AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Because I love you, Ice. I always have, and I always will. Even though you treated me like crap, chasing all the free pussy you could back then, I still love your crazy ass.”
He blinks rapidly as he recognizes what I’ve said and squeezes my hand. “I’m glad you said t—”
“I need something else from you,” I interrupt him, not sure if I can handle what he was about to say. I don’t know if I’m ready to face the fact that I still love him or if I’m ready for the possibility of trying again. I have no fucking clue, but . . . I’ll put it off for as long as I can because as much as I don’t like admitting it, I don’t want to get hurt again. “I was threatened at the hospital a week ago by a patient’s father. My patient had just passed away, and long story short, he’s blaming the nurses and doctors on his daughter’s team. I didn’t think anything about it at first because it’s typical when parents don’t take it well. But I’ve been followed out to my car every day for the last week after shift, and it’s . . . it’s terrifying the fuck out of me, Ice.”
He raises his brows. “Let me get this straight, you were threatened a week ago, and you’re just now telling me.” His grip grows tighter around my hand, almost like he’s pulling me to him.
I nod once.
He sucks in a deep breath and releases a heavy sigh. “Don’t you worry about a thing. What’s your schedule? I’m takin’ you to work and pickin’ you up every day until shit gets cleared up.”
“No, I didn’t ask you to do—”
“I don’t give a fuck what you were askin’ me. I’m doin’ it, and that’s that.”
Jesus. I know better than to argue with Ice when his mind is set on something. It’s like pulling a bloody piece of meat away from a starving dog.
CHAPTERTHREE
ICE
She looks like she’s about to piss herself, cry, or hug me. In all honesty, it could be all three. Sunny gnaws on her bottom lip and looks at me with thankful eyes. She doesn’t have to thank me at all. I know she’s about to because I’ve known this woman for over twenty-five years. “Ice, thank you so much. I don’t know what else I can say. I’m so thankful for . . . for you watching out for me.”
“You don’t gotta thank me for shit, woman. ‘Cause of you, I’m still here, livin’ and breathin’. If you ask me, I owe you a hell of a lot.”
Sunny cranes her neck to the side a bit. “You don’t owe me anything. I took an oath to help people, Ice, people just like you. Whether they’re an addict or just cut their leg open on a piece of metal. It’s my job to help the people who need it.”
“Can we just agree to disagree? I don’t wanna get into an argument with you, and you know we’re headed that way.” I chuckle lightly, watching the sides of her lips pull into a smile.
“I didn’t think you were still a contentious asshole, but I guess I was wrong.” She smirks wider as she says it, and now I’m doing the same damn thing.
“I’ve been a prick since I was a baby, and I’ll be one ‘til I die. You can count on that.”
Sunny rolls her eyes.
“Aye, Sunny,” Agony calls from the bar, causing her to turn back and look at him. “You want any food or anything?”
Sunny laughs and grabs the basket with my barely eaten burger and fries. “Nope, I’ve got my own.”
She’s the only damn woman I’ve ever let grub down on my food, but I’m pretty damn positive I’d let this woman do almost anything to me. Unless she’s into that pegging shit. Fuck that.
Agony looks over to me, furrows his brows, and I know he’s silently asking if I want more, but I’m not in the mood for a burger now. “Jalapeno poppers, brother.” Agony gives me a nod, and he walks through the door behind the bar into the kitchen.
Sunny chows down on the fries in front of me, squirting ketchup on them in a zig-zag pattern like a child would, and scarfs half the burger down, moaning and licking her fingers. By the time she’s demolished my burger and fries, Agony brings out my poppers, and I shove ‘em one by one down my throat, not using ranch or any sort of dipping sauce. She sits across from me while I eat, not sayin’ a damn thing until I’m on my last popper. “I talked to Octavia not too long ago. I forgot to tell you.”
Damn. I know Sunny doesn’t mean to do it, but every time she talks about Octavia giving her a call, it’s like a knife to my heart. As much as I hate to admit it, my relationship with my daughter is still very strained. I feel like I’ve tried to do everything to rectify it, but I doubt I can make up for all the damage I did when she was a child. I keep trying my damnedest, though. The same way, I’m trying to have a decent relationship with her brothers, Troy and Breaker. Breaker is the Prez of our club, while Troy went in a completely alternate direction. He’s a fuckin’ cop. Ironic how my two boys can be on opposite sides of the spectrum.
“Yeah, what’d she say?”
Sunny goes on to tell me how the long story short is that she can’t go up to Montana to see Octavia, Zane, and Neo for Christmas because she’s new at the hospital but says how she’s trying to get up there within the next few weeks. She tells me how Neo is doing so well for his age, how he’s so smart, and she thinks he’s going to grow up to be a scientist, doctor, or lawyer. She makes it sound like she’d be jumping for joy if he were any of those things, but she’d be proud of the kid if he was flippin’ burgers at theWaffle House.
“Anyway, I’ll stop flappin’ my jaws. When’s the last time she called you?” Sunny asks, leaning in a little closer to the table.
Fuck. She called me once after she moved, but it was while I was in rehab. She hasn’t called me in alongtime, but I can’t blame Octavia for it. I was a shit dad, and I know it. The only thing I can do is try to be a better one now. “It’s been a minute, but I’m lucky enough to have you give me updates.”
Sunny’s smile fades away. “She hasn’t called you in a while . . . I’m sorry, Ice. I’ve tried talking to her about calling you more, but she always gets off the phone when I do.”
“It’s fine, baby. I can handle this. I’ve handled much worse . . . plus, I think she blames me for what happened to her sisters.” What Octavia doesn’t realize is the way I blame myself or how I see all my daughters’ faces before I go to bed every night. There will never be a day where I don’t think about all of them, or how if I had acted a little bit differently . . . they all might still be here with us. Their murders were careless acts, completely avoidable. But I was too high and drunk to notice what that fuckin’ bitch was doin’.
