16 - Giggles

*Until we teach boys not to rape, we need to teach girls how to fight. – Taz*
“WORM!”
They were just coming back onto the property when Camile heard her name echo across the parking lot that was filled with motorcycles and support vehicles from the Saints that came down from Massachusetts. Dropping Tink’s lead, she ran and jumped into Athos’ open arms.
Strong familiar arms wrapped around her and held her to his body as she wrapped herself around him like a koala. “Just as a warning, your mom and Nessie are inside, and they already have bets about you and your *cards*.” He placed a loud smacking kiss on her cheek. “Be prepared.”
“I have been warned.” She replied as she laid her head on his shoulder, and he turned to climb the stairs to the clubhouse located above a bar. “Who else is here?”
“Just me and Priss.” He said as he climbed the steep staircase at the back of the bar.
He knew what she was asking, it wasn’t about the Saints, it was about their small little crew. Their small little crew that was not so small or little anymore. Aramis was married with one child, and they recently announced that they would have another over summer. He himself was in a long-term relationship with Michelle and planned to propose when she graduated in spring. Priscilla was also in a long-term relationship, but most of Priscilla’s friends hoped that one did not last much longer.
“Did *he* come?”
Athos chuckled. “Nope. Leo did not come. But Chance did.”
“What’s Chance doing down here?”
“He came with Rye. Her cousin, Geo, is stationed at Fort Polk and has a weekend pass.”
“I like him.” She said as Athos opened the door and stepped inside the clubhouse.
“Hey, Sid, look who I found! She was buried under a bunch of cards.”
“Son of a bitch!” Sid shook her head as she approached her daughter with a grin. “I told you to get rid of those pesky things.”
“Tell your husband to quit getting weekly reports.” Camille said as Athos sat her on the ground and Sid engulfed her into a tight hug.
“If that fucker was here, I’d be all over his ass.”
“Where’s daddy?” she asked her mom as she leaned back and looked up at her mom.
Sid brushed some hair off her daughter’s sweaty face before cupping her cheeks between her hands. “I’ve missed you. I bought bleach cleaner because I missed the chlorine smell.”
“Mom,” Camile insisted, “where is daddy?”
With a sigh, she turned and guided her youngest child to a nearby room for privacy. Closing the door, she motioned for her daughter to sit on the bed.
“Um, thanks, no.” Camille looked at the bed in disgust. “Black light central.”
Looking at the rumpled sheets, Sid tipped her head in agreement. “Hell, there’s some of the rooms back home that you don’t even need a black light for.” Looking at the chair and small desk, she shook her head, “never mind. Come on.”
They stepped back out of the room and Sid grabbed a passing brother. The young man grinned at Sid who did not look anywhere near her age. Rolling her eyes, a habit that she picked up after having nine teenagers, she released his arm.
“Shut up, Worm,” Sid warned her daughter who was laughing at the interaction. “I need somewhere private.”
The sly smile on his face had Camille laughing even harder. “For you and me? Or for all three?”
Camille wrapped her arms around her waist as she laughed to the point of pain. “Oh, fuck, this is great. You’re wanting to have a talk and this fucker is have a fantasy about a mother and daughter threesome.”
“What?” the man asked in shock.
“I need a place where I can talk to my *daughter* in private.”
“Oh, ummm…”
“Dude, I’m the last person to yuck someone’s yum, but can we leave me out of your threesome fantasy with my mom?”
“Ignore her. And you’re right, your virgin ass has no right to yuck anyone’s yum.”
“Check with Big Lou, the vice, about his office.” The brother said as he scurried away.
Grabbing her daughter’s arm, Sid marched her out of the hallway and into the dayroom. “Come on, Giggles.”
“Yeah?” Giggles, one of the brothers from Pops’ Place, called out when he heard his name as he came into the building.
Finding this amusing, Camille started laughing all over again. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she slid down the wall and sat on the floor. “Ow… oh, God, my stomach hurts.”
“Athos, get that stupid bitch of mine.” Sid stormed out of the building and went in search of Big Lou.
“What the hell?” Athos asked as he picked her up and slung her over his broad shoulder.
She tried to explain, but he only caught about every third word and was even more confused than before she started speaking while laughing. He found Sid in the parking lot talking to a man who walked over and unlocked the back door to the bar.
Athos sat Camille down on the floor of a small office. She fell into a chair and grinned as she looked up at her friend. He ran a knuckle down her cheek before tugging her hair.
“If I’d known it would be that easy to get a piece of ass, I should have asked your dad for a hall pass.”
“Whatever,” Camille smirked, “you and dad haven’t ever cheated on each other in nearly forty years.”
“Nah, no one dicks me like your dad does.” Sid agreed with her daughter who acted like she was gagging. “Your dad had to stay home because Amanda is getting divorced, and Eric is…”
“Being Eric.” Camile offered and Sid nodded.
“I’m sorry, I know that it seems that she takes precedence sometimes…”
“Mom, it’s fine. Besides, once Taz arrives, I’ve got a job to do.” Camille assured her mother.
Sid watched the transformation as the happy girl of only a few moments ago pulled into herself and shut down. Her eyes became dull, and she was once again the isolated child that preferred to disappear into the background.
Camille had mastered the art of disappearing so well that when Taz arrived, Camille was in the middle of the fray, and yet unseen. She worked on the websites and social media for Taz and the other companies that Priscilla needed help with.
When it was time to head to the Superdome for the fight, Camille piled into the van with two computer bags and Tink. She settled in at her table ringside and put in her earbud in one ear and Bluetooth in the other. Sid checked in with Priscilla and Athos a few times but they both told her that Camille had even shut them out.
It was a surprise when the large man gently pulled Sid into the darkened shadows of the clubhouse only hours before they were scheduled to leave.
“She’s hurt, but not by you or your husband,” Darkness told Sid. “There’s some demons that haunt her, that she has to fight on her own.”
“Do you know about her demons?”
He shook his head. “I know that there are some nights that they are more prominent than others. But she hasn’t gifted me with that knowledge yet.”
“Thank you, Darkness. I’m glad she has a friend like you to watch over her.”
He was surprised when she hugged him tight and kissed his cheek. It took him a moment before he returned the hug.
“You’re welcome.”