The Junkyard Boys (11 page)

***

The workday finally ended and I was sure the Fosters had turned their clocks back a few times, just to torture me. I didn’t even bother trying to fix myself up. I threw my apron under the workstation, whipped off my hair net, and made a beeline for the front door. As soon as I hit the sidewalk, I saw him in all his glory leaning against his truck, waiting for me. For some reason, the vision before me made my eyes mist over, and before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face in earnest. The sight of him bought so much shame and turmoil I lowered my head and slowly made my way over to stand in front of this beautiful man.

“I’m so sorry, Range.”

He lifted my face, softly holding my chin to meet his eyes, and he, too, had a look of regret and longing.

“I’m sorry, too, tootsie baby, more fucking sorry than you will ever know.”

He held out his arms and without hesitation, I threw my body into his, seeking his strong embrace and security. It felt so good to hold him so close, smelling of soap and man. I knew I would never get enough of him. The two days of self-imposed torture I’d endured were finally over and I was right where I wanted to be.

Range

Holding Clover in my arms after two days of not seeing or speaking to her felt like a giant weight had been lifted off my chest. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her until she came barreling out of that door at Fosters’ with tears in her eyes. I knew she needed time to get over that shit from Saturday night, but one look at her face told me she was as sorry as I was about how it all went down. I couldn’t change what had happened in the past, but I could try and make her understand my motivation behind my childish actions. She needed to know the way I had felt as a young man growing into his own and how the trials of my youth had molded me.

I invited her to take a drive with me to a place I hadn’t been to in years. She needed to see my life from its beginning to understand the man I was now. We made the short drive across town until I pulled up into the empty pasture with the abandoned, broken-down trailer. We exited the truck in silence. I knew she didn’t know where we were or why I had taken her here, but it was my story to tell and this was how I chose to do it.

“I used to live here when I was a boy, just me and my old man. The owner allowed us to stay here rent free, since it was basically a shell of a trailer anyway. It had no electricity or running water, but this was home until I met Buck.”

I heard her audible intake of air and could tell the vision before her was something she could never have imagined. She grew up with birthday parties and picnics, colorful decorations, hugs, and laughter. I grew up here in darkness, dirt, and filth. She could never understand this unless I showed it to her, and that was why we were standing in front of my childhood place of horrors.

“My first day of school when we moved here was the worst day of my life, baby. My clothes were too small, I smelled bad, and I had the worst case of lice known to man. I knew that if I went to school, I could at least get a free meal for the day. We had long since run out of anything edible.”

I took a deep breath and turned to her before I gave her the next memory, which was by far the hardest to tell. I held on to her hands, trying to anchor myself so I didn’t completely loose myself in the memory of that day.

“The teacher made me stand in front of the class like a fucking fool, so she could introduce me to the rest of the kids. She had barely said my name when that bitch Marci raised her hand and said she didn’t want to sit next to me because it looked like I had fleas. I was so fucking embarrassed, I just took off running until I couldn’t run anymore, and that was the day I met Buck. It took some time for me to trust him, but he made sure I had a hot meal every day and clean clothes to wear. He even shaved my head and treated it for the lice, all on his own dime. If I hadn’t met him that day, my life would have been this and only this, at least that was how I saw it at the time.”

She reached up and placed her small hand on my face as a sign of understanding and empathy, but she could never truly understand the pain I had felt being the dirty boy no one wanted, not even his own father. Clover had the kindest heart of anyone I had ever known, and because of that, I knew her feelings were genuine and not just a front. She felt bad for the boy I had been and probably a little guilty for having a childhood most would envy. She didn’t need to feel that way, not anymore; this was my past, a past my children would never have to endure as long as I had strength in my body. They would never have to eat rotten food or dig a hole to shit in ‘cause they didn’t have a working toilet. No, they would never know this life I’ve worked so hard to move past. Never, as long as there was air in my lungs.

“By the time I reached high school, I had been living with Buck full time. My hair had grown back and the girls started to take notice of my muscled body and tanned skin from working in the junkyard. I was no longer the dirty boy they’d dreaded. I was handsome and sexy, and they all wanted a piece of me. I went from being a fucking leper to being a god in their eyes, and I used them as much as they wanted to use me.”

Clover shook her head in understanding and gave me a weak smile. I knew once I had a chance to explain things, she would forgive me and we could move on. My story was one of hope and triumph, not filth and despair. I made it out of this place of horrors and wanted her with me for my next step on my life’s journey.

***

I reluctantly took Clover home last night after we left the run-down trailer. The heavy conversation and all the dredging up of the past had made us weary and in need of rest. I knew I hadn’t slept much in the two days without her and I was sure it was the same for her. I promised to pick her up from work as usual, and with a lingering kiss, I let her go.

It was a long day of work at the yard today. We had a shipment of copper delivered bright and early that had to be secured before nightfall, since it was quite an expensive commodity. Maxwell had been giving me the silent treatment after he spoke with Buck over the phone. He no longer brought his entertainment to the house but chose to leave in the evenings, only to return early in the morning, looking worse for wear. I worried for my friend and hoped he, too, could find a ray of happiness like I had with Clover.

It was almost quitting time and I was in desperate need of my afternoon shower. There was no way I would ever let Clover see me with any signs of dirt on my body. I made my way to the front of the yard to lock up for the night when I saw someone waiting by the gate. I couldn’t believe this fucker came back after I told him Buck was long gone.

“You looking for something, friend?”

“Just wondering how a man like Buck could afford a nice place like this and why he left it all to you.”

“Well, since you know he left it, then you know he’s not here and he’s never coming back. So why don’t you head back to your mother chapter or where ever it is you bikers hang out at.”

