AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The boy shakes his head. "Tyson's not mine either."
Octavia releases a deep breath, her shoulders slumping forward as she presses close to Digger.
"Reap, man?" May says, and in return, he gets the coldest glare I've ever seen from Grayson. "What?" he asks. "We all want to know."
"Had you kept your fuckin' mouth shut, May, we wouldn't be in this fuckin' position."
I press my hands down onto the table and try to push myself up so I can stand.
"Don't even try it, Esme," Gray growls as he pins me with a stare. "Sit your ass down. You wanna move, you ask someone to help you. There's no fuckin' way I'm goin' to let you walk on that leg. It needs to fuckin' heal."
I sit back and stare at him. The anger in his voice is unlike anything I've heard before, especially directed at me. I close my eyes and press my hands together.
I feel arms around me, and I know that it's Seri. I shouldn't be surprised. My girl is always here to protect me and shield me.
"It's okay," she whispers. "He's dealing with the results, and he also wants to keep you safe."
I nod, trying my hardest not to cry. I keep my eyes closed and breathe deeply through my nose. I wish I could speak and ask someone to take me upstairs.
"Reaper, why don't you and Preach follow me into my office," Ace says, and just like that, the tension in the air vanishes and chatter starts up.
"Yo, Es," I hear Rush say. I open my eyes and give him a small smile. "You want a hand gettin' upstairs?"
God, he's the fucking shit. I nod, relief washing through me.
Seri moves away and Rush comes over to me and effortlessly lifts me up. I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on tight as we move away from the throngs of people. He doesn't say anything to me until we're upstairs. "I've never met a better man than Reaper, Es. He loves you, but right now he's dealing with the fact that his best friend is goin' through hell. He's pissed as hell at Mayhem, and he's worried about you. Snappin' at you wasn't intended. He's just got no outlet for his anger."
He places me down on the bed and I quickly type out a message.
I know. I'm not angry at him, just a little hurt. I'm worried about him. How are you dealing with this?
Rush chuckles. "You and Seri are the shit, you know that?"
I grin at him.Of course I do.
He sits down at the end of the bed and sighs. "When it came out that I could be the father as I'd been with Pepper, both Digger and Octavia were pissed. I get that they were, but you and Seri weren't. You haven't treated me differently for being with her, nor have you treated me differently than the other kids."
My heart breaks for him. He's been through a fucking lot in his young life. His childhood was shit, so fucked up that it would break most people. Rush did everything he could to protect his sister, Ruby, and he made a few wrong choices and hurt Octavia, but he's made amends and served time for what he did. He's my nephew, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I love you just as I love Cage, Ruby, and Sera. You're my nephew, Rush.
He grins at my words. "As I said, you're the shit."
Don't make me laugh. I can't.
He chuckles. "Sorry. I bet you can't wait to get that shit off?"
I nod as my fingers swipe along my cell, typing out another message.
Four more weeks, hopefully. The sooner the better.
"It'll be fine. The way Reaper's actin' you'd think you'd shatter if you stood up."
I smile. He's not wrong. That's exactly how it feels. Sometimes I wonder if he thinks I'm fragile. I'm far from it. I don't want to have to live a life of always being cautious. I did that already. I had to live on eggshells and it drove me crazy. I became a shell of who I am. With Grayson, I'm finally able to come out of that shell and he's knocked down all the walls I've built. I'm finally feeling like myself again. I don't want to go back.
You know that everyone loves you, don't you?
He shakes his head. "I don't know, Es. Sometimes I feel as though I'll always be that punk-ass kid who shot Octavia. It's hard to shake the reputation you built for yourself."
