A new MC had shown up and was attacking the Fallen Saints. The Saints had fallen into complete madness. They eventually retreated, but not before I noticed that one of them had the body of Lucius slumped over their bike.
And just like that, the battle ended.
“Fuck yeah!” Butch roared, and everyone else raised their gun in triumph, yelling at the retreating Saints.
And then I saw Lane, his eyes watering and his lips quivering, stepping across the street toward where the Saints had been moments before, and where the new MC stood. And then I saw someone else on the other side dismount their bike and remove their helmet.
And even though I had been the one to suggest that they make amends, I still couldn’t believe my eyes.
Cole Carter...
The two shook hands and exchanged some words. I couldn’t hear what was said, but I knew that the exchange was friendly. I just had to hope that this peace, this reunion of sorts, was permanent and not just a quick fix.
Just like I knew I had to go and make a permanent fix with someone else. I had to stop making temporary half-measures.
I had to solve something once and for all.
Rose
Icould hear the gunfire from my apartment.
Whatever was happening was going to change this town for a long, long time. I knew Springsville wasn’t the safest place in Southern California, but I always figured the violence remained relatively contained. Not anymore.
Fortunately, the gunfire didn’t seem like it actually lasted that long. Maybe three, five minutes at the most. I was sure to those in the middle of the fight, it must have lasted an eternity, but as an outsider... hell, five minutes was probably a stretch.
But it only takes one bullet to end LeCharles’ life.
I tried not to think about that, instead choosing to cuddle and hold Shiloh as he curled up as close as he could to me, but there wasn’t really much I could do but hold out hope and wait.If you make it through this, come to me. We’ll make things right. And we won’t let things dissolve as they had before.
The silencing of the gunfire only told me that the violence wasn’t continuing. It wasn’t enough to tell me that LeCharles was safe. For several minutes, I paced around my apartment, trying to pass time, trying to hope and pray that this was the end—the end of the danger for LeCharles, the end of the nonsense.
And then, about half an hour later, a knock came at my door that freaked me out so much I actually screamed. The door busted open, and LeCharles stood there.
“Jesus, are you okay?”
“Oh my God, LeCharles,” I said.
And then I did something seemingly ridiculous. I just started laughing.
Because, really, after all that, after thinking someone was coming to attack me, after thinking LeCharles was dead, what else could I do but laugh?
“You okay?” I said, noticing a bulge around the right side of his chest.
“Just a bandage. I’m fine.”
“That’s a bit large for a bandage, don’t you think?”
He chuckled, shut the door behind him, and took my hand. He walked me over to the couch, sat me down, and smiled.
“You know, the previous twenty-four hours, I’ve thought a lot about what you said to me yesterday evening,” he said. “I thought about how you pulled me out of one of my darkest spots. I thought about how you said going through the same experience made you strong. And you know what? I think it made me strong by making me forgiving.”
He chuckled.
“God, put that down for something I thought I’d never say. I just mean, I thought I was being strong by being aggressive in pushing you away. I was so cruel to you because I didn’t want anything to do with you. But in truth, I was just scared about getting hurt again by you. But I recognize now I had to let it go. I had to let things go, not just with you, but with others. Obviously, we can’t let the behavior repeat itself. I’m sorry for everything I did. And I forgive you for the things you did.”
I smiled and squeezed his hand back. I moved in and hugged him tightly, listening to his still-rapidly beating heart. He might have gone through a lot of hell the last couple hours, but I could hear his heart rate go higher as I squeezed him tighter. It was as if being with me made him more excited.
“I forgive you too,” I said. “I’m sorry I let my temper get the best of me when we had that fight. But I’m glad you ran into me at Bottle Revolution.”
