Not even one night passes by when the nightmares don't visit him. He learned to live with them, hide them deeply, accept all the guilt of the things he did and of the things he didn't do. And he found a home with the Riders. But Wood is simply incom...
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Wood
I worry that her lily-white skin will get burned under the sun but I don't have the heart to tell her to go. I am sitting on the sand and though there are so many people around us, I watch only her. She has taken her shoes off and she is standing where the waves lick the sand, her legs knee deep in the water. Her eyes are closed and she looks up in the sky. From where I am sitting, I can see a smile on those big lips of hers.
Seeing that smile makes me smile too. I can't resist it, there is no fighting it. I am smiling and I am not doing it to pretend I am OK. I am really, genuinely smiling because this girl is enjoying the beach.
A flash from last night comes to my mind and I scowl. I kissed her. She came to comfort me and I took advantage of her. I forced her to me, I pushed her to my body, I placed my lips on hers. And the worst part is that I still think of it and in the back of my head, I don't regret it.
I don't regret it because I have never kissed fuller lips, never held a warmer body, never smelled a deeper scent. Those moments, with Tamie in my arms, caressing my hair, moving in that slow way, I was a goner.
"Motherfucking asshole," I light a cigarette and shake my head.
When I look up, I see one of these Californian boys, with their artificially buffed bodies and their clean-shaved faces talk to Tamie. I get up and I walk to them. I stop right where the water reaches the shore and I eye the asshole. Too blonde, too tanned, too steroid-fed, too fucking stupid.
"Tamie," I say and her head snaps to me.
She turns to come to me but he grabs her arm. Motherfucking idiot, I fume and my fists clench at my sides.
"Where are you going, beautiful?" He asks still holding her.
Tamie says nothing, just tries to wiggle away and come to me. For a while, my anger is subdued. She doesn't want to be close to that stupid jerk. She wants to come to me. When I meet her eyes, she is longing to be by my side. Good!
"Let her go," I growl.
"What's your deal, man? I was talking to the girl."
"I said. Let. Her. Go."
The asshole releases Tamie that darts to my side and tries to drag me away. I pull her to me by her waist but I don't move. All I do is eye the boy that dares come to my face, two of his buddies falling behind him.
"Maybe the girl prefers to stay with me. You her uncle or something?"
I take a drag from my cigarette and let the smoke out. If it wasn't for the messed-up situation we are in, I wouldn't mind drawing some attention to us by showing those boys what real pain feels like. Instead, I guide Tamie before me and I walk away.
"Damn right, walk away. Pity," I hear the asshole say to his friends, "she seems like a good fuck."
