“You fuckin’ tell me, Kreed.First of all how’s your mom doin’?”he questions, anger lacing his voice as I sit on the counter.
“She’s okay.Overworked herself and collapsed.She’ll be discharged in a few days but she can’t work until her head and wrist heal completely.She’s not happy, but she needs the break,” I answer him, waiting for him to get to the angry part of the conversation.
“That’s good to hear.Now, why the fuck are you leavin’ Annistyn in the dark about this shit.I know she’d be at your side in a heartbeat if you picked up the fuckin’ phone and told her about your mom.Instead, you haven’t called or messaged her at all.Yet, you can pick up the fuckin’ phone when I call you,” he growls, his voice laced with anger and annoyance more than I’ve ever heard from him before.
“I know.I should have called her the day I found out.Instead, I’ve just been focusin’ on mom and doin’ stuff around the house so she has nothin’ to do when she comes home.By the time I head back to Sam and Playboy’s house, it’s too late to call her.Plus, I’m pretty sure her phone is off because no one can get through,” I answer him honestly while looking at the floor.
“I know it is.Maddie and I tried callin’ her and got voicemail.I left a message tellin’ her to come here for a visit.I told you, Kreed, if you hurt her, I’d take her from you and bring her to Clifton Falls.I wasn’t fuckin’ around.That girl has been through more than enough in her life and deserves better than what you’re givin’ her right now.I’m so fuckin’ disappointed in you, Kreed.Never thought I’d say that when it comes to you,” Tank says, his voice going cold as my heart races in my chest with the thought of Annistyn leaving me.
“She won’t leave me,” I state as if it’s the truth when I honestly don’t know if she will or not over this.
“She will.Annistyn is strong and knows what she wants in her life.You doin’ this isn’t what she wants.She wants a man who will at the very least tell her when he has to go out of town and give her the choice to go with him or stay behind.She wants a partner and best friend.Not someone who can’t take two fuckin’ seconds to make a simple phone call.I bet if you call the clubhouse right now you’ll discover she’s not there.Haven’t you ever heard that sayin’ ‘if he wanted to, he would?Yeah, you’re provin’ you don’t want her in your life.Maddie and I are prepared to leave right now and bring her home with us.Not fuckin’ around here, Kreed,” Tank says and true fear begins to fill me because he’s probably right.
“I’ll call her in a little while to see if her phone is on yet,” I say and actually mean it this time because the last thing I want is to lose Annistyn, my Pixie, over my lack of staying in contact with her.I fucked up and I know it.
Tank doesn’t say another word and just hangs up on me.Caleb doesn’t say anything but turns on music and plays it louder than normal because he knows I’m in the middle of processing this shit and figuring out how to fix the situation with my girl.The one person I told I was falling in love with and have ignored instead.
Caleb and Playboy have been helping me at the house.We’re working on the inside while the Prospects handle the lawn.They come over and mow it once a week.One of the guys is really good with flowers and shrubs.He deals with all of that instead of mowing.My mom’s yard has a beautiful garden around the front of the house and it looks better than I’ve ever seen it before.The three of us have gotten most everything done that I’ve discovered wrong when I walked through the house.Cali has been over with us.She cleans as we work.My mom will come home to a spotless house with nothing for her to do.One more thing she’ll yell at me for, but I don’t care.
Walking in the hospital first thing this morning, I find my mom sitting up in bed with her legs over the side.She’s dressed and no longer has an IV attached to her.The bag I brought her that Cali helped me pack is zipped up and sitting on the bed next to her.
“What’s goin’ on, Mom?”I ask her, handing her a coffee and bag from Sam with breakfast.Today we had breakfast burritos that were amazing and I know my mom needs the protein she’ll get from this meal.
“I’m finally being discharged.The doctor is getting the paperwork ready and then I can leave.I still have to take it easy and I’m not cleared to return to work yet.Playboy won’t allow me to return until I’ve had my follow-up appointment in a few weeks and get a note from the doctor saying it’s okay to return,” she says with a large smile on her face as she looks at me.
“That’s really good to hear.Do we have to go to the pharmacy before we head home?”I ask her, knowing she doesn’t have vitamins at home.
