, Pete and Greg were slamming their fists into his face.”
Hailey threw her hand backwards and braced herself against the kitchen counter. “W-what? Is he okay? Do you know anything?”
Clyde sighed and said, “I can’t really say too much about it, especially at the club. All I know is, he’s probably not coming back for a while.”
“Where would he go in the meantime?”
“Hard to say, I stopped by his place last night to see if I needed to force him to go to the hospital but he never answered the door.”
Hailey’s heart fell into her stomach and a wave of nausea swirled in her lower belly. She knew that this sick feeling had nothing to do with the baby growing inside of her. Hailey clenched her fingers around the receiver and her lips formed a small “o.” She sucked in a cooling breath. “Clyde, you don’t have any idea of where Rocco would go?”
Hailey’s trembling voice moved through the phone line and into Clyde’s ears. He heaved a heavy sigh and said, “I don’t, Hailey. I’m still trying to figure that out, but there’s not much that I can do without Meish breathing down my neck. I’m risking an ass load by even talking to you.”
Hailey nodded. “I understand. Do you know if Rocco came looking for me?”
“I don’t. He didn’t tell me anything.”
He might not have been thinking straight when he left, he tells Clyde everything. Hailey’s fingers loosened around the receiver and she said, “If you hear from him, tell him that I’m looking for him.” A thick, tight band of pain wrapped around Hailey’s neck. She frowned and said, “Please.”
She pictured Clyde nodding and nervously glancing towards the stained glass door of Meish’s office. I should let him go, he’s risked enough for me. “Thanks, Clyde.”
“Anytime. I’ve gotta go.”
“Bye.” The lined disconnected and the dial tone echoed in Hailey’s ears, she gently set the phone back onto the receiver. Her eyes fell to the floor, they worked their way up the small indents between each tile piece. Where’s Rocco? She lifted one of her hands and placed it over her mouth.
Her mind raced, should she scream into her palm so as not to wake up any of her family members? Should she cry into her pillow upstairs and resign herself to the fact that even if she tried, she might still have to raise her baby alone and she would never see Rocco again? Hailey angrily swiped at the tears that were rolling down her bright red cheeks and lifted one foot.
Each step felt like lifting a cement brick off of the floor, she ambled into the livingroom, where a dull glow still emanated from her mother’s laptop. She shook her head and moved towards the staircase.
Hailey took a deep breath and bounded up the steps, she came to the top of the stairs. Her eyes moved towards the bedroom door of her mother and. It would still be a couple of hours before they even thought about waking up and fussing around the brownstone. The window at the end of the hall allowed a few rays of sunlight to illuminate the floor in front of it. Hailey turned her head, and was face to face with the spare room that her mother had opened up to Becca.
Hailey clutched her belly and moved towards the door. She curled her fingers together at first, and her hand hovered in front of the wooden door. Hailey shook her head and her hand fell to her side. She wrapped her fingers around the polished doorknob, and pushed the door open.
A memory flashed through Hailey’s mind, the way that the smell of sex, sweat, and dirt would seep into the hall when she’d step into Becca’s room back at the motorcycle club. Hailey swallowed a lump in her throat and stepped inside. She gently shut the door behind her.
Becca’s head was buried under a mess of pillows and blankets. Thin wisps of her blonde hair spilled over the edge of the blanket and her hand hung off of the edge of the bed. She reminded Hailey of a child that had spent the entire day running up and down the street, exhaustion colored the entire scene in front of her.
Hailey moved forward, and the floorboards creaked underneath her foot. Becca shuffled underneath the dense blankets. Hailey settled onto the edge of the bed and set her hand on top of Becca’s thigh. She patted it once, then twice, when Becca didn’t stir.
Becca groaned and rolled over onto her side.
Hailey patted her with more urgency and leaned forward as she whispered, “Becca, Becca, wake up.”
Becca lifted her head up and looked towards the window beside her bed, she blinked, and swiped her knuckles across her eyes. She pulled herself into a sitting position and said, “Hailey?”
“Becca, I called the club.”
Becca sat back against the headboard of the bed and dragged a couple of her bony fingers through her hair. She shook her head and said, “You did what?”
Hailey pulled her legs up onto the bed and folded them. “I called the club,” she repeated, “I needed to talk to Rocco, because I wanted to try and explain things to him. I wanted to tell him that I thought that you and he were-”
“You thought that we were fucking around behind your back,” Becca finished. Her eyes were watery from the yawn that passed through her lips, she sighed and crossed her arms over her breast.
It had been forever since Hailey had witnessed Becca in the process of waking up. When Hailey nudged her out of her drug addled stupors at the club, Becca had been worlds away from her usual self. However, Becca was not and had never been a morning person.
“I wouldn’t have woken you up to talk about this but I didn’t know what else to do,” Hailey’s voice cracked as she wrapped her arms around her belly and said, “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
Becca sighed and pulled her legs out from underneath the blanket. She moved over to the other side of the bed and swung her legs off of the side of it. Becca slipped an arm around Hailey’s trembling shoulders. “Hey, it’s no big deal. It’s just been a long time since I’ve gotten to sleep like a normal person.”
Hailey winced and nodded, “Yeah.”
“So, what’s up? Did they threaten you when you called the club?”
Hailey remembered the sympathetic tone of Clyde’s voice when she spoke to him a few moments before. “No, the exact opposite. Clyde picked up and told me that Rocco got into a bit of trouble with a few riders. They got into a fight outside of the club, and Rocco disappeared. Clyde says that he’s not at his apartment.”
Becca nodded and said, “He just picked up and left?” Becca shook her head and said, “Although, I’d skip town if I had someone like Meish on my tail.”
A wave of fear passed over Hailey at the thought of Meish catching up with Rocco. What would he do? Over the years, she’d only heard vague details from her father about getting even with guys that crossed him. Now, she wondered if she didn’t hear any additional details because her father would have been making her apart of his crime. “I don’t know what to do, Becca. I need to find him.”
“There’s got to be a way for you to figure out where he is.” Becca twisted her neck and looked out the window. The sun had yet to rise over the tall peaks of the brownstones that lined the rest of the block. “Listen, we’ll figure something out. But, we’re not going to get anywhere on a few hours of sleep.” Becca’s palm moved in smooth circles on Hailey’s back. “You can’t think straight right now.”
A fresh round of tears blurred Hailey’s vision. She blinked a couple of times, and nodded. Hailey pushed herself off of the bed and rose to her feet. “Thank you, Becca.”
Becca fell backwards onto the bed and nodded. “No problem.”
Hailey stepped into the hallway and gently closed the door behind her. The long hallway in front of her was distorted as she slowly shuffled down the hall. Hailey blinked the tears away again and stopped just outside of her bedroom door. With a heavy sigh, she wrapped her fingers around the doorknob and pushed the door open.