Chapter Thirteen
Wren
TRISTAN AND ZACH triedso hard to convince me to go to the funeral again this morning.They understood when I told them no, but then they tried to stay at the clubhouse with me.Their responsibility is to go to the funeral to say goodbye to a fallen member and not babysit me when I’m more than capable of staying on my own.Tristan put the cream on my back before they all left.Fury gave me a huge hug and told me he wished I was going, Demolition and Vulture both gave me hugs but didn’t say anything.I know today is hard as hell for everyone, but those three men are mourning so much harder than anyone else.They’ve lost a son, nephew, and brother.No one else here can feel the way they do at this moment.I can’t even begin to imagine what Millie and the kids are going through either.We haven’t talked since she came to see me in the hospital, and I get it.She has a lot going on in her world right now.I’ll be here for her when she’s ready to talk or anything else.If she wants to see me, that is.I’m not so sure she does.Millie said what she had and that’s it.
The only other ones left in the clubhouse are the Rebels.They’re all sitting on the couch, doing their nails, moisturizing, and whatever else they can.What they’re not doing is cleaning the clubhouse, cooking food for the wake, or anything else Judge told them to do before everyone pulled out.Today has already been a horrible day.I woke up sick as hell and spent over an hour throwing up before I even left my room.Then I was in pain and having horrendous muscle spasms after it.Zach is really worried about me and I had to convince him everything wasn’t as bad as he thought.I always try to tell the truth, but this morning I lied to my foster brother for the first time.
Walking in the kitchen, I clean the entire room.There’s dishes all over the place, garbage piled on counters and overflowing from the can.No one has cleaned in here since the other clubs started showing up.It’s definitely showing.Food from yesterday is even still sitting on the counter.The first thing I do is take out the garbage.All ten bags of it.After unloading the dishwasher, I load it again with the dishes I rinse off in the sink next to it.It takes forever because I don’t know where anything is when I try to put the clean plate and cups away.The silverware is simply tossed in a drawer.It’s a complete mess.Once the dishwasher is loaded and started, I wash the rest of the dishes by hand.By the time I’m done cleaning, including sweeping and mopping the floor, I’m covered in sweat and in more pain than I have been since I first woke up in the hospital.
A few of the girls walk in, see me working, and turn right around again.None of them stay in here because they don’t want to work at all.Fucking lazy bitches.Once the kitchen has been scrubbed as much as I can handle, I search the refrigerator, freezer, and cupboards for food to make.I know Tristan and Wyatt made a run to the store a day or two ago specifically for today.
I pull out ribs, steak, chicken, burgers, and hamburger.There’s stuff for salads, potatoes, vegetables, and desserts.Grabbing two of the crockpots, I fill them with barbeque sauce and ribs before placing them on high to start cooking before I take them out to cook on the grills Tristan told me were out back.Taking out large Tupperware containers, I add a homemade marinade Mrs.Smythe showed me how to make.I place the steaks in one container and the chicken in the other.There’s nothing I can do with the burgers right now so I place them back in the refrigerator next to the hot dogs.Taking the hamburger, I brown it in one of the largest frying pans I’ve ever seen before.While it finishes cooking, I grab several jars of spaghetti sauce and the jumbo shells I saw in the pantry.There’s some large tin foil pans in one of the cupboards and I pull them out.
Cooking and baking is something I truly enjoy doing.It eases my mind and calms me down when I’ve got something huge on my mind.Today, that couldn’t be more true as I replay Judge’s words.Telling me he’ll fuck me but won’t give me anything else.The last thing I’d ever want from a man is for a sex only relationship.I want a real relationship with someone and everything that entails.The dates, hanging out, getting to know one another, sharing our secrets and pasts, making memories together, and everything else that comes with merging your life with someone else.At the end of the day, he’s not wrong—I do want Judge as much as I did that night.I just don’t believe I’m cut out to have a sexual only thing with someone.
As I put together stuffed shells so I can place them in the oven, I try to figure out what it would look like to do what Judge is suggesting.If this is something I could seriously do and not allow my emotions to get involved.I mean, I live my life trying to keep emotions out of most situations because there’s no point in getting disappointed when things don’t go as I expect them to or when someone lets me down.From a very early age, I learned to bury my emotions deep and stop crying.No one really cares if you cry or anything else when you’re upset or mad.
