“Your dad came by and asked me to look out for him when he found out he was getting transferred up.” She continues to nod her head for a bit before. “Saved him from getting his ass kicked.” I can feel her look at me, but I can’t bring myself to look back at her.
“Oh, you got your ass kicked?” I can hear the smirk on her face as she gives me a hard time about it.
“Oh yeah,” Trip laughs at my side. “Went in asking for it.”
My palms are sweaty as I sit in the front pew, sitting between Jag and Axe. Axe squeezes my hand as Dax finishes a small speech right before he introduces me. Standing up, I walk to the front and exhale. Unfolding the paper that I have been scribbling on for the last couple of days.
“My father did everything he could to make my life better…” I trail as my words fall. They just don’t seem right until I sigh. Balling up the paper and sitting on top of the podium. Looking at Axe and his words from this morning play in my mind, he nods to me, telling me I’ve got this. “I wrote this last night, but it’s not right. He would be disappointed in that.” I nod to the paper and laugh, “Who here at one point was or felt personally attacked by my father.” The entire crowd laughs as I raise my hand. Axe follows me, smiling as everyone else in the room slowly raises their hands. “My father was a lot of things. He was a biker.” I look over at the men. “He was a member, a president, a mentor, a friend, a father. He was so many things, but he wasn’t perfect...” I laugh as everyone else does. “He had his faults, and he knew that. He expected everyone else to own up to theirs. He was a protector.” The front doors open again when a man steps in. He has a hood up, so I can’t really make out his face. “We didn’t have the best of relationships, especially in the last couple of years… I guess we were too much alike.” The man stands in the back for a second as he starts to take off his hood. “Sometimes we just didn’t get—” my mind instantly stops when he removes the hood completely. “Holy shit...” I mumble out as I stare back at the familiar face. He smiles back at me, and I can hear him saying,hey kid, as everyone in the pews in front of me turns around and looks at him. I hear the mummers spread as the entire club stands up, looking just as shocked as I am.
Remy stands up, and he finds her instantly, their eyes locking as if no one else in the room mattered. She walks in a daze down the aisle. Halfway down, I see her fists clench before she rushes up to him. His entire head moves to the side, from the force that her fist makes before she rushes out the front doors.
A groan comes out of him as he reaches up to where she hit him. “I deserved that.” I can hear him say from where I’m standing. Before he moves out of the front door after her. “Baby,” he shouts. “Let me explain…” The doors shut, and everyone looks to one another. Not tempting to go after them because no one really wants to be a part of that.
“Well, that seems appropriate for today.” I laugh out as we become slightly distracted at muffled shouts that are coming from outside. “I don’t even know what to say now.” I laugh before the doors open once again and Ace walks back through. He sighs as he looks exhausted, and then the entire club looks at him, confused.
Everyone from the funeral follows us back to the clubhouse. Well, everyone except for my mother. Trip has to go back following the funeral and I’m sad to see him leave and also extremely surprised that he and Axe know one another.
And everyone except for Remy, who went back to Caroline’s house and hasn’t come back up.
No one has really asked him what happened yet. It’s almost as if we’re all really waiting for her.
“Mom.” Jag calls to me before I turn around, looking at him.
“Holy shit.” I hear Ace call from behind Jag as he looks down.
“I’m hungry.” Jag looks at me as Axe steps up with a snack to hold him over, almost as if he knows instantly what he needs. Nothing has surprised me more than seeing Axe and how easily he took on the role of a dad.
“Thanks.” Smile up to him as Jag grabs the bag of fruit gummies that has already been opened as he plucks one from inside and pops it into his mouth. He turns around and runs back away before I call back to him. “Jag, I want you to meet your Uncle Ace.” Jag eyes Ace suspiciously and then nods.
“Why did Aunt Remy hit you?”
“Because she’s very mad at me right now.” He laughs. “But it’s okay. I deserve it.” He seems to be okay with his answer before he turns around and goes on with his snack. “So, you two are back together?” He asks, turning back around and looking at me.
“Uhh,” I pause, thinking back over the last week. “No.” I shake my head before he looks at me, confused. And for a second I think that he’s accepted my answer as he backs away until I hear someone calling out to me.
“El,” Caroline steps up to me, smiling. “Come on, walk with me.” She holds her stomach as she says the words. Ace was always afraid of Caroline the most. So it’s just as possible that he left our conversation because he saw her walking up.
“Where are we going?” I ask her before she just nods again.
“Trying to convince someone to come over here.” She whispers it to me before I laugh back at her. “She’s hiding out at the house.” I know Remy had been staying in Ace’s old room. I’m guessing since she got back from the funeral, she has been hiding out at Caroline’s trying to keep a cover. Stepping out of the backdoor I laugh as she sits down on the golf cart.
“Not up for the walk?” She laughs again.
“Please, I’m 6 months pregnant. I’m exhausted already. It’s already been an extremely long week.” I nod my head before I sit down next to her, and we leave. Towards the house. “So, why the hesitation?”
“What?”
“When Ace asked you. You hesitated before you answered.”
“No reason.” I tell her as we pass by Khan and Fury’s house.
“Marcella.”
“Ugh,” I groan when she uses my actual name. “I’m kind of regretting coming back based on how many times I’ve been called my actual name.” She laughs out before she looks at me again. “Fine...” I groan again as we pull up to the house on the cliff. “Technically, no we’re not together.”
“… But…”
“BUT we slept together a few nights ago.”
