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I knocked on her front door, breathing in the sound of laughter that came from inside. I braced my hands against the doorframe as I heard footsteps moving toward the door. As her silhouette filled the glass between us, my body shuddered, and I felt my emotions building in the pit of my stomach.
The door clicked open, and she stood in front of me with a bright smile on her face.
I fucking loved that.
Since we’d met, it had always been my mission to fill her face with brightness, to hear her laugh and see her smile. But as she studied my face, the smile slowly dropped, and she inhaled a sharp breath. I stared into her eyes, trying to make my mouth move but failing completely.
She immediately rushed forward, hitting me with such force that she almost threw us both backward down the staircase. I buried my face in her hair, struggling to catch my breath, trying my best not to break down right there on her porch.
“I’m here,” she whispered. “I’m right here.”
We stood there for what seemed like hours, with her pressed tightly to my chest, just surviving on the smell of her, just knowing she was there.
When Harlyn called out to her, obviously wondering what was taking her so long, we finally pulled apart, and I said the words that up until that point I’d managed to avoid. “Slider’s dead.”
Her lips pursed and she took in a shaky breath before looking over her shoulder and into the house. “Harlyn is going to be shattered.”
I took my hat off and scrubbed at my head before placing it back down. “Optimus… he needs to be at the club right now.”
She nodded. “I know. Come on. Guess we need to all sit down and have a talk.”
My gut churned as we walked back inside, hand in hand. Slider might have been absent for the past couple of weeks or so, but he and Harlyn had developed a bond since Sugar and her had been back. He was silly and immature at the best of times, something the kids all flocked to.
Harlyn looked up from her place at the dining room table, coloring books, markers and cookies spread out around her. Her eyes instantly went to where our hands were connected and her eyes brightened. “I knew it!” She beamed as she leaped off her chair. “Are you guys in love? Like Daddy and Chelsea?”
I looked down at Sugar who just smiled. “We’ve got some stuff we need to talk to you about, baby girl. Why don’t you come sit down?”
“I remember that one time he tried to blow bubbles with me and breathed in the bubble mixture.” Harlyn smiled as we sat on the sofa and talked about Slider and how important he had been to us. She was curled up on Wrench’s lap, his arms wrapped around her and her head on his chest.
She was in her pajamas, getting ready for bed. I’d talked to Op, and he’d said it was probably best that with the mood of the clubhouse right now, that she stayed here for the night. I understood it was undoubtedly a hard decision for him to make, but I also knew that there was a whole clubhouse of brothers and women who were looking up to him in this moment. They were looking to him to stand strong for them.
Harlyn had shed her tears with us earlier when we explained that he was gone. Although we’d gone for a reason that she could digest a little easier and explained that he was sick, it hasn’t made it hurt any less.
“Remember when he tried to convince us that he could fly?” I giggled softly.
Harlyn rolled her eyes. “Or when he said he had a pet elephant that lived in his pants.”
Wrench and I both looked at each other and tried to contain our laughter.
“Only Slider.” Wrench chuckled as he shook his head. “I think it’s time for you to go to bed, miss,” he said as he lifted Harlyn in his arms and stood up.
She yawned and cuddled in closer to him. “Are you gonna be here in the morning?”
He looked over at me and I nodded. I wanted him to stay. I wanted to be there for him, to comfort him in his time of need just like he’d done for me. Everything else didn’t matter in that moment. The shit with Peter, the drama with Op. None of it was important right now.
“Yeah kid, I’ll be here.”
