Bones by the Wood (31 page)

She hurried to the other side of the bed and joined Clarice in her efforts to rouse Josh.

“Josh!  Josh!  Wake up, bud.  Mama’s here.  Wake up, bud.”  She tried to remain calm, but her voice always took on a frantic tone.  She couldn’t help it, couldn’t stop it, because she was failing him.

Josh woke eventually with a start, shooting bolt upright.  He was sweating, his limbs were limp.  He was panting and ghostly white.  And he’d wet the bed.

Thea changed the wet sheets and his clothes, re-dressing him in his pajamas. She dispatched Clarice to get him a glass of milk and some toast.  It was the post nightmare ritual that they had established.  Once he was dry and resettled in the clean sheets, Thea coaxed him to eat and drink and got him set with an illustrated copy of Treasure Island to occupy and distract him while she went to speak to Clarice, because it was obvious that Clarice had something to say to her.

They were barely into the corner kitchen before Clarice broke down into quiet sobs.  Her words came out in a hiccupped rush.

“I can’t do this anymore, Thea.  I’m sorry.  I don’t know what happened to you two.  I know damn well it wasn’t no car accident.  Somethin’ bad happened that you won’t tell me about, but you and that boy of yours need help. But I can’t look after him anymore.  It doesn’t just hurt me to see him like that, Thea, it scares me, too.  You know I think of that boy like a grandson, and I wish I could be stronger for you both, but it just hurts too much. And I don’t have the energy.  I’ve tried, I’ve prayed for strength, but I... I... just... can’t.”

Thea felt her own answering tears roll down her cheeks.  She dashed them away impatiently with the back of her hand before she wrapped her arms around the elderly woman.

“It’s alright, Clarice.  I understand.  I appreciate everythin’ you’ve done for us.  I really do. I can’t expect you to take this on.”

“But what’ll you do?”  Clarice reached for some paper towel to dry her eyes.

“I’ll speak to Dwight, see if I can move my shifts to durin’ the day when Josh is at school.  If I get him on the school bus, could you give me a hand in the mornin’?  The early shift starts at seven.”

“Yes.  Yes.  I’ll help however I can, I just can’t....”

“I know. I know.  It’s okay.”

Thea saw Clarice back to her apartment and, for a moment, was reluctant to go back into her own.  She’d had no luck coming up with a plan to move them far away from Ravensbridge, short of packing everything into the truck that she felt guilty for driving, let alone laying claim to and making her escape in.   Now she had no plans at all.  Working while Josh was at school wouldn’t pay enough to keep this roof over their heads.  She had no ideas, no idea at all about how they were going to manage.  She’d just have to keep plowing forward.  With that thought she opened the door and went to comfort her son.

~o0o~

“Ms. Colby, thank you for taking the time to see me.”

Like she’d had a fucking choice.  The Principal at Josh’s school had called her in because her boy was turning into a ghost.  Or he had been.  He was a pale shadow of himself, still was, but today he’d gotten into a fight with another boy in the school yard.  Thea still didn’t know what had started it, but every teacher that she’d spotted since she’d stepped foot on the school grounds had given her the stink eye. 

Thea was only surprised that she hadn’t been called in earlier.  Of course, she had had to cut a shift short to respond to the Principal’s request, which was really a demand, to make this appointment on short notice.  Dwight had given her a lot of shit for that.  She’d only been working the day shifts for a week.

“Of course, Principal Schneider.  Can you tell me what happened?”  Thea felt she was destined to be plagued by short men on a power trip.  The Principal was so short it was almost a physical condition.  He had a bald patch that met his receding hairline and squinty, shortsighted eyes.  The man was a mass of inadequacy complexes.

“It appears the boys got into a small disagreement during the break and Josh elected to use physical violence as part of the dispute.”  The sanctimonious bastard.  Thea would elect to use fucking physical violence on him.

“Principal, I know Josh hasn’t been himself of late, but he wouldn’t have punched that boy unless he had reason to.”  Her boy didn’t have the spirit left in him to start a fight.

“The other boy denies saying anything provocative.”

Well of course he fucking would.  Thea was seething.  Her boy was being made a scapegoat.  “And what does Josh say?”

