My Life In Pieces (Book #1)

Chapter 3

Less than a hour later we pulled into an old warehouse packed with cars. The lights streaming out of the window told me there was a lot more to see inside.

I looked from the warehouse to James. "Where are we?"

He smiled, "The Garage. It used to be a tire factory but the owner bought it and turned it into a club. It's one of the only places under eighteen can hang out."

"And who is in the band you know?"

"Do you remember Tyler Mason?"
I thought about it for a minute, "Laura's Insta is full of a guy with the last name Mason."

"Yep, Tyler's brother Gavin. They were both there with me today when we were checking out Uncle Tim's new grill. Tyler and his girlfriend Brenna Evans are in it. Brenna is the stepsister to one of the other guys there today."

Mr. Bedhead. He was talking about Mr. Bedhead. My butterflies turned to ashes as it sunk in that Mr. Bedhead had a girlfriend.

Well fuck.

Why did that annoy me? The girl's name stuck out though. I remembered her. She had a little sister I played with a lot when I was a kid.

Elle.

Memories of two little red head girls filled my brain. They came along later than the others. They were outsiders like me back then. I had to have been about ten when they showed up in the mix.

I tried to shrug the thoughts out of my head for now.

"How many of y'all are there now?"

He chuckled, "You make twenty-one. Three of the families have four, one has a set of twins who are newer to the bunch. I don't think you have met them yet. I'll fill you in on that later, so they have five, and you will be our family's fourth."

A smile erupted on my face, "I count?"

He smiled back and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, "Of course. You're family."

Leaning in closer her whispered, "Plus it will be nice to finally have the same number as everyone else."

I laughed. "Well thank you."

That made me truly happy to know that he already thought of me as one of the pack before he even got to know me again. I hated to admit it but I was actually starting to get excited about being around my cousins again.

Even though it meant having to live here.

He raised his eyebrow silently questioning me before adding, "You ready?"

I looked down at myself. A pair of ripped high-waisted jeans and black crop top seemed acceptable an hour ago but now I was nervous to even get out of the car.

I pushed a loose strand of hair off of my face. I gulped but nodded. James opened my door and held me close to him, like a good protective older cousin, as we prepared to enter the crowded club.

I was slightly intimidated. I'd never seen so many people with such little clothing on that weren't at the beach. We weren't even inside yet but the line of people waiting to go inside was full of what looked like mostly teens to me.

It's not like there were a lot of spots in Dallas for a fifteen-year-old to go clubbing. For some reason, I thought Indie meant like grungy or neon. Instead I was faced with a crowd that looked like underage strippers. Jordan had drilled into me that I was not to ever dress like this until I was at least thirty.

James led me parallel to the endless line. The bouncer recognized James and allowed us inside, without even checking my ID. The masses still in line complained but James just smiled and led me in with him.