Tank

7 - Meeting the family

Nova

Meeting my father’s wife. I didn’t think this would happen so soon. Tank explained – because it seems my brother can’t bring himself to talk to me – that my dad married Lynette, an old friend of our mother’s. She brought a daughter to the marriage, Willow. Dad adopted her the second they got married.

Willow is twenty-four, two years older than me, three years younger than Tate–Jett. I really need to get used to that. Jett calls Lynette Mom and has since she married my dad.

Dad and Lynette then have three children together. VJ – Vincent Junior – who is twelve, Max, who's ten, and Sophie, who’s five. I’m about to meet them all, my new siblings. I wasn’t expecting this when I came looking for my dad and brother.

I must admit, my dad was quite impressed when he saw my bike and the fact I’m a fast rider like him. He told me he’d dreamt about it for years, me on a motorcycle. I just smiled and told him, “It's in my blood.”

I’m really nervous walking into my dad’s house. I remember the place. It’s the house I lived in when I was a little girl.

“Don’t be nervous, baby girl.” I smile at my dad; his arm is around my shoulder, holding me close to him as Jett parks his bike. He’s here with us, but I can tell he doesn't want to be. He hates me! But I don’t understand why. “Lynette loves you. You have nothing to worry about.” Apart from the fact, it seems my father can read my mind.

“She doesn’t even know me.”

“She raised you from a baby, Nova.” I narrow my eyes at him. “I’m not speaking ill of your mother, but she wasn’t much of one to you and Jett when you were small. Lynette was the one who took care of you when you were ill. She was the one you ran to when you hurt yourself. When you needed anything, actually.”

“She’s a brilliant mom, you’ll love her,” Jett tells me without even looking at me. I’ve been back in his life a couple of hours, and this shi.t is already getting old!

Lynette sounds too good to be true, but there she is on the doorstep looking excited to see me. I think I remember her, but I’m not sure. She’s beautiful. Like stunningly so. Long dark hair, bright green eyes, a slim waist with curves in all the right places. She could pass for my mother, but at the same time, she doesn’t even look thirty-five, never mind forty-one.

Lynette seems a little more than just excited to see me. She has her hands pressed against her mouth in a fist. Her eyes are shining with tears, but they’re not sad ones. I jump when she rushes down the steps that lead to her front door toward me. I’ve never seen anyone so excited to see me. I’m not that important, jeezus.

She screeches while wrapping her arms around my neck. I’m taken aback a little. I’m not used to this kind of affection. She pulls away and kisses my cheek. “I’m so happy you’re finally home! Look at you, you’re so beautiful, and just like your brothers, you look just like your father.” She chuckles, but my mind is still stuck on the fact I have brothers!

“It’s nice to meet you finally,” I tell her honestly.

Lynette rubs my arm and winks at me. She then pulls away from me so my brother can kiss her cheek. Hearing Jett call her Mom is a little strange to me; we have the same parents. This woman isn’t my mother, but she’s now Jett’s. Not that I would ever take away from what she’s done for him, the way she’s been there and loved him all these years. It just feels a little weird.

The inside of the house is lovely, really nice. The hallway is short, and a vast living room is to the right. It’s not what I thought it would be. I thought it would be dirty and worn, with beer cans everywhere, takeaway food boxes, etcetera. I know that’s stereotypical, but that’s how Butch lived, that’s how most of his club lived.

But this house is nothing like that; it’s clean and homey, perfect.

“Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” A huge smile spreads across my face at the little girl running toward us, chanting Daddy over and over again. My little sister. Sophie has hair as dark as her mother’s and eyes just as green, but I can so see she’s my father’s daughter.

I watch my father lift her into his arms, kissing her cheek and holding her close like she’s the most important thing in his life. That’s how he used to hold me. That’s how he used to love me.

She’s a shy little thing. Dad introduces me, and even though Tank told me – because Jett hasn’t said much to me – that Dad and Lynette have always told the younger kids about me and that I’d one day be home, she’s shy and doesn’t want to talk to me, doesn’t even want to look at me.

I don’t let it get to me; she’s a little girl who doesn’t know me at all, but there’s plenty of time for all of that.

Then Max walks in, ruffling his long dark hair after taking off his bike helmet. He’s a handsome kid who looks just like Jett. He’s also tall for a ten-year-old, not overly, but he’ll be a big guy when he’s older. He’s going to be packed full of muscle. He already looks like he works out, which is crazy given his age. However, I can tell he’s an active kid.

He’s halfway through a glass of water before he notices me standing there. He slowly brings the glass away from his mouth and places it on the counter; his eyes haven’t yet left mine. He’s a cautious kid; I’ll give him that.

“Max, this is Nova,” Lynette tells him excitedly.

“So, you found her, then.” Wow, it wasn’t even a question, and there was so much disinterest in his words it made me shiver. I can already see he doesn’t like me, and that’s disheartening.

“Hey!” Even I jump when Jett yells at him. The kid doesn’t even look bothered, but then he’s probably used to Jett yelling at him. “Dad has longed for this day for fifteen years, longer than you’ve been alive, you little shi.t! Our sister is finally home, so show her some damn respect!”

He should take a leaf out of his own book. He’s giving Max a hard time for being a brat, yet he’s an ignorant prick and won’t even look at me.

“Max,” He turns to look at my father – our father. “Remember what I told you about Nova?” Max nods his head, his long hair falling in his eyes. “Well, after all this time, she came to find us.”

Max shrugs his shoulders and takes off to his room, I’m guessing.

I sigh to myself. My dad wraps his arm around my shoulder and hugs me to him. Sophie giggles at me, making me smile. At least she doesn’t hate me.

“We’re back!”

“That’ll be Willow and VJ.”

Great, more people to hate me.

This time, the boy that enters the den is tall, like, really tall for a twelve-year-old. He looks like a sixteen-year-old! He is the absolute image of Jett, of our dad. He doesn’t look like a skater/emo, unlike his little brother. He looks like a biker in the making, jeans, a wife beater, and biker boots. His eyes are a piercing blue, and he has a real sense of power about him. God help us all when he’s of age.

God help us because I can already see that he will be just like me. A little bit of a psychopath.

I’ll explain later.

While Lynette is busy whispering to whom I imagine is Willow, VJ is eyeing me in a totally inappropriate way. Of course, he doesn’t know who the hell I am, but he’s definitely a lady’s man. Already! He’s so handsome; he’s going to leave broken hearts all over the place.

With a smirk, he holds his hand out to me. With a chuckle, I shake it. However, he goes one further; the little charmer kisses my hand and winks at me.

“I’m VJ. It’s nice to meet you...?”

I open my mouth to speak, but the heavy chuckles from my dad and Jett stop me. “Dude,” Jett is almost hysterical with laughter. “You’re hitting on your own sister!”

I can’t help laughing, his bright eyes are so wide. “Nova?” I nod slightly. His eyes shoot to our father. “You found her?”

“She found us, Son.”

He looks at me for a moment, his eyes never leaving mine. He’s going to run from me like Max did... Nope, I was wrong. He rushes toward me and wraps his arms around me tightly. I look at my dad for a second. I feel a little emotional. He winks at me. I wrap my arms around my little brother and hold him for a moment. God, he’s taller than I am!

Willow comes rushing over and wraps her arms around me, telling me how she can’t believe I’m finally here, how she’s missed me, and I vaguely remember her and I playing as children.

So, this is my family. I only hope my being here doesn’t end in disaster. I won’t let anything happen to any of them, and that’s a fact.