Gifted Connections: Book 2(102)

I went back out to his room. I pulled out my skinny jeans, white V-neck fitted tee, and light weight black leather jacket. I picked up my black ankle boots. He had adopted the same habit of no shoes in the house.

I left his room and saw him immediately. He was beautiful to look at. He was built like a mountain and just as majestic. He was leaning against the half wall surrounding the roof. He was looking off into the distance with his coffee braced in his hands.

I slid up behind him and hugged him. I felt him stiffen for a moment before he turned and lifted me onto the wall. He placed a long lingering kiss on my lips before he took my hand and led me down to the service elevator that didn’t go through the house but went straight down to the garage.

We didn’t talk. I didn’t ask him where we were going or why. I knew right now wasn’t the time for words. I could see his inner struggle as we walked into the garage. He walked over to a black bike I had never seen before. He handed me a helmet, slid on his own leather jacket and his matching helmet.

I couldn’t have worn a better outfit if I had planned it. It was a totally inane thought, but I was feeling baffled and confused at the moment.

He slid on the bike and held out a hand for me to slide on behind him. I put my feet on the pegs and grasped his middle. He started the bike and the low rumble filled the garage, before he hit the remote that would open the far bay.

I was enthralled by the sights as we drove through the city. After being on it for about ten minutes, I knew I had to have him teach me. I wanted a bike. Like yesterday. It was exhilarating, exciting, and I felt so free on it as he continued to increase his speed. We hopped off onto the exit leading to the highway and he increased his speed once more.

I wondered how I could get my license and buy a bike. I didn’t have either, but I was determined for both. Will had gotten me a Jeep Wrangler, and Remy had planned to teach me how to drive, the last time I turned 18, but then Horatio screwed up my life.

I hadn’t bothered going to driver’s education in school. I knew it required a parent or guardian to ride with you a certain number of hours, before they would even issue you a license. Heidi never had a reliable vehicle. They were constantly breaking down or getting towed away, when she parked them in restricted areas. That normally occurred when she had been drinking or high.

I knew if I had purchased a beater, she would have taken it or sold it. She would have never driven around with me. I didn’t think it was worth the aggravation or headache, so I had walked or taken the bus. Bus fares were low and affordable on my waitressing tips.

Maybe after I turned 21 and received my inheritance from my father’s death, I could buy a bike with it. I would have to make sure I set some of it, if not most of it, away for the kids. I knew Will would always take care of us, but having a rainy-day fund would make me feel better.

I had been so lost in my musings, I hadn’t noticed we had hopped back off the interstate and headed to a picturesque little town. We got off onto a side road and headed towards a cemetery. I was confused when he finally stopped the bike and helped me off. He took my hand and placed our helmets on the bike. I wanted to gush about the thrill I had just felt. I wanted to ask him to teach me how to ride, but I knew now was not the time or place.

He led me towards a little angel head stone. A plaque beneath it read Anna Mae Pierce. I read the date of birth and the date of death and gasped. She had only been six years old when she died, and the anniversary of her death had been yesterday.

“Anna was my baby sister,” Remy finally spoke. His voice was scratchy from his prolonged silence. He sat down in front of her tombstone and brought his knees up to his chest, bracing his arms across them. “I never knew my dad. My mother was a lot like your step mother. She loved to drink and do drugs. We lived in a rundown, hovel of a trailer park. Molly, my cousin, lived right next door.

“My mom met my step dad when I was nine. She got pregnant shortly thereafter. He hated me. He beat me for shits and giggles. Especially when he drank, and he drank a lot. Molly moved in with us when she was ten, I was thirteen. Her dad and mom were in jail again, and the state placed her with her only living relative.

“Together, we pretty much raised Anna. She was—" He cleared his throat, and I knew he was trying not to get emotional. I sat down beside him and started to run my nails across his back, trying to sooth him. “She was such an angel. She was such a good baby and little girl. At thirteen, I knew I had to get us out of there.

“I started picking up odd jobs here and there. I was always a tall kid and looked older. There were plenty of places that would hire me and pay me under the table. I hadn’t realized until nearly a year later that the sick bastard had been molesting Molly, but by then it was too late. One of her teachers saw what I couldn’t. She called the cops. The state placed her with a nice family in the gifted community. We hadn’t realized at the time how befitting it was. Since Molly hadn’t gotten her gifts until she was thirteen.

“They put him in jail for one year, because there was no physical evidence. He never left any physical evidence. My mom denied all of Molly’s accusations. She gave him an alibi. The day he got out of jail, my mom was supposed to take Anna trick or treating. I was working. She never told me he was getting released that day, that she was going to get him and bring him home.

“When I got home. I couldn’t find Anna. I looked all over. My mom and my step dad were passed out on the couch. I finally called the cops and…” He paused, putting a fist to his mouth and tried to control his emotions once again. “Anna decided to go trick or treating by herself. She was with a group of friends. She wanted to be a black bat that year. When I bought her costume, I didn’t think about broken street lights and visibility. They were out past the time they should have been. She was running across a busy street and didn’t look both ways. She was hit by a car. She died instantaneously.” He paused once more, and I hugged him from behind.