Monster Slayers MC Book 5

Manny’s POV

I was in the hospital for two whole weeks before Dr. Green finally released me and that was only because Rooster guaranteed him that I would be staying at the MSMC clubhouse until I was fully recovered.

Cheryl had not been really pleased with the situation at first but Dr. Green was adamant that the only way he was going to release me was if I had people with medical training around to watch over me so she had finally agreed.

The ole’ ladies of the MC had all come around to meet us while I was in the hospital and we had gotten to know them when they brought us food. Once we were settled into the clubhouse, they had also talked to Cheryl and convinced her that I had been right about her finishing school and she finally gave in and went back to school to finish out the school year.

In the meantime, Circuit supplied me with a computer and I’ve been doing my classes online and, like we’ve always done, Cheryl and I study together in the evenings after she gets home.

We sleep together in the same bed but we still haven’t been intimate beyond lots of kissing and some heavy petting. I’m finding it very frustrating to wait but it’s not Cheryl’s fault. While my teenage male hormones are working normally, my energy levels are still not what they usually are and the pains of my ribs really keeps me from moving around much, even though it’s been over a month now since my father beat the shit out of me.

I think Cheryl is waiting for me to propose and if I had the ring, I would. I’ve been saving every cent I made working part time and last summer and I even picked out the ring but I can’t get to Wichita Falls to get it. I’d had to depend on Quizzer, who had to drive me several times to the hospital and we had become friends.

I felt rather guilty that I had to ask him to pick up Cheryl’s birthday present for me. I’d found and bought her an ID charm bracelet from the jewelry store in Wichita Falls and had it engraved with her name on the front and “Love Manny” on the underside. It had her birthstone in the shape of a heart hanging from it like a charm. She’d made a big deal about it to all the ole’ ladies, showing it off with a big smile on her face.

Doc and Millie’s wedding reception is in two days and we’re going to attend. Dixie and the ladies got me some dress slacks and a nice shirt to wear as well as some nice dress shoes. The ole’ ladies have been great in helping Cheryl and I get settled in here. Cheryl hadn’t been too keen on it at first but once she saw our room and had a long talk with the ole’ ladies, she had finally agreed that living with the MC might be a good option for us, at least starting out.

Her father was pissed but there wasn’t anything he could really do about it. Her mom however was very supportive and helped us out a lot. I had finally met her in person the day before I checked out of the hospital. She was very nice and apologized for how her husband had treated me. She brought both of us new clothes and told us when we were ready, she would help us with furniture and stuff for our new place.

Neither one of us told her about our plans to live at the MSMC clubhouse until I was back on my feet at least. Rooster had arranged to have our trailer moved to the MSMC land and told us that if we decided that’s where we were going to live, then we could either hook it up to the clubhouse’s water and electric supply, if we decided to join the club. If not, we could move it wherever we wanted later.

Rooster has also arranged with the school principal to allow me to take my final exams here at the clubhouse. The school counselor is due to show up here tomorrow to give them to me and I have been studying like a demon. Cheryl is also due to take finals tomorrow and then graduation is in a little over a week. I’m really hoping that I will be healed enough by then to walk the line with my class.

I’m also hoping to be able to propose to Cheryl that night. I have been thinking about it for a long time. Graduation night will be the night we will be leaving our childhood behind and beginning our adult lives together. I think it will be so appropriate.

I didn’t really eat much lunch, even though it was very good as always, because my stomach was in knots from worrying about everything. Wanting to propose to Cheryl, graduation, finals exams which really had me stressed out and just what is going to happen in the next month has me so worried. I want to be able to give Cheryl everything she needs but I desperately need a job so that I can provide for her.

Maybe her father is right. She’s grown up in luxury and I’m just a poor kid from a trailer park. Am I going to be able to make her happy? Give her things she wants as well as provide everything we need? That’s why I’m really thinking that joining the MSMC is my best option. I’ll be making good money, better than I would be making anywhere else. I’d have a job that I could start right away as soon as I’m healed up and out of school. A place to stay that is not that dumpy old trailer and people who care about what happens to us.

