AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That said, I had to admit that I had issues with letting anyone take care of me. I guess because I’d never had that, because I’d been fucking hustling since I was in elementary school, trying to keep food in my stomach when my parents weren’t able or willing to do it.
I learned early to rely on no one but myself.
And… Ama.
Though, admittedly, I took care of and looked out for her more than she did for me. I brought her food and candles when the fridge was empty and the lights were out. I made sure no one put their hands on her or even made her feel unsafe.
Back in those days, she patched up my wounds when I got them, but provided me the softness I couldn’t find anywhere else, wouldn’t allow anyone else to show me.
It was why I was willing to turn to her, why I wanted to continue to turn to her, despite the animosity often present between us.
“I appreciate it,” I told him, meaning it. “I will let you know.”
Most of the rest of the drive was silent until we turned down the street that led to the clubhouse.
“Seeley,” Teddy called, making me turn from the window to look at him.
“Yeah?”
“I get that you’re secretive for your reasons, but I get the feeling that maybe you never had someone to tell you this in the past, so I’m going to do it now,” he told me.
“Okay.”
“You don’t have to do everything on your own. It’s okay to lean on other people who care about you. Your worth isn’t directly linked to how much you can do for everybody else,” he said. And, fuck, if the words didn’t hit hard. “Now go on and get some rest. You look wrecked.”
“Thanks, Teddy,” I said, meaning it, as I climbed out of the car, and hobbled my way toward the door.
Each step was like a bat whack to the stomach. By the time I got to the door, I was drenched in sweat with the effort.
“What happened?” Huck asked when the door whipped open to reveal that he had, in fact, been waiting up for me.
“Stabbed,” I told him, hobbling past as he moved aside.
“Where?”
“Gut,” I said, jolting hard when he yanked up my shirt to look for himself.
“Fuck, Seel,” he said, shaking his head. “Clinic?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Two kinds of torture,” he murmured to himself. “Why the fuck didn’t you call me?” he asked, putting a hand to my shoulder, and pushing me until I lowered onto the couch.
“It’s a long story,” I admitted.
“Yeah, I fucking bet. Hold on,” he said, moving off into the kitchen, and I could hear him murmuring on the phone, then making his way upstairs.
It wasn’t two minutes later that Cato and Levee came rushing down. Cato was still pulling on a shirt, and Levee’s hair looked like he’d been standing outside in a hurricane.
“The fuck, man?” Cato asked.
“Hold the fuck on,” Huck called, coming back down with Donovan and Alaric on his heels. “So you only need to tell it once. I’ll fill in McCoy, Remy, and Che later. What happened?”
“That fucker got me stabbed, and thought he was leaving without me,” I told them. “He raced the fuck out of there, not realizing I’d crawled my ass into the backseat,” I explained, taking the bottle of booze from Cato even though I probably shouldn’t be drinking any more than I already had.
“That motherfucker has to pay for that, I hope you know that,” Huck said.
“Oh, I’m looking forward to the payback,” I told him, taking a swig of the liquor, enjoying the burn as it went down. “But I need to fucking recover first.”