The Principal sighed heavily.  “Josh won’t say anything to us, Ms. Colby.  I have to ask, is everything alright at home?”

No, it really wasn’t.  “Yes, everythin’s fine.  We’re fine.”

Disbelief was all over the Principal’s face.  “No offence, Ms. Colby, but that is plainly not true.”

She was tired, so very tired of dealing with all this shit.  “We’re good. We don’t need any interventions.”

The Principal’s piggy eyes shifted from side to side.  Oh fuck.  That wasn’t a good sign.  “I’ve seen you around town with the MC, Ms. Colby.  Are you mixed up with something you can’t get out of?”

Not anymore she wasn’t.  “No.  Not mixed up at all, Principal.”

“If you’re being threatened or controlled in some way...”

She wanted out of this office right the fuck now.  “I suggest you stop speakin’ now, Principal Schneider. I thank you for your concern about my boy.  I’ll see to it that he’s disciplined at home for today.  I don’t want him fightin’ any more than you do.”

“I’m suspending him for three days, Ms. Colby.  If you won’t speak to me, I suggest you speak to a professional.”  He handed Thea two leaflets.  She rose and left, trying not to run out of the small space. Only once she was on the other side of the door did she look at the pamphlets; AAA and a domestic violence helpline.  The Principal was covering his bases.

Fuck.  Just, fuck!  She was going to end up with her boy being taken away from her and dumped in the system if she wasn’t careful.

Josh was sat on a hard, orange, plastic seat in the corridor, waiting patiently.  He had a black eye, but it wasn’t a bad one.  If Thea was honest, it was hard to tell what was bruising and what was shading from the lack of sleep.  The nightmares were still gripping them both, every single night. And now when Thea got past her replay of that night and got back to sleep she was dreaming about being thrown out of their apartment and living on the street.  That dream definitely had a basis in reality.  It was becoming a very real possibility.

“Come on, bud.  Let’s go home.”

Josh looked at her suspiciously, but he grabbed his bag and followed her to the truck.  He didn’t say anything until they were on the route home.

“Shaggy was gonna teach me how to punch, so I could do it right.  I didn’t do it right.  Andy said I was a pussy.  I’m not, Mama, but I’m sick of bein’ scared all the time.”

She had failed him.  She was still failing him.  “I don’t know how to help you, bud,” she admitted.  She’d explained to Josh why she wouldn’t take him to a doctor.  Josh had been mortified by the thought of discussing his bedwetting with someone other than her anyway.

“I know.  I’m just tired, Mama. Tired of it all.”  He sounded so much older than his ten years that it made Thea’s soul ache.

“Me too, bud.  Me too.”

She didn’t have any answers.  She was lost.

~o0o~

Thea had a rare day off. She’d worked every day for two weeks straight and every night for almost two whole weeks before that.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to be enough.  It was never going to be enough.  The hourly rate for the night time shift was slightly more and the hours were longer.  Doing the day shifts didn’t give her enough hours or enough of a rate.  She was fucking screwed and she had no idea how to fix it.

And, as she’d been expecting, she’d received a note from the landlord that morning, a notification that they were too far behind with the rent and that he was kicking them out.  He’d run out of patience extremely quickly in Thea’s opinion, but he could not be persuaded to give them a chance.  They had three days, three fucking days, to find somewhere new to live and to get out before he started eviction proceedings.

She had no idea where they were going to live.  This apartment was about one of the cheapest in town. She had no funds for a deposit of a month’s rent in advance. She was back to the meager plan of packing them into the truck and driving until the gas ran out.

They were fucked.

But for now she had to put it all to one side because she had yet another load of urine-soaked bedding to wash.  She was all packed up and ready to head to the laundromat when the knock came at her door.

She wasn’t expecting anyone.  Her blood ran cold.  But it wasn’t a heavy knock.  It wasn’t Dizzy.  Maybe it was Clarice?

Thea opened the door.  It was Annelle, standing with her hands on her hips and not looking like she had arrived for a friendly chat.

“Let me in, Thea.” 

It wasn’t a request; it was barely even polite.  But Thea did not hesitate to let her friend into her home.  She didn’t know what she would have said to her, if she was even allowed to mention what had happened; Dizzy had never specifically sworn her to secrecy, but she was suddenly ashamed that she hadn’t thought to call Annelle sooner.

