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Earlier this morning, I set up for the guys getting back to the clubhouse. I probably shouldn’t have gotten here as early as I did. To be honest, I needed the space. Needed the quiet that could only be obtained here without anyone around.
Now that most of the food is prepped, the families and other members who didn’t go on the run have started arriving. I can feel a sense of dread starting to loom over me. Travis should be back any moment. I know he went to see Dean before he was headed here. That’s the only reason I’m waiting around. Waiting for the latest update on how things are with him.
Mollie walks over to me, stood in the kitchen. “Think that’s it,” she says, placing an empty crate of boxes on the side.
“Thank you.” I look up. “Appreciate your help this morning.”
She smiles genuinely. “You don’t have to thank me, Mads. We’re friends. I’m happy to.” She picks up her coat and her bag from the countertop. “I better be off.” Her eyes sink. She knowsTravis is due back soon.
“You don’t have to leave because of him. You’re helping us, Mollie. We want you to stay.Iwant you to stay.” Mollie’s become more than a friend. She is what stands between Dean coming home or him not. I need her to know that I see her as more than just his solicitor. “Mollie?” I say when she doesn’t move.
“He won’t like it.”
I smile this time. “Since when do we care about what they like?”
With my words of solidarity, Mollie drops her things back down. “You set? For Monday, I mean.” I hate the wobble of my voice.
She steps closer. “I’ll do everything I can to bring him home…” Mollie looks off into the distance, her eyes coated in a light film of mist.
“Do you think you can do it?”
She sighs. “I’ve built a strong case.”
Translated; it’s not going to be easy. We stare at each other, a shadow of sadness wrapping itself around us. I drop my head, staring at the ground as I gather my wayward thoughts.Not here. Not now. Contain it.
A loud cheer of laughter runs down the hall, filling the entire main room. We both look up, watching as the men laugh and joke with one another. “Is it still as wild as it used to be?” Mollie sits on the stool, and I follow watching as the men start drinking. The music turns up in the background.
I nod. Then think. “You used to come here?”
Mollie’s face straightens. Her lips pull tight. “You could say that.”
I follow Mollie’s eyes, her gaze is glued to the back of one of the girl’s heads.
The girl, wearing tight jeans and a lace top that I would consider merely a bra, panders to the needs of one of the guys.She tosses her long, dark, straight hair over one shoulder, then leans into him, her breasts pushing against him. I watch as her hand then slips, cupping his crotch as he whispers presumably filthy words in her ear.
I shake my head, rubbing the back of my neck, wishing the flames kissing my skin to die down.
When I look up, Mollie smiles, reminiscing. “We didn’t need anything but each other.”
Gravity lets go of her words, dropping them on me with force. “What happened?” I turn my full attention to Mollie.
Her eyes are still planted on the sex show, but her voice? It screams yearning. Like she’s looking for something she can’t find. Something she once had. “It died,” she says solemnly.
“Travis.”
She looks at me then, never actually acknowledging my admission of it being him. I can see it in her eyes though. I saw it the first moment I saw them together. It wouldn’t have taken a genius. The chemistry and tension between them. It’s obvious.
Her eyes are just slightly wider, her cheeks blushed with a tint of rose colour. “In the end, we wanted different things.”
My heart swells as her eyes drift to my stomach. Like the sea leaving the shore, she withdraws, her mind taking her somewhere else. I want to reach out and comfort her. But Mollie isn’t a woman who requires my tenderness. She needs me to listen. I get the feeling she hasn’t had anyone to talk to in so long.
A tear wilts to her chin. Quickly swiping it from her face, the door then opens, and Travis strides in. He carries his helmet under his arm, adjusting the beanie he wears on top of his head. His gaze roams over everybody, looking through the crowds now filling the space between us.
There’s a weariness to him. A bleak look upon his face. The smile I wore when he walked in, dissipates on a beat of my heart. For the first time since I’ve known him, he looks scared. The wayhe carries his large frame, usually so tall and strong, he’s now so small. So engulfed in a weariness that seems to drag him down.
He glances up, disorientated, and our eyes meet. He then looks to Mollie, his lips all of a sudden curling tight on his face. His brows scrunch as he walks to us, his huge strides bringing him close in mere seconds.
We both stand. Both ridged. Both reading him so clearly. “What’s wrong?” I ask rushed. Travis’ chest rises and falls quickly, his eyes having never left Mollie. “Travis?” I ask again. Failing to pull his attention, I look to Mollie. Her face mirrors his. Broken. “Travis,” I speak more firmly.
