Tak: The A**hole Club Series Read online

  * * *

  A few hours later, I tried to get Skittles to leave my driveway. Her car was running and Kelex maintained a monk-like silence as she continued to shout questions at me from her driver’s seat.

  “I already told you, I’m fine. You can go,” I repeated for the sixteenth time.

  “Are you sure? I just don’t feel right leaving you home alone. Especially when you’re not done recuperating.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Skittles, my family employs a full staff of servants. I’m not alone.”

  “Shut up, you’re a baby in a houseful of strangers,” she said, eyeing my house like it held nothing but people with evil intent.

  “I’m an eighteen-year-old with more money than Bill Gates,” I said with a deadpan expression.

  I ran a frustrated hand through my hair as I tried to think of how to get rid of her. While I couldn’t help feeling flattered at the amount of care Skittles showed me. There was also a bit of annoyance. So what if she visited me at the hospital and tossed a few snacks my way. She didn’t know shit about me or about the fucked life I lived.

  “How about we come by tomorrow to visit you?” Kelex’s voice cut through the dark thoughts in my mind. I looked at him, disgruntled. My first reaction was to say no, but the way he steadily looked at me told me to rethink my answer.

  “Whatever,” I said.

  “Then we can bring some movies and hang out,” Skittles added cheerfully.

  “Glad you’re happy, now leave.” I gave them my back and walked toward the entrance of my house. The door opened up and my housekeeper stepped out.

  “See you later, Tak,” Skittles called as she revved her engine and drove out of my long driveway like a bat out of hell.

  I paused and turned watching as the taillights of her car got further and further away. Shaking my head, I turned back around and handed my housekeeper, Linda my duffel bag.

  “Young master, your father called and wanted me to tell you he was sorry for being unable to pull away from his business in the city to pick you up. He wants you to call him as soon as you get a chance,” she said.

  “Tell me the truth, Linda,” I ordered as we entered the place I called home.

  It was similar to the rest of the mansions in the neighborhood with its many floors and sprawling size. It was originally bought by my father’s family to be a place where everyone with the last name Nakamura could have a reunion.

  It was open and airy, following all the rules of feng shui. Something my grandfather had gotten into a few years back. Unfortunately, the only one who enjoyed it was me, the forgotten half-breed.

  Linda’s expression turned dark before she lowered her eyes to the floor. “The third son had a baseball game and your father didn’t want to miss it. So, he told us to take care of you for him.”

  All the warmth I’d felt from the time I’d spent with Skittles and Kelex evaporated in an instant. “You can go,” I said to Linda and headed up to my room.

  I couldn’t believe I’d almost forgot about the stark reality of my life. I couldn’t help resenting Skittles for showing me something different. I was better off not knowing what it felt like to have someone care about me.

  Chapter 2

  Movie Night

  Tak

  * * *

  The next day I laid on my bed staring at the ceiling. I’d spent the entire night thinking about how my existence to the world was so fucked up. I searched my room for the stash of drugs I’d bought way before I’d gone out to the race that ruined my death.

  Once I found it, I enjoyed a wonderful high after having told the entire staff to fuck off for the day. The large, cold prison called my home was empty and I was the only human within its walls as I got high as a kite.

  I should feel bad for going right back to my old habits, but it wasn’t my fault the universe decided to have my father fuck my mother eighteen years ago. Resulting in me, the half-Asian kid who was a bit too Asian for this perfect fucking world, but also too White, too much like my mother for my father to like me.

  I lifted my right hand and stared at the tendrils of smoke that floated from the tip of the blunt I’d rolled up. A slow piano sound started to fill my head, followed by the strings of a melancholy violin. “Shit.”

  I pressed the heel of my left hand to my forehead as the music grew louder. “Turn it off,” I shouted to no one.

  Fuck it. I sat up and took another hit of my blunt and then got to my feet. I walked over to the side table and placed my blunt on the ash tray. Since the music didn’t want to shut off on its own, I’d turn it off myself.

  I’d turned on my stereo, releasing Kurt Cobain’s angst ridden voice into my room, but it only managed to dull some of the sound in my head. I’d read somewhere once about a guy who had gotten off on suffocating. He’d often use his belt to do it.

  That is until the one time he’d passed out and strangled himself to death. It was an embarrassing way to go, but since my wish for a fiery death on prom night had been canceled by a car accident and some fuckery, this was the next best thing. Luckily, I was wearing a belt since my stint in the hospital had caused me to lose weight.

  Undoing it, I pulled it out of the belt loops, letting my jeans hit the floor. I was so caught up in my imaginations of choking to death, it caught me off guard when the door to my bedroom suddenly opened. Whipping my head around, I stared speechlessly at the two people who stood there.

  Skittles and Kelex looked at me from the doorway. It took a minute for my high mind to understand what was going on as the silence stretched.

  “W… what are you guys doing here?” I asked flustered.

  I went to turn around fully, completely forgetting that my jeans were around my ankles. With a startled shout, I tripped and fell forward, hitting the floor with a hard thump. I swallowed back the cry of pain that burned at the back of my throat, causing tears to come to my eyes.

  Fuck.

