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I gingerly nod as I hit reject on the call once again. Harry has been calling me non-stop. You’d think that after six weeks of me telling him that it was over, he’d get the damn picture. I sure as hell did when I walked in on him fucking my friend. That’s something I’ll never forget, nor will I ever forgive. “I just wish he’d leave me alone,” I tell her.
She gives me a wry smile. “Men like him know when they’ve lost something special, something beautiful, and girl, you are all that and so much more. He’s kicking himself and wishing he didn’t fuck around. God, the man’s an asshole. Surely, he didn’t think he could get away with cheating?”
He had for a long time. Whenever I’d get suspicious of his actions, he’d turn it around on me and try to make me believe that I was imagining things, that I was overreacting to something harmless. I hated that I began to doubt myself. That I couldn’t think straight. By the end of our relationship, I truly lost who I was and what I thought was real. Thankfully, Seri was always at my side and brought me back to where I needed to be. I’ve hidden so much from her because I was ashamed, and still am, about what happened when I was with him. I always knew she hated him. I was so deep with him that I couldn’t get free.
Seeing Harry fuck Julia in our bed was the final straw. I finally had evidence and was able to see that I was right the entire time, and he was just lying his ass off. Never again. I’ll never fall for the same shit as I did before. It’s taken me eight years to see straight, and I’ve done it. There’s no going back. I’m finally free from the pain and damage he’s done to me.
“So, are you ready to talk?” Seri asks. I know that I should, but my girl has been through the wars. Her ex is a douchebag and she got hurt because of him. Right now, I’m trying my hardest to be strong so that she doesn’t need to comfort me, especially when she’s the one in pain.
“I finally caught him in the act,” I tell her with a small smile. “This time, he couldn’t talk his way out of it.” I laugh bitterly. “He did try though, claiming it was an accident, that he didn’t mean to do it.”
She scoffs. “How do you accidentally fall and slide your dick into someone’s vagina?”
My smile widens. Even though she doesn’t realize it, Serenity is the reason I’m able to push through the hurt. I’ll come out of this with my head held high, but it stings. I’ve wasted eight years on someone who didn’t deserve it, and I’ll be damned if I’ll waste any more.
“How are you feeling?” I ask, hating that she’s been hurt.
“Better,” she admits. “I can’t sit around and wait. Everyone’s been great, especially Octavia.”
When Serenity’s house was broken into and the men attacked her for whatever shitty reason they had, she went to stay at the Fury Vipers MC Clubhouse. Her sister, Octavia, lives there with her kids and her man. The Michaels’ sisters are beyond the sweetest people ever, and I love them both dearly.
“Trust me, your sister has been worried about you,” I tell her. Yesterday, when Seri told me what happened, I broke down after she left. I was devastated that my best friend was so badly hurt, and I wasn’t there for her. I’ll never forgive myself for not being around for her when she needed me the most. Octavia came by last night and sat with me. The two of us broke down and cried. She was still reeling from the aftermath of what happened to her sister.
Finding out that it happened the day I left her house brought me to my knees. The day I found Harry in bed with Julia was the day that Seri was attacked. I’d been with her only hours before the attack happened. I stopped by her home to say goodbye before I left to go to my parents. Had I stayed instead of running, I could have prevented her from being harmed. God, I feel so much guilt for leaving. I should have stayed. Maybe she wouldn’t have been hurt.
“I’m glad you’re here, Esme. I missed you so much. I know that Octavia wanted to tell you about what happened, but I begged her not to, Graham agreed. There was nothing you could have done.” Graham is also a member of the Fury Vipers. That night five years ago, she and Graham went home together, and she fell hard for him, but he walked away without a second thought. Thankfully, he saw the light and realized that my girl is the one for him.
My chest clenches when I think about that night in the bar, about that asshole who was a pig. I don’t know why what Reaper said hurt my feelings, but it did. I wasn’t trying it on with him. Both my friends had gone off with one of his, so for me, I was trying to make conversation so that he wasn’t alone. He looked so lost sitting there. His face was a mask of anger, and for some reason, I wanted to soothe him. Turned out, he was a jerk. Thankfully, I haven’t seen him since.
I gently pull Serenity into my arms and hold her tight. “I love you, Seri. I’m just so glad that you’re okay.”
She breathes in a ragged breath, and I know that she’s trying not to cry. “Thank you for helping me with the exhibition.”
I flash her a grin as we pull back. “You’ve worked your ass off for this. Me helping you set up the final pieces is the very least that I could do. I have time, and you need the help.”
She flashes me a grin. “You rock at organization.”
I nod. That I fucking do. It helps that I’m anal about lists, plans, and schedules. I’m a schoolteacher who grew up in a rigid household. My dad was in the military, and I take after him. My mom, on the other hand, is a free spirit, and my brother is just as she is.
“So, let’s start getting this show on the road. Will Shadow be coming to the exhibition?” I ask. I’ve not really spent much time around her man, but from what I have seen, he’s besotted with her, and for that I love him.
As long as he treats her well and loves her, that’s all I could ever ask. Serenity deserves the world.
“Yes. He and the old ladies will be attending. I’m sure some of the brothers will be also.”
I grin at her. “That’s good. What about your parents?”
She shakes her head. “No, they’re not.”
I grit my teeth. I love her parents, but fuck, why won’t they be here? I returned home yesterday, having spent six weeks away from home to heal. I’ve missed a fucking lot. “What’s going on?”
She shrugs. “This isn’t their thing.”
I narrow my eyes. “I doubt it's a biker thing either, but from what you’ve just said, you’ll have bikers supporting you, so what gives?”
She sighs. “They just won’t be here.”
I purse my lips. “Well fuck them,” I snap. “You’ll have me, Shadow, Octavia, and all the other Vipers. Don’t worry, Seri, we’ll all be here for you.”
