Teaching Aleck (The Last Hangman MC #2)
Muriel Garcia
DEDICATION
To anyone who’s had a rough past.
I hope you find your happy place and
find comfort in the ones you love and
who love you.
PROLOGUE
Aleck
I’m not a good man. Not by a long shot. I’ve used women for sex for as long as I can remember. I’ve been trying to fill the hole in my heart that keeps getting bigger. I’m an * and I’m well aware of it. I’m a f*ck ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy and it won’t change anytime soon. I don’t promise them relationships, ever. I don’t do relationships. I did once, never again, it’s left me empty and damaged.
There’s one girl though. She owns my heart and doesn’t even know it.
******
Seeing me now, you would never guess I grew up in a rich, posh family. I’m part of a Motorcycle Club and covered in tattoos: my usual clothing attire consists of jeans, sneakers and whatever shirt I can find. The casual outfit from my previous life consisted of: chinos, a white button down shirt and stupid ass shoes, oh don't forget the blazer. I hated every second of it. You might wonder why I never rebelled considering the position I’m in right now. I’ll tell you why. I was a normal kid, never getting into unnecessary trouble, studying in school and doing normal kids’ stuff but it all changed a couple of years ago.
Our parents have always been very cold towards my sister, Cassie, and I, which meant that our nanny had to basically raise us. Our parents didn’t even love each other. I found that out a couple of years ago. Things weren’t perfect between them, but I had no idea of the extent of the mess that was going on behind closed doors.
We rarely ate or spent any time with them. They would always be out at some sort of party for whatever country club they were a part of. It sucked to grow up in such a cold environment when all you wanted was the love of your parents.
Anthony is the only one who knows my full story, well, it’s not like I had much choice in keeping it from him. Our first meeting was heated to say the least.
******
July 10, 2007
I can’t believe my parents didn’t even bother calling for my birthday. I wasn’t exactly expecting much out of them, but f*ck, a phone call isn’t that hard. I turned 20 today and I’m spending my birthday on my own. It’s the first I’m spending without Cassie, and f*ck, it hurts.
She left us a couple of months ago and it’s not getting any easier, in fact, it’s getting worse each day.
I drive to the cemetery where she is hopefully resting in peace now; a bouquet of lilies, her favorite flowers, rest on the seat next to me.
I park by the entrance and take a couple of deep breaths. It’s f*cking heartbreaking coming here every week knowing I’ll never see her ever again. I always hope I’ll wake up from this nightmare, but the minute I wake up, I realize that she’s gone forever. Every time I come here, I’m reminded of the harsh reality and how f*cked up my life is. Selfish you say? Yes, I’m very selfish. Cassie was the only person who kept me sane, the only one who loved me. Now, I have no one so I have to be a f*cking selfish jerk to protect myself.
I take the flowers and get out of the car, and make my way to my sister’s grave.
As usual, only the bouquet of lilies I left last week gives life to her tombstone.
I replace the withered flowers with the new ones, making sure I position them exactly how she used to, all facing the same way. She loved her flowers. Her garden was her pride and joy.
“I miss you Cas.” I whisper kneeling down, brushing my fingers over her name.
Cassie Alexandria Sanford October 7, 1982 - November 15, 2006.
“I wish you were still here with us. With me.” I sigh. “I’m 20 today. It’s weird not celebrating it with you, it’s the first, and f*ck, it’s hard. They didn’t call, not that I was expecting them to but, still, with all that has happened, it would have been nice. I don’t know why I’m still hoping for them to change. I guess I just wanted to fix our family and make things better for all of us, for them to pay attention to what they always neglected. They had two amazing kids and they threw it all away. They aren’t worth me getting myself worked up anymore. Here’s some good-ish news; I finally got an apprenticeship today. I’ll work in a law firm for a couple of months, hopefully it’ll go well and they will offer me a permanent position. I don’t see the point of going through it all, but I have to somehow live my life without you being here. You will always be in my heart and I know you are watching over me, but f*ck me, I can’t cope. I’ve tried to pay attention in class and work hard, but I just can’t focus. All I think about is how lonely I am without you in my life, I have no one except a couple of guys I can hang out with from College, but it’s not the same. My life is empty.” I sigh and rub my face.
“I should get going. I will be back next week sis. I love you.” I kiss my fingers and press them over her name, a single tear falling. I walk back to the car, taking the withered flowers with me and throw them in a bin by the gates.
I can’t face going home right now, so I drive to a small bar where I know they’ll serve me. I’ve been coming here for a couple of years now. They don’t care if you are underage as long as you can pay and don’t get them into trouble with the cops.