I was about to head back upstairs to study some more when Doc asked me to follow him back to the clinic so that he could do a check up on me. “Let’s take an xray and see how well your ribs have healed. Your bruises are looking much better. They are down to a greenish yellow now.” He said as he looked me over. “I swear, Manny, you have got to put on some weight. You are not much bigger than some of the women here when they first came in. How’s your appetite?” Doc asked as he moved me to stand in front of the xray machine.

“I’m always hungry, it seems and at least I can eat more now so long as I don’t go overboard, which is hard to do with Claire’s cooking. She’s really good and everything I’ve had so far, I’ve liked.” I answered.

“I know what you mean. Okay now, stand still and I’ll be right back.” Doc said as he stepped behind the screen that would protect him from the xrays where the control panel was set up. He stepped back out and said, “You can put your shirt back on and have a seat while I process this.”

I walked over to the exam table and pulled my shirt back on. Before I even got it buttoned up, Doc came back and said “Your ribs are healing very nicely. The cracked ones are already healed and only the one that was completely broken has just a little more to go. I can’t tell you about the one over your heart because the metal interferes with the x-ray but if it is healing as well as this one, you should be completely healed by graduation day. That’s only a couple of more weeks away, right?” Doc asked.

“Actually in 10 days. I’m going to be taking my final exams tomorrow. Rooster has arranged for me to have them taken here. How long before my energy levels are back to normal?” I asked.

“When your kidney is fully healed, then your energy levels will return. Your kidney was in pretty bad shape and your body is taking your energy and focusing it on helping your kidney to heal. Don’t push too hard but you might start walking around more but don’t do stairs without someone with you. If you were to get light headed and fall, you would probably do some serious damage. I know it’s frustrating having to wait but as the old saying goes, time heals all wounds”. Just stick to the grounds and make sure someone always knows where you are if you go alone, which I wouldn’t recommend.” Doc said.

“Thanks Doc. I would love to get out and move around. Maybe walk up to the shed to see what they are working on.” I told him. “I heard they brought in some really nice bikes from a rescue they did a while ago.”

“Yeah, all the prospects have been drooling over them ever since they came in. Are you going to prospect for the club once you graduate and are all healed up?” Doc asked as we left the clinic and walked down the hall together.

“I don’t know. I want to but Cheryl is not sure about it. She knows I would have a job but she won’t and we had always talked about both of us working and saving up until we decided to start a family. As it is right now, I can’t even get to the store for her engagement ring.” I told him.

“See Dixie about that. She can help you there. She does it for all the ole’ ladies and their men. She can get it delivered here if it’s not available to be picked up.” Doc said and I got so excited.

“I wonder where I can find her?” I asked.

“If not in the kitchen, then try the living room. If she’s not there, ask Claire if she knows.” Doc said with a smile. Everyone had been teasing Claire about always knowing where everyone was.

I entered the kitchen and sure enough, Dixie and Claire were talking about what they were planning for dinner. Dixie had Sammy on her shoulder, rubbing his back so I assumed she had just finished feeding him and was trying to get him to burp.

“Hey, look who’s up and moving around. How are you feeling, Manny?” Dixie asked.

“Much better. Doc says my bruises and my ribs are almost completely healed up. I just have to give it a bit more time for my kidney to heal up. It really zaps my energy levels. Can I ask you a question, Dixie?” I asked.

“Sure. What’s on your mind?” Dixie smiled at me as she put her son in the bouncy chair on the counter after he burped. He was almost too big for it anymore and had to be watched or he would tip it over but since he had just finished eating, he was ready for his nap so he just relaxed and fell asleep.

“Please don’t say anything to her but I want to propose to Cheryl on graduation night but I need the ring first. Doc said you could help me order one online? I know what I want and what I can afford and I’m just praying the two are going to be something I can match together online.” I told her.

