“It’s been a weird day. I would really like to take that bath and go to bed. Before you ask, we’re okay. If we weren’t you wouldn’t be touching me right now”. Turning round so I could face him I placed my lips against his. “Come to bed when you can”. Circling his arms around my waist he slipped his hands onto my bum and lifted me into his arms placing me on top of the counter.
Slipping my arms around his neck I placed my forehead against his. “I’m sorry for being a bitch”.
“I can handle you being a bitch, but I can’t handle not knowing if you’re going to up and leave me one day”.
“I’m not leaving you”.
“I know I’m an asshole with a bad temper, I’m a selfish prick at times and yeah sometimes I forget what I have. I get wrapped up in club shit and for a long time that’s all I had, it’s all I knew. I struggle sometimes because I know deep down you deserve better. I know you deserve more than this, but I can’t cut ties. This is my life babe, I wish I could give you better, wish I had more to offer. I didn’t have the best life before your dad found me. I was a scrawny teenager sleeping rough and stealing to eat. After my mom passed I-…”. He paused.
I knew my dad took him under his wing at a young age, but he had never really told me the full story. He always struggled to talk about his past life, he rarely spoke about his mom because he couldn’t.
“It’s okay”. Placing my hands on either side of his face I blinked away my tears. I couldn’t imagine Blaze back then. The strong powerful man in front of me struggling to eat, having nowhere to sleep. I didn’t like to think of all the bad things that happened to him because I knew they happened, even if we never spoke about it, I knew his childhood was rough. I knew his dad beat him.
“No baby don’t cry I didn’t say it to make you cry”. Kissing the side of my mouth he wiped the wetness from my cheeks.
“I don’t like to think about you being hurt and mistreated. I hate that you struggled, and you were left on your own as a child. I’m so sorry”. I cried. Feeling his grip tighten he held me close.
“Let’s get you in that bath and have a somewhat early night”.
“Or how about we get out of here?”. I knew Everleigh was safe with my mom and if I’m honest we could really use the alone time.
“You wanna ride on the back of my bike darling?”. Rubbing his nose against mine I smiled leaning in and placing my lips against his.
“Always”. I whispered
..
I had no idea where we were going, I didn’t recognise any of the roads or street signs, but we had been on the road for a good while. Tightening my arms around his waist I leaned my head against his back. When he started to slow down, I became more alert.
“You alright?”. He asked the bike coming to a steady stop.
I instantly felt uneasy. Something about the neighbourhood we were in gave me the fear. Unclipping my helmet, I took it off and passed it to him. I wanted to know why we were here. Holding his shoulder to steady myself I got off his bike. As he followed suit, he slipped his arm around my waist and pulled me close.
That wasn’t a good sign, and it didn’t relax my insides at all.
“Calm down sweets”.
“Where are we?”. I asked turning my head so I could look at him. I knew something was on his mind. There was a reason he had brought me here.
The area was quiet, eerie but quiet.
As his arm slipped from my waist, he dug his hand into his cut pocket and pulled out his smokes. He wasn’t saying much as to why we were here.
“This is where I grew up. See that house?”. He nodded towards the house on the other side of the street. “Was my home”. His voice was soft, pained even. That wasn’t a home anymore. The windows were boarded up, the front lawn a mess. That house was abandoned and looked like it had been for a while.
Slipping my hand inside his I squeezed. He was finally opening up about his past. I was here, I would always be here for him.
“Didn’t always look like that”. Puffing on his smoke I watched as his expression changed. “One thing my mother always did was make sure her house was perfect, she was house proud. She would always make sure me, and Nate were clean, always made sure we had everything we needed.
I think that was the first time I had ever heard him speak of Nate and not in a bad way.
“Dad was a drunk. The fucker would beat her day and night”. I didn’t know if I could handle him telling me this. “I was young, Nate was young, we couldn’t protect her then, we couldn’t protect ourselves”. His hands balled into fists, and I knew talking about this was going to bring out a side I rarely got to see. “She tried to keep us safe, would always step in so he wouldn’t beat us, but it never worked. That vile piece of shit took pleasure in beating the crap out of his family”.
“I’m so sorry”. I whispered.
“Shortly after my mom died, we split, and your dad found us. He gave me life, he created Blaze”. He smirked. “I had a fascination with fire. If it burned, I’d set it alight. I was ruthless Ava, anything he needed done I did it. I didn’t have anything to live for anymore, my mom was dead”.
“What happened with Nate?”.
“We were both patched in at the same time but as time passed, I realised he was never around. Little did I know he was building his empire. He was a brother, but I knew something was off. He didn’t want it as much as me. Nate was always the negotiator, the levelheaded one”.