  I was so embarrassed, I refused to look them in the face. “How did you two get in?” I asked, my voice muffled by my arm.

  My question set them both off as they released choked laughter. It was Skittles who answered first, her voice sounding strained. “We spotted your gardener. He saw that no one had answered the front door, so he let us in through the garage.”

  I’d totally forgotten about dismissing the outdoor staff.

  “We’re sorry we interrupted your time alone with your right palm,” Kelex said before he released another bark of laughter.

  I pushed up and glared at them both. Skittles leaned on him with her arms wrapped around her middle as tears of laughter slipped down her cheeks. The both of them were like a curse.

  If it hadn’t been for them, I’d have gone out in a fiery ball of glory two months ago. And now the two annoyances had unknowingly stopped me from going out peacefully. The universe must have created these two fuckers for this very purpose.

  “I wasn’t jerking off,” I denied through gritted teeth. Not caring about the two idiots in my doorway, I kicked my pants off and got up. “Why are you here?”

  Recovering her composure, Skittles said, “Don’t tell me you forgot we said we would be coming over to watch some movies?”

  “From that look on his face and the smell of pure snunk in here, he did,” Kelex said with smirk.

  “You got something against weed?” I asked as I gave them my back and walked over to my dresser and pulled open the top drawer. I grabbed out a pair of sweats and dragged them on. Finished with that, I turned off my stereo.

  “If you do, it’s going to turn our budding relationship sour very quickly.”

  “I’m not here to judge. You have enough to roll another one?” Kelex asked.

  I turned around to find both he and Skittles had taken up residence on my bed. “I’m starting to think you two don’t understand the word personal space.”

  “Personal… what?” Skittles said as she kicked off her shoes and slid back on my bed, giving me a fake innocent look. “What did y
ou say, little buddy?”

  “You know what, never mind you both said you were here to watch a movie. Let me show you our entertainment room.”

  I left my room and didn’t check to see if they were following me. The faster I got the two idiots away from my room the better. Otherwise, I had a hunch more than just my weed would be taken. Kelex and Skittles looked a little too comfortable on my bed and Skittles seemed like the type who’d take a guy’s hoodie.

  * * *

  ***

  * * *

  “I can’t believe you haven’t ever seen Dirty Dancing,” Skittles said as she shoved another handful of hot sauce laced popcorn into her mouth. She sat on the long couch between Kelex and me. She’d forced me to sit next to her because she’s said it would make us closer.

  “That’s the fifth time you’ve said that.” We’d already watched four movies and ordered takeout twice. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten takeout. My family’s cook had always been a simple request away from making anything I wanted.

  “Tak, your movie experience is sorely lacking,” Kelex said as he took another hit of my weed.

  “Whatever, I’ve always been more into music then movies anyway.”

  “What kind of music?” Kelex asked.

  “All of it,” I said, pursing my lips together.

  I looked at the two of them, seeing curiosity written all over their faces. I found myself talking about my interest and it wasn’t long before I realized I’d forgotten all about the darker thoughts that had consumed me only hours ago.

  Chapter 3

  Ski Trip

  Tak

  Six months later…

  * * *

  They were all asleep. I stared at the five assholes who’d passed out drunk around the cabin living room. Not only had Skittles banned me from having a drop of alcohol because I was underage, but she’d also taken my stash of pills from my suitcase so I couldn’t have a pleasant high. Unbeknownst to her, I’d slipped a blunt into my inside coat pocket before she’d snatched the pills.

  The most fun I’d had that night was watching everyone have to take their clothes off during strip poker. That was until I’d found myself sans my pants and shirt. I smile at the memory.

  Deacon looked at me. “Damn, you’re skinny. You can’t be skinny and look like a pretty little bitch too.”

  One day I was going to put sand in his beer.

  Listening to the sound of their snoring, I figure this was the best time to smoke and got up to walk across the living room. I grabbed my snow coat and boots and stopped in the foyer to pull them on, then tiptoed out. I took my blunt and lighter out of my pocket.

  The entire resort Skittles had brought us to looked like something from one of those movies she’d forced me to watch. I took a moment to light up before I shoved my lighter back in my pocket and followed the path from our cabin to where there was another sidewalk that led into the woods a few feet ahead of me. Since it was nighttime, there weren’t a lot of people outside.

  I purposely walked on the less crowded path in order to get some quiet. Soon it was just me, my weed, and the snow-covered forest.

  I was still reeling from the fact I’d told five strangers everything about me and my damn cousin. It felt like I’d torn open a wound and I wasn’t sure if I’d ever stop bleeding out. I knew Skittles said I wasn’t to blame for my parents’ shit, but it wasn’t something easy for me to believe.

  Especially when I’d seen my father play the role of good dad to my step siblings. Why couldn’t he give me even a quarter of the attention he gave them? No matter what I did, he only called or sent emails. It was getting to the point where it would be hard for me to recognize him if he showed up one day.

  I stopped at a fork in the path and read the signs that hung above. The one on the left read, Reed’s Cliff and the one the right, Bunny Slope. Making a random choice, I headed toward Reed’s Cliff.