“How much do you have to spend?” Dixie asked.

“Two thousand dollars. Is that going to be enough?” I asked worriedly.

“Oh yeah. I’m sure we can find a ring she will like. Claire, where is your laptop?” Dixie asked.

Claire pulled her laptop out of a drawer where she kept it and her favorite cookbook. She passed it to Dixie who pulled up the Zales website as I took a seat on one of the stools by the counter. She clicked on a couple of the tabs to narrow the search to wedding rings and set the limit at $2,000. Then she passed the laptop to me and I began scrolling through the list.

I found one that was nicer than the one I had found in the local jewelry store and was surprised to see that it was about half the price. I would have plenty of money left to do something else for her and it included the wedding ring! BONUS! The engagement ring I had looked at would have cost a lot more and wouldn’t have had the matching wedding ring.

“What do you two think of this one?” I asked, turning the computer so they could see what I had picked.

“Oh, that is lovely, Manny. I think she will love it!” Dixie said and Claire was equally enthusiastic. “Oh yes! That’s a nice one!”

“Thank you for finding this site for me, Dixie. I looked at one at the local jewelers and it would have cost me twice that and I would have had to buy the wedding band part separately. Plus it wasn’t nearly as nice as this one.” I told her. “What do I do to order it?”

“Do you have a credit or debit card?” Dixie asked.

“I have a debit card for the ATM. Is this what you mean?” I asked, pulling the card out of my wallet.

“Yep. So click the order button. Put in your name and card information and it will tell you if it’s available for pick up or if it has to be delivered. Usually if they don’t have it in store, it’s free delivery but make sure you insure it if you have to go that route.” Dixie explained and watched over my shoulder as I typed in the information. “Now, click “place order” and see what it says.

I clicked “Place order” and it said it would be available to be picked up in the store in Dallas the next day. “Now, I need to catch a ride to Dallas but I can’t go tomorrow. I have finals tomorrow. Will they hold it for me?”

“Yep. They will hold it for a week. So click “Confirm purchase” and make sure you print your receipt.” Dixie told me and I clicked the print button.

“Thank you so much! I’ve been stressing about getting it in time for graduation. I want to propose on graduation night.” I told them.

“That’s great.” Dixie said, then asked “Have you decided if you are going to prospect for the club yet?”

“I want to but Cheryl is not so sure because she wants to get a job too. Her mom wants her to come work with her in her dress boutique in Dallas. That’s what Cheryl has always planned to do. She’s big into sewing and stuff like that.” I told them.

“Well, has she ever worked with leather? We sure could use someone here to make our cuts and other clothes we wear to ride. I for one need all new leathers and I’m pretty sure Marley and some of the others do too.” Dixie asked.

“I know I could really use some help! It’s not easy finding clothes to fit around these damn things!” Claire said and I think I must have blushed about 4 shades of red as both women laughed at me.

“I don’t know. You’d have to talk to her about that. I’m not really into fashion stuff.” I said honestly.

“What time is the person doing your test due to arrive tomorrow?” Dixie asked.

“She should be here by 9 am. She should be here for 4 hours, is what they told me.” I told them.

“Well, you can use the library for that. It will be quiet there and no one will disturb you. Good luck! I’m going to put Sammy down and try to get some work done.” Dixie said.

I left the kitchen and since she was going upstairs, I followed along with her.

Cheryl’s POV

School just let out and I’m so glad to be heading back home. I’ve been having cramps all day and I know it’s because I’m due for my monthly cycle in the next day or two. Plus I miss Manny so much during school. When he’s not around, I feel so lost without him. It doesn’t help that some of the boys have started to notice that I’m always alone now. Even if I’m walking with a bunch of girls, they seem to single me out. I don’t care. All of them are such immature idiots. None of them even come close to my Manny.

