“Henley, what do you need?”
What indeed. Not to cry like a fucking pussy, that’s what I needed, but I suddenly felt dangerously close to it. I’d watched my best friend fall apart, been accused of being no better than the asshole who broke her, and now he was being kind? Fucking hell. Perfect storm.
“Brother, start with this. How’s she doing? Does she need medical help?”
I stared at my carpet, my entire chest throbbing with pain for her.
“I don’t know. Maybe. I… she’s so fragile. She’s barely hanging on.” I took a deep breath, which burned all the way down to my chest.
“You know that prick Ice has an old lady, right?”
The change of subject threw me for a loop. Sometimes I couldn’t keep up with this guy’s brain, or his mouth. One or the other.
“What?”
“She’s a therapist. We could put you in touch with her?”
“It’s not really up to me if she talks to someone though. I need to run it by her.”
Micro was quiet for a moment, then sighed.
“What if Ice comes to visit you, and she just happens to tag along?”
Really? “Glory’s not stupid, Pres. She’ll figure it out in seconds, and I’ll be wearing my balls as a hat.”
“Hey, what you do in private is your business, man.”
He was a dick, but I think he was right. Not about my balls, but the therapy.
“Can you send me her details, or Ice’s, whatever. I’ll reach out if Glory’s open to it.”
Gloria
Nate was right aboutthe bedroom. It was bland and impersonal, but it was safety. It was freedom. It was home, at least for right now. At least until he got fed up with me, and my whiny, tiring behaviour.
I unpacked my few things into the empty top drawer of the dresser, and moved back to sit on the bed. All I had was these few clothes I’d hidden away, and the phone Nate had supplied me with. He’d done so much for me. He’d paid for everything, because I had no money.
If not for him, and the charity who rescued me, I’d be dead by now. Sometimes I thought that might have been preferable to being able to recall every minute of my life with Sean. What was even left of me now, but the person he’d created? The person he crafted by breaking every part of me, until what he wanted was all that remained.
The phone buzzed beside me and I froze. Only two people had this number, and one of those was in this house right now. Would he really message me rather than speak to me? Maybe yes after what I’d accused him of. Why did I even do that? He’d been nothing but sweet and caring to me. He’d always been my safe haven. Always been the person I could turn to. At least until Sean put a stop to it, and I’d lost touch with Nate. One of the biggest mistakes of my life. My god. He’d probably found love and moved on. Was I in the way of his relationship or something? I never even thought to ask if he was seeing someone. No woman wanted some random female popping up like this.
The phone buzzed again and I saw the name flash up. Oh. It’s the other person with this number.
Lenore: Just checking in. It’s been a week since we spoke.
Lenore: Are you safe? We’re ready to extract you again if you need us.
Wow. The charityHelpHerhad been amazing. From locating me at the hospital after Sean beat me, to keeping in touch with me, and trying to encourage me to leave, to literally extracting me while some big guys kept him quiet. I definitely heard them punching him, and I loved it. Did that make me as cruel as him? I’d enjoyed his pain, but maybe that’s because he’d enjoyed mine for so long.
Me: I’m safe. My friend Nate has moved me into his house. His brothers helped.
They were brothers, right? That’s what biker guys were to each other? I didn’t know. Nate had always talked about joining aclub, but he’d been just a prospect while I’d been in the same town as him, so I’d never seen this kind of group at work.
The phone rang, and I could see it was her, so I answered.
“Hi?”
“Was that a cry for help? Gloria, if you want out, just say yes. Nothing else, just yes.”