“Do you miss him?”. We had never had a conversation about Nate that didn’t lead to an argument. I wasn’t sure how much I could get out of him before he lost it.
“I haven’t spoken to him for years Ava. Our bridges are burnt, pride always gets in the way. Fucker still thinks he’s better than me”.
“He’s still your brother”.
“He lost that title a long time ago. You hungry?”.
I knew that was the end of that. He always had a way of pulling back and shutting down the conversation. I wasn’t going to push him, he told me more tonight than he ever has and when he’s ready he’ll tell me the rest.
“I could eat”. I grinned placing my lips against him.
..
“You don’t need your helmet just yet sweetheart”.
Frowning at him I placed it back on the handlebars of his bike. I thought we were going to eat?
“There’s this little restaurant around the corner. You’ll love it”. Slipping his arm around my shoulders he pulled me close placing a kiss on my head. Wasn’t he worried someone would steal his bike?
This neighbourhood wasn’t the safest.
“Aren’t you worried about your bike?”. I asked as we started walking.
“Trust me babe my bike will be fine”. As we were walking down the street, I couldn’t help but be alert. I know I was with Blaze, and I would always be safe with him, but I didn’t have a good feeling about the area.
I was hesitant to ask about Sasha, but I wanted to know if she was safe. I knew she was in love with Jared, could tell by the way she looks at him. I knew I wasn’t to get involved in club business, but I couldn’t let it lie I had to know she wasn’t dead.
“Did you manage to find Sasha?”. Chewing my bottom lip, I wasn’t sure if he was going to answer me or tell me it was none of my business.
“She’s safe”. he grunted as he pushed the door open to a little restaurant. I guess that’s all he was going to give me, but I was going to push for more information. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t.
“Where is she-…”
“Look what the fucking cat dragged in”.
Who was that?
“Sean Thomas how long has it been?”. The man walking towards us pulled Blaze in for a hug. “Glad to see you’re doing well son”.
Son?
“You know me Bear always working”. He winked as he placed his hand on the lower of my back. No wonder his name was bear. This man was huge. Easily over 6 foot with arms that could kill. “You still serving?”. Blaze asked.
“Always for family. Pick a table I’ll be back with some drinks”.
I was so confused right now.
Taking off my jacket I placed it on the back of the chair and took my seat. My mind was working overtime with so many questions. Who was bear and what was he to Blaze?
“When I was living on the streets, I met bear. I was so hungry one night he caught me rummaging through his trash”.
My heart broke a little more.
“He was the first man to see me cry after my mom passed, I used to run errands for him, and he would feed me”. I could already feel the lump forming in my throat. “He was good to us; he’s a good man and I haven’t seen him in years”.
I smiled. If he was important to Blaze, then he was important to me.
“Soft drinks seeing as you have a lady with you tonight”. Bear winked as he placed two glasses of coke in front of us. I like this man already.
“That’s the wife bear”.
I didn’t even correct him because one day that’s exactly what I’ll be.
“Must have the patience of a saint to put up with your ass”. He winked at me. “Nice to meet you sweetheart”.
“Likewise,”. I grinned taking a sip of my coke.
I felt relaxed here. It was homely. It gave of the welcoming feeling.
“Give me a shout if you two need anything. I’ll be floating around somewhere”.
As he left, I glanced at Blaze over the top of my menu. I would love to know what he was thinking right now. As I’ve said before Blaze wasn’t the type of person to open up, he didn’t like to share his feelings but tonight was different. He was finally telling me a little of his story.
“Like what you see darling?”.
Rolling my eyes, I looked down at the menu trying to decide what I was in the mood for. I wasn’t really hungry but could still eat something. Could also go for a burger oh and maybe some loaded fries.
“So, when does Everleigh have her induction?”.
“In 3 days”. I sighed placing my menu back in the stand. “I’m so bloody nervous Blaze. I know she needs to go but I don’t think I’m ready for her to leave me yet”. She was my baby; she would always be my baby regardless of her age. I was so used to it just being me and her for so long.
“Babe”. He sighed “She’s only going to be there 4 days a week and besides it’ll give you the chance to get back into work”.
Frowning I sunk my teeth into my bottom lip. Where was Blaze because this man sitting across from me certainly wasn’t him. Me working has always been a touchy subject for him. Plain and simple he didn’t like it.
“You’re right”. I wasn’t going to say anything more. I wasn’t looking for his permission to go back to work but for him to bring it up was a good thing.
“Now what do you want to eat? I’m starving”.