Chapter 3

The rain outside had stopped.

I lit a cigarette.

After taking a deep drag, I gave a sarcastic chuckle.

I'd been way too naive.

Behind every beautiful thing, there was always a hidden poison.

I got so obsessed with those impossible fantasies that I kept sinking further in, and almost lost myself.

I opened up my phone.

I blocked all those people who crashed into my life out of nowhere.

Then I made a call.

"Where are you at?" I asked.

It was noisy on the other end. A guy answered, "Same old place."

"You coming back?" he asked.

I said, "Yeah, I'll come find you."

"Cool," he replied.

The line suddenly went quiet.

Then a wave of cheers erupted.

Who said I had nowhere to go?

Who said I was nothing without the Carter family?

I ditched my past, tried to play the good girl, thinking maybe being with the Carter family could patch up the scars my messed-up family left me.

It turned out that those wounds never closed.

Instead, I picked up a bunch of fresh cuts.

They weren't deep, but they held all the pain and every lie.

Screw it, I'm done playing nice.

After exhaling the last puff of smoke, I hailed a cab and left the Carter family for good.

The night after the rain was dead quiet.

The driver kept up some small talk as he drove.

He glanced at me in the rearview mirror and asked, "Miss, are you heading to Rymen Alley this late? Are you not scared at all?"

"That place is crawling with rowdy kids, always racing their cars around at night. It's not the safest spot," he added.

I chuckled, "That's where I live."

Rymen Alley was pretty much a slum.

At the far end, there was a wide stretch of empty ground that backed onto Sunnyhill.

Later on, that empty lot got turned into a motorbiker hotspot.

Most folks looked down on it as a den for troublemakers, but for me, it was my turf.

The driver clicked his tongue in sympathy.

He muttered, "You came out of the fancy part of town, so how come you live in Rymen Alley?"

I snorted, "None of your damn business."

The driver didn't say another word.

We got there quickly.

I checked the time and found it was already eleven.

The whole alley looked like it was covered with a black sheet.

It was dead quiet.

All you could hear was the drip of rainwater off the rooftops.

Back in the day, we made a deal. No roaring engines were allowed after ten, so folks could get some sleep.

My shoes squelched through puddles as I cut through the cramped, shadowy alley.

Under the dim moonlight, Nathan Cooper slouched against his motorbike.

Head bowed, he lit up a cigarette.

When my footsteps echoed, he flicked his gaze my way.

"You leaving again?" he asked.

I laughed and replied, "Nah, I'm staying."

As soon as the words left my mouth, a sea of phone screens lit up all around me.

Their glow lit up the path ahead.

Next thing I knew, a crowd of figures burst out from the shadows, their cheers muffled.

"Maeve, you're back," they shouted.

Looking at all their smiling faces, every ounce of pain the Carter family put me through vanished in a heartbeat.

Because of my parents, things were rough growing up.

Everyone in the neighborhood pitched in to feed me.

I never made it into any decent college, but I learned how to trick out motorbikes.

That's how I started making some money.

That was how I met Nathan.

Together, we turned this place into a haven for the kids no one cared about, the ones who couldn't afford to go to school. It became a place where they could mess around, race their motorbikes, hang out, and finally feel safe.

Those bad kids the driver kept talking about were some lost kids trying to find a place to belong.

I couldn't tell if it was because I let my guard down, or because I was way too worked up.

With everyone crowding around me, cheering, my head started spinning, and my legs turned to jelly.

I was still laughing when my body went limp.

Everything went black.

I landed in someone's warm arms.

Nathan said softly, "Calm down."

Then, a big warm hand landed on my forehead.

Nathan said with a tut, "You're burning up. Seriously, you never make it easy, do you?"

My head was spinning, and everything felt hazy.

One minute I was shivering, and the next I was burning up, sweat soaking me through.

I dreamed about the first time I met Calvin.

After the Carter family claimed me as one of their own, I dyed my hair black.

I slipped into a proper white dress.

