Flame Novel – He slept with my sister? His black hair is all messy, and he has a few hickeys on his neck. My tears start to build up when my sister props herself against the doorframe, looking at his bum. Her hair is also a mess, and she’s on nothing but a sheet. My tears start to fall. The club women I could handle, not my own sister. He knows about my feelings. Is this his way to push me back, seriously? All he had to do was tell me he’d never be interested, not sleep with my sister!
Star – Age 16 I blink, realizing class has finished, and I quickly close my sketchbook every day, ignoring what I’ve drawn before getting my bag. It’s not like I don’t see them every hour of every day anyway. Dark brown eyes—so dark they look black—swim my vision all the time. I’ve sketched them so many times over the years. The club, even momma, all believe Daddy’s gone and dead, but I don’t think he is. He shouted for me after the bike crashed; he was still alive. I can feel it, despite everyone telling me it’s my imagination. I will find him, even if it takes me years, and I’ll prove them all wrong. My daddy’s alive; I just know it. I walk out of class heading to the cafeteria to grab something before disappearing to the art room until my next class.
I didn’t have any friends, and not for lack of trying, but when my sister came to Parkerville High, she was the school mean girl but also known as easy. If someone wanted to get laid behind the bleachers, they went to her, so because of her reputation as well as the fact that I’m a club brat, technically a princess of the club, no one wants to be my friend; instead, I’m bullied almost daily. The girls take my clothes during PE and trip me in the hallway before trying to corner me in the bathrooms with scissors, while the guys, well, try to proposition me daily, all while degrading me. I quickly grab a sandwich and a drink, not really hungry, before walking quickly out of the cafeteria, ignoring the snickering, and head to the art room, thinking about calling Zayne, or as the club’s brothers now call him, Flame. I’m the only one who can call him by his given name; he’s my best friend, my world.
Before my dad went missing, he was my protector, someone I looked up to too, but afterward, he became someone I could rely on, and my feelings turned from platonic to a crush to, well, madly deeply, love, but he doesn’t see me that way. To him, I’m his little sister, and it’s hard, especially when I see him with the sweet butts, women who are basically like my sister. mean. I get home twenty minutes later, not noticing the bike in the driveway, and rush into the kitchen looking for Momma, but she’s not there, which means she probably didn’t get out of bed again. She has her bad days where she’ll be in the kitchen cooking a storm where several shopping bags will be placed all for her and my sister on the side, ignoring the fact she has another daughter who reminds her too much of her supposedly dead husband, or she’ll have her bad-bad days where she’ll stay in bed numb.
Sighing, I go up the stairs. I miss my sweet and kind momma, but ever since daddy disappeared, she’s been disconnected, and ever since my so-called sister put a seed in momma’s head, she now blames me for daddy’s disappearance, so instead of being comforted and nursed back to health during my skin grafts due to the severe road burns, I had to go through it all on my own, which thankfully wasn’t done by Doc. If the club finds out how she’s treated me, she’ll be kicked out and homeless. This house is in the club’s name. I never told Zayne about how I’ve been treated over the years, anyone really. The president is only just aware of what my sister is like because he saw how she spoke to me last weekend when she thought no one was looking, so I told him snippets and made him promise to keep quiet about it. I only have two years left, then I’ll move out and use the money Daddy left for me to get an apartment.
I go around the corner when my sister’s bright purple door opens, and I tense, expecting another lashing from her, but instead, absolute heartbreak shatters through me as Zayne walks out while putting his cutback on. His black hair is all messy, and he has a few hickeys on his neck. My tears start to build up when my sister props herself against the doorframe, looking at his bum. Her hair is also a mess, and she’s on nothing but a sheet. He slept with my sister? My heart beats frantically in my chest, and I quickly rush into the bathroom, closing the door gently as my tears start to fall. The club women I could handle, not my own sister. I know I have no claim on him but he knows about my feelings. Is this his way to push me back, seriously? All he had to do was tell me he’d never be interested, not sleep with my sister! I hear her door click shut before the front door closes, and I wait until I hear his bike that I didn’t even see when I walked in, and I wipe my tears quickly, taking a deep breath before leaving the bathroom.
Maybe this is for the best, and I can finally move on from my feelings for him. Maybe even distancing myself from him. If he can do this knowing what it would do to me and knowing my sister would brag and throw it in my face, then maybe he’s not even a friend to begin with. Star – Age 18 I giggle as I run away from a flour-covered Zayne in the club’s garden. I waited patiently for him to come into the club’s kitchen that I was banned from after nearly burning the place down. He didn’t expect it, and as soon as he walked in, he looked like a deer in headlights seeing me in a kitchen, which is why I’ve booked myself into cooking lessons where I’ll hopefully get better.
