Gangster Cinderella

Chapter Thirty Two: Take A Ride On the Black Dragon

The wind and rain pushes against me as I take a late night ride. I desperately needed to clear my head after receiving the news that my step sow is now taking legal measures to take away my father's motorcycles. I muse on going to her house to do some 'mild' vandalism but decide against it since it could hurt my chances of keeping the motorcycles. That's when I spot just the person to take my frustrations out on: a random biker gang member. As I pull up next to him, I start to notice just how much larger he is than I am. He's a man of horrifying size and presence; his hair is a wild blue mess and his red trench coat is open to reveal a multitude of tattoos down his torso. He's dangerous...but I'm fast and pissed off.

I rev my engine at him and catch his attention; he looks over at me with a deadly smile. "What's this, a challenge?" I nod and he smirks starting his engine.

We both stare ahead, waiting for the green light. The minute we see green we tear off into the neon city night life. He's driving way slower than I am since it's still raining. But water doesn't scare me...death doesn't scare me right now. My reason for living, the one thing that keeps my heart racing might be taken away from me. If I die tonight, I die racing. He tries to speed up and catch me, only to skid off his bike and slide across the wet pavement. He screams something, but I can't hear it. Everything to me is white noise right now and I continue to race well into the night with no destination in mind...or so I thought until I realize where I was subconsciously heading. I stop at a red light and notice that I'm a couple blocks away from Mikey's house.

I smile to myself, "It's always back to you, huh?"

I give up on the search for my end and head towards Mikey at top speed.

🌃🌃🌃🏍🌃🌃🌃

Silently I park my motorcycle in front of Mikey's window and call him. He picks up; I can hear the sound of Animal Crossing playing in the background, "Chi-chan, are you ok?"

My throat strains to choke back the tears that threaten to spill out just from the sound of his voice. "Mikey...I need you right now. I'm going to sound stupid and maybe crazy but I'm parked in front of your window and-"

Suddenly the window is wide open and Mikey is standing right there, "Come inside." The tears I tried to hold back come pouring out as I run over to hug onto him through the window. He gently pats my head, "You're gonna catch a cold like that, come here I'll help you climb in." 

He leans over and lifts me up by my waist to help me climb in through his window. I fall on top of him as we land on the couch. "I'm sorry..."

"For what?" Genuine confusion is present in his voice.

"For just showing up like this..."

Mikey sits up and has me sat between his legs; his rough calloused fingers gently wipe away my tears, "Chieko, you know you're welcome here whenever. But what I'm concerned about is why you're crying. Talk to me."

"Do you mind if I get into some dry clothes first? I've been riding around in the rain for a while..." I shiver as I take off my leather jacket and sneeze before getting to my shirt.

Mikey walks over to his closet and comes back to hand me a flannel and boxer shorts. "I'm going to make some tea."

Normally Mikey would've made some perverse comment on me undressing or he'd start making moves; instead he's taking such gentle care of me. I discard my soaked clothes near the heater before getting dressed into Mikey's clothes. His scent is comfortably present; the smell of gasoline, changing fluids, and red bean paste are still clinging to his clothes. I curl up on his bed as I wait for him to come back. Wrapping a blanket around myself, I stare at the door; almost as though I'm trying to will Mikey to walk through it. As if he sensed me wanting him near, he walks through the door with tea and a towel. 

He sits across from me on the bed and asks, "What happened?"

I take the tea in my hands before meeting his concerned gaze, "It's my step mother."

His hands tighten into fists, "What did she do to you? Are you hurt?"

"She's...she's trying to take my father's motorcycles away from me through legal action." I cover my mouth as the tears start up again. "T-Takeomi and I received l-letters from her lawyers announcing the case. I hate her...I fucking hate her..." I can barely talk as I loudly sob in front of my boyfriend. He takes the cup of tea away from me and places it somewhere else before taking me in his arms to soothe me. I continue to vent in his embrace, "I don't understand, why does she want to hurt me like this? Those motorcycles are all that is left of my father...she already took all the money and sold his racing trophies! It's like she's trying to erase him from existence!! I hate her so much..."

I grow dizzy and start to sway a bit; Mikey immediately notices this rush of fatigue I'm going through and panics, "Chieko, what's wrong?" He presses his hand against my forehead. "Damn, you're burning up! Stay right here, I'm going to call Draken. He always knows what to do."

He rushes off to the other room to make a phone call to Draken. I clutch a pillow against my stomach as the dizziness and aches sets in again. The light in the hallway turns on and I hear a familiar voice. I concentrate on staying awake as someone enters the room. Instead of Mikey, it's Emma with a bowl of iced water and a hand towel. She sits on the bed and feels my forehead.

"Oh my god, you're burning up! What were you doing to get this sick?" She places the cool wash cloth on my sweaty forehead; relief spreads through me at the cold touch of the washcloth.

I regain enough stability to say, "I...was racing in the rain..."

"You need to be more careful, Chieko. What if you got dizzy while riding and crashed? You could've gotten hurt, be more careful. I'm going to go make you something warm to eat. Draken is picking up some medicine for you." Without thinking I suddenly grab the sleeve of her shirt. She looks at me confused for a moment.

"I'm sorry...for a second I wondered if this is what having a mom would've been like..."

Her shock softens into a sort of bittersweet expression; she pushes back some of my hair that is clinging to my face, "I wouldn't know..."

I silently watch her walk away towards the kitchen, leaving me in shock at this revaluation.