I palmed my eye sockets, trying to ward off a headache.
“Jasper, bud. Sit the fuck down.”
I glared at Hatch, but reluctantly took a seat.
“The floor’s yours, bud,” Hatch said to Harmon.
“Do you want to start, or do you want me to start?”
“I don’t want any o’ this,” I snapped. “I never wanted to see your ugly mug again.”
“Well, there you have it,” Harmon said to Hatch.
Hatch nodded. “Keep goin’.”
Harmon shook his head. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry we were out when it wasn’t the best idea. But you know we’ve ridden in worse conditions and been fine.”
“Itold you not to ride.”
“Yeah, well, you like to tell people a lotta things, Jasper. Especially, Stella.”
“Fuck you,” I hissed. “I shoulda hit you harder.”
“Yeah? You feel better now that you beat my face to hell?”
“A little, yeah.”
“You want another go?”
I crossed my arms. “A little, yeah.”
“Will that get you one step closer to forgivin’ me?”
“Probably not.”
“Will it bring Stella back?”
I sneered. “Don’t you fuckin’ talk to me about Stella. You’re the reason she’s gone.”
“You can tell yourself that if you have to.” He threw his hands in the air. “Hell, you can hate my fuckin’ guts if you have to but you should know that it’s not the truth.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s the truth then, Harmon? She was on the back of your bike, asshole!”
“That’s true, but I’ve replayed that day a thousand times in my mind, and although she may have been on the back of my bike, I know without a shadow of a doubt, I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You shouldn’t have been on the road, let alone carrying my sister.”
“You rode.”
“I was trying to stop you from doin’ something reckless.”
“The only thing I was doing was what your sister begged me to do. And that was to—”
“What exactly?”
He raised his hands and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what I say, you’re gonna blame me for her death forever. Hell, I wish to god I could blame myself.”
“Again, who the fuck else is there to blame?”