But anyway, the reason I was in the kitchen was because I threw a flour bomb at his face that exploded all over him before I rushed out of the side door. “”Get back here, You little witch.”” I giggle some more, going quicker, “”Maybe next time You’ll think again before spilling my paints.”” I hear his growl as I pick up speed: “”It was an accident.”” “”Yeah, so was the flour.”” I hear him growl again, but he can’t hide the chuckle. I dodge a bench before stupidly looking behind me, and Zayne’s arms automatically wrap around me, and we both tumble on the grass laughing. I end up on my back while he leans over me and says, “”You are not supposed to be in a kitchen, Firefly.”” I giggle and shrug while his eyes shine with pure happiness, and I swallow hard. I’m eighteen, and I always said I would try just once, and if he knocks me back, then fine.
With all the courage I could find, I leaned up and close to his lips gently. He freezes just like I knew he would, then wrenches his lips away from mine as I burn him, and pain slices through me, it’s absolutely frustrating because I know he feels the same as me. He holds onto me longer when we hug, he smells my hair often, and his gaze always lingers on me. Longing shines through his eyes every time, yet he has it in his head that I cannot be a part of club life when I’m already flipping living in it. I have been since I was born; it’s in my blood just like it’s in his, but as usual, the alpha male in him seems to think I’m this damsel in distress who needs telling what to do. He gets off me and helps me up before he scowls at me. Ah, here comes the bone-crushing, heartbreaking, wrenching lie he’s about to give me, where he pretends he never realized I still harbored feelings for him. “”Star…”” I don’t let him finish, and I wave my hand up before passing him. “”Yeah, yeah, I know.”” He grips my arm, making me look at him. “”I see you as a sister, Star; that cannot and will not happen again.”” I nod my head, hiding my hurt and the snort that ironically wants to come out.
For the past two years, the brothers have told him my feelings are still very real, and for two years he’s acted clueless on purpose, hoping they’ll just disappear while he screws anything with a vaina, mainly Ginger, to hide his feelings, and I tell yah, it’s getting old. I shake my head at him before turning again, heading towards the club’s gates, and he shouts for me, “”STAR!”” I put my hand up, not stopping while talking loudly over my shoulder, “”It’s fine, Zayne, I’ve got an appointment to get to,”” before mumbling, “”and maybe a dating website to sign up for because I’m done waiting around for someone who doesn’t think I’m worth fighting for.”” Star – Age 20 I pick up my bottle of water and have a sip. The last few years haven’t been easy. After I left home, I got a crappy small apartment that I’m still stuck in because my mother still takes half of my wages, and yes, I just swore when I cannot stand the language; being brought up around bikers and women constantly swearing puts you off it, but my mother is still blaming me for my father’s supposedly dead death, and I’ve been trying to keep my platonic relationship with Zayne at arm’s length after he decided to screw my sister again, who seems to think she has a hold on him now, and I’ve had enough. Shaking my head, I take another sip of my water, worrying about my friend etching through me. Annalise and I became really close; she’s brought my cooking skills up a level by level over the past two years, and she’s managed to make me thousands on my paintings through her bakery.
My mother obviously found out about it and decided it was her money. Despite ruining my chances at art college, she somehow managed to get me pulled out a year later. She had taken every cent I made on them until Annie found out last year. She lies whenever my mother goes in for my takings, telling her I haven’t sold any when in reality I have. The money I’ve made is left in Annie’s safe; I only take what I need for new paint supplies. Annie and I have become so close that she’s actually the only person I’ve told about following Hairy, who finally messed up. Next week I’ll be moving to Louisiana, where I’ve finally found him moving my now very thin dad blindfolded. I lost them through the camera, but he’s definitely still in the area of Illinois. As far as the club will be aware, I’m attending their art school after my mother pulled me out of the one I was attending; only Annie will know the truth, and she’s sworn to secrecy. I’m brought out of my head when Zayne nudges me, worrying about his features, but I just look forward. Annie, my sweet friend, was kidnapped by a man who killed her mother when she was small—a man who nearly killed her too, a man who was supposed to love and care for her.
Her father had been released from prison and had been threatening her recently after she and Axel became a couple. She tried to push him away out of fear for his life, but he wouldn’t let her; he held on tight, so she caved after finding out she was pregnant and told her to love everything only for her father to kidnap her, to kick her baby out of her body, and now she’s laid up at the General in a comatose state, refusing to talk. A tear falls, and Zayne quickly wipes it away, then clears his throat. “”You know what we haven’t done in a few years?”” I shrug. “”A friend date.”” I hold in my snort. Of course, we haven’t; he screwed my sister after I gave him my first flipping peck at eighteen because he’s all I ever wanted. Heck, I still haven’t gone out on a date with anyone; I’ve tried but canceled at the last minute every single time, all while he screws around over and over again.
I’m that stupid girl in books who waits around for a guy who doesn’t deserve her. Stupid, stupid, stupid. “”Come on, we’ll go to the bar for a little while; Leah’s working.”” Ah, Leah. She’s worked at Untamed Fire for a little while now. We started to become friends until Carl, who is now known as Razor, stated they were together and she cheated, so I hung back and ignored her, but not because I believed him; no, because I’d found out he’s a traitor. When he cried, how heartbroken he was, while Cara, a waitress, sobbed how horrible Leah had treated her ‘friend’ in Gunner’s ear, a club brother who had an instant connection with Leah, would run into her bed upset that his dream girl was apparently a ‘patch chaser’ nothing was adding up from the sweet girl who helped Slicer see a girl he was crewing was trying to frame him. Now I knew they were working together, so Cara could win over Gunner. What Razor got out of any of it, I don’t know, and even to this day, I still don’t know.
