Doc’s quiet for a moment before he states, “You are not giving up your cut, we’ll fucking keep Ashley on club grounds if we have to.” He sighs, “Take all the time you need, Tank will continue to do your role and his, and your dad has got the tattoo shop undercontrol, but brother, fucking come home, I mean it, otherwise I will ride after you.”
I hum, knowing he means every word before replying, “Alright, brother, I need to ride out, just uh, no more threatening my wife, yeah? That place, while it holds some good memories, it also holds her most painful ones because of me.”
“As long as she dumps that fucker then we won’t have any problems. She loves you, she knows she does, and is being stubborn because of how much she hurts by staying with a man we have all tried to tell her is lying to her,” he replies. I roll my eyes before he demands, “Call me at your next stop,” just as I hear Brit snap, “Stop trying to dictate Ashleys life Asher, the idiot had a full-blown affair and their relationship has nothing to do with you!”
Uh oh…
“Brother, I’ve gotta go and remind my old lady what my role is within the club, ride safe.”
He hangs up, and I shake my head as I put my phone away knowing he’ll be on his knees soon enough.
Sometimes Doc forgets when Brit is around when he speaks.
“You now off?” Selena asks with sadness, and I smile as I stand and take her in my arms and murmur, “I just need to call Cole, then I’ll head off. It was good to see you, Selly…”
She snorts before sniffling as she pulls back, and I nod at the twinkle in her eyes, something that was never there over the years.
She looks fucking happy, content even.
“She’ll forgive you,” she whispers, “That kind of love, the love I really wanted, it doesn’t go away, and your love, it is endgame, so she will forgive you. She won’t forget, but she’ll forgive. I watched her fall in love with you, I watched her make you her entire life, she loves you.”
I give her a sad smile as Steal makes his way over, and I shake the man's hand, fucking grateful for him.
“Thank you for putting me up for a few nights, and mostly, thank you for looking out for her,” I say as I nod to Selena, and he grins.
“Anytime, she’s been a doll even if she is now dating a cop,” he replies, and I chuckle as Selena’s cheeks redden. Steal gets serious and states, “If you ever feel like you're down the rabbit hole, fucking call me. I know everything seems bleak right now, but your wife loves you. She just needs time to not get over your affair or her trauma but try to live with it.”
“Thank you, Steal,” I reply, gratitude filling me, and he nods as I give Selena another hug before grabbing my bag off the floor.
“Right, I’ll just call Cole then I’m off,” I state, and Selena nods as Steal says, “Ride safe, brother,” and I give him a nod before leaving, waving at the rest of the club as they shout their goodbyes.
I walk outside and over to my bike in their guest brother's parking spots and chuck my bag into the side saddle before climbing on. My eyes going to Ashley and Cole’s names on the tank, and I swallow hard, getting my phone back out of my cut.
Taking a deep breath, I bring up my wife’s name and press on it.
It rings a few times before Cole answers, instead of my wife, making me sigh.
“Hey, Dad,” he whispers, and I smile slightly.
“Hey, bud, how’s it going? How’s school?” I reply despite the disappointment that I didn’t get to hear Ashley’s voice.
Two weeks and nothing from her, radio silence, and every time I call, Cole answers, and if he isn’t there, she ignores my calls. Hence, I message, I explain where I am, I explain if something has reminded me of her or if a memory hits me. I’ll message andremind her of it, like when my bike broke down before we had found out she was pregnant, and it was pouring down.
Instead of trying to find cover, I made love to her on my bike in the rain, which was probably the day she got pregnant, to be honest.
It was fucking perfect, and the cold afterward was worth it.
Still, I hear nothing back, and it fucking kills me, even the flowers I have ordered to be delivered once every four days with love notes, nothing.
She fucking hates me, and I can’t say I blame her, but I’m still not letting her go.
“School’s good, I got a ninety-six in math today, and I feel better now that we’re home again, there’s no roaches, no shouting from the neighbors…” he whispers the last part, and I sigh.
He fucking hated that apartment but didn’t say anything because of his mama, and I know it will kill her if she ever found out how unhappy he was.
Also didn’t help he was told about my affair and my feelings when I was an immature kid.
“I know Mama was trying to do everything she could, but this is home, Dad,” he continues, and I swallow hard.