But this is the last week of actual classes. Tomorrow is our final testing and then next week we will be graduating and hopefully by then, Manny will be completely healed and we can begin our lives together.

I pull into the clubhouse parking lot and drag myself out of the car. I hurry into the house and say Hi to those I pass on my way up to our room. I let myself in and found Manny sitting at the small desk, studying and running his hand through his hair.

“Hi! Studying hard?” I ask as I walk over to him.

He stands up and wraps his arms around me and I finally feel the tension leave my body. “Hello, beautiful. How was school?” He asks as he pulls me in for a hug.

I hold him close as I reply, “I can’t wait for this week to go by. I will be so happy to never have to walk into that place ever again.”

“Uh oh! What happened?” He asks.

“I just spend the whole day missing you so much and then I get hassled by jerks when I’m in the halls. I’m just so glad that we are almost done with that BS. I swear, if a diploma wasn’t necessary for a job these days, I’d say screw it and just not finish.” I tell him, holding him close as I put my head on his shoulder.

“Who is harassing you?” Manny wants to know and I can feel his muscles tense up.

“Any boy without a girlfriend and a few with one. Nothing I can’t handle. It’s just annoying as hell and so pointless. I don’t want anyone but you.” I tell him and then kiss him. I can still feel his tension but slowly his muscles begin to relax, except one. The one I’m really wanting to feel the most.

“I hate that I can’t be there for you. Makes me feel like a weakling and unworthy of you.” He whispers in my ear.

“NO! Manny, you know a confrontation with any of those guys would more than likely end up in a fight and if you were to get hit in the chest, it could kill you, which would kill me. I never should have said anything about it. Don’t worry, it’s not that big of a deal. Just annoying but I’ll handle it.” I assured him, making a mental note to not tell him anything else about the boys at school being rude to me.

“Just promise me that you won’t let any of them get you alone. Some of those jerks have no respect for women and I will kill anyone who dares to put his hands on you.” He says which earns him a bigger kiss. Our kisses turn more heated and after a few minutes our hands are beginning to explore and our hormones are elevating. Even though I really don’t want to, I finally force myself to pull back and call a halt.

“Manny, you know I love you and I really want to but you are not healed yet and frankly I’m not ready for the next step yet.” I tell him regretfully. I want to lay down with him so much but I’ve kept my v card for a reason. I promised myself that I would wait until after graduation and I’m at least engaged to be married before I give it away to anyone, even Manny.

“I know. Doc says that my ribs are almost completely healed and the bruises are almost gone but my kidney still needs some time to heal. That’s what has been zapping my energy levels. He wants me to start getting outside and walking around and to eat more if I can. Says I need to put on some weight. I should be completely healed by graduation and I can walk the line with our class.” Manny told me.

“That’s great!” I say letting him go and stepping back. “I’ve got to use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay. Maybe we can take a walk before we begin studying? I need to get outside some.” He said.

“Sure. It might be good to get outside and see what this place looks like. The only part I’ve really seen so far is the front.” I told him before I closed the bathroom door behind me. I found out that my cycle had started and I was going to have to change my clothes. Damn, I don’t have anything in here which means I’m going to have to ask Manny to pass me some clothes. I decided to hop in the shower. I turned on the shower and cracked the door. “Manny, I’m going to get a quick shower. Can you please pass me some clean clothes?” I called out.

“Sure, baby.” Manny called back.

I waited until he knocked on the door to remove my shirt and hid behind the door when he passed me my clothes. “Thanks! I’m just going to get a quick shower and then we can go for a walk. I can let my hair dry naturally that way.”

Manny grinned at me and said “I can’t wait until we can shower together.” He wiggled his eyebrows and I giggled. “You are so silly.”

I closed the door again and quickly stripped out of my clothes. I carried my panties into the shower with me and washed out the small spot of blood that I had gotten on them, which thankfully wasn’t much. I quickly took a shower and washed my hair. I got out and brushed my teeth and then got dressed. I gathered up my dirty clothes and realized our hamper was just about full so I decided to carry it down to the laundry room and get a load going before we went outside. I should be able to put it in the dryer when we come back from our walk.