When Razor started sleeping around as soon as he “”broke up”” with Leah, I monitored him all while staying back from a woman I started becoming friends with, not wanting to tip him off, and my patience played off because he contacted Hairy about the club’s next run of shipments. What a flipping shocker! Razor hated not being on the council. He hated that he had to wait an extra year to prospect because he wasn’t an MC brat. He was jealous and petty and decided to screw the club over, thinking he was too good to get caught. I’ve gathered the evidence ready for Axel, but he’s not having it until I find out where Hairy has hidden my dad and why Razor is suddenly involved, especially when he grew up with the brothers, but his story about Leah still isn’t adding up. Why get her involved in his lies? What is it that Cara offered him to get him to comply to begin with, especially with him working for Hairy? Her body, maybe? “”Come Firefly.”” I nod, might as well do something, right? We say bye to Axel, who is struggling without Annie, and head to my Jeep. Only girlfriends and old ladies go on the back of a brother’s bike.
The only one I’ve ever ridden was my father’s, and I’d probably never get on the back of one again, although I am aware that Ginger has tried to get on the back of Zayne’s a couple of times. We get to the bar within five minutes before heading inside. I give a small wave to Leah, who furrows her brows before hope shines through her eyes, making me give her a small smile. Yeah, something’s definitely not right with Razor’s story about her; they just don’t match. She’s not high maintenance and hates drama, the complete opposite of what’s been said, and not once have I seen her with a man or even flirt with a brother apart from the longing looks to Gunner. I need to try and dig deeper; maybe I should have a look at her medical records.
With that thought, I take a seat at a table while Zayne orders us some drinks. We sit for about half an hour, where I finally loosen up, and we end up laughing just like old times, connecting again. I finally start to relax, and hope enters my chest that maybe, just maybe, we could start something until Ginger, who was not long ago at the clubhouse, saunters over, which means she followed us here. She leans down, smirking at me while whispering something in Zayne’s ear, and instantly he smirks, and my heart sinks because surely he won’t leave me right now, not when I need him. He knocks on the table twice, not even thinking about his actions, not giving a thing that he’s leaving me on our first friend date in two years. He gets up, wrapping his arm around a smirking Ginger, before giving me a smirk of his own: “”I’ll grab a lift home with Ginger so you can just head straight to your flat. I’ll see you tomorrow, Firefly.”” I flinch at his use of the nickname while he completely ignores me, going off with Ginger, who gives me the finger, and I swallow hard, tears starting to build.
My best friend is in the hospital; it was his idea to come here, to begin with, and he leaves after only half an hour with a sweet butt. I can feel my tears starting to fall, and I quickly get up, gathering my jacket and bag before rushing over to the ladies with a frowning Leah following me with her eyes before she glares at the front door where my so-called friend left, a friend I know no longer want to speak too; this is the last straw. I get near the corner of the exit about to enter the ladies when a hand comes out of nowhere, covering my mouth roughly. I try to struggle as the person drags me out of the exit near the camera out the back, where I’m shoved to the floor, holding my face against the graveled concrete. I try to fight, kicking my legs out and bucking my body, but the person’s got me pinned down, and my heart beats wildly when they lean over me.
No, no, no. I start to panic as a hand reaches around me, bile instantly wanting to come up as I thrash around to get away until the person speaks and I freeze. “”Did you really think Shags wouldn’t inform me that you were asking about me? Your daddy’s dead, and you can’t prove I did sleep all; now you’re going to be punished not just for your curious mind but also for your club’s sins.”” My heart beats harder. No, my dad’s not dead; I know he isn’t; I saw the footage. I stupidly asked Shags last week about when Hairy was back in town, saying he owed me money because I lost him underground. He’s put two and two together, coming up with five. He doesn’t realize that I’ve been following him; he just thinks I’m asking questions to get him sent down.
He chuckles, “”Tell Flame and the club; I said hello, yeah, doll face; this is their penance for killing my cousin; this being you just makes it even better.”” Tears start to fall as he brings his hands to the bottom of my skirt, lifting it up, and my fight-or-flight instincts kick in. Now that the shock of him has evaporated, I start to fight to get away from him while laying my legs flat, not allowing him to gain access while screaming loudly. I’m a virgin; he took my father from me for ten years; he won’t take this too. No, no, no. I start to struggle harder; my screams go louder when Hairy grips my panties, ripping them off my body, and I start screaming some more, thrashing around. I know Leah won’t hear me because of the bar music, but Razor’s only around the corner. Razor, no, no, no, he’s already been working with this disgusting man. He’s not coming to my aid; he’s probably acting as a lookout. I hear rustling and try to get away from him before I feel him near my back entrance. NO, NO, NO.”