Returning Home.

Chapter 31

Xavier's POV

Scrubbing my hands over my face, I was at a loss on what to do.  It had been a few days since the row with Amelia had happened and being the stubborn mule that I am, I had purposely avoided her or anything that had to do with her.

But these last few nights I haven't been able to sleep well and every time I try to think about anything else, my minds would subconsciously go back to her.

I needed to create the distance, I needed to keep her out of everything as it is the only thing that I could think of to keep her safe. No matter how much I tried to keep her in the dark, she just seems to find a way to get back in the middle of it all again.

My last resort was to make her so mad that she would go to great lengths to avoid me and hopefully the club until I can get a handle on what was going on.

I started to think back to the time when I went and busted up here little lunchtime meeting with Holden. I had assumed that Holden was one of Brysons new lapdogs and I had gone in hopes to try and get to Amelia away from the dickhead. I cannot think straight when it comes to her and all I could focus on at the time was getting her away from the guy.

After pissing her off enough for her to get up and leave, I had planned to take charge of the conversation and tell Holden a scripted version of what I knew was going on but what I didn't plan for was that Holden would flip the tables and take control as soon as she was gone by spilling on what he was doing there with her.

Holden spoke about what he actually did for the government and why he was here at the station and in our town.  He admitted that he first thought that we were involved in what I now know is a full blown human trafficking ring.

My mind is still trying to get around the fact that there has all been running just inside my territory and I didn't even know about it. To say I'm not pissed off is an understatement because never in all the years that The Wanderers have been looking after this town, has there ever been anything quite as brutal as that happening.

Even thinking about it makes my blood boil. My father would be totally pissed off that I wasn't even two steps ahead of it.

Leaning back in my chair, I look up at the wall that faces my desk where over the years, there are all random pictures places on the was  from various points in time since the commencement of the Wanderers Motorcycle Club.

There is this one photo that my mind will always go back to. It is located on the right hand side of the wall, towards the middle section, near the light switches. Its a picture of all of us from when we ere all teenagers and we were celebrating my parents 20th wedding anniversary.

In the picture, Mum and Dad are looking at each other with goofy grins while the rest of us are all looking straight at the camera, except for me, I am looking from behind my dad over at Amelia. I remember that photo, there had been an issue with a local gang who wanted to muscle in on the town and start to sell drugs. Dad and the guys had dealt with it but it had taken a toll on them all with regards to what they had had to do to get rid of the group. It had resulted in a new prospect named Joe dead and Knuckles in the ICU at the Prince Alfred Hospital.

I had been watching my parents and it was the first time that I had thought about how I wanted a relationship just like my parents, one where no matter what had transpired in the last 24hours, they still loved each other so deeply that rather then blow off a celebration as trivial as an anniversary, they went forth, realising the need for the club to have something to celebrate.

I remember how I had thought to myself that night that I was going to try and be nice to Amelia, maybe eventually letting her know how I felt without sounding like a pussy.

Chuckling at myself, I realise that I was such an idiot when I was younger, thinking that by picking on her was the best way to get her attention. I would crave any form of her attention and I had hoped that she would maybe think that I had a thing for her. Man I was such a moron when I was a teenager, the more I think back to how I treated her, the more I could realise why she hated me so much.

Realising that I was not going to get anything productive done while my mind was on other things, I tossed down my paperwork and grabbed my keys to by bike. I figured a ride might clear my head and help me to focus on what I needed to get done.

Waving at Knuckles as I exited the office and made my way to the door, he nodded his goodbye and went back to counting his stock from behind the bar while I headed out the door and down the steps to where my bike was parked.

Jumping on my bike, I didn't bother to acknowledge anyone else as I kicked it over and backed out of my space, making my way out of the gate and onto the service road.

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As always in my life when I cant seem to clear my mind, subconsciously I find my bike pulling up into the driveway of my family home.

My mum is sitting on the patio in her chair, sipping a glass of wine and eating a small cheese platter that she has put together for herself.

"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in." My mother says as I hop off my bike and make my way up the few steps that lead to the front patio.

I had not yet brooches the subject about how I'd found some boards and information at Amelia's place that Doc Daniels had been working on with regards to my fathers death. I always hate bringing up anything that remotely connects to his death to my mother as she tends to fall into a slump and withdraw into herself.

My mother motions for me to take a seat and pushes her cheese platter towards me. Without asking, I take a few crackers and some cheese as I slip onto my usual bench that is opposite her.  Its funny how I've not lived at home for at least the past 10 years but my mother refuses to change any of our things.

Growing up, I alwasy sat on the bench opposite her, where Slater would sit on a high chair that was in the corner next to where dad would always sit in a similar chair to him and then there is a seat between mum and dad that was always Lilah's, which also triggers me to make a mental note to ask mum if she had heard from my baby sister.

As if breaking me from my thoughts, mum says "I;m guessing you are here to ask me if I knew about what you found at Docs place and how the guys had been running their own investigations into your fathers death?". 

I had to think twice about what mum had said before I answered. It always blows me away about how perceptive my mother can be.

"No, but now that you mention it, I didn't realise that you knew." I reply, watching her as she chuckles under her breath.

"Of course I knew, there is not much that happens in this town that I don't know about." She replies.

Leaning back in her chair, she takes a sip of her drink "I was the one who told them to stop looking into it."

This snaps my mind clear as I take in her words. "What do you mean mum, why would you do that?" I'm confused by her words, I had thought that she would be wanting to look into everything that would possibly revolve around my fathers death.

"Before you give me a lecture, its not like I never wanted to find out who had killed your father, it was just that Doc and the guys were starting to obsess over it all. I was worried that they would throw away so much trying to work out something when I know who the killer is." Mum says and I practically choke on the cracker that I'm eating.

"What do you mean mum!' I shout as I sit up in my chair, awaiting for her to tell me what she is on about.

She looks at me straight in the eyes "I know who killed your father Xavier, I've known since the day your father died".