Page 3 of Knuckles
“What are you talking about, sweetheart?” he asks after a few minutes of silence, and I smirk.
“I’m talking about my painting of the Paris skyline with the Eiffel Tower winning me four thousand dollars,” I state, “I even have the check.”
“Holy shit,” he gasps, and I grin wider.
“So, are my paintings a waste of time?” I ask, and he sighs.
“No one likes a person with a big head, Kodi,” he scolds, and I retort, “They do when said person has been put down by her dream that has just won her four thousand dollars and drum roll please… A job at the local art gallery!”
“Are you serious?” he asks, then confirms, “Hill Crest Art?” more firmly, and I hum in agreement.
Hill Crest Art is the most prestigious art gallery in the state, and they never hire outside of house. Now, I have a part-time job that could lead to full-time job if you impress them!
“I start this weekend and will do two hours after school every day, and if I impress them, Daddy, then your daughter will have a full-time job at eighteen as well as a scholarship for Art school,” I confirm.
“Holy shit…” he repeats, and I grin again as I grab my painting in the gold frame and the check.
“I was wondering if I could deposit the check in your account, Daddy,” I say as I climb out of my car. “I want to save up so I can buy my own place.”
“Of course, sweetheart,” he says, then murmurs, “I’m sorry I haven’t been supportive, and I am proud of you, Kodi. I’m proud of the level head you have,” and I smile wide.
“Thanks, Daddy,” I whisper just as I hear, “Chief?”
Dad sighs, “Alright, sweetheart, I’ve got to go, but I’m booking Harvey’s for six, and I’ll make sure your brother is there. We’re going to celebrate and put the check in my safe. We don’t want your mother finding it, you know what she’s like.”
I wince but reply, “Okay, love you, Daddy,” before I hang up.
And by knowing what she’s like—in her mind, she birthed me, so whatever I earn, she deserves at least half. That’s why throughout my savings from the motel job, my dad got my checks and claimed I didn’t earn enough for me to half with her when she questioned about it. She soon realized that was crap when I brought my jeep home. She was pissed and it isn’t just me, even with Benny, my older brother, who’s currently in the police academy, she expected half of his earnings. That’s why he moved out at seventeen, much to our father’s dismay.
I roll my eyes. I love my mom, I do, I just wish she didn’t have the same mentality as her mother, whom she doesn’t even speak to anymore.
She also had to give her mom half her earnings, even after she moved out and Dad had put a stop to it.
Humming to myself, I walk inside our modest light blue Victorian home with a smile, but I freeze when I hear, “Yes, Can, harder baby, yeeesss…” and I blink in shock recognizing my mom’s voice.
No, she wouldn’t, surely she wouldn’t, not when Dad gives her the world?
I take a shuddering breath as I slowly walk into our family room. I pause, seeing my mother bent over the couch I cuddle up with my father on and some guy gripping her ass as he thrusts inside her, his head tilted back.
A cannon tattoo dripping with blood is clear as day on his neck and I lock my jaw.
Everyone around town is aware of that tattoo, just like everyone knows the Carnage MC tattoo. Though the local biker group is loved by everyone, the Chargers are nasty pests and my mother is currently cheating on my father with one.
Clark, my best friend, is a club brat. She’s sweet and kind and has always had my back, even when my so-called other friend, Belle, turned on me.
Clark told me all about the Chargers, how dangerous they were, and again, my mother is currently with one.
She, I mean..
Tears brim as everything she’s been about suddenly seems like a lie, and my breathing becomes difficult, and I can’t seem to look away from a person who has now lost my trust.
“Squeeze me,” the man moans as he grips my mother's dark brown bob, and a few tears fall as my phone pings.
They don’t hear it, and I quickly check my phone.
Clark:
Oh my god, you fricking won?! Xx