“Afraid I can’t do that, friend. You see, Buck has something of mine, and I’m not leaving till I get it back. Besides, I kind of like it here. Think I’ll stay awhile. I especially like that little candy shop in town with all its delicious…treats.”

“The fuck you say, motherfucker.”

“See you around…friend.”

With that last little message he started his bike with a loud roar and took off down the road. I didn’t miss the meaning behind his words. He would hurt Clover if he didn’t get what he wanted. That shit was not happening, not to my woman. I would do everything in my power to protect what was mine. No way was this fucking biker gonna take her away from me, not when I had just found her. But I had to be smart about this and tread carefully. I knew Buck told me to call him if I saw that guy again, but it just didn’t seem like something I needed to do yet. I could handle this fucker. Buck had left one of his guns in the house when he left. For safety, he’d said. This was definitely considered a safety issue, so I would start carrying until I could figure out what this guy wanted. I also needed to talk to Fox down at the tattoo parlor and make sure he kept an eye out for my girl as well. I’d ask around before I called Buck. At least that way we would have some kind of information to go on and not just the fact that the guy was an asshole. I just hoped I was doing the right thing.

Clover

After my evening with Range at his old childhood home, I felt so much better about the whole Marci situation. He swore to me he had only slept with her once and it had been years ago, although she wanted it to have been more. I believed him when he told me he was a better person now than he was growing up. I could see how being lonely and wanting to be accepted would push some people into doing things that were considered immoral. I could never see myself doing such things, but I couldn’t fault him for trying to find his own way through this crazy thing we called life.

We planned to spend some time together tonight after work, and he told me to make sure I informed my parents I might not be home till morning. Even though I was well above the age to have to ask permission, he didn’t want them to worry about me not returning home after work. Range was always so thoughtful when it came to my well-being. I still felt like shit every time I thought about not speaking with him for two days over some girly drama. I planned to make it up to him in a big way tonight, since we seemed to be back on track with our relationship.

I got dressed for work, packed a small backpack with essentials such as a toothbrush and deodorant, and made sure I was wearing my sexiest lingerie set under my work clothes. I was no longer avoiding my family, so I made my way down to the kitchen for the normal morning chaos, prepared for the Spanish Inquisition. It didn’t take long for them to jump in ass first with the questions.

“Well, well, well. Look who decided to finally join us for breakfast. What do you think, Shelly? Trouble in paradise?”

Somehow I knew Ashley would be the first to open her big mouth with a smart-ass comment. Ignoring her would be futile and would only lead to a double team of her and Shelly. It was best to head this off before they got too carried away.

“No trouble. Just a quick break to give each other some breathing room.”

“Girl, with a man like that you need to get closer to that ass, not further away. Screw the breathing room.”

Ashley was real close to being on the receiving end of another dishrag slap from my mother. I could see she was not at all happy we were using that sort of language in her presence yet again, although she had warned us not to. I’m sure she’d liked us more when we were fighting and ignoring each other. That way, we had never engaged in this sort of conversation. My mom gave us all a knowing look and put her hands on her hips, which was her telltale sign she had had enough.

“Look, how many times do I have to tell you girls about that sort of thing early in the morning? Denny doesn’t want to hear it and neither do I. Save your gutter talk for when you’re alone or out with your friends.”

We apologized in unison and began clearing our morning coffee cups and breakfast plates. I grabbed my backpack and purse and let my mother know I would be back in the morning. I was expecting a lecture about safe sex and unplanned pregnancy, but instead, she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and told me to have a nice day at work. Her response surprised the shit out of me. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone or something. She knew we were old enough to take care of ourselves, but that had never stopped her in the past from reminding us she was too old to take care of someone else’s kids. My mind was so plagued with this thought I didn’t notice the man sitting on a motorcycle in front of my house until I was right in front of him. I gasped in horror when I realized who it was. Decked out in his customary black garb, sporting a dangerous smile and amused expression, was the biker from the candy shop, sitting on his big, shiny hog right out front for the world to see.

“What are you doing here? How did you know where I lived? You’re not supposed to be here.” I was almost screaming hysterically, but it didn’t seem to faze him one bit.

“Calm down, sweet thang. One question at a time. I came to see if I could give you a ride to work. I just happened to notice that your man lets you walk to work every day instead of driving you, which is a dick move, I might add. You never know who might show up out of the blue.”

I looked around for someone to help me, just in case I needed to scream bloody murder. I didn’t know what frightened me more; the fact that he was in front of my house, or that he had been watching me enough to know I walked to work instead of catching a ride from Range. Either way, this guy definitely picked the wrong girl if he thought he could just show here and intimidate me into giving him information about Buck. He’d be disappointed when I told him I’d never met Buck and had no idea where he was.

“Look…Craze, I don’t know anything about Buck or the junkyard, so you can stop coming to my store, and definitely never come to my house again. Do you understand?”

“Julian.”

“What?”

“My name is Julian. Only folks in the life call me Craze, and you are definitely not in the life, sweet thang. Although you would make a great old lady. Can I at least have your name?”

I should have told him no and kept walking, but I had a bad habit of running my mouth when I wasn’t supposed to, and it always got me in trouble.

“Clover. My name is Clover. But you won’t be using it much.”

He closed his eyes and licked his lips like he was tasting the sweetest of candies. Then he opened his eyes with a blinding smile and repeated my name to himself.

“Hmm, I love the way your name tastes on my tongue.”

Well, I could definitely see where how got his name. This asshole was completely nuts, as in one can short of a six-pack. He had some nerve coming to my home and talking to me like he and I were friends or something. I got that he probably could have any woman he wanted. Some women liked the dangerous type, but I wasn’t one of them. The dark clothes and dangerous eyes did nothing but make me nervous and run in the opposite direction. If Range knew he was here, he would definitely blow a gasket and take this guy out with one punch to the gut, and there would be no way I could stop him.