When I put the stuffed shells in the oven, I begin making the salads.I make pasta, macaroni, and potato.Once those are placed back in the refrigerator, I start on the desserts.There’s going to be a ton of people here so there’s no point in making pies, cakes, or anything else like that.Today it’s going to be all about things people can grab and eat as they stand around talking or take to a table with them.I’m making the largest batches of brownies, fudge, peanut butter cookies, peanut butter blossoms, chocolate chip cookies, and Rice Krispies Treats as I can.I check on the stuffed shells before leaving the kitchen to work on getting the common room clean and the bar stocked from yesterday.
“Look at the little skank finally realizing what her job is here,” one of the Rebels says as I wipe down tables and chairs.
“This isn’t my job.It’s yours.You’re too damn lazy and won’t get off your ass.If the guys come back to the clubhouse and nothing is done, it’s going to be bad.So, I’ll do your jobs and make sure no one has anything to worry about,” I state, my voice hard and cold as I finish wiping down the tables and bar.
“Who the fuck do you think you are?You don’t get to talk to me like that,” the Rebel says, standing up and heading my way with a glare on her face.
“I know who I am.I’m a guest of Fury, Demolition, and Vulture.I’m above you in the hierarchy because I don’t lay on my back, spreading my legs for every man who wants a ride.Judge specifically told all of you to clean and cook before they got back.You’ve done absolutely nothing while I do it all on my own as I continue healing,” I tell her, knowing she’s already going to try and turn this argument physical.
Right on cue, she lashes out and tries to grab a fistful of hair.I duck her attempt and punch her straight in the nose.There’s a loud crunch as she screams in pain and I see the blood starting to flow from the injury I just inflicted.No one comes to her rescue as she looks at me with tears running down her face.
“Get the fuck away from me and don’t ever come near me again.The next time, I’ll let Demolition handle your ass,” I tell her before turning my back on her.“And someone get her the fuck out of here.I’m not going to clean up this room again.”
I hear movement behind me as I finish wiping down the bar and getting rid of the garbage left on top of it.This is going to take me just as long to clean as the kitchen did.I’m not sure how I’ll manage to restock the bar though.If the guys come back and I’m carrying something heavy, they’ll lose their minds.Especially my foster brothers.I don’t honestly know who will handle it worse between them, Fury, Demolition, and Vulture.Fury and Vulture don’t know about the baby, but the others do.Taking a deep breath, I only leave the common room to check on the stuffed shells and pull them out when they’re done cooking.When I put them back in to reheat, I’ll add the cheese on top.
***
All of the food isalmost fully prepared.The only thing left to do is cooking the meat, finding out what drinks to put out, and moving the clean glasses to the bar.I’ve been cleaning and cooking nonstop with no help from anyone else.The Rebels have been sitting on their asses watching me.I’ve gotten sick a few more times and barely been able to eat anything despite knowing I need to.
“Wren, what the fuck are ya doin’?”Zach asks me as they enter the common room and stop dead in their tracks.
“Cooking and cleaning.No one else wanted to get off their asses to do anything, so I did,” I tell them, throwing the Rebels under the bus as the one I hit earlier stands up and points at me.
“She hit me and I didn’t do anything wrong!”she lies, her voice loud and full of fake hurt.
Zach and Tristan look at me then one another before they start laughing hysterically.I don’t know what they find so funny, but I’m sure I’ll be let in on the joke soon.
“This isn’t funny.The bitch broke my nose,” the girl whines, her voice grating on my nerves worse than anything else ever has.
“It is funny.Wren doesn’t just randomly go around punchin’ people in the face.She doesn’t hit anyone if they don’t push her,” Zach states as he stops laughing and turns a glare in the girl’s direction.“We’ve known her since she was eighteen years old and she’s the least violent person I’ve ever met.So, what I think happened is you pushed her buttons, got in her face, and tried to attack her without provocation.Maybe she called your ass out then about not pullin’ your weight in the clubhouse and doin’ what you were all told to do before we left.Today is not about your selfish asses.It’s about tellin’ Razer goodbye and supportin’ those who love him.”
“Judge will take care of all of you when he gets back,” the girl says as she tosses her hair over her shoulder and turns to walk away from us.
“What needs to be done, Wren?”Tristan asks me as I turn to head back in the kitchen.
“How long before everyone gets here?”I return so I can figure out what needs to happen now.
“About twenty minutes at most,” he answers as the rest of the Rebels scatter and disappear from the common room.
“If you could check the grills, that would be amazing.I moved them closer to the back kitchen door and turned them on already.I’ve got the steaks in the marinade, chicken is in another container, and the ribs have been cooking since I started,” I tell him as we make our way to the kitchen and I open the lids on the crockpots to check the ribs.