I did my makeup, keeping it soft and subtle.

I thought about heading back to Rymen Alley to give the kids a heads up.

After this, I probably wouldn't be able to see them every day anymore.

That was where I bumped into Calvin.

He was riding a Ducati V4, sporting a black and red racing suit.

The whole look was eye-catching.

My eyes kept drifting back, not to him, but to that motorbike.

That was my dream ride.

It was crazy expensive.

He caught me staring.

He cruised over to me, nice and slow.

"Do you want to take it for a spin?" he asked.

I was psyched, but when I looked down at my white dress and remembered how the Carter family always said girls should act like proper ladies, I shook my head.

I had no idea why I caught his eye.

From that day on, he started trying to win me over.

Ever since I was a kid, everyone around me treated me like one of the guys.

Even Nathan was no different.

We threw our arms over each other's shoulders, smoked, drank, and called each other bro, just like any crew of guys.

But Calvin was different.

He treated me like I was someone to be spoiled.

He took me out to eat all kinds of good stuff, always had something romantic to say, and kept giving me gifts.

Then one day, he got my initials tattooed right between his thumb and index finger.

In that moment, I felt like I was his treasure, someone he wanted to spoil and keep close.

I was hooked, falling deeper and deeper, unable to break free.

But I forgot what Nathan had warned me about. Calvin was a rich kid with a reputation for messing around with tons of girls, and I should have known better than to trust him so easily.

I was so damn stupid.

Suddenly, I heard a low chuckle right in my ear.

I jerked awake to see Nathan, arms crossed, smirking at me. "What kind of dream were you having? You were knocked out and still grinning," he asked.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"Don't you know people laugh when they feel speechless?" I shot back.

*****

Life got back on track.

After summer kicked in, I dyed my hair pink.

I slipped back into my jeans and T-shirt.

Nathan was leaning against the doorframe, with that usual smirk in his eyes.

"This look suits you way more," he said.

I shot him a look.

"Nobody will mistake you for a mute if you keep quiet," I retorted.

Nathan said with a grin, "Do you want to take a spin?"

He tossed a helmet over to me.

I looked down and found it was my pink-and-black helmet, the same one I'd always used.

Last time, I wiped out.

The helmet got busted.

After that, I moved in with the Carter family, never thinking Nathan would bother to fix it for me. He made it look exactly like it used to.

I was staring down at the helmet when Nathan noticed and snorted, "Quit staring. I bought you a new one."

"That thing was a wreck. No one could have fixed a mess like that," he added.

I froze, caught off guard.

"But this model has been discontinued for years," I blurted out.

His smirk cutting right through the fading light, he snorted, "Cost me a fortune. Dinner is on you."

I slung my arm around his shoulder and said, "No problem."

But the moment we stepped out onto the lot, I bumped into Calvin. I hadn't seen him in forever.

He came running straight at me, frantic.

His face was all accusations.

He blurted out, "Why did you block me?

"You disappeared without telling me. I thought something happened. I've been searching for you everywhere."

"Calvin, you're a grown-up. Blocking you means we're done, get it?" I retorted with a frown. "Out of my way."

Calvin spaced out for a moment and suddenly snatched my wrist, refusing to let go.

"How can you break up with me?" he demanded.

Nathan stepped in and gave him a shove. He said, "A breakup is a breakup. Stop asking why. Quit clinging to Maeve like a damn leech and back off."

Calvin stumbled back a couple of steps from the shove.

He shot both Nathan and me a look, his gaze turning nasty.

Calvin snapped, "Is it because of him? You're dumping me for him?"

"Don't give me that crap. I'm not about to get played. Since you're so into Mia, I'm stepping aside for you two. Consider it a favor. Be grateful, alright?" I snapped.

I shoved past him, slapped on my helmet, jumped on my motorbike, revved the engine, and shot out of there.

Everything happened in a flash.

Calvin was still trying to process what had happened.

He was left eating my dust as I tore out of there.