Hell, five fucking years.
He takes a step toward the door, probably to go see her, then falters, eyes landing on my mom. He walks over and drops to his knees beside her.
“Mama Deb,” he chokes out. “Will she talk to me, you think?”
The moment she sees his face, she cups his cheeks. “I don’t know, son. But you can try.”
Torch looks away. I don’t. I stand there, watching this mess we’ve made. This mess I helped make. I watch as Wolf lets out a defeated, shuddered breath.
I put a hand on his shoulder. “Listen. We… we didn’t see her. None of us did. But we do now. Let’s go try and make this right, Dane.”
I give him another nudge when he doesn’t get up and then we step out. We all walk back to the infirmary, heads bowed. No one speaks. None of us are prepared for what comes next.
How the hell do you begin to fix this?
The second I push open the door, my stomach drops at the sight of her empty bed.
“Shit,” I mutter, eyes scanning the room like I missed her somehow. “She shouldn’t have left. What if she had a concussion?”
I quickly confirm from Healer, our resident doc and counsel brother, that she indeed left against his advice.
Wolf sighs, defeated. “I need to go find her.”
“Yeah,” I say, placing a hand on his back. “Or maybe… let her rest. Talk to her properly at home.”
His head snaps up, frowning. “She… she doesn’t live with me. I thought she lived here when she moved out at eighteen. At the clubhouse.”
I blink. “She… doesn’t, Wolf.”
Does she not?
A long pause stretches before Dad speaks, his voice low and disgusted. “So neither of you ever bothered to find out where she actually lives now?”
Then Mama says softly, “She boards with one of the girls who works at our strip club. Candy or something.”
All of us turn to her.
“But…” She trails off, holding up something we’d all missed, a piece of paper. “I guess you won’t find her there either.” Her voice cracks. She sniffs, eyes locked on the letter, her head shaking. She slowly walks forward and slaps it against Wolf’s chest before burying her face into dad’s neck. Her body wracks silently, sobbing.
What the fuck?
Wolf stands there, frozen. The paper clutched in both hands.
When he finishes reading it, I take it from him. His fingers stay in the air like he’s still holding it. His whole frame trembling intensely.
Then I read it. And my whole fucking world blurs.
I’m sorry for causing trouble. For making the club look bad when you’ve all already got enough to deal with.
Mama?Deb, I’m sorry I drifted away. You were the only one who ever made me feel like I belonged anywhere, and I still pushed you away.
Wolf, I’m sorry for being less of a sister and more of a problem you had to manage. Iknow I made things harder for you when you were already trying to lead the club.
And Ruin, I’m sorry for everything. For crossing lines you clearly drew. For walking into your room that night. I swear I didn’t know you had a girlfriend, but that doesn’t make it right.
I won’t cause any of you any more trouble.
-?Charlotte