“Yeah.I have a few prescriptions for the vitamins he’s calling in,” she informs me as a nurse walks in the room and goes over her discharge with us.I listen to every word and take the papers once my mom has signed the ones that will go in her chart.
My mom gets in the wheelchair and I push her down to the main floor of the hospital.I leave her just inside the door so I can go get Sam’s SUV.We knew it was a matter of time before my mom would be discharged so Sam gave me her SUV to use so I’m not putting my mom on the back of my bike the second she gets to go home.I pull up close to the doors and park before going back in to get my mom.Helping her in the front seat, I let her fasten her own seatbelt before I close her door and head for the driver’s seat.A nurse saw us on her way in and waited to take the wheelchair back for us.
As soon as I pull away from the hospital, my phone rings.It’s already connected to the Bluetooth in the SUV and I use the controls on the steering wheel to answer Viper’s call.
“What’s goin’ on, Viper?I’ve got my mom with me,” I warn him because I have no clue what this call could be about.
“Hello, Mrs.Winston.I hope you’re feelin’ okay,” he says, showing off his manners like the good man he is.
“I’m feeling much better, Viper.Thank you for asking,” my mom says and smiles brightly because she knows all about Viper and the life we took him away from.
“Link, I don’t know how to tell you this,” Viper begins and dread fills me because I know whatever he has to say won’t be good news.“The day you left to go be with your mom, Annistyn came to the clubhouse.She chewed me a new ass because she thought I was cheatin’ on Maysen.I can admit if I walked in the clubhouse and saw what she did, I’d jump to the same conclusion.Heard her swear for the first time.Master thought it was the greatest thing he’s ever seen in his life.Seein’ that fire we all knew was buried deep inside Annistyn for someone else was a great show.Anyway, we didn’t tell her anythin’ about what was goin’ on with you.Annistyn didn’t take it very good.She said it was good to finally know where she stood in the clubhouse.Thinks you’re cheatin’ on her, Link.”
“What the fuck?I wouldnevercheat on her for any reason,” I yell, anger and fear battling inside me because I know this isn’t the worst part Viper has to tell me.
“We all know that, but it was her first thought.Said somethin’ about how none of us needed to lie for you any longer.We all gave her space, but no one has seen her since that night.I’ve been at your house knockin’ on the door for fifteen minutes and I don’t hear a fuckin’ thing from inside.I don’t think Annistyn is still on the compound.I have yet to talk to the Prospects, but they haven’t said anythin’ about her leavin’ as far as Master and I know,” Viper informs me as I slam my hand against the steering wheel and briefly close my eyes while sitting at a red light.
“Go the fuck in my house and make sure she’s okay if she’s there,” I order him because Viper has a key already.“I doubt the alarm will be set because Annistyn can’t figure out how to work the damn thing.I have to work on it with her when I get home.”
“Got it,” he says and I listen as he moves around and I hear the door unlock with the code because he really doesn’t need a key as long as we have power.
I listen as Viper walks through my house.What takes a minute feels as if an eternity passes before I hear him swear on his end of the call.
“Fuck,” he mutters and my mom looks over at me.“Kreed, she’s gone.Left her phone, the keys to the house, and a note.”
“Read it,” I say, my heart beating so hard and fast my chest actually hurts.
“Kreed.Thank you for allowin’ me to stay in your home with you.I have decided I no longer want to be a guest where I’m truly not wanted and will be movin’ out.I know ‘thank you’ are simply words and really don’t mean anythin’ in the grand scheme of things, but it’s all I have.When I get a job and start makin’ money on a regular basis, I’ll pay you back for everythin’ I am unable to leave behind.
“Thank you for bein’ my support system and savin’ me when I needed it the most.You were so kind and always there for me no matter what was goin’ on.I will always cherish those memories.I’ve cramped your life enough and will be removin’ myself from a situation that no longer works for either one of us.I didn’t lie to you, Kreed.When I said I knew you were my man, I meant it.You’re the one who lied and changed your mind without sayin’ a word to me.I hope you find the love of your life.I always knew it wouldn’t be a damaged person like me even though I dreamed you were different.