  It didn’t take me long to reach it. There was a low stone wall. It was the only thing between me and the edge of the cliff.

  I took in the night view of the town in the valley we’d driven through earlier in the day. The lights looked similar to the stars overhead. I looked away from the village and down at the drop below the cliff into nothingness.

  Immediately, I was reminded of the ending of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I wondered if I’d feel the same peace the heroine felt when she’d decided to jump to her death, letting go of everything. I took in a deep inhale of my blunt.

  Staring down into the darkness, a reckless thought hit me. I’d just told a room of people I’d only known for six months all about my shitty life. Jumping from here would be the perfect period to my short life.

  At least that’s what my high mind told me. With my choice made, I climbed up on top of the stone wall and took my blunt out from between my lips and dropped it. I watched it fall until I could no longer see it and released an impressed whistle.

  “Shit, I’ll probably pass out before I hit the ground,” I muttered to myself.

  Closing my eyes, I spread my arms wide and inched forward.

  “This is it,” I said as I leaned forward.

  A weird noise came from behind me. I crinkled my brow as I paused and listened. Hearing nothing, I leaned forward a little more only for the sound to start again. This time I could make it out. It sounded like a kid crying.

  Opening my eyes, I then turned around and got down, giving a look around the perimeter of the forest. Not seeing anything, I assumed it was my imagination and went to climb back atop the wall.

  A child’s scream was the only warning I got before something came running at me from behind and slammed into my legs. With a startled yelp, I staggered forward. I braced myself on the wall to keep from falling completely over.

  Looking down, I found a little kid in nothing more than pj’s and a snow coat, clinging to my legs. He cried and buried his face.

  My high evaporated into smoke.

  Regaining my balance, I nervously patted his head. “H… hey, kid. What are you doing out here alone?”

  He released another ear-splitting cry. “Lost, I’m lost.”

  Yeah, I kind of figured that.

  Realizing the universe had screwed me over again, I decided to comfort the kid and get him back to whoever his parents were. Sending the stone wall one more look, I turned my full attention to the crying kid attached to my legs.

  An hour later, the snot-nosed kid was being comforted by one of the staff from the resort. His legs swinging in a chair as he drank some of the hot chocolate she’d made. All while I finished writing a statement for the report they’d written up. Signing it, I handed it back to the man who stood behind the desk.

  “Is this all you needed from me?” I asked.

  After everything that had happened, I was tired and just wanted to sleep.

  “Yep, and don’t worry the kid’s guardian is on their way to get him. It’s a good thing you’d decided to take a walk in such a secluded part of the resort. Kid’s lucky he found you,” the guy answered.

  “Maybe.”

  Heading toward the door, I reached out to open it. However, it was shoved in, forcing me back, so I didn’t get hit by it.

  Two young women ran inside. One of them had on only silk pajamas and flip-flops. Her snow coat wasn’t zipped up and her hair was a mess around her head. She looked frantically around the cabin.

  “Rani?”

  The little kid shouted, “Cousin, I’m here.”

  “Rani,” the two girls ran over to his side. “How could you sneak out on Jazz and me?” she angrily asked, motioning to the young woman who stood next to her. Unlike the messy one, she’d wrapped herself up completely so I couldn’t really see her face.

  “Wait ‘til I tell auntie about this. I swear, I’m not going to be able to sleep after all the anxiety you’ve stirred up,” the messy looking one exclaimed.

  “Calm down, Trisha. He’s okay and that’s what matters.”

  I quic
kly made my exit. If I stayed, I was sure the two workers would tell them I’d been the one who’d found the kid. I headed back to the cabin eager to forget this entire night happened.

  Chapter 4

  The Chase

  Tak

  Fourteen years later…

  * * *

  Standing outside, I flicked the end of my cigarette with my ring finger. The lights of the traffic below zoomed by. If I had been smoking the good shit in my pocket, I probably would have been humming some old tune and seeing fairies.

  Instead, I was sucking down menthol flavored smoke. Better that than have Skittles up my ass. It was her day after all and I could trash these smokes later for the good stuff.

  “Star gazing? Really, when we’re here to celebrate? How long are you planning on staying out here?”

  “As long as it takes for you fuckers to remember tying your dick to one person is a fucking curse,” I said, dropping my cigarette and stomping on it. I turned, giving Luke’s dumb ass a once-over. “But enough about you and Pit’s shitty mistake. Is there a reason you’re checking on me?”

  “Worried about you. You’re looking glum for someone who should be happy one of his best friends is getting married.”

  “Fuck that, I said I would attend the wedding and party, not fuck her friends. And if I stay in there, one of them is going to get their feelings hurt.”

  Luke smirked like he knew something I didn’t. “Quit lying. There’re at least two pussies in that room you’ve exchanged bodily fluids with.” Luke sighed, giving me a solid pat on the back. “Don’t be shy, you can tell me you’re feeling lonely with Pit and me engaged.”

  I stiffened. I refused to admit aloud that that’s what I’d been thinking. With Luke being the second one to get engaged, it was quickly becoming clear the world I’d been surviving in was crumbling. Shit, I’m not even sure how I’d managed to make it to my thirties.