Page 208 of Ruptured

All the boys stared at him, then Ryder and Ransom laughed their miserable little asses off.

“Delulu!” Axel screamed, pointing at him. “Mom loves you and she waits until you come home, but at least she can focus on whatshe’ssupposed to when you’re at the club.”

“You don’t want me around?” Christopher asked, oddly hurt. Axel, Ransom, and Ryder looked away.

CJ sighed. “They’re not saying that, Dad. Didn’t you hear Ransom? But things ran so much smoother when you spent most of the day at the club and Mom focused on the house. You also kept fuckheads in line. A lot of what’s happened recently might’ve been curtailed ifyourfocus was on the club. If you were Outlaw.”

“So, all you blamin’ me for Rule?”

“Didn’tyoublame Mom?” CJ snapped. “When Rebel’s right. You should be kissing the fucking ground she walks on. She fucking savedallof us. You shouldn’t have taken her to Rule’s room if you were going to lose your fucking mind.”

“I ain’t took her. I went there for a moment to myself.”

“All evidence points to your lies, Dad,” Axel said. “She was with you.”

“She fuckin’ followed me there,” Christopher growled. “She probably went in the room, ain’t seen me, and realized where the fuck I was cuz of how well she know…”

He snapped his mouth shut and flushed like a bitch.

“Guilty! Guilty! Guilty!” Each time Axel yelledguilty, he punched the palm of his hand. “Mom loves you so much, she didn’t even have to text you to know where you were!”

“Get the fuck to your rooms,” Christopher snarled, feeling like a dickhead.

“Fine, Dad,” Ryder said, shoving Axel toward the door. “Just remember this: If Mom tried to run the club, she’d fuck it up. You’re here, giving her advice, passing your opinion, distracting her. Lowkey interfering in shit you know nothing about.”

“I knew something aboutsomething,” Christopher grumbled pointedly.

“Rule again?” Ransom sighed. “You’re missing the point. You stick to your business and let Mom stick to hers.”

“I ain’t started hangin’ around ‘til your Ma had Jo. Rulebeenhavin’ mental issues. She ain’t said a fuckin’ thing.”

Diesel’s eyes widened. “So, you do blame Aunt Meggie?”

“What? No!”

“Sure the fuck sounds like it to me,” CJ said. “Rule’s issues only flared up after Mom got sick.”

“Guilty, guilty, guilty…” Axel chanted, staring him down.

“Get the fuck out!” Christopher roared.

The little motherfucker turned his ass around and backed the rest of the way into the hallway.

“Mom was pregnant and Rebel was out-of-control,” CJ continued. “Rule didn’t go down really bad until she ended up in the hospital. I think something in him snapped.” He bowed his head. “I tried…fuck, I failed him, too.”

“It ain’t your fault, CJ. You a kid, too.”

“I feel old,” he mumbled.

“Imagine how Mom feels,” Axel said, still out of sight. “She’s like Cinderella and you’re her fairy stepmother.”

“It’s fairy godmother, big head,” CJ said. “And you mean stepmother. Cinderella’s stepmother made her do all types of work and was quite mean to her.”

Christopher glanced at each of his sons. Diesel hadn’t said much, but he loved Megan, too. He wouldn’t appreciate how Christopher had treated her all because…because…

He wasn’t functioning at the capacity needed to take care of his familyorBash.

Or motherfucking Johnnie.