"You never told me you had a sister, Blade. I thought for a second I was getting to meet your girl."
"Nah Franny, I won't be bringing in anyone to meet you for a long time." Piper stares at me. She looks disappointed and I try to recover her playful mood before shit goes south.
"Fran, you remember me telling you about my sister when I was eighteen? How fucking strong she was at the age of six and I wished like hell I could've kept her with me."
"Yes I do, sorry. Ole' Fran would forget her fuckin tits if they weren't attached, Honey. What can I get you today?"
"I'll take what he's having." Fran leaves us in an awkward silence.
"Evan, you know I don't blame you for where I ended up, right?" I drop my head to look at my hands in my lap. I fucking hate this. I hate being reminded of the time I had no control over things I needed to have control of. This is the exact reason I am who I am today.
"Stop. You couldn't stop the system from taking me. Shit, you were a baby yourself. How do you think I would've turned out?"
"I know you're right. I just know that shit will never happen to me again. I'll make sure I'm always in a position to help you and any other family that needs it."
"And that is why I love you." I look up at Piper and see a flash of my mother once again. Fuck, I hate that I keep getting that glimpse of the woman who walked away from us. Piper is so much better than she ever was.
"I want you to stay safe, so I'm assigning someone to you and Tori. I need you make sure you utilize the security team."
"Do you really think that's necessary?"
"After last night, yes. I won't take any chances with you."
"Can you make it one of the hot guys in your MC? How bout Switch?" My eyes dart to hers. Fucking Switch again.
"What's with you and Switch?"
"You'll never know."
"Piper. He's my VP. He can't fuck around with you."
"Yeah. I'm aware of your stupid fucking rules. That doesn't mean he can't keep me safe. I'd guess if he's VP, then he's one of the trust worthy guys."
"I need him to handle business. I'll put one of the other guys on you two."
"Ok. You sure know how to dim a girl's fucking sunshine."
"Piper. I need you to understand how important it is that you not get mixed in with the club. I fucking hate that I need to use it to help protect you, but I have no choice. You need the best and in my eyes, my guys are the best."
"I don't see what the big deal is. It's your life. You live in the MC. Hell, you are the MC. I hate that you don't want me around that part of your life."
"It's fucking dangerous, Piper. I honestly should've thought twice about having you move here."
"Now you don't want me to live here? What the hell, Evan." She stops talking when Fran places the plates on the table. "What the hell did you order us?"
My laughter fills the cafe. "It's a two pound bacon cheeseburger with onion rings." The onion rings fill their own plate and the burger is giant topped with all the grilled onions that'll fit. This onion fest is sure to keep the men at bay with my sister.
"How the hell am I supposed to eat this?" I pick mine up and open wide to get my first bite in. She watches with disgust on her face.
"I can't even believe Tori thinks you’re hot." I chew slowly, trying to decide if I really want to start this conversation with her again. I find myself interested in more information about her, so I decide to engage.
"How old were you when you met Tori?"
"I was almost nine. We really have been inseparable since. She's amazing. Evan. She really is. She's by far the strongest woman I've ever met and honestly, she kept me strong when all I wanted to do was give up." God damn it. Hearing my sister begin to talk about her struggles fucking kills me.
"What happened to you, Piper?" I push the words out around the huge lump in my throat. She looks at me and takes a huge bite of her burger. She nods her head no while she's chewing the massive amount of food in her mouth.
"Not today. I don't want to ruin our lunch and you just need to know that today, I'm perfect. I love my life and I'm very happy with the way things turned out. You never know... without all that shit in the past, I may've never looked you up again."
"Piper. I can't fucking stand thinking bad shit happened to you. Tell me who to kill and I'll fucking remove their existence and you'll never have to worry again."
"They aren't a concern anymore. I promise. If I thought they were an issue, I'd tell you right now." I stop eating. I can't fucking stomach anything when I'm looking into her eyes. I can see deep shit. I can tell she's seen the fucking devil himself and I internally vow to make it a mission of mine to fucking find who ever even bumped into her growing up and ruin them personally.