“Dizzy told me what happened, Thea.”  Annelle was wearing a no-nonsense, tailored grey dress and had selected her attitude to match.

Thea started to cry.  Just having someone else know released a little of the burden.  She hadn’t even realized that all the subterfuge was part of the problem, that the secrets and lies had been weighing on her so heavily.

Annelle made her way over to the kitchen corner.  Thea hadn’t really moved from the door.  “How’re you doin?  Scratch that. I can see damn well that you’re fallin’ apart.  Sit.  Now.”

Thea stumbled into one of the chairs at the kitchen table.  Annelle set some coffee brewing, and before long, put a steaming mug of caffeine in front of her.  Annelle took the seat on the opposite side of the table.

“What’s that smell?”  Annelle wrinkled her nose while she glanced around the apartment for the source of the sharp scent.

“Josh has nightmares, and he’s wettin’ the bed.  Please, don’t say anythin’ to him.”

“Like I would.”  Annelle was obviously offended at Thea’s lack of trust.

“I was on my way out to get the sheets washed.”

“Jesus, Thea.”

At those two words and the concern that thickened Annelle’s voice, Thea broke down completely.  The whole sorry story came flooding out.  The humiliation of her boss not trusting her and belittling her, the nightmares, the incident at school, the fear that Josh’s teachers were watching and waiting for an opportunity to take her boy away, and finally, the eviction notice.

And when she was done and she couldn’t cry any more, Thea realized that Annelle had been holding her the entire time.  She had no idea when Annelle had left her seat, but her friend had wrapped her in her arms and she wasn’t letting go.  Thea was still fucked, but she felt just a little less alone.

When Annelle had stalked into the garage and demanded to speak to him, Dizzy had decided that it would be a good idea to take her into the Chapel.  The woman was on some sort of mission and he’d have bet good money what the topic of conversation was going to be.  He’d also have bet that he didn’t want his brothers listening to every word.  He’d been right.

He was sitting, listening to what she was telling him, in a state of shock.  He’d known that things couldn’t have been going well with Thea. He’d spotted her a time or two around town and just those brief glimpses were enough to tell him unequivocally that she was struggling.  He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he’d made his way past the school a couple of times to try and catch a look at Josh to check on the boy, and those brief moments when he’d been successful had only confirmed that it was fucking obvious that they were more affected than she’d let on.

But he’d had no idea how bad it had been.

He’d promised that he would keep them safe, and he’d been doing his best to keep that promise.  As soon as the majority of his stitches had been removed and he’d been able to stand the pain in his ribs a little better, he’d made more visits through that tunnel in the bowels of hell.  Fitz and Shaggy had been his companions for those journeys and they’d had the support of the Rojas family.  He’d wanted the rest of his table at home, keeping the home fires burning and keeping a careful watch on people important to the club.  They’d been under strict instructions not to let Thea know she was being looked after.

Dizzy still couldn’t guarantee that everyone with any affinity to the Los Perdidos was dead.  Mexico was a big country, after all, and they were a handful of men, not an invading army, but the horrors that they’d perpetrated on the soldiers and sympathizers that they’d found had sent a message loud and clear.  During the previous weeks, he’d become a shell of a man, filled only with rage and brutal vengeance.  He could say, with a good degree of certainty now, that no one would fuck with the Priests without thinking twice. 

Ashleigh and Shark’s wedding hadn’t been a secret, and there weren’t that many motels near the clubhouse.  It couldn’t have been hard for those few Perdidos to figure out where they were staying.  Dizzy knew himself that the clerk would give up any information without hardly any effort at persuasion.  But he could have paid more attention, been better prepared for an attack.  He should have made sure another brother was in their room to help him guard his family.  He had no intention of being careless about his personal safety, or the safety of those he loved, ever again. 

Except that yet again, he had dropped the ball where Thea and Josh had been concerned, as Annelle was describing in heartbreaking detail.

She’d taken Cage’s chair.  While she’d been talking, she’d been leaning forward with her elbows on the table, her hands clasped.  Now she leaned back and looked him steadily in the eye.