Between us, we carried the hamper down to the laundry room and got the load started up and then went outside. The backyard was huge and Manny said he wanted to go over to the shed to check out some of the bikes the brothers had brought back from a rescue they had done.

I’ve never really been into motorbikes much but I have to admit, some of these were very impressive and I could tell that Manny was wanting one of his own. I know he wants to become a prospect for this club but neither of us know exactly what that entails which makes me unsure if it’s something we should get involved in. Not only that but what would I do? We have always planned for both of us to work and save our money so that someday we could buy a house of our own and start our family.

I have watched the couples with children here and the clubhouse and its members do seem like one big happy family of people who truly seem to care about each other. That was very appealing to me but I can’t just sit and not do anything. I’ve got to be able to contribute, to feel useful and busy.

“Man, I would give anything to own one of these bad boys.” Manny said as we left the shed.

“You really want to become a prospect, don’t you?” I asked him.

“Yeah. It’s not just so that I could have one of those but if I don’t prospect, then I don’t have a job at the garage. Only members and prospects are allowed to work there. The MSMC pays better than most places would too. If I go to work at a garage in Dallas, I have to do grunt work like cleaning up after other mechanics and doing menial jobs for minimum wage until I get the time under my belt to be able to move up and that could take years.

Rooster and Cruise both told me that they don’t operate like that. Everybody is assigned their own area and they are expected to keep it clean and to take care of their own equipment. They will buy the tools and uniforms so that I won’t have to ruin my own clothes.” Manny said, trying again to convince me to agree to him becoming a prospect for the MSMC.

“But what am I going to do? I can’t just sit and do nothing while you are working. I would go stir crazy.” I said, trying not to whine.

“Dixie asked me something today that I couldn’t answer but it might be just up your alley. Have you ever worked with leather before?” Manny asked and I looked at him like he had gone mad.

“No. Why?” I asked.

“Well, Dixie said that they need someone to make them some stuff out of leather to ride in as well as other clothes, like their club cuts. I told her you were looking to work with fashion. Is that something you would be interested in doing?” He asked.

“Hmmm. Well, you know I want to be involved with fashion and I love to sew but I’ve never worked with leather before but if you think about it, it’s just another material. Maybe I should talk to Dixie and find out what they want done.” I said, my interest now peaked.

By now we had walked the full length of the yard and were on our way back. I had the feeling that Manny’s energy was starting to drop since he wasn’t talking as much and our steps had slowed down. We got back to the back door and went inside. Manny actually looked pale and seemed to be slightly out of breath.

“Manny, are you okay?” I asked.

“I didn’t realize how out of shape I’ve gotten. I feel really weak and a little lightheaded.” He admitted.

“Come on. Let’s find you somewhere to sit down.” I told him and took his arm. We walked into the dining room and I pushed him into a chair at the table and he immediately put his head down on his arm on the table. I was very concerned and called out to Claire.

“Claire! Can you come here for a second please?” I yelled.

“Sure. Hey! What’s going on? Manny? Are you alright?” She said with concern as she came out of the kitchen.

“Claire, can you stay with him while I go get Doc?” I asked.

“Sure. Manny, do you need some water or something?” Claire asked as I took off running down the hall to the clinic. I was almost there and trying hard not to panic when I began yelling for Doc.

“Doc! Doc!” I yelled as I hit the doors to the clinic.

“What’s wrong, Cheryl? Did Manny fall?” Doc asked with concern.

“No. We were outside just walking and when we got back, he was really pale and said he felt really weak and lightheaded. He nearly passed out by the time we got to the dining room. Can you please come look at him?” I asked, trying not to panic but that’s what must have come through in the sound of my voice as Doc immediately responded and we hurried back down the hall to the dining room.