“I don’t need your family,” I whisper.
“Yeah, you do.Everyone needs a family like mine; they’re the best.Please come with us.In my family, love doesn’t mean getting hit; it doesn’t mean always having to win or always having to be perfect.We love and respect you for who you are.”
I don’t mean to make the decision, but I do.I want something different, someone to appreciate me and love me for who I am.“Okay, I’ll come with you.”
“I’ll report you as a runaway,” Dad threatens.
“Go head,” Caelin talks from where he stands behind me.“You have no idea what I can do with a computer.It doesn’t take my hands to fuck your life up, although I’d love to do that too.You’re messing with the wrong group, my man.I’m telling you, let the kid walk.You start shit, everyone saw you overreact on that last play and get escorted out.It won’t be too hard to believe.”
“You won’t get any of your stuff.”He holds it over me like there’s something in that house I want.Everything in there was bought by him and it can all burn.
“That’s okay.”Harley turns on him.“We take care of ours.It doesn’t matter what they need, we make sure they have it.”
“I hope it’s worth it.”He looks at me.
Harley steps up to him.I can barely hear her, but what she says warms my heart.“Maybe you should tell yourself the same.All a kid wants from their parent is love and understanding.None of us wants to be scared, so I hope making yourself feel like a bigger man than your son was worth it to you.We’ll take great care of him.”She turns to smile at me.“I always knew I’d get you on the back of my bike someday.Ya know, since it looks like you’ll be hoofing it for a bit.”
“Nah.”I smile down at her.“Bought that car myself.It’s the one thing I can take with me.”Situation slowly sinking in, I ask her, “Wanna go for a ride?Show me to my new home?”
“Yeah, I think you’ll enjoy it.”
And she’d been right.I’ve never looked back.This group has given me everything I wanted and so many things I didn’t know I needed.
Now I just hope if she turns out to be pregnant, they’ve prepared me to be the father my own never taught me to be.