“So my question to you, and I refuse to apologize for bein’ out of line, is what the fuck are you gonna do about this?  If you were ever serious about that girl and her boy, you need to help them, because they are drownin’.”

“You don’t have to look at me like that, Annelle.  This is all on me and I know it.  She asked for space. I gave her space.  But it was a mistake. I see that now.”

“So what’re you gonna do?”

Dizzy lit a cigarette and took a long, comforting drag.  He kept his eyes on the glass ashtray as he tapped the ash off his smoke.  He knew Annelle was still staring at him, her eyes boring disapproving holes into the side of his head, but he wanted to let the idea that he’d tucked away in his mind come back out to the front to expand and flourish before he answered.

He fixed his eyes on Annelle.  She was being somewhat less than respectful, but considering the circumstances, he’d let it go, just this once.

“First thing, I’ll get them fixed up with someplace to live.  After that we’ll figure out how to deal with everythin’ else.”

Annelle relaxed visibly and smiled.  “Good.  You need to stand up for your family, but sometimes you need to stand up to them, too.”

“I know jack about raisin’ kids Annelle.  She says she knows what’s best for her boy.  She’s brought him up good so far.  I listen to her.”

Annelle thawed fractionally more.  She might even have looked a little sympathetic, not that Dizzy was looking for sympathy.

“But this is your world that you brought them into, Dizzy.  She knows her boy, but she doesn’t know this life.  She needs you, she just doesn’t know it.”

“She doesn’t want to admit it.”  He’d discovered that years of self-reliance had left Thea with an independent streak a mile wide.

“Same thing.”  Annelle shrugged.

“Okay.”  Dizzy ground his cigarette out.  “She at home?”

“Probably, she should be back from the laundromat by now.”

“Right.”  Dizzy pushed himself out of his seat and headed for the doors without waiting for Annelle to rise.

He was filled with vigor.  This was a chance to make things right.  He had a vague notion of Annelle’s heels tapping after him as he headed to the garage bays.  He couldn’t motivate this plan on his own, and he couldn’t carry it out on the back of a Harley.  He knew he’d have no shortage of helpers.  Most of his brothers had tiptoed on eggshells around him on the subject of Thea and Josh, but some had been more vocal than others.  They’d all get the chance to say ‘I told you so’, now.

As he walked in, he began to strip out of the coveralls he’d been wearing to wrestle with a Honda.  It was obvious from the expectant silence that fell when he walked in that the others had been waiting on his return.

“Shaggy, get the van.”

“What’s up, boss?”  Shaggy pushed up from his crouched position next to a Harley he was working on.

“We’re goin’ for Thea and her boy.”  He didn’t miss the seven sets of eyebrows that were raised in his direction.

“Why, what happened?”  Shaggy took a step forward.  He’d been one of Dizzy’s more vocal brothers.

“Nothin’ serious.  Well, nothin’ ‘cept they’re bein’ evicted.”

“What?”  Ferret had been on a dolly under a Toyota.  He pushed himself wholly out now and stood.

“Yeah, they need somewhere to live.  We, I’m, gonna sort that for ‘em.”

“We movin’ them in here, boss?”  Fitz started pulling off his coverall too, ignoring the paperwork he’d been wrangling with.

“No.”  That got everybody’s attention some more.  “In with me.”

“’Bout fuckin’ time.”  Those were the first words on the subject that Cage had spoken to him.

“Past time.”  Shaggy chimed in.  Dizzy didn’t call him on it.  If they all wanted to take a shot, he deserved it.  He’d let it pass, for today anyway.

~o0o~

In no time at all there were seven Harleys and a van parked outside Thea’s building, and eight leather-clad bikers at her door waiting for her to answer Dizzy’s knock.

When she eventually opened the door and caught sight of them all crowding the hall, her jaw dropped.  The sight of her was like a punch to Dizzy’s gut.  She looked worse than she had when she’d been bruised and bleeding.  Her slim frame was downright emaciated now.  The dark circles under her red-rimmed eyes were highlighted by her pasty skin and that vibrant mane of hair hung lank and dull around her shoulders.

“Dizzy?  What the fuck?”

She was about to shut the door.  He wasn’t going to let her, but before he could even so much as get his boot in the way Shaggy was pushing past them both, and she had no choice but to back into the apartment, lest she be steamrolled by the big guy.  As she did, the others followed Shaggy and streamed in.

Dizzy was the last one to enter her home.  He was ready to hogtie her if necessary to stop her from arguing against this plan.  Without further instruction, each man grabbed something, starting with the larger pieces of furniture, and started trooping out of the apartment.

Thea looked on dumbstruck for a good few minutes, but when Shaggy and Scooby wrangled her bed past her and out of the door, Nut and Ferret following with the mattress, she found her voice.

“Dizzy?  What the ever-lovin’ fuck do you think you’re all doin’?”

She punctuated her question by thumping her fist against his chest.

“Annelle came to see me this mornin’.”

And just like that, Thea deflated. Her head dropped, her shoulders slumped.  “She had no fuckin’ right.”

Dizzy caught her chin with his forefinger and lifted it, forcing her to look at him.

“She had every fuckin’ right.  And she was right to do it.  She told me you’re strugglin’.”  

Thea tried to twist away, so he dropped her chin and caught her with an arm around her waist.  He needed her to stay with him, to listen.  He hadn’t intended to bring her close to his body, but she was still trying to escape.  And fuck, fuck, fuck, he’d missed the feel of her in his arms.  He hadn’t even realized how much.

“Don’t you dare be ashamed.  This is more than you could handle. More than anyone could.  I’ve let you push me, push the club, away. And that was wrong of me.  I see that now.  So now I’m not givin’ you a choice.  You’re comin’ with me.”

“You’re kidnappin’ me?”  Thea asked incredulously.

“If I have to.  I’d like you to come under your own steam, though.”  It was like holding an antsy bag of wildcats.

“You’re gonna carry me out on your shoulder if I don’t?”

“Yeah, if I have to.”  Dizzy shrugged.  “Or get Scooby or Shaggy to, my shoulder’s still a bit trick.”

She stopped struggling for a moment.  “How are you now?”

“I’m fine.  I’ll be better when I’ve got you and your boy with me.”

She started twisting and fighting again, trying to push him away.  “No, absolutely not.  I can manage....”

“No, you really can’t.”  He cut her off.  He felt like the worst kind of bastard when her expression turned from anger to devastated hurt.  He didn’t figure he could have done worse if he’d physically slapped her.  She nearly folded completely in on herself.

“Thea, this is happenin’ whether you like it or not.  You can help, or you can let all us ham-fisted gorillas mangle all your things.”

“Fine.  I’ll play.”  Her voice was deadened.  But when he reluctantly released her, she snagged a roll of trash bags from a kitchen cupboard and started to go around the room filling a bag at a time.  Dizzy took the roll from her, ripped off a bag, and started to help. 

Wondering what all the commotion was about, Thea’s neighbor, Clarice, appeared in the hallway.  Thea explained to her what was happening and why.  At first, Clarice was shocked by the fact that Thea was being kicked out of her home, but when Thea explained that the club was finding a home for them, to Dizzy’s amazement, Clarice produced more trash bags and boxes and helped Thea to pack her belongings.

It took some time and enough trips up and down the stairs to make Dizzy’s knees scream, but they got the van full with its first load.  Thea and Josh didn’t have a lot of possessions, but it was going to take more than one trip to move what they did have.

Cage, Fitz and Easy stayed behind in the apartment, stacking furniture and bagging clothes and books and the contents of cupboards and shelves.  Scooby, Shaggy and Ferret straddled their bikes.  Nut slipped behind the wheel of the loaded van.

Dizzy walked Thea out and to his bike.   “Ride with me?” 

Thea shivered a little.  It was cool, nearing Christmas.  She was wearing a long-sleeve top with a faded, much-washed, flannel shirt flapping loosely over the top. Dizzy didn’t know if she had a heavy coat, or if it had been packed into a bag.  She looked suspiciously at him, at his bike, then back at him.  Then she nodded.

Dizzy swung onto his bike, and held his arm up for Thea to use to balance herself as she climbed onto the seat behind him.  It was the first time that she’d been on his bike with him, and he liked the symmetry of that.  This was a new beginning for them.  He waited until she was settled before he pulled out onto the street.  The van and its escort pulled